The 12th Victim docuseries from Showtime investigates Caril Ann Fugate’s murder conviction

The 12th Victim docuseries from Showtime investigates Caril Ann Fugate’s murder conviction following 11 slayings in 1950s

Showtime has released a preview for its new true crime docuseries The 12th Victim, which reexamines the 1958 murder case of teen couple Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, who were convicted in the slayings of 11 people. 

‘Told through a stylistic blend of archival and recreated footage and countless film and television series inspired by the killings, The 12th Victim reexamines Fugate’s guilty verdict … through a modern lens,’ the network said in a statement of the forthcoming series.

The series will question ‘the media and judicial system’s treatment of’ Fugate – who now goes by the name Caril Ann Clair – ‘despite her self-proclaimed innocence.’

The latest: Showtime has released a preview for its new true crime docuseries The 12th Victim, which reexamines the 1958 murder case of teen couple Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, who were convicted in the slayings of 11 people 

The docuseries covers Starkweather, then 19, who murdered 11 people in Nebraska and Wyoming in 1957 and 1958, accompanied by his girlfriend Fugate, who at 14 was subsequently the youngest female who was put on trial and convicted of first-degree murder.

While Starkweather was executed via the electric chair in 1959, Fugate – whose mother, stepfather and baby half-sister were among the victims – was convicted on one count of first-degree murder and received a life sentence. 

The sentence was later reduced and she was paroled from prison in 1976.

The case was one of the initial true crime cases to grab a national spotlight, depicting the couple in a Bonnie and Clyde manner that went on to influence the narrative of movies such as 1973’s Badlands, 1993’s True Romance and 1994’s Natural Born Killers.

The docuseries covers Starkweather, then 19, who murdered 11 people in Nebraska and Wyoming in 1958, accompanied by his girlfriend Fugate, then 14

The docuseries covers Starkweather, then 19, who murdered 11 people in Nebraska and Wyoming in 1958, accompanied by his girlfriend Fugate, then 14

Fugate at 14 was subsequently the youngest female who was put on trial and convicted of first-degree murder

Fugate at 14 was subsequently the youngest female who was put on trial and convicted of first-degree murder 

Starkweather was executed via the electric chair in 1959

Starkweather was executed via the electric chair in 1959

The docuseries, which is directed by Nicola B. Marsh, will illustrate how Fugate was 'not as a willing participant but ... an underage girl held hostage by Starkweather.'

The docuseries, which is directed by Nicola B. Marsh, will illustrate how Fugate was ‘not as a willing participant but … an underage girl held hostage by Starkweather.’

The Showtime special will feature interviews with people who were close to the case, Deadline reported, and archival footage to take a contemporary look at the case.

The docuseries, which is directed by Nicola B. Marsh, will illustrate how Fugate was ‘not as a willing participant but … an underage girl held hostage by Starkweather.’

Fugate was denied a pardon in February of 2020 by Nebraska’s pardons board in an effort to clear her name. 

The 12th Victim begins streaming on Showtime February 17 at 8/7c, and continues with new installments each Friday.

The case was one of the initial true crime cases to grab a national spotlight, depicting the couple in a Bonnie and Clyde manner

The case was one of the initial true crime cases to grab a national spotlight, depicting the couple in a Bonnie and Clyde manner

The case went on to influence the narrative of movies such as 1993's True Romance and 1994's Natural Born Killers, both with stories penned by Quentin Tarantino

The case went on to influence the narrative of movies such as 1993’s True Romance and 1994’s Natural Born Killers, both with stories penned by Quentin Tarantino

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