‘Killer Relationship’: Faith Jenkins Addresses Shocking Cases & Twists in Season 3 of True Crime Show

Faith Jenkins brings more crimes of passion and bonds that turn deadly to the forefront through Oxygen’s true crime series Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins. The former criminal prosecutor and Divorce Court judge returns to host Season 3. Close friendships and marriages may seem perfect on the surface, but as each episode reveals there is a dark side to the story. 

The premiere centers on Manjit Panghali, a missing pregnant mother in Canada. She reportedly went to yoga and never came home again, sending shockwaves through a tight-knit immigrant community. Other episodes include a murder that was made to look like a car accident, the killing of a firefighter, and the case of a body found in Louisiana that could connect to a missing person in Texas. 

Here Jenkins previews the tales of love, betrayal, and revenge to come. 

How has it been going from the courtroom to this true crime series? 

Faith Jenkins: This show is particularly special for me because I actually pulled from my prosecutor background in New York and also working in family court and handling divorces in a show like Divorce Court. I sort of put those two experiences together and went to Oxygen and told them about my idea for this show because most of us have gone through breakups at some point in our lives. We handle it in a way that does not end in someone dying, but with these, we think, “Why do these cases go to the extreme? That’s how Killer Relationship came to be. This season you’re really going to see us branching out. We’ve done a lot of ex-lover cases, and husband-wife cases that have been the bread and butter of the show. Here you’re going to see us branch out and bring other types of relationships. There is that quote of keeping your friends close but your enemies closer. We’ve had cases where we see that example come to life this season. 

So what other relationships are we going to see in these cases? 

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the show this season is you’re going to see more children involved. Usually, when you have one of the parents or spouse kills the other, the kids don’t know. It’s something that comes as a surprise to everyone else. We have a few cases where we have children or stepchildren that are actually involved. Just the psychology of the family dynamic when it’s not just a parent, but also the child involved as well. In one case it’s a matter of turning someone in and in another where it’s a matter of plotting and planning someone’s murder. There is this extra layer of the family dynamic and other people’s role in the crime that you’ll see more of this season. 

In the first episode, there are some unexpected twists in terms of the case. Was it by design because it really sets the tone for the rest of the season? 

That’s a great question and observation because it is true who done it. We carefully choose our 13 episodes. What we found is viewers really get into the investigations and cases and have their armchair investigation as well. They are really intrigued by stories where people are trying to figure out who did it, what happened, and other people that could be involved. This premiere episode was one of the more heartbreaking stories, but a true who done it. You have someone from the very beginning out speaking passionately about finding this person and the story unfolds at their potential involvement. 

This case is interesting because it takes place in Canada. There is also a surprising update. 

I think this is our only show that is not U.S.-based and decided there. We only choose cases where the families give us their blessing to tell their stories. We don’t do any cases or feature any victims without the family’s permission. That is very important to us. Second, I think one of the reasons why we branched out and wanted to tell this story without giving too much away is because of the differences you see in the potential outcome and how the investigation happens. People get to decide and chime in if they think justice was served. 

Being a mom, do these cases hit a little harder? 

They do because there is this element you always want to protect your child and not want to do anything to hurt your child. There are devastating consequences here. There is the extra feeling of, “Wow, how can someone do this? Not only to the other person, but you’re talking about knowing the consequences it would have on your child, too. I think I feel that a lot more now being a new mom. I just have a lot more empathy for the children that are involved in the cases because you think about the pain inflicted on them and the selfishness of that one person had by taking a life. 

You mentioned having the family’s blessing. Were there any this season that changed their mind after saying know at first? 

I wrote a letter to one of the family members in a case just to reassure them we would handle the case in a way that would be respectful to the victim. Oxygen is very a victim-focused network. We want to tell their stories and give the family members the opportunity to tell their stories. I wrote a letter to a family member just to give them my assurance we would be handling their case in a manner I think they would be proud of in terms of being able to share more about the life, history, and love they had for this family member. I think it had an impact because it does come from a case we did this season. It happens sometimes. We’re not pushy about it because we really want people to have the best experience they can have in a situation liek this.

Divorce Court

What do you want people to know before watching this season? 

This season I think we feature our most compelling cases. I think we have a feel for what viewers like to watch in the series. We took a lot of time and researched a lot of cases. We got an early headstart because we got our third season greenlit very early on after we finished Season 2. We are going to feature cases from beginning to end trying to figure out not just who did it but why. The victims in these cases in many ways are very compelling stories. People are going to be invested in their lives early on and want to know what happened. 

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There are many who miss you in the courtroom. Do you want to ever go back to that TV judge world? 

I get calls every year about doing court TV. I’m not saying that is over for me. I had a very interesting meeting a few months ago about a potential new show. For me, I love the aspect of problem-solving and bringing in some type of problem-solving for cases. It could be small claims cases, so fi go back that is what I would I would focus on more. It would be like I did for my very first court show Judge Faith. People ask me all the time. They still watch the old episodes of Judge Faith and every year I get an interesting call about doing more court TV. So, I can not think that part of my career is over. 

Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins Season 3 premiere, August 17, 8/7c, Oxygen