Stéphane Bourgoin was known as France’s leading expert on serial killers for over 30 years. During his tenure, he interviewed 77 murderers, including Charles Manson. He trained at the FBI base in Quantico, Virginia, and wrote over 40 best-selling books about various violent deaths. He was a regular guest on French television shows and true crime documentaries. Bourgoin’s fascination with murder was personal. His wife was murdered in 1976.

But in reality, Bourgoin lied about almost everything. Although he wasn’t a serial killer, Bourgoin was a serial liar. He never actually spoke to Charles Manson, and he interviewed no more than 70 serial killers; more like 30. He also never trained with the FBI, and his wife, Eileen, wasn’t murdered. She didn’t even exist. Eileen, it turns out, was Susan Bickrest, a woman Bourgoin had met before she was murdered by a serial killer in 1975.

In the National Geographic film “Killer Lies: Chasing a True Crime Con Man,” director Ben Selkow investigates Bourgoin’s web of lies and how he got away with it.

The three-part series is based on Lauren Collins’ 2022 New Yorker article “The Unraveling of an Expert on Serial Killers.” In addition to Bourgoin, the series profiles the group of online sleuths (the 4th Eye) responsible for Bourgoin’s downfall, while also exploring the explosive growth of the lucrative true crime industry. Featuring forensically re-examined archival footage and interviews with Collins, members of the 4th Eye, and Bourgoin himself, the docuseries is an exploration of human nature and cultural psychology.