In 1991 in the town of Munnsville, NY (population 499), 65-year-old William Ward was found dead in his home. Munnsville is a rural farming community hours away from any traditional idea of civilization (that would be Syracuse). William wasn't a young man and he had been ill for some time, so his death didn't spark any serious investigation. Add to that the fact that he lived in a tiny house with his three brothers, who were as close to social outcasts as a family in a town of less than 500 people can be, and it's no surprise that the authorities from the big city didn't come running.

But then the autopsy showed signs that Ward may not have died of completely natural causes. And then his brother, Delbert, with whom he shared a bed, was arrested on suspicion of murder. And then Delbert, who along with his other three brothers was nearly illiterate, signed away his rights with a formal confession to the crime. And then the rest of the country started to take notice.

It was here that Joe Berlinger and his filmmaking team stepped in and began to investigate the case with their cameras in tow. The result was Brother's Keeper, what can be semi-formally pronounced as the first true crime documentary—in the modern sense of the word. This was before Court TV came (and went) and it was the very first time that the unfolding of a complicated murder trial captured a nation. It's been over 25 years since the Ward Brothers' story played out on the big screen and the true crime genre has only become more and more of an obsession. (In fact, obsession would be the understatement of the year. It would be like saying that Dean Strang is okay-looking for a lawyer from Wisconsin. Or that Adnan Syed is a little forgetful when it comes to details.)