Hulu true crime docs in April: Terror on the Trails and #SKYKING

Hulu is once again adding some fascinating must-see true crime documentaries to their streaming platform in April. In February, Hulu released The Scream Murder, which was absolutely riveting, so let’s see if either of these two upcoming docs can meet or beat that one.

First up is #SKYKING, which tells the very odd, riveting story of 28-year-old Richard “Beebo” Russell, who took a wild, unauthorized flight in a stolen Horizon Air De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 airplane.

The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the afternoon of August 10, 2018, and was not scheduled to fly back out that afternoon, and Seattle Tower tried frantically to communicate with the pilot, but no response was received. When the plane took off, the Air National Guard sent two F-15C Eagles, both armed with missiles. All flights in and out of the airport were suspended.

When the pilot (Russell) finally began to communicate with air traffic control, they discovered he was not a pilot at all – instead, he was a ground service agent for Horizon Air.

Russell communicated with air traffic control for a little more than an hour, describing himself as a “broken guy,” sometimes joking, always maintaining that he was not intending to hurt anyone. Somehow, despite having no flight training, he managed to keep the plane in the air, and even managed to conduct a barrel roll over Puget Sound, ending at only ten feet above the water.

Towards the end of his flight, he apologized to his family and friends before crashing on Puget Sound’s Ketron Island. Russell became a social media sensation, with the hashtag "Skyking."

#SKYKING will debut on Hulu on Tuesday, April 14

The synopsis from Hulu reads: “#SKYKING tells the story of 28-year-ol Horizon Air ground service agent Richard 'Beebo' Russell, who, to the shock of all who knew him, clocked into work wearing a shirt that said 'sky’s no limit,' stole a $33 million-dollar plane, and took off into the skies of the Pacific Northwest, embarking on a 70-minute white-knuckle flight. The documentary ultimately offers a look into the U.S. mental health crisis.”

The second true crime documentary we are discussing actually began streaming on Hulu April 9. It is titled Terror on the Trails, and deals with the Trailside Killer, who sexually assaulted and tortured multiple victims in the San Francisco Bay area between 1979 and 1981. He murdered seven of his victims.

David Carpenter began sexually assaulting children when he was only 15, and was placed at Napa State Hospital after he molested a three-year-old girl.

In 1960, he abducted Lois DeAndrade (actress Lisa Rinna’s mother), slashing her with a knife, and beating her on her head with a hammer. Thankfully, a military officer came across the scene and shot Carpenter, wounding him.

DeAndrade actually knew Carpenter, and she had always known him to speak with a stutter. However, she would later testify that he did not stutter at all during his violent attack on her.

Carpenter was arrested, and ended up serving nine years in a federal prison. When he was released, his attacks escalated, and several women he assaulted were murdered.