10 chilling Dateline cases you need to revisit

Long before podcasts and true crime shows were a thing, Dateline existed to fulfill crime show fans' desires. Spanning over more than 32 seasons, Dateline is a true crime show that explores the gruesome, yet interesting, stories of true crime.

With a unique blend of classic and current crime stories, Dateline provides an insight into the criminal mind while investigating the most compelling incidents of true crime committed over the years.

Airing since 1992, the show has more than 2700 episodes. But some episodes are so chilling that fans keep coming back to them. The episodes making it to the list of the top 10 in the series are the ones with the most compelling and complex storylines. All episodes of Dateline are broadcast on NBC.

Here are the top 10 Dateline episodes, ranked according to their IMDb rating.

Top 10 Dateline episodes ranked according to IMDb

1) The Match (Season 26, Episode 55) (Rated 8.4)

Brittani Marcell in The Match (Image via NBC News)

On September, 11, 2008, 17-year-old Brittani Marcell was discovered by her mother, unconscious and bleeding on the floor of their home in Albuquerque, with a stranger standing over her. The stranger threatened Diane and fled the scene. However, he accidentally left a drop of blood on the crime scene which, almost a decade later, helped to identify him as the assailant.

While Brittani Marcell sustained a lot of injuries, she underwent cognitive behavioral therapy and was able to regain most of her senses. However, what makes this case so interesting is that what helped Brittani identify her assailant, and ultimately solve this cold case almost a decade later was hypnosis.

2) The Doomsday Files (Season 30, Episode 8) (Rated 8.4)

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell (Image via NBC News)

The Doomsday Murders follows the story of Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell, who were accused of multiple murders within their family. Lori Vallow Daybell, now popular as "the Doomsday Mom" has been found guilty of murdering her former husband, her daughter Tylee Ryan, and her 7-year-old adopted son, Joshua "JJ" Vallow.

She has also been accused and found guilty of murdering Chad Daybell's former wife, Tammy Daybell. Later, Chad Daybell was also found guilty on all counts, despite the couple having pleaded not guilty.

What makes this story very interesting is its religious angle— Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow were both members of the Mormon church. Lori Vallow Daybell's friends confirmed that she was convinced that doomsday was nearing and she was responsible for saving mankind, and the only obstacle in her way was her family.

3) Stranger than Fiction (Season 25, Episode 9) (Rated 8.5)

Stranger Than Fiction (Image via Dateline NBC/Youtube)

In Missouri, Betsy Faria was found stabbed in her home in 2011. Her husband was convicted of the murder and served his sentence for 4 years before he got a retrial in 2015. The case appeared in Dateline in 'Return to Game Night' and a judge declared Faria's husband innocent.

However, another key person involved in the case, Pam Hupp, had her surprises to reveal.

4) To Catch a Predator, Fort Myers, FL: Part 1 (Season 1, Episode 6) (Rated 8.5)

To Catch a Predator, Fort Myers, Florida (Image via Max Cooper/YouTube)

To Catch a Predator was a series of episodes that were released in the first season of Dateline, where a team called the Perverted-Justice team identified and caught a bunch of predators on the internet who were seeking out young children.

The Fort Myers operation saw a total of 24 such predators being arrested over an operation of three days.

5) The Night Brianna Vanished (Season 19, Episode 8) (Rated 8.6)

The Night Brianna Vanished discusses the curious case of Brianna Dennison's kidnapping from her friend's house in Reno, Nevada in January 2008. Her body was discovered early a month later, and her perpetrator, James Biela, was caught and arrested nearly 10 months after her murder, in November 2008.

Biela's DNA was matched with a sample found at the crime scene, which ultimately led to his conviction for the rape and murder of Brianna Dennison.

6) The Man Who Knew Too Much (Season 25, Episode 8) (Rated 8.7)

Sgt. Raymond Lee Jennings (Image via NBC News)

The Man Who Knew Too Much is a heartbreaking story of a man who tried to aid the police in solving a murder, which ultimately led to his wrongful arrest.

When 18-year-old Michelle O'Keefe was found shot to death on her college campus, a security guard, Sgt. Raymond Lee, tried his best to help the police uncover the truth behind this murder. However, his involvement in the case made the police suspicious and they arrested Jennings for the murder.

It was only 11 years later that Clint Ehrlich had a look at the Dateline episode detailing the murder of Michell O'Keefe and realized that the arrested did not seem guilty. He and his father then worked tirelessly and eventually succeeded in freeing Jennings, after he had already served his sentence for that period.

7) To Catch a Predator, Ocean County, NJ: Part 1 (Season 1, Episode 19) (Rated 8.7)

To Catch a Predator Ocean County, New Orleans (Image via NBC)

To Catch a Predator Ocean County, New Orleans, was the penultimate operation in the To Catch a Predator Series conducted in the first season of Dateline.

Over the course of four days, the Perverted-Justice Team caught and arrested approximately 28 men between the ages of 21 and 60 who were trying to pursue young children online.

8) True Confession (Season 32 Episode 29) (Rated 8.8)

True Confession explores not just the murder of Angie Dodge, but also the unfair arrest and imprisonment of Christopher Tapp, Dodge's friend who wrongly confessed to the murder of his friend.

However, Dodge's mother seeks justice not just for her daughter Angie, but also for Tapp, as the revelation of the real killer also unfurls a series of mysteries.

9) Heroes: The Story of Flight 93 (Season 29, Episode 55) (Rated 8.8)

Heroes: The Story of Flight 93 (Image via NBC News)

Heroes: The Story of Flight 93 commemorates and honors the heroes who lost their lives in the terror attack of 9/11. The episode shows the host, Lester Holt, interviewing the friends and families of 40 men and women who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack, which is considered to be one of the most shocking acts of violence witnessed in American history.

10) The Phone Call (Season 29, Episode 42) (Rated 8.9)

Yet another tale of wrongful incarceration, The Phone Call explores the wrongful imprisonment of Pete Coones, who was accused of the murder of Kathleen Scholl and her husband, Carl.

Kathleen worked as a housekeeper for Coones' father and became quite close to him, to the point where he left an insurance beneficiary for her after his death. A fateful phone call made before the couple's murder led the police to believe that Pete Coones was responsible for the Scholls' murder.

However, he was cleared of his charges years later and freed from prison. Unfortunately, he had developed cancer in prison, so his freedom was quite short-lived.

If you are a fan of true crime podcasts, be it tales of vengeance or gruesome murders, these 10 top-ranked Dateline episodes might quench the curiosity of every true crime fan out there.

Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay