Killer Lies: Chasing a True Crime Con Man, produced by The New Yorker Studios and Left/Right, and based on Lauren Collins’s 2022 exposé “Murder, He Wrote,” delves into the life of Stéphane Bourgoin, a French serial killer expert whose career was built on a facade of grandiose lies. Bourgoin, known for his extensive interviews with serial killers and his own harrowing past—his wife was murdered by a serial killer in 1976—becomes the subject of an intense investigation by the online group 4ème Oeil Corporation (4th Eye). The three-part series, directed by Ben Selkow, uncovers Bourgoin’s deceptions and explores the darker side of his fame. It features exclusive interviews with 4th Eye members, archival footage, and Bourgoin’s own reflections on his fabrications. Killer Lies premiers tonight at 8/7c on Nat Geo and stream the next day on Hulu.
Stéphane Bourgoin was once a celebrated figure in the true-crime world, revered for his purported expertise and deep insights into the minds of serial killers. His reputation was built on an impressive array of jailhouse interviews and his own personal tragedy, the murder of his wife by a serial killer. However, Bourgoin’s claims and credentials are soon questioned by a determined group of online sleuths, leading to the revelation that his entire career was a complex web of lies. This dramatic unraveling exposes not only Bourgoin’s deceit but also raises profound questions about the nature of truth in the true-crime genre.
Lauren Collins discussed the case and the documentary with SCINQ.
What initially drew you to Stéphane Bourgoin’s story, and when did you realize that there was more to his persona than what he presented to the public?
To me, Bourgoin’s story called out for closer examination because of its layered quality–it’s ultimately a true crime story about true crime.
In “Killer Lies,” you explore the motivations behind Bourgoin’s fabrications. What do you think was the driving force behind his need to create such an elaborate false identity?
One of the extraordinary things about Bourgoin’s deception is that it was unusually self-sustaining. Unlike most cons, it became easier to sustain the longer it went on, and, over the course of years, in pretending to be an expert of serial killers, he actually became one. So there was a professional motive. But – without wanting to indulge in too much armchair psychologizing – clearly he also had personal reasons for lying. I was struck by something he said after his lies came to fore. “Sometimes I make films in my head. I’ve always wanted to be loved,” he told an interviewer. He profited financially and reputationally from his fabrications, but I think that he also relied on them to enrich what would otherwise have been a much less grand and exciting life.
The series highlights the role of online sleuths in uncovering Bourgoin’s deceptions. How do you see the relationship between amateur investigators and professional journalists evolving, especially in the true crime genre?
In reporting the piece, I was building on information uncovered by an anonymous amateur collective called The 4th Eye, and I was blown away by the quality of their work. I think it’s the journalist’s professional duty to verify and re-verify every fact, and her ethical obligation to show care and avoid sensationalism, but the accuracy of a piece of information is more important to me than whether the person who uncovered it has a press card.
When you finally had a chance to catch up with Bourgoin, Joe did you prepare for the meeting and was he what you expected?
He hadn’t responded to earlier overtures, so I was shocked when he picked up the phone, gave me his address, and invited me to his house. But almost as soon as I arrived, I realized that the physical willingness to meet with me wasn’t going to entail a similar openness of spirit. Very early it became clear that we weren’t going to get anywhere. I had been immersed in the minutiae of his life and career for months, so I knew that he was lying to me, but I didn’t know whether that was because he thought I would believe him, or because he’d been telling the same lies for so long that he believed them. himself.
Given Bourgoin’s long-standing career and influence, what impact do you think the case has had on the true crime community?
Bourgoin was basically a one-man avatar of the true crime industry. He took every role in the repertoire — victim, perpetrator, investigator, law enforcement, media — and played them all at the same time, exploiting weaknesses in the system that he knew all too well.This story is important because it’s a case of the true crime industry giving birth to a con, rather than the other way around.
“Killer Lies” also touches on broader themes of human nature and cultural psychology. How did working on this story influence your understanding of why people are so drawn to true crime narratives?
I think people are drawn to true crime stories for the same reason they’re drawn to stories about shark attacks or climbing Mount Everest: they show people at the extremes of human experience.
IMAGE CREDIT: National Geographic