Dateline is a weekly American TV news magazine reality legal show that first aired on NBC in 1992. The show has over 2,700 episodes in its over 30 seasons so far, and it has had many jaw-dropping episodes that you would want to re-watch multiple times.
The show is one of the first to detail true crimes and the mysteries surrounding some of the most gruesome crimes ever committed.
It has seen hosts like Keith Morrison, Lester Holt, Josh Mankiewicz, and others narrate the tales of these crime documentaries.
Despite the show’s success and the number of episodes, some stand out. We will be paying attention to these episodes in this article, and they might inspire you to watch the show if you haven’t.
If you have seen all episodes of the show, this list might just strike something nostalgic and you will want to go back and watch again.
So, here are some of our best episodes
Here Are 10 Best Dateline Episodes Everyone Should See
10. Mommy Doomsday (Season 29: Episode 40)
When Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell began to spend time together, their conversations got deeper so much so that they even bonded over apocalyptic interests.
Soon after, Doomsday Cult Mom, Lori, and her friend, Chad, became the mastermind of numerous deaths in their families. They planned and executed the murder of Lori’s husband and children as well as Chad’s wife.
They both believed that this was a mandate from heaven and also considered themselves to be some sort of gods.
There were so many elements involved in this gruesome crime ranging from motives, spirituality, and even the personalities of the perpetrators.
Apparently, Lori was a sweet, loving, and devoted mother during her first marriage and so the strange turn of events became something to analyze to understand how she evolved into a murderous woman.
While digging deep into the crime, some revelations suggest that the murder of her children and husband and also Chad’s wife may not have been Lori’s first crime. Questions about what happened to the father of her daughter, Tylee arose and the details surrounding his death became suspicious.
9. Dead Man Talking (Season 31: Episode 29)
So what to do when someone who was declared dead is found alive and well? This episode will tell us, or at least, tell us the story behind Alahverdian who supposedly died due to complications with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Covid-19.
Before we jump the gun, let’s take you back to what may have been the beginning of this story.
In 2018, Utah, United States of America started processing files of backlogged sexual assaults and one of those had a positive match for Alahverdian, our story’s villain.
That wasn’t all he came under fire for at the same time because there was also an ongoing case of credit card fraud and domestic violence hovering over his head.
Then, conveniently, he ‘died’ and this would have put an end to all accusations and cases against him.
Unfortunately, when he was found hiding in Glasgow, Scotland, every case was reopened and he was brought before the law. However, Alahverdian resurfaced looking like a monster and lied about everything in his life, just to get out of the mess he found himself in.
This isn’t one of those gruesome, mysterious episodes of this TV show but with an audacity like Alahverdian’s, his presentation as an unrepentant villain cannot be ignored.
8. Haunting (Season 25: Episode 24)
When 2 separate brutal murder cases happening simultaneously raise eyebrows in Omaha, Nebraska, a shocking discovery is made following the mysterious deaths of 4 people from 2 different families, connected by Creighton Pathology.
William Hunter, a doctor, returned home one day to discover his son and housekeeper brutally murdered with knives found in his kitchen.
While this shocking murder was still being investigated, another gruesome murder was uncovered. This second case was that of Roger and Mary Brumback who were killed in the same way as the victims found in William’s house.
Further investigations and eyewitness testimonies later pointed fingers to Anthony Garcia who once worked with William and Brumback in the same hospital.
Garcia was found guilty of both murders and it was revealed that he was being vindictive believing that William and Brumback were the reasons he was fired from work.
7. The Secret Keeper (Season 27: Episode 44)
This episode of Dateline is one of the most unexpected stories ever recorded on the show. It began with a call from Kelly Baker who frantically reports the death of her husband to the police.
Kelly narrated that she returned home to find her husband’s body lying lifeless. At first, it was believed that the man, Randy Baker, died of natural causes but some bullet wounds were found on his body.
Investigations began and it was uncovered that in a bid to get an insurance payout, Kelly, his sister, Carol Baker, and his nephew, Kelly Raisley plotted the murder of the man.
Kelly, the distraught wife of the deceased was the one who pulled the trigger on her husband.
6. Along Came Sarah
In 2023 there was a story about Sarah Jean Hartsfield who has been married 5 times, engaged once, and 2 of her partners turned up dead.
The case that opened up the can of worms was the most recent death of her last husband, Joseph Hartsfield.
After Joseph was admitted to the hospital following a mysterious and suspicious illness, the ER nurse looked deeper into his case and made some findings.
At the time, Sarah, the distraught wife of Joseph was beyond herself and garnered pity as soon as Joseph died but only the ER nurse knew better.
Finding that the chemical levels in Joseph’s body were suspicious, the nurse alerted the police who in turn arrested Sarah as the first suspect.
That was when her files were revisited and the investigation into the death of her other partners was reopened. It was soon discovered that David Bragg who died in May 2018 was not actually killed in self-defense as was ruled back then.
But, why was she on a marriage-and-killing spree? You may need to watch this episode to find the answer.
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5. The Man Who Knew Too Much (Season 25: Episode 7)
This sequel became even more intriguing than the initial episode because it followed the story of how a man who was wrongfully accused while trying to help solve a murder case, was eventually freed.
Raymond Lee Jennings had spent 11 years incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit because he offered all the information he knew about the crime and it seemed a bit too detailed and suspicious.
However, he got into trouble because he didn’t have a lawyer with him when he offered his help during the investigation of the murder of Michelle O’Keefe.
The initial case is from season 18 of Dateline titled The Girl With the Blue Mustang.
When a self-proclaimed ‘autodidactic polymath’ watched that episode, he figured that justice hadn’t been served rightly and so went on a quest to save Raymond. He eventually succeeded and the events of this journey became more intriguing than the first part of the story.
4. The Real Thing About Pam (Season 30: Episode 22)
Pam Hupp is one person who has had multiple episodes on this TV show because of the uniqueness of her story. It’s so terrifying and compelling that the trilogy was even made into a miniseries that airs on Amazon Prime Video.
So you know you’re in for a thrill with this story of how Pam killed her friend and tried to frame the friend’s husband for the murder.
This episode tells the story of how Pam Hupp committed this murder after driving her friend who had cancer back to her house from her chemotherapy appointment.
Before leaving the house, she stabbed the frail woman and made it look like her friend’s husband had gotten into a fight with her and in the process, stabbed her.
Pam was even the one who called 911 but with testimonies from relatives, it was discovered that Pam was the real mastermind behind the murder.
3. Deep In The Woods (Season 26: Episode 17)
To uncover the truth about the murder of Kelli Bordeaux, the investigator, upon a hunch, befriends a man who eventually confesses to the crime.
Naturally, fingers would have pointed to Kelli, the young medic’s boyfriend or soon-to-be ex-husband. Both men were off the radar at the time of the crime as they were both out of town.
Nicholas Michael Holbert who confessed to killing Private First Class Kelli Bordeaux narrated that they met at a local bar the night before her disappearance. Unfortunately, their date went sour and this angered Nicholas who killed her and buried her body in the woods.
The uncovering of the truth of Kelli’s death is owed to Marshburn, the investigator whose stubbornness and cleverness led him to keep chasing the truth till he found it.
2. The Betrayal of Sarah Stern (Season 27: Episode 33)
In this episode, we are all warned to be careful to who we divulge certain information as not everyone in our circle would be particularly happy about our wins.
This was the case of Sarah Stern who faced a series of good fortunes but went missing and eventually turned up dead soon after.
It all began when she announced to her friend that she was planning to relocate to Canada to pursue an art career. In addition to her move, she was also in possession of a lot of money handed to her by her mom who had saved so much for her in many years.
After disclosing these to her friend, Sarah went missing and her car was discovered on a New Jersey bridge. There were no parting words and no heads-up about any journey, she just disappeared.
1. The Phone Call
This is by far one of the must-see episodes of Dateline as it tells what can happen to anyone at any time just because of a phone call that may be misinterpreted.
Pete Coones was the victim of wrongful accusations and incarceration after an investigation into the murder of Kathleen and Carl Scholl.
Kathleen was the housekeeper of Pete’s dad whom his father became entirely dependent on. As a result of the relationship, Pete Coone’s father made Kathleen an insurance beneficiary when he died.
So, when Kathleen and her husband, Carl were found dead and investigations opened, a phone conversation was recovered where Kathleen said Pete was trying to kill her.
Despite Pete Coone’s alibi and physical limitations that would have made it almost impossible to commit the crime, the man was sentenced to prison.
Pete served 13 years before fresh forensic evidence exonerating him from the crime was found. He was soon released only to die almost 4 months later due to the development of cancer while in prison.
This episode shattered many hearts and questioned the true state of prosecutions and court proceedings. A man’s life wasted away in prison for 13 years because of a phone call.
