‘Killer Relationship’ Faith Jenkins on Choosing Cases for the Show and the Crime That Shocked Her (Interview)

A young mother is found dead in her bed. At first, it appears that she died of natural causes. But as authorities dig deeper, they uncover a complicated web of lies and betrayal that leads them to suspect the woman may have been murdered.

The strange death of Melissa Henderson in 2005 is one of the cases explored in the third season of Oxygen True Crime’s Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. The episode focusing on her murder, which airs on Saturday, October 12, will feature some shocking twists, Faith Jenkins told Showbiz Cheat Sheet.

Viewers will learn “what kind of secrets someone was keeping,” she teased. “This secret will be revealed at some point in the show. And there is a question of who knew this secret. And when that secret was exposed, who would have anything to gain by keeping that secret a secret?

Faith Jenkins Explains Why People Relate to the True Cop Show

Killer Relationship delves into all kinds of stories of relationships gone wrong. Sometimes this means a rejected or jealous romantic partner getting revenge. But in season three, the series “branched out” to explore other relationships, Jenkins said.

“You see more than just ex-lovers,” she said. “You will see some friendships. You will see some professional relationships go down the drain.”

The variety of complications highlighted in Killer Relationship is the key to your appeal, the first Divorce Court said the judge.

“People relate to this show because they relate to being in a relationship,” she explained.

For some viewers, the show is a kind of education. “They want to see, ‘Were there warning signs that people missed, that people should be aware of?’ In some of our cases, there are some warning signs. But in others, there is none,” she said.

Often, people just want to understand what drives a seemingly normal person to murder.

“What people want to see is: Why is it that when relationships go bad, why do they have to turn deadly?” Jenkins said. “What happens to get someone from point A to point B? What happens in between? And that’s what I find intriguing.”

‘Killer Relationship’ reveals the layers of a crime

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of murders committed by people close to the victim. So how do producers decide which cases to present in the Killer Relationship? Getting approval from the surviving family is critical, Jenkins said.

“We only broadcast cases where the family gave us their blessing to tell the victim’s story,” she explained.

Cases also need to have an unexpected element.

“We like to show cases where we peel back the layers throughout the episode and there’s always a twist,” she said.

That’s where Jenkins’ experience as a prosecutor comes into play.

“I’m able to really look at these cases and draw on my own professional experience and offer an opinion,” she said. “Some other shows tell the story through an off-camera narrator, but I actually step in and talk about the investigation: what’s going on here, what it means, where this evidence is taking us.”

The cases that stand out

Telling stories of murder and betrayal can be difficult, Jenkins acknowledged. And since having a daughter last year, she’s gained a new perspective on some of the crimes featured in the Killer Relationship.

“I see cases of children who lose their parents from a new perspective and I am much more empathetic and supportive of them,” she said.

What is most shocking about the crimes presented in Killer Relationship it’s the way a person can turn against a loved one so coldly. Jenkins mentioned the case of Jacquelyn Smith, who appeared in a Season 3 episode that aired earlier this year. When Smith was stabbed to death in Baltimore in 2018, her husband blamed the crime on a homeless man. The case quickly generated headlines as an example of a random and senseless murder in a city where crime was out of control. But the reality was more complicated.

“A family member planned his murder,” Jenkins said. “They took her to a party where they had dinner with her, drank, danced and laughed all night, knowing full well that they planned to take her life an hour after that party.”

“Cases like this always surprise me,” she continued. “Because what kind of person can look another person in the eye and spend that kind of time with them, knowing full well that they don’t plan on them living two hours later. Having that kind of hate in your heart, but being able to turn it around and act like you like this person and are on their side is really next level, I think, in terms of the psychology of what a sociopath is. and only the evil that can exist in the world.”

Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins airs Saturdays at 8pm ET on Oxygen True Crime.

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