Murder. Power. Media. The Jens Söring Case

It is one of the most spectacular true-crime stories of recent decades: On 30 March 1985, the parents of Canadian student Elizabeth Haysom are brutally murdered in their Virginia home. Haysom's boyfriend, the German diplomat's son and student Jens Söring, and she herself are arrested in London in April 1986. In 1987 and 1990 the two are tried: in front of running cameras, a media event.
 
At first Söring confesses to the crime before denying it in court. In the end, Söring was sentenced to two life sentences. In 2019, after 33 years in prison, Söring is deported from the USA to Germany. With his extradition at the latest, the case of Jens Söring no longer only stands for a highly gruesome crime, but also for an astonishing media career, the foundations of which Söring himself laid early on, supported by a committed and sometimes high-profile network from politics, culture and the media and his so-called circle of friends.
 
The ARD Crime Time series by Willem Konrad, Ben Wozny, Elena Kuch and Katharina Rahn goes beyond the actual criminal case and reveals mechanisms and motives that illuminate the unbroken fascination surrounding the case. Above all, the considerable role of the media is examined. At the same time, Söring's supporters have their say, pointing out contradictions in the verdict and not least Söring's right to resocialisation.