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The Best Episodes of The Real Murders of Orange County

Every episode of The Real Murders of Orange County ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Real Murders of Orange County!

The Best Episodes of The Real Murders of Orange County

Horrific and salacious cases rock Southern California's wealthy coastal community. From a murder-for-hire gone wrong to families turning on their own, viewers hear the harrowing...

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  1. 7.4/10(13 votes)

    #1 - Hometown Heartbreaker

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    S2:E6

    The promising trajectory of 17-year-old Diego Gonzalez from the city of Orange is cut tragically short when he is found shot to death and burned on a desolate road in 2003. Investigators must figure out who wanted this rising star athlete dead – and why.

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  2. 7.4/10(12 votes)

    #2 - Too Close for Comfort

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    S2:E7

    When cherished Laguna Niguel resident 72-year-old Jane Thompson is beaten to death in her townhome in 2004, detectives must peel back the layers of her life to get to the bottom of the murder mystery. Police soon discover a wolf in sheep’s clothing just around the corner.

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  3. 7.3/10(23 votes)

    #3 - Love Lost at Sea

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    S1:E3

    Thomas and Jackie Hawks live aboard their luxury yacht until their disappearance sparks an investigation that turns on the alleged sale of their yacht.

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  4. 7.3/10(11 votes)

    #4 - If I Can’t Have You…

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    S2:E1

    The 1999 brutal double-murder of two beloved pianists, Tom Whitney and Larry Wong, a gay couple, rocks a tranquil Irvine neighborhood. After weeks of twists and turns, the hunt for the killer leads detectives to the strangest of suspects.

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  5. 7.2/10(27 votes)

    #5 - Spoiled to Death

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    S1:E2

    The Sachs family seems to be living the OC life in their hilltop mansion when their family is suddenly torn apart by a vicious shooting in the middle of the night. Investigators reveal a surprising list of enemies who had the victims in their sights.

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  6. 7.2/10(9 votes)

    #6 - Nightmare in Laguna

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    S3:E1

    After a beloved party planner at an iconic Laguna Beach hotel is found murdered at home, investigators use high-tech tools and old-fashioned shoe leather to capture two killers and restore calm to the tight-knit beachside community.

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Real Murders of Orange County

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  8. 7.2/10(11 votes)

    #7 - Driven to Kill

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    S3:E2

    When two loyal employees at a family-owned mobile home business are gunned down at work, detectives are left with no hints towards a motive. A hunt for a missing car, however, finally reveals a killer driven by old-school Orange County intentions.

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  9. 7.1/10(11 votes)

    #8 - A Deadly Obsession

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    S2:E9

    Detectives get caught up in a dangerous game of cat and mouse when a young couple is brutally attacked in an upscale Placentia neighborhood.

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  10. 7.1/10(10 votes)

    #9 - Money, Lies, and Murder

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    S3:E6

    Investigators working on the cold case murder of a beloved Orange County millionaire uncover a box of old tape recordings that reveal long-buried secrets, leading them on a path to finally nail the killer.

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  11. 7.0/10(32 votes)

    #10 - Wrong Turn

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    S1:E1

    The execution-style murder of a Fountain Valley wife and mother shocks the OC, and leaves police with no leads on motive. The community bands together to find justice until a similar shooting reveals the truth behind a murder plot gone awry.

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  12. 7.0/10(19 votes)

    #11 - A Tale of Two Brothers

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    S1:E6

    The brutal murder of three members of a family in an old monied Fullerton enclave reverberates throughout the neighborhood and the rest of Orange County. The investigation reveals the family’s dark secrets and a tragically OC motive.

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  13. 7.0/10(10 votes)

    #12 - A Slow Death

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    S2:E2

    Well-known school board president, wife and mother Janet 'Jan' Overton, battling a mysterious illness, collapses and dies in her driveway in Dana Point in 1988. But when the coroner reclassifies her death as a homicide, investigators must unravel the cause behind her baffling demise.

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  14. 7.0/10(12 votes)

    #13 - Lethal Lies

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    S3:E4

    A young woman tells her mom she's going out for a night with friends and never returns home in a puzzling case that went cold for nine heartbreaking years until a shocking confession breaks the case wide open and exposes the brutal missing piece.

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  15. 7.0/10(11 votes)

    #14 - Christmas Catastrophe

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    S3:E5

    When a wealthy churchgoing woman is found murdered in her bedroom just a week before Christmas, investigators initially believe this is a robbery gone wrong. The painstaking investigation, however, uncovers a killer much closer to home.

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  16. 6.9/10(20 votes)

    #15 - A Deadly Double Life

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    S1:E5

    Keeping up appearances is key in the OC, but when the Stahls are found shot to death on the side of the Ortega Highway, the façade turns deadly. The case leads detectives down a dark path through a series of scandalous and twisted love triangles.

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  17. 6.8/10(10 votes)

    #16 - American Nightmare

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    S2:E3

    A Taiwanese jet-setting tech millionaire Jim Peng finds himself at the center of the 1993 double murder investigation of his much younger Chinese girlfriend Ranbing 'Jennifer' Ji and their baby boy Kevin in Mission Viejo. But what detectives uncover shocks everyone – including the tycoon in the middle of it all.

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  18. 6.8/10(13 votes)

    #17 - Blood Money

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    S2:E5

    Three people - Bill King, his wife Renee King, and friend Clyde Oatts - are brutally gunned down in the Kings' gold coin shop in swanky Newport Beach in 1989; Bill King was shot multiple times, once in the head, but eventually was the only survivor while the other two died at the scene. With little to go on, detectives slowly piece together a murder plot that didn’t exactly turn out as planned.

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  19. 6.8/10(12 votes)

    #18 - Wrong Place, Wrong Time

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    S3:E3

    When a handsome hockey player and a single mom are found dead in an upscale Newport Beach condo, loved ones have no idea how they knew each other. The discovery of a link to another area attack launches the race to catch a killer.

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  20. 6.7/10(18 votes)

    #19 - Sleeping with the Enemy

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    S1:E8

    A rising star financial whiz is brutally murdered in his seaside Huntington Beach home where the only witness, his wife Dixie, was also assaulted. After years of determined and methodical investigation, the shocking true killer is revealed.

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  21. 6.7/10(11 votes)

    #20 - A Grave Mistake

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    S2:E8

    The disappearance of 62-year-old divorcee and mom Carolyn Avdeef in 2005 sends her Lake Forest neighbors and loved ones into a tailspin. The search for answers leads investigators through three states with a dramatic conclusion no one saw coming.

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  22. 6.7/10(11 votes)

    #21 - Jewels And Jinxes

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    S2:E10

    Investigators uncover unusual suspects and an even more unusual motive after a local Santa Ana jewellery salesman goes missing and is presumed dead.

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  23. 6.7/10(7 votes)

    #22 - Stolen Youth

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    S3:E9

    In March 1985, 23-year-old wife, mother and stepmother Linda Bailey Brown is shot and killed in her own bed in Garden Grove in what seems to be a sudden crime of rage. Her husband David says his 14-year-old daughter Cinnamon shot her stepmother and ran off. But, the true killer is shockingly revealed years later to be a twisted master of manipulation.

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  24. 6.6/10(24 votes)

    #23 - The King of Orange County

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    S1:E4

    The larger-than-life owner of a strip club empire is mowed down with a machine gun before the gates of his Orange County estate. The secrecy surrounding the clubs and their employees makes the case extremely challenging for investigators.

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  25. 6.6/10(12 votes)

    #24 - Murders, Mobsters, and the Mustang

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    S2:E4

    When wealthy Buena Park entrepreneur Jimmy Casino is violently executed and his girlfriend, Shelly Fisher, is raped on January 2, 1987, investigators are faced with a mystery that spans decades. Detectives ultimately uncover a web of murder, mayhem, and mobsters.

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  26. 6.6/10(7 votes)

    #25 - Campus Killer

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    S3:E7

    When an ambitious college student is stabbed to death after a campus concert, the brutality of the attack leads police to believe it must have been personal. The resolution nine years later, however, proves darker than anyone could have imagined.

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Best Episodes Summary

"Hometown Heartbreaker" is the best rated episode of "The Real Murders of Orange County". It scored 7.4/10 based on 13 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 12/26/2021. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Too Close for Comfort".