Murder by the Coast
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Murder by the Coast
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this Spanish documentary (in Spanish with English subtitles) importantly demonstrates the role widespread homophobia in a coastal town played in the wrongful murder conviction of a lesbian suspect. Lack of evidence did not prevent the frenzied negative media coverage from portraying a woman who later proved to be innocent as a murderer simply because she diverged from accepted norms of the 1990s. Young viewers may be dismayed to see how that prejudice dissuaded authorities from looking further for the actual killer, a man who went on to kill again. Brutal murders and sexual assaults dating to the 1980s are described. Victims were stabbed and undressed and hidden in secluded spots. Language includes "hell."
Community Reviews
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
MURDER BY THE COAST revisits the 1999 murder of a Spanish teenage girl Rocio Wanninkhof and that crime's aftermath. Her death creates a media frenzy that results in the arrest and conviction, without any evidence, of the lesbian ex-lover of the girl's mom. Homophobic bias and stereotypes about violent tendencies in "masculine" women" lead a jury to send an innocent woman to jail. When a strikingly similar crime is committed nearby, police discover DNA and other evidence that exonerates the convicted woman and points a spotlight on the police and community attitudes that led to the miscarriage of justice and allowed another innocent girl to be killed. The actual killer is apprehended.
Is It Any Good?
While Murder by the Coast exposes the unfairness of a police investigation based on homophobic bias, it otherwise presents its subjects in a fairly routine, bland, and unimaginative manner. Like any number of other documentaries about murders, this one relies on TV news clips and headlines from newspapers of the time, as if the filmmakers were following a step-by-step guide on how to make a generic documentary. Lots of slow pans of the bedrooms of dead girls and overhead shots of local fields and roadways are used as visual filler, adding nothing while the audio of talking-head interviews runs.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the ongoing pain of parents and loved ones who lose a child to senseless murder. How can families of victims heal from their loss?
Why do you think it took so long for the police to capture the actual perpetrator?
Why do you think the police were willing to arrest someone based on no evidence and a jury was willing to convict a defendant without evidence?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 23, 2021
- Director: Tania Ballo
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Documentary
- Run time: 88 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- Last updated: March 31, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
-
Why Did You Kill Me?
Mom tracks daughter's killer; violence, language, drugs
-
The Staircase
Groundbreaking true crime documentary is still compelling.
-
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
Chilling, graphic crime docu has violence, swearing.
-
American Murder: The Family Next Door
Murders, strong language in disturbing true-crime docu.
For kids who love true stories
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate