Netflix has added a chilling true crime documentary to its library, focusing on the notorious Scottish serial killer Robert Black. The two-part series, titled 'Manhunt: The Child Snatcher', originally aired on Channel 5 in 2023 but is now available to a global audience following its Netflix debut on Monday, February 23.
Robert Black, a delivery driver for a London-based poster company, abducted and murdered four young girls across the UK during the 1980s. His victims were Jennifer Cardy, nine, Susan Maxwell, 11, Caroline Hogg, five, and Sarah Harper, ten. Black used his job to snatch children in his van, driving them hundreds of miles from their homes before discarding their bodies.
The documentary explores how Black evaded capture for nine years, moving between police jurisdictions due to his employment. He was finally apprehended in 1990 in Stow, Scotland, after a member of the public foiled his attempt to kidnap a six-year-old girl. In 1994, he was convicted of three murders and later, in 2011, for the murder of Jennifer Cardy.
Black received life sentences for all four killings, with a minimum term of 25 years for Cardy's murder. He died in 2016 at Maghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland, aged 68. At the time of his death, Devon Police were reportedly weeks away from charging him with the murder of 13-year-old Genette Tate.
The series features interviews with victims' families and police officers, recounting the harrowing years-long hunt for Black. Its synopsis describes it as a 'nightmarish' look into the case. 'Manhunt: The Child Snatcher' is now streaming on Netflix.
