The show Unbelievable premiered on Netflix in 2019 to rave reviews from both critics and viewers alike, even earning lead actress, Kaitlin Dever, her first Golden Globe nomination. The show is based on true events, and it is so crazy, that had it not really happened, every studio in Hollywood would have probably passed on it immediately, given the fact that this story is just so, well, unbelievable. The eight episode series, tells us about a girl named Marie, who is horrifically raped, but after police coercion and neglect, she recants her story. It’s not until three years and many more rape victims later, that Marie’s original claims are investigated and her attacker is brought to justice by a couple of amazing female detectives. Netflix and the show’s creators worked really hard to keep Marie’s story as truthful as possible while creating the series, so not much was changed for filming, but there were a few things that were different.
DIFFERENT: They Changed The Rapist's Name
Marc O’Leary was the man who, after many years of getting away with it, was eventually caught and taken into custody in February of 2011. He was charged with multiple counts of rape, and shortly thereafter, plead guilty and was sentenced to the maximum. That meant 327 years in Colorado and 68 years in Washington. In the series, the character based on O’Leary was called Chris McCarthy, but that’s really the only thing the writers changed about this guy.
SAME: Detectives Honed In On O’Leary Using His Brother’s DNA
At one of the crime scenes, detectives found some touch DNA. They used this DNA sample to circle in on a suspect, who was originally not Marc O’Leary, but his brother, Michael. Police spent time following Michael around, eventually following him on a date where he threw out a cup he had been drinking from. Detectives took that cup, tested it and found that the DNA on the cup and the DNA from the crime scene were a partial match. There wasn’t enough DNA to tell detectives exactly who the assailant was, but it was enough to tell them that it was a male in the O’Leary family who had committed these heinous crimes.
DIFFERENT: They Changed The Detectives’ Names
In the Netflix series, the two women who work tirelessly to solve these crimes are named Karen Duvall (played by Merritt Weaver) and Grace Rasmussen (played by Toni Collette). In real life, the detectives' names are Stacy Galbraith and Edna Hendershot, but again, that’s pretty much the only thing that was changed in this story. Like her character in the show, Galbraith is a strong Christian and admired Hendershot’s work for years before actually working with her on this case. And that moving phone call between Marie and Duvall at the end of the series? That was pulled from real life too. “I’ve talked to Marie on time on the phone since this happened,” Galbraith told CNN last year.
SAME: The Rapist’s Car Is What First Gave Him Away
After another victim had been attacked in a Denver suburb, detectives went through twelve hours of surveillance tape from outside of the apartment complex, which did eventually pay off. In the early morning hours of this victim’s attack, a white Mazda pickup truck is spotted ten times in the lot, raising suspicions. It took five-weeks for detectives to link this pickup truck to O’Leary and one of the biggest breaks during this part of the investigation was that both O’Leary’s truck and the one seen at the crime scene had broken passenger side mirrors.
DIFFERENT: All Of The Victims’ Names
One of the many reasons this show was so well-received was that it took great care to protect the victims whose stories they were telling. This eight-part limited series is based on true and horrific events that happened to real people and the creators of this show kept that at the forefront of their minds throughout the entire process. They remained truthful to the details and the investigation, but out of respect for all of the women, they changed their names. That included Marie’s, whose story is the central focus of the series due to the incredible lack of concern shown by police when she first reports her rape. Marie has remained anonymous from day one and her real name has never been revealed to the public. We do know that Marie is her middle name.
SAME: One Victim Jumped From A Window
After weeks of running into dead ends, detectives Galbraith and Hendershot decide to broaden their scope. They were looking for more cases where their assailant could have been the same. They moved from looking exclusively at unsolved rape cases to looking at home invasions as well, and they found an interesting case. A forty-six-year-old woman was attacked in her home by a man wearing a black mask and wielding a knife. This man tried to tie her wrists together, but when he looked away, the woman jumped out of her window to escape, breaking three ribs and puncturing a lung during the seven-foot drop.
DIFFERENT: The First Cop
Shortly after Marie is raped, she calls the police. As soon as they arrive, an investigation begins. Men in uniform swarm Marie’s apartment, going through her things, collecting evidence, and asking Marie to tell her story, again, and again, and again. Detective Parker is the first detective to question Marie at the station, in real life and this man’s name is Sgt. Jeffrey Manson, who had zero experience with this kind of crime, only previously working in patrol and narcotics. Manson has publicly and privately apologized to Marie for the way he handled this case and has since moved back to the narcotics division.
SAME: The Birthmark
In the show, Duvall and Rasmussen begin honing in on the O’Leary brothers after they make the connection with the truck and the DNA comes back as a match. But which brother is the rapist? With a case like this, you’ve got a fifty-fifty chance of sending the wrong man to prison for the rest of his life, so the detectives needed one more piece of evidence to ensure they arrest the right man, and they get it. One of the victims reports that her attacker had a very large, distinctive, egg-shaped birthmark on his left calf. The detectives obtain a warrant and go to the O’Leary residence, where they find Marc O’Leary and when Duvall lifts his pant leg, she discovers the birthmark, right where the victim said it would be.
DIFFERENT: The Second Cop
After hours of questioning Marie, Detective Parker calls in some backup. His backup in the series is named Detective Pruitt and he takes more of the “bad cop” approach when questioning Marie. The real cop is named Jerry Rittgarn, who at the time of Marie’s attack had been a detective for eleven years, but with a background in helicopters and the aerospace industry. Again, no experience with sexual assault victims. In the story, it’s Pruitt who initially accuses Marie of lying about her rape to get attention, which stays true to the actual story. In real life, Rittgarn left the department before Marie’s attack was caught. Neither he or Manson were ever investigated for the way they mishandled Marie’s case.
SAME: Galbraith’s Husband
There’s a scene in the show where Merritt Weaver’s character, Duvall, comes home to her police officer husband and they begin recounting their days. Galbraith’s real husband was indeed a police officer in another county and made the connection between the rape case his wife was investigating and another a detective at his station was handling. It was an incredible, serendipitous moment both in the series and in real life and it is that conversation that sets the entire story in motion, eventually leading to Marie’s vindication and the capturing of a serial rapist.