Season 1 – Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice

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stephen c @Bertaut 06/25/2020 An engaging if not especially convincing series Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice focuses on the Smiley Face Murder Theory as developed by retired NYPD detectives Kevin Gannon, Anthony Duarte, and Mike Donovan, and criminal justice professor Dr. Lee Gilbertson. In essence, they believe that over 40 men found dead in bodies of water across the American Midwest from the late 1990s to the present did not accidentally drown, as ruled by law enforcement, but were the victims of a group of serial killers operating in cells and co-ordinating their activities via the dark web. In every case, the victim is a Caucasian male in his early 20s. A common element across 22 of the cases is graffiti depicting a smiley face near locations where the bodies may have been dumped into the water. Hunt for Justice examines six such cases, and although it does a very good job of arguing that these deaths were homicides, it's weak when it comes to connecting them all to the same killer(s). The show is at its strongest when examining why these six cases were not accidental, turning up all kinds of evidence. So, for example, Dakota James (23) shows little to no decomposition despite supposedly being in the water for 40 days. Luke Homan (21) supposedly got into an altercation the night he disappeared. Police checked the other man's van and a cadaver dog gave a positive ID for blood, but police let the van go, and never followed up. Will Hurley (24) showed evidence of blunt impact to the head and lower extremities. Brian Welzien (21) was also shown to have very little alcohol in his system, but was seen on security footage throwing up multiple times. Tommy Booth (24) was found in a creek behind the bar from which he disappeared despite it being searched just 24 hours prior. Todd Geib (22) was found upright in the water and several days after his funeral, a smiley face sticker was placed on his headstone. It's all very well presented, both fascinating and intriguing, and for the most part, pretty convincing. But if that's where the show is at its strongest, however, it's at its weakest when attempting to prove that a group of serial killers are behind these six deaths. It fails to address the three biggest problems with the theory – 1) smiley face graffiti is some of the most common, and can be found almost anywhere where there's significant graffiti, 2) none of the smiley faces look anything like any of the others; they're painted in different styles, different sizes, using different paints and different colours, and 3) the lack of specificity in terms of the smiley faces being found "near" where the body may have entered the water is compounded by the fact that the identification of these locations in the first place is based on nothing other than speculation. All things considered, although Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice makes a very strong case that these six men were murdered, that they were all murdered by the same killers is a theory for which it provides zero evidence. It's provocative, and as a call to reopen cases that should never have been closed, it's compelling. But as evidence of a group of serial killers, it lacks anything substantial. See more 02/24/2019 The 4 detectives on this series have lack of knowledge of forensics and postmortem changes. Most of the deaths they presented were in the winter months. Every case they stated the bodies should have been decomposed to a higher extent and that alone was suspicous on its own. When it is so cold outside, the rate of decomposition slows dramatically, and their time tables are off. Also in a few of the episodes they state rigor should be absent after 24 hours. This is not true at all. It may take 12-24 hours in most cases to get to full-rigor, than you slowly go out of rigor. Again climate plays a role in this as well. Some other "findings" that the detectives say is very relavent could have easy explaination. In one episode, one mans belt loops wer torn so they believe this person was drug by the murderer and placed in the water. How was that body recovered from the scene? Many times ropes will be wrapped around the body or to pant loops to get them out of the water, which could easily tear the loops. The producers and detectives on this show make a lot of assumptions. Having 10 years in forensics makes it hard to watch this series because so much information and "findings" just aren't correct. See more Read all reviews

Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice — Season 1

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