The 12th Victim

In 1958, a grisly string of murders terrified the Midwest as teenager Charles Starkweather killed 11 victims in Nebraska and Wyoming with his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, by his side.

As one of the first true-crime stories to unfold in real time on television, the widely covered Bonnie and Clyde-style narrative depicted Starkweather as a James Dean-wannabe and Fugate as his lascivious, bloodthirsty girlfriend.

Using archival and re-created footage, and interviews with those closest to the case, the crimes are reviewed to examine whether Fugate was a willing participant or an underage girl held hostage by Starkweather.