Mind Over Murder will document the 1985 murder of sixty-eight-year-old Beatrice, Nebraska resident Helen Wilson. What followed the murder was the arrest and conviction of the so-called “Beatrice Six”. Five of the six confessed to the murder after being intimidated by police who threatened the six with the death penalty unless they said they did it. The conviction of the six was then overturned in 2009 when DNA evidence exonerated all six of them. The documentary series will chronicle everything from the murder, the investigation, the exonerations, and everything in between, as well as documenting how the whole ordeal had ripple effects on the community of Beatrice.

The trailer begins by establishing all the confusing details of the case. With five people confessing to the crime and confessing to details that never even happened. The trailer then launches into what might be the most fascinating aspect of the whole situation. Following the exoneration of the six, in an attempt to help the community heal, the local theater company put on a production about the murder and trial. The trailer then ends with a tease for the documentary following the story of the six once they come home and the problems they still faced. Along with the trailer, HBO released a poster for the series that shows six silhouettes on marionette strings with the tagline “you’re only as innocent as you’re made to believe”, clearly teasing the force confession aspect of the investigation.

Mind Over Murder comes from HBO Documentary Films and Vox Media Studios. All six parts are directed by Wang, who is also known for directing such award-winning and critically acclaimed documentaries as Hooligan Sparrows and In the Same Breath. Mind Over Murder is executive produced by Marc Smerling, Wang, Max Heckman, Chad Mumm, Mark W. Olsen, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez.

Mind Over Murder will premiere on Monday, June 20 with the following episodes airing on the following Mondays. The series will both air on HBO and be available for streaming on HBO Max. Check out the series’ trailer and full official synopsis below:

MIND OVER MURDER chronicles the bizarre and psychologically complex story of six individuals who were convicted for the 1985 murder of a beloved 68- year-old grandmother, Helen Wilson, in Beatrice, Nebraska. Despite five of the individuals originally confessing to the crime, the “Beatrice Six” as they became known, were exonerated by DNA evidence in 2009, a turn of events which divided the rural town and incensed the family of Helen Wilson. As the filmmakers track the case from the murder, through investigation, trial, exoneration and two civil suits, shifting perspectives cloud the truth; a stranger-than-fiction tale emerges that raises salient questions about the reliability of confessions and memory in criminal cases.