Why Did You Kill Me? Review: A Mother’s Relentless Quest For Justice

This true-crime documentary takes us on one mother’s relentless journey to bring those who murdered her daughter to justice by any means necessary; even if it means posing as her deceased daughter on MySpace. Crystal Theobald was murdered on February 24, 2006, in Riverside, California. This was one of those situations where she was unfortunately in the wrong place, at the wrong time which resulted in her being shot in the back of the neck, and her succumbing to her injuries soon after.

As the investigation into her murder begins, it becomes difficult to determine whether the family is being honest with investigators, or whether there’s more than meets the eye. The Theobald’s had a sketchy past which led investigators to believe perhaps this was some sort of retaliation hit. Natural as the investigation began to make some headway, those involved in the shooting started turning on each other and that resulted in the capture and conviction of those involved.

We don’t know why good and innocent people end up victims of senseless violence. Some say it’s God’s will but though that may be true, it doesn’t lessen the impact felt by those families who no longer can hold or touch their loved ones. But sometimes, it takes a tragedy to bring about a positive change in people. 

On the night of Crystal’s murder, her mother admits she had been high on meth and that was coincidentally the last time she did drugs. And though the opportunity was given to her to seek the ultimate justice, she chose to spare the life of the gunman. That shows tremendous courage and growth.

Why Did You Kill Me is now streaming on Netflix.