The Best Episodes of How It Really Happened
Every episode of How It Really Happened ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of How It Really Happened!
Jesse L. Martin takes an in-depth look at some of the most notorious crimes, mysteries, trials and celebrity tragedies of our time.
Top Episode Ratings Summary
The best episode of "How It Really Happened" is "Lorena Bobbitt: Tick Tick Boom", rated 8.8/10 from 5 user votes. It was directed by N/A and written by N/A. "Lorena Bobbitt: Tick Tick Boom" aired on 10/2/2022 and is rated 0.3 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Ted Bundy Part 3: The Murder Trials".
8.8/10 5 votes#1 - Lorena Bobbitt: Tick Tick Boom
Season 7 Episode 8 - Aired 2022-10-02
In the dark hours of June 23, 1993, in Manassas, Virginia, a man lies fast asleep on his bed, while a woman looms over his prone body with a kitchen knife and proceeds to slice off his manhood. A stunning end to the broken marriage of Lorena and John Bobbitt, but what outrageous situation led two young people to a horrifying silent scream in the night?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/10 11 votes
#2 - Ted Bundy Part 3: The Murder Trials
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 2018-10-14
The murder trials and appeals. Ted Bundy helped prepare his own defense, but would his amateur lawyering help him beat the rap or send him to the electric chair?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/10 11 votes
#3 - Ted Bundy Part 4: The Death Row Confessions
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 2018-10-14
Ted Bundy maintains his innocence. As the clock wound down on his final death warrant, Ted Bundy made a last attempt to save his life. He began to talk. Were his confessions too late or a could this save him from the electric chair?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/10 11 votes
#4 - Susan Smith: Someone Stole My Babies (Part 1)
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 2019-08-25
On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith reports that a carjacker has abducted her two young sons, Michael and Alexander. This report sets off a nationwide search for the boys. While the world waits for news about the boys, investigators deliver shocking news.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/10 14 votes
#5 - The Boston Marathon: Reconstructing the Crime Scene Pt. 1
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 2020-09-13
On April 15th, 2013, two bombs explode during the iconic Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and injuring hundreds of others. In a race against time, investigators, using state-of-the-art technology, circulate images to the public of the two suspects dubbed "black hat" and "white hat."
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/10 14 votes
#6 - The Boston Marathon: The Manhunt Pt. 2
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 2020-09-13
With the Boston Bombing suspects identified as domestic terrorist brothers, the manhunt begins, a terrifying crime spree ensues, and new information sheds light on the heinous crime.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/10 12 votes
#7 - Finding Susan Powell: What the Children Saw (Part 2)
Season 6 Episode 2 - Aired 2021-03-14
Authorities search for missing mother of two, Susan Powell, in every nook and cranny of the desert in Western Utah while her friends and family wait for a break in the case. Her husband Josh is named a person of interest as suspicion about his involvement in her disappearance grows. He and his father wage a counter-attack and a war between Susan and Josh's families erupts in the glare of the public spotlight. Shocking revelations about Josh and his family come to light--evidence of violence, obsession and sexual perversion. The family drama leads up to a shocking and unimaginable conclusion.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10 16 votes
#8 - The Menendez Brothers: Murder in Beverly Hills: The Aftermath
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 2017-01-27
Lyle Menendez speaks from behind bars to Chris Cuomo, more than 25 years after he and his brother Erik were convicted of first degree murder.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10 12 votes
#9 - Ted Bundy Part 2: Ted Escapes
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 2018-10-07
While serving time for aggravated kidnapping in Utah and facing first degree murder charges in Colorado, Ted Bundy escaped not once but twice from authorities.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10 10 votes
#10 - The Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart: Hiding in Plain Sight (Part 2)
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 2019-08-18
For nine months, in 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart is the most famous missing child in America. Kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell, she was forced up into a hiding spot in the mountains behind her home, assaulted and forced to be his second "wife." Following the harrowing of her nine month ordeal, including the multiple trips they took to Salt Lake City where she was hidden in plain sight. And the unbelievable end, one of the most incredible kidnapping recoveries in U.S. history.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/10 9 votes
#11 - Susan Smith: The Shocking Truth (Part 2)
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 2019-08-25
For nine days, the nation waits for news as to the whereabouts of missing 3-year-Michael and 14-month-old Alex Smith. Then, there's a shocking break in the case. The boys' father, David, shares his heartbreaking story.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 19 votes
#12 - The Casey Anthony Story Part 1
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 2017-10-15
In 2008, two-year-old Florida toddler, Caylee Anthony, vanishes. Her mother, Casey Anthony tells investigators Caylee has been kidnapped by her nanny, a woman Casey's family has never actually seen. But why?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 10 votes
#13 - Jodi Arias Part 1: Sex, Lies and Photographs
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 2018-10-21
Jodi Arias is a small town waitress and aspiring photographer. Travis Alexander is a handsome, devout Mormon and successful businessman. Almost two years after their romance began, Travis was found brutally murdered in his shower at home.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 6 votes
#14 - Jodi Arias Part 2: Dirty Little Secret
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 2018-10-21
Four years after the vicious killing of Travis Alexander, his ex-girlfriend Jodi Arias stands trial for his murder. Millions of people are captivated by the lurid details of Jodi and Travis' erotic relationship told through photographs, recordings of their phone sex, and by Jodi from the witness stand.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 9 votes
#15 - The Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart (Part 1)
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 2019-08-18
On June 5th, 2002, Elizabeth Smart is kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home, snatched from her bed at knifepoint by a mysterious man in the middle of the night. To the public it seemed as if she had vanished into thin air, but she was actually taken by Brian David Mitchell, a 48-year-old pedophile. A look at the unbelievable nine month saga with its unforeseeable twists and turns, a police investigation that went sideways, and a family fighting to keep hope alive.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 11 votes
#16 - Drew Peterson: Killer Charm
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 2019-09-01
On Oct. 28, 2007, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, the wife of veteran police sergeant Drew Peterson, goes missing. As police launch an intensive search to find Stacy, the case raises shocking new questions about her husband.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 14 votes
#17 - The Bombing of Oklahoma City: The Explosion (Part 1)
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 2019-09-15
On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a 26-year-old U.S. army veteran, detonated a 7,000 pound truck bomb outside the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, claiming the lives of 168 innocent people.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 13 votes
#18 - The Bombing of Oklahoma City: McVeigh's Shocking Confession (Part 2)
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 2019-09-15
In an exclusive prison interview, Timothy McVeigh himself describes how events in his personal life - and in the ever-changing world around him - inspired him to take action against his fellow Americans.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10 12 votes
#19 - The Dartmouth Murders: Evil in a Small Town
Season 6 Episode 8 - Aired 2021-04-11
They were well-known and well-liked Dartmouth College professors. But on January 27th 2001, Half and Suzanne Zantop's incredible lives came to a shocking and unforeseeable end: found brutally murdered in their remote Hanover, New Hampshire home. The double killing quickly became national news. Who would commit such a heinous act, and more importantly, why? With few leads and few clues at the get-go, investigators were stumped. But some good old fashioned police work would lead detectives to a small town just across the border in Vermont--where they found an incredibly unexpected twist to this 'whodunit' mystery.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10 19 votes
#20 - The Menendez Brothers: Murder in Beverly Hills, Part 1
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 2017-01-27
HLN highlights the shocking motive that turned these brothers into killers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10 14 votes
#21 - The Strange Case of Jeffrey Dahmer
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2017-03-31
The chilling account of a man who survived his encounter with the notorious serial killer, who managed to evade police scrutiny for years.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10 14 votes
#22 - The Casey Anthony Story (Part 2)
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 2017-10-15
In 2008, two-year-old Florida toddler, Caylee Anthony, vanishes. Her mother, Casey Anthony tells investigators Caylee has been kidnapped by her nanny, a woman Casey's family has never actually seen. But why?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10 17 votes
#23 - Did Scott Peterson Murder Laci? (Part 1)
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 2017-12-10
A tale of murder, adultery, courtroom drama, and ultimately the death penalty. The story of Scott and Laci Peterson as told by those who lived it. Did Scott Peterson murder Laci?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10 13 votes
#24 - Did Scott Peterson Murder Laci? (Part 2)
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 2017-12-10
A tale of murder, adultery, courtroom drama, and ultimately the death penalty. The story of Scott and Laci Peterson as told by those who lived it. Did Scott Peterson murder Laci?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/10 13 votes
#25 - Ted Bundy Part 1: The Girls Are Missing
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 2018-10-07
In the winter of 1974, college-age women from the Pacific Northwest began to disappear seemingly without a trace.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A