The Killing Season (2016)

Along a desolate stretch of highway, police discovered the bodies of ten murder victims. Police realize they are all connected to the sex trade, but the trail quickly goes cold. Five years later the identity of the killer remains a mystery and local law enforcement is doing little to calm the nerves of an anxious community seeking answers. As filmmakers Josh Zeman and Rachel Mills set out to document the case of the Long Island Serial Killer they suddenly find themselves entangled in a quest to the elusive killer. With the help of a growing amateur web sleuthing community Josh and Rachel uncover a tale of deceit and ignorance that takes them deep inside the world of online escorting.

Amateur profiler Peter Brendt’s shocking reveal that not just one but two active serial killers are responsible for the ten bodies discovered along Ocean Parkway compels Josh and Rachel to examine a series of mysterious torso killings ascribed to the “Butcher of Manorville” which have become linked to the Long Island Serial Killer case. The filmmakers have an unexpected breakthrough when they locate the former pimp of one of these victims who in his first media interview points out major flaws in the Long Island Serial Killer investigation. The interview prompts Josh and Rachel to reexamine a crucial piece of evidence, which is stirring an online rumor mill when a potential suspect commits suicide. Meanwhile, a web sleuth shares a promising lead for a match to one of the unidentified that could break the case wide open.

In the wake of Shannan Gilbert’s funeral, family lawyer John Ray presents Josh and Rachel with confidential testimony that implicates a local doctor and Oak Beach resident in the death of the young escort. Yet, a critical questions remains unanswered, is Shannan’s death connected to the four escorts discovered at Gilgo Beach? In order to find out, Josh and Rachel return to the secluded Oak Beach community where one family despite threats from several residents is willing to speak out. Meanwhile, rumors surface that the murders at Gilgo Beach are linked to a serial murder case in Atlantic City, which took place less than five years prior and offers eerie similarities. They decide to pay a visit to the City of Sin.

Josh and Rachel, continue their search for the Eastbound Strangler in Atlantic City. They revisit the motel where the bodies were dumped and tour the site with a man who at the time was the police’s person of interest. A phone call with the family of one of the victims propels the film makers to find out why this case hasn’t been solved, leading to an encounter with a sex worker, who believes she came face to face with the Eastbound Strangler. Eventually a call with an anonymous web sleuther sends Josh and Rachel to the site where the four women were possibly killed before they discover that the answer to this puzzle might lie outside Atlantic City.

Josh and Rachel are in Florida looking into the case of the Daytona Beach Serial Killer. A chance encounter with the daughter of one of the victims propels them to investigate a string of leads including a former junkyard owner with a dark family secret and a notorious motorcycle gang with a motive to kill. Josh and Rachel discover an even greater horror, one that extends far beyond the beaches of Daytona and spreads through

After a private investigator’s alarming revelation that there exists long haul truckers moonlighting as serial killers terrorizing America’s interstate system, Josh and Rachel begin a cross-country journey to research these killers on wheels. While hitchhiking, the filmmakers encounter women who work truck stops, despairingly referred to as “lot lizards,” and hear first hand accounts of the dangers they experience everyday. As Josh and Rachel delve deeper, they uncover systemic failures in law enforcement allowing these mobile killers to run wild. A disturbing confession by a former trucker, serving a life sentence for murder, propels Josh and Rachel on a hunt for his accomplices. When a potential serial killer turns up dead in West Virginia, the investigation takes a surprising turn and we learn that things are not always what they seem.

Discovering that the current systems in place to detect serial killers are severely broken, and suffering from an inability to connect the dots, Rachel and Josh head to New Mexico to experience firsthand just how bad things have become. After quickly being shut down by Albuquerque police, Rachel and Josh find themselves searching for a drifter who left a mysterious message for a local PI including details of the case. And soon they realize eerie connections between the victims expose an even darker reality, one they’ve yet to experience in their investigations so far.

With the help of local advocates and ex-FBI, Rachel and Josh search for eight missing women on Albuquerque’s West Mesa when they discover they may be dealing with something even more sinister than a lone serial killer. In an attempt to uncover clues in New Mexico, Rachel and Josh score a lead from a self admitted serial killer that’s too tempting to ignore which has them turning their lens back to Long Island and to a meeting with an unusual and dark individual. While tracking down this lead, a break in the Gilgo case exposes corruption and brings them back to the beginning and a new hope.