Our inaugural NYC edition of our true crime festival is this week. You will recognize some names. You might not know everyone. This primer should give you a good idea why we’ve assembled some of the best and brightest investigators, authors, podcasters and wrongfully accused.
THINGS YOU MIGHT’VE MISSED AND NOW YOU WILL REGRET IT FOREVER! DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE!
March 20
Opening Party (Monster) @ Bar Schimmi
We’re not addicted to drugs, we’re addicted to glamour! If you don’t want to be like all the drearies and normies, then be sure to join us tonight at Schimanski’s side room, Bar Schimmi!
Our friends from MixMag are helping us throw down for our OFFICAL Death Becomes Us: True Crime Festival Opening Party feat. Jellybean Benitez, Mixmag Allstars + more TBA! 90’s NYC Club Kids inspired America’s favorite feel-good movie, Party Monster, and while rave attire is not required, it is STRONGLY SUGGESTED! (We’re giving you a free pass to dress up on a Wednesday, FFS, so do it up right!)
The best part? IT’S FREE! Just be sure to RSVP to ensure your name is on the list. First come first served!
PLEASE NOTE: This event is open to ALL Death Becomes Us Festival Pass Holders who are 21+
March 21
Damien Echols in Conversation with Dave Hill @ Gramercy Theatre
Before you see Echols, read our interview with Damien Echols about magick:
My interest in magick started when I was seven-years-old. My family is almost completely illiterate. I don’t think I ever saw any of them reading a book. They would read the National Enquirer. I remember seeing an ad on the back of one advertising for a book that said “Send away $5.95 and we’ll send you a book to learn magic!” I remember thinking “Oh my God, this is the most important thing in the world.”
Before you attend How To Solve A Murder, read our Why True Crime interview with Billy Jensen:
I just want to know about the other victims, how to help them. When they found DeAngelo a switch turned off. I didn’t care about him anymore and this was a guy I’d seen looking for for two years while helping finish Michelle’s book. A switch turned off and I was like “Fuck this guy. What other victims are there that we don’t know about?” And that’s where my entire focus went with that case. He’s not talking anyway and I don’t think he ever will. I started writing strictly unsolved crimes for a couple reasons but you can’t just go to a newspaper and say you just want to do unsolved because you’d never work. I became an editor so I could do what I wanted.
THINGS WHICH ARE STILL IN THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY RE: ATTENDANCE! GRAB TICKETS BEFORE THEY’RE GONE FOR ALL ETERNITY!
March 22
HLN Night – Forensic Files Uncorked with Wine & Crime Gals @ Gramercy Theatre
March 23
Before you attend Wrongfully Accused, read Law & Disorder
John Douglas is responsible for all of this. Without him, we don’t have the FBI’s Criminal Profiling Program, The Silence of the Lambs or Hannibal and the West Memphis Three might still be behind bars. It’s not surprising Mindhunter was turned into a television show more than 20 years after its initial publication. He’s a fascinating man with a background that would make most cringe. One of his most recent works, Law and Disorder, has chapters about two of the other people on this bill, Amanda Knox and Damien Echols. If you’re a fan of Douglas or just fascinated in his life’s work, this will be the highlight of the festival.
Martinis & Murder LIVE @ Gramercy Theatre
Before you hit up M&M LIVE, get caught up on all Daryn Carp ‘n John Thrasher’s podcast episodes right here! The series covers a new murder case every week in a way that isn’t so gruesome and scary, so whether you’re a full-blown true crime fan or somebody who just wants to dip their toes in, you’re gonna be stoked on this one! Totally relatable, aside from like, maybe Matt the Bartender, who serves us up drinks in a giant reindeer mask. (But who hasn’t done that?!)
So CLEARLY grab tickets for all of the above reasons, but also because this show is “the best value of all time! You get a free cocktail AND a take-home martini glass with each $12 ticket!” – Megan Burns, fan of alcohol and commemorative items!
Presented in partnership with Oxygen Media.
Tinder Live – True Crime Edition! @ Gramercy Theatre
Before you attend read our Dating Tips From Cold Case Investigator (and Tinder Live Guest) Paul Holes and our interview with host Lane Moore:
One of my favorite parts of the panel is sometimes they’re able to see things I miss. I’m doing 60,000 things at once during the show and it’s really nice to have people who are like “Oh my God I just noticed this one guy is wearing the same shirt in every photo,” so it’s like “He only owns one shirt.”
March 24
Monster Live – From Atlanta to The Zodiac @ Gramercy Theatre
If you don’t know Up and Vanished, Payne Lindsey’s hit podcast about the disappearance of beauty queen and school teacher Tara Grinstead, you might want to double check that YOU haven’t up and vanished. After the success of U&V, Lindsey launched Atlanta Monster last year, which focused on the Atlanta Child Murders that occurred between 1979 and 1981, resulting in the death of at least 28 people, mostly children. The current season of Monster is focusing on The Zodiac, and we invite you to join us for a Death Becomes Us exclusive live recording of an episode of Monster complete with a sneak preview of the season finale. This will be followed by a Q&A with host Matt Frederick, Michael Butterfield, Meredith Stedman, Payne Lindsey and Donald Albright. Don’t miss it!
Murder She Wrote: The Ladies of True Crime @ Gramercy Theatre
