How It Really Happened

The Best Episodes of How It Really Happened

Genres:CrimeMysteryDocumentary
Networks:CNNHLN

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.
Episodes
88
Avg. Rating
NaN
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
8.0
7.8
7.9
7.5
8.3
7.6
7.9
7.6
7.1
7.3
8.1
7.5

Filter By Season9

  1. 8.6/10(12 votes)

    #1 - Susan Smith: Someone Stole My Babies (Part 1)

    Loading...
    S4:E5

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  2. 8.5/10(10 votes)

    #2 - Susan Smith: The Shocking Truth (Part 2)

    Loading...
    S4:E6

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  3. 8.4/10(7 votes)

    #3 - Gardner Art Heist: Stealing Beauty

    Loading...
    S8:E5

    Saint Patrick's Day 1990, robbers stormed Boston's Gardner Museum, making off with 13 priceless artworks, never to be recovered. Valued at half a billion dollars, the whereabouts of the missing pieces remain a mystery.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  4. 8.3/10(21 votes)

    #4 - The Menendez Brothers: Murder in Beverly Hills: Part 2

    Loading...
    S1:E2

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  5. 8.2/10(12 votes)

    #5 - Jodi Arias Part 1: Sex, Lies and Photographs

    Loading...
    S3:E5

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  6. 8.1/10(17 votes)

    #6 - Capturing the Unabomber

    Loading...
    S1:E15

    David Kaczynski, the brother of convicted Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, discusses the hunt that led to the capture of his infamous sibling.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of How It Really Happened

    READ
  8. 8.1/10(18 votes)

    #7 - The Strange Case of the Killer Nanny

    Loading...
    S2:E6

    An eight-month-old baby is fatally injured while in the care of a family's au pair, Louise Woodward. Was it child abuse or a tragic accident? Doctors suspect the former, a case of 'shaken impact syndrome,' and detectives arrest the infant's 19-year-old British nanny who cared for him in the hours and minutes before his demise. But, was the baby's death a case of intentional murder or a tragic accident that occurred under Woodward's watch?

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  9. 8.1/10(13 votes)

    #8 - Ted Bundy Part 3: The Murder Trials

    Loading...
    S3:E3

    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?

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  10. 8.1/10(13 votes)

    #9 - Ted Bundy Part 4: The Death Row Confessions

    Loading...
    S3:E4

    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?

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  11. 8.1/10(14 votes)

    #10 - Finding Susan Powell: What the Children Saw (Part 2)

    Loading...
    S6:E2

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  12. 8.1/10(9 votes)

    #11 - Lorena Bobbitt: Tick Tick Boom

    Loading...
    S7:E8

    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?

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  13. 8.1/10(11 votes)

    #12 - Titanic (1): A Clear and Starry Night

    Loading...
    S8:E1

    The fateful Titanic shipwreck of 1912 intertwines with a recent underwater OceanGate voyage that cost more human lives. Interviews with historians, wreck analysts, and descendants of Titanic passengers shed light on both tragedies.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  14. 8.0/10(25 votes)

    #13 - The Menendez Brothers: Murder in Beverly Hills, Part 1

    Loading...
    S1:E1

    HLN highlights the shocking motive that turned these brothers into killers.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  15. 8.0/10(12 votes)

    #14 - DC Madam: The Woman Who Knew Too Much

    Loading...
    S1:E17

    Deborah Jean Palfrey threatened to expose names on her client list and was found hanging on her mother's property.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  16. 8.0/10(8 votes)

    #15 - Jodi Arias Part 2: Dirty Little Secret

    Loading...
    S3:E6

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  17. 8.0/10(11 votes)

    #16 - David Cassidy: Fatal Secret

    Loading...
    S4:E8

    Actor-musician David Cassidy ("The Partridge Family") experiences the pressures of fame as a teen idol in the 1970s. In the end, his death is surrounded by mystery, leaving his family, friends and fans with more questions than answers.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  18. 8.0/10(16 votes)

    #17 - The Bombing of Oklahoma City: McVeigh's Shocking Confession (Part 2)

    Loading...
    S4:E10

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  19. 8.0/10(8 votes)

    #18 - Titanic (2): The Last Moments

    Loading...
    S8:E2

    Recent scientific advances have uncovered new secrets around the Titanic sinking, challenging previous notions about the ship's fate. This chapter continues to analyze the wreck and a recent underwater expedition that claimed more lives.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  20. 8.0/10(5 votes)

    #19 - Oscar Pistorius: The Bladerunner

    Loading...
    S8:E4

    The shocking killing of Reeva Steenkamp by Olympic superstar Oscar Pistorius on Valentine's Day 2013 shattered the illusion of a storybook romance between a celebrated Hollywood couple. Was it a terrible accident or a callous murder?

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  21. 7.9/10(16 votes)

    #20 - Ted Bundy Part 1: The Girls Are Missing

    Loading...
    S3:E1

    In the winter of 1974, college-age women from the Pacific Northwest began to disappear seemingly without a trace.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  22. 7.9/10(14 votes)

    #21 - Ted Bundy Part 2: Ted Escapes

    Loading...
    S3:E2

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  23. 7.9/10(14 votes)

    #22 - Selena: Fatal Encounter

    Loading...
    S3:E8

    Behind the scenes of Selena's red hot career, ambitions, and tragic demise. Rare interviews include her close friend and co-fashion designer, the back-up singer in her band, and for the first time ever, a nurse who spoke to Selena and her killer just before she died.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  24. 7.9/10(13 votes)

    #23 - Drew Peterson: Killer Charm

    Loading...
    S4:E7

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  25. 7.9/10(17 votes)

    #24 - The Bombing of Oklahoma City: The Explosion (Part 1)

    Loading...
    S4:E9

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  26. 7.9/10(16 votes)

    #25 - The Boston Marathon: Reconstructing the Crime Scene Pt. 1

    Loading...
    S5:E7

    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."

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A

Best Episodes Summary

"Susan Smith: Someone Stole My Babies (Part 1)" is the best rated episode of "How It Really Happened". It scored 8.6/10 based on 12 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 8/25/2019. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Susan Smith: The Shocking Truth (Part 2)".