Is Texas Killing Fields based on a true story? All your questions answered

A grave in Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields
The The Texas Killing Fields focuses on a US town where girls mysteriously vanished. (Image credit: Cr. Netflix © 2022)

The Texas Killing Fields is the latest chilling true crime documentary to land on Netflix, this time focusing on a US town with a dark pattern of girls who tragically disappeared and eventually turned up dead. 

Amidst the marshes and oil refineries alongside the interstate corridor connecting Houston and the beach town of Galveston, lies Calder Road, a patch of land that earned its grim name 'The Killing Fields' after the bodies of four young women — all under the age of 35 — were found in the 1980s and early 1990s. Despite being discovered years apart, the women were all found in the same location as one another. But are their deaths connected or is it just a coincidence? 

Following in the footsteps of Netflix shows like The Girl in the Picture, The Jeffery Dahmer Tapes, I Just Killed My Dad and My Daughter's Killer, The Texas Killing Fields is set to have you hooked from start to finish. But is the documentary based on a true story? And has the mysterious case ever been solved? Here we answer all your questions about the Netflix documentary...

The Crime Scene in The Texas Killing Fields

The Texas Killing Fields have become the focus of a new Netflix documentary.  (Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022)

Is Texas Killing Fields based on a true story?

Yes, sadly this story about three deceased women who were discovered on a plot of land near Interstate 45 in the 1980s and then later a fourth woman who was found in 1991, is true. 

As the women's families continue their desperate search for answers decades after their deaths, this documentary lifts a lid on the victims' tragic stories as their loved ones speak out about their devastating search for answers. 

The documentary is the third season in the acclaimed Crime Scene documentary series and sees Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger return as executive producer. 

The new season, directed by Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Dimmock, explores the ways in which certain locations aid and abet criminal activity and investigates the 'Texas Killing Fields,' a region with dark secrets that have been buried deep for decades.

Nina Edwards in Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields

Nina Edwards has been on a hunt for answers about the killings for years.  (Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022)

Was The Texas Killing Fields solved?

All four of the murders in this series were never solved, leaving many to wonder whether this was the grim work of one killer or whether the cases are unrelated and the fact the bodies were found in close proximity is just a coincidence. 

While it is still unclear who the killer is in this series, the documentary does reveal secrets about the creepy area in Texas that became known as a dumping ground for bodies.

As the hunt for answers continues, one of the victim's grieving fathers refuses to give up on the search for his daughter’s killer and his determined pursuit of justice for the victims drives the series as it delves into five decades of the area’s unsettling history. 

The documentary also uncovers a pattern of eerie connections and missed opportunities surrounding the Calder Road cold cases. Could digging up the past once again lead investigators to the truth at long last?

Tim Miller in Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields

Tim Miller has been on a quest to find the killer for decades.  (Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022)

Is The Texas Killing Fields on Netflix?

Yes. You can stream Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields on Netflix worldwide now. 

Is there a trailer for Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields?

Yes, the trailer reveals how a group of school boys found the first victim in The Texas Killing Fields which then lead to the police unearthing three more bodies of young women years apart. Their grim find opened a huge investigation into how these women died, and the families of the victims can be seen in the trailer talking about how devastating the whole ordeal has been for them... 

Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.