The WORST episodes of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
Every episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered!
For more than 25 years, ``Dateline'' has brought viewers investigations into some of biggest mysteries in America. This entry in the franchise takes a second look at some of the most mysterious cases of recent history. Hosted by Emmy-winning journalist Craig Melvin, the show explores the stories through firsthand accounts told by people who are close to the crime, including investigators who dedicated their time to the cases and family members who are still trying to confront the tragedies that befell their loved ones.
#1 - The Woman at the Bar
Season 16 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/25/2026
A massive manhunt ensues after Lois Riess murders her husband in Minnesota and flees to Florida, where she kills and steals the identity of a woman she had just met
#2 - Hit List
Season 16 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/18/2026
New details come to light in an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting a former NYC police officer's husband; the officer's ex-boyfriend and other insiders close to the case speak out in exclusive TV interviews.
#3 - The Charleston Affair
Season 16 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/11/2026
A week before a wealthy banker's divorce was set to reach a settlement, an ex-con says he was hired to murder someone in the family.
#4 - The Case of a Man with no name
Season 16 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/4/2026
The investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a Canadian man sparks an international manhunt for an elusive killer with multiple false identities.
#5 - Who Killed Mindy Morgenstern?
Season 16 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/28/2026
A quiet North Dakota college town is left in fear after student Mindy Morgenstern is found murdered in her off-campus apartment.
#6 - Who killed Courtney Coco?
Season 16 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/21/2026
The discovery of a young woman's body in an abandoned building in rural Texas sparks a multi-state investigation lasting nearly two decades.
#7 - Behind Door 813
Season 16 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/14/2026
After 27-year-old Jonathan Crews dies mysteriously in his Texas apartment, his family takes matters into their own hands in an effort to find answers.
#8 - A deal with the Devil
Season 16 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/7/2026
A notorious serial killer, nicknamed Hannibal, murders several people while working as a confidential informant for the FBI.
#9 - The Road Trip
Season 14 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/26/2025
When Dr. Teresa Sievers is found murdered in her kitchen, detectives struggle to find any leads until an unexpected tip changes everything; the woman who helped investigators speaks out.
#10 - Far from Spider Lake
Season 13 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/10/2024
A 40 year old Minnesota woman is shot to death in her bed while her husband and teenage daughter are home, leaving investigators to wonder who would want her dead.
#11 - Something Sweet
Season 10 - Episode 57 - Aired 6/8/2022
On a warm August day, Ray Kotomski quenched his thirst with a cool drink. Kotomski was dead within hours. Investigators had to figure out what killed the happily retired Pennsylvania man, and also whether this was even a crime at all.
#12 - Down the Basement Stairs
Season 14 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/27/2024
When young mother and paramedic Annamarie Cochrane Rintala is found dead at the bottom of her basement stairs, it takes four trials and 13 years before justice is served. Dennis Murphy reports.
#13 - What Lies Beneath
Season 10 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/29/2021
Investigators go to unexpected depths to solve the mystery of missing Lynn Friend, a devoted mother who had wedding plans when she vanished.
#14 - A Shot in the Dark
Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/28/2019
#15 - Under a Halloween Moon
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/13/2019
It is just before Halloween; Joel Lovelien and his fiancé head to a local bar packed with people in costume; Joel steps outside and walks into a troubling mystery.
#16 - Shattered Bonds
Season 12 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/10/2024
A car belonging to a missing man erupts in a blaze, leading to clues regarding his whereabouts.
#17 - A Family's Story
Season 11 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/24/2023
Two years after the disappearance of his wife, Josh Powell kills his two sons and himself. Watch Josh's last in-depth TV interview. Plus, a 911 dispatcher discusses the emergency call placed by a social worker.
#18 - Deadly Secret
Season 11 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/4/2023
Before the Menendez brothers, the Bobbitts or even O.J., Pamela Smart was television's first true-crime fascination; Smart's husband was found murdered and when police began to investigate, they discovered that she was keeping a big secret.
#19 - The Last Mile
Season 14 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/18/2024
A month after Mollie Tibbetts' disappearance in Iowa, investigators discover surveillance video that captures a blurred image of Mollie jogging while being followed by a mysterious black car.
#20 - Deadly Liaisons
Season 11 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/31/2023
She was a small-town girl from rural Wisconsin; he was a Chicago superstar, a hometown hero with the legendary Bears; together, they were expecting their first child, but no one was expecting their tale to end in the deadly way that it did.
#21 - Someone Was Watching
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/1/2018
In a plot straight out of an Alfred Hitchcock film, a woman peers into a neighbor's yard and catches a glimpse of something unsettling; she sets into motion a chain of events that will divide a family and a jury.
#22 - Return to Manitowoc County
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/2018
In Wisconsin, Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, are convicted of killing Teresa Halbach in a case that defies easy answers.
#23 - Righteous Obsession
Season 15 - Episode 12 - Aired 8/20/2025
The investigation into a deadly home invasion involving a local business owner takes a turn when an unlikely witness comes forward; new details emerge from exclusive interviews and never-before-seen police interviews.
#24 - The Face of Evil
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/9/2018
As detectives struggle to find leads in the murder of a college student, the perpetrator strikes again.
#25 - The Killing in Cobb County
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/29/2019
It is a story of obsession that boiled over into a brutal crime. Right away, one woman said she knew what happened. Yet, it took years to bring the alleged killer to trial and the verdict was far from the end of this case.