Exposing the truth about true crime television
Story by: Elizabeth Johnson
Writer, producer, podcaster and Baylor alumna Claire St. Amant is releasing a tell-all memoir revealing the truth about the investigative journalism industry titled “Killer Story: The Truth Behind True Crime Television.” St. Amant’s project, which will be released in February 2025, will provide readers with a retrospective narrative of her experience working in the field.
“Killer Story” features a behind-the-scene look at some of the criminal cases that St. Amant covered throughout her investigative journalism career including the murder of Chris Kyle, professional assassin suspect Thomas Michael Dixon, the Parkland High School mass shooting, the disappearance of Christina Morris, and serial killer Samuel Little.
St. Amant’s work as a reporter and contributor for CBS network shows such as “48 Hours” and “60 Minutes” has gained her credibility in investigative journalism. Her experiences in true crime media have given her a desire to share the stories of her career in her own way.
Beginning as a general assignment reporter for People Newspapers in Dallas, St. Amant said she developed an edge for covering the controversial stories early in her career.
A story about the sexual assault of a child by a teacher and coach at a well-known private Christian school in Dallas is one of the cases that St. Amant said pushed her to recognize her passion for reporting on social injustice. St. Amant said she was the only reporter in the room during the first day of the trial.
St. Amant’s reporting on the case gained the attention of a media start-up called CultureMap. St. Amant said they were looking for trouble-making journalists, and found herself fitting that description.
The next story that St. Amant’s said changed her career was a home invasion. The story was a three-part series titled “Did Michele Williams get away with murder?” The use of pseudonyms in St. Amant’s coverage made her an exclusive contact for the national media. This is where St. Amant said she learned that “the national media will steal your story in a heartbeat without credit or compensation.”
After receiving over 20 credits across multiple popular true crime television programs, St. Amant decided to shift gears.
“It was a fantastic job and career until it wasn’t,” St. Amant said. “I reached my breaking point and saw people continue to work past their breaking point who were just burned out.”
St. Amant started her own production company and began to work on independent projects. One of these projects is a three-season true crime podcast called “Final Days on Earth.”
Like her podcast, the idea for St. Amant’s debut memoir began as a simple idea that was jotted down on a sticky note on her desk.
After about a year of writing, St. Amant pitched “Killer Story.” She referenced “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Top of the Morning” as inspiration for impactful literature detailing stories from the perspective of a journalist.
However, St. Amant’s memoir is the first of its kind to detail the experiences of a journalist covering true crime television. Due to its unique nature, “Killer Story” was picked up in the first round of the submission process by the publishing company BenBella Books.
Much like her podcast, St. Amant said she values her memoir for providing a platform where she can speak on her memories and experiences working in investigative journalism, apart from a restrictive lens.
“In the book, I talk about being inspired by Taylor Swift because she took back the copyright on all her songs by rerecording them,” St. Amant said. “And I was like, I can do that with my CBS stories because I can write them from my own perspective. And so that was really an eye-opening moment for me where I was like, look what you made me do CBS.
“Look what you made me do, CBS”
In her memoir, St. Amant details the dangerous roles she found herself in to cover investigative stories for the national media. St. Amant explained how she hopes to bring attention to the heavy demands often expected of the youngest and lowest-paid journalists to put themselves in danger for a story.
“I just went to a second location with a suspected murderer,” St. Amant said, reflecting on one of the stories from her memoir. “What the hell was I thinking?”
When it comes to transparency, St. Amant said she found it imperative to provide true documentation of what it’s like to work in the industry. She wrote entirely about real cases with real people, only having to change some names and details for legal reasons.
Claire St. Amant records her podcast “Final Days on Earth.”
Claire St. Amant captures the story, and the killer, from a new lens.
“I just went to a second location with a suspected murderer. What the hell was I thinking?”
The target audience of “Killer Story” is individuals who watch true crime. St. Amant advises people to go back and watch the episodes that she details in the memoir to know what’s going on behind the scenes.
“I think that people who watch “Dateline,” “20/20” and “48 Hours” will never watch it the same way once they read my book,” St. Amant said.
St. Amant’s literary agent, Carrie Pestritto, chose to represent her due to her “fascinating topic and great writing.”
“I think that people who watch Dateline, 20/20 and 48 Hours will never watch it the same way once they read my book.”
“She does a wonderful job grounding readers in her story, with fast-paced, engaging writing and a knack for depicting the world around her with vivid prose and (sometimes) humorous anecdotes,” Pestritto said.
St. Amant currently teaches a professional podcasting class at Baylor where she guides students through creating, editing and marketing podcasts.
