I like to think of myself as being a pretty big true crime fan. I’ve read all kinds of books, fallen down multiple rabbit holes, and even written about the best true crime shows on TV and streaming. I feel like I know a lot about the likes of the late O.
J. Simpson and his murder case and the Menéndez Brothers’ murder trial. Or at least that's what I thought until I watched Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer , a new Hulu show about American research and nurse Dr.
Ann Burgess. When preparing for an interview with the docuseries’ director, Abby Fuller, I found myself both captivated by the story but also ashamed by how little I actually knew about Lyle and Erik Menéndez’s case. I had long assumed it to be about two rich kids killing their parents so they could live a life of luxury.
Instead of being a straightforward cold-blooded murder inspired by greed and rage, the case, as revealed in Mastermind , was a more complex story of trauma, abuse, and the way we stigmatize victims. It was eye-opening to see a different side of one of the biggest cases of the 20th century, one that was even turned into a Law & Order spinoff series a few years back. And I wasn't alone, as Fuller revealed in our chat that her perspective changed through her work with Dr.
Burgess on the docuseries: I really didn't understand that case until we started to talk to Dr. Burgess about it. And I think the stigma in the ‘90s of already we're not believing victims.
So this idea that Dr. Burgess sa.