In the early 1980s, Henry Lee Lucas was already in a Texas prison for three murders, including the killing of his mother, when he confessed to hundreds more. His claims brought closure to unsolved crimes and grieving families across the country. The media referred to Lucas as a "killing machine" and the "most prolific" serial killer in history.
However, there was little hard evidence to back up Lucas' confessions, and DNA testing has since disproven his involvement in many of the murders he claimed to have committed. In The Confession Killer, a new 5-part docuseries set to air on Netflix on December 6, filmmakers Robert Kenner and Taki Oldham explore how a one-eyed, toothless drifter with a low IQ was able to manipulate a flawed justice system and become a media sensation.
The chilling new trailer for Netflix's latest true crime binge is below.