38 years ago, Derek and Nancy Haysom were brutally murdered in their home. In 1991, the German student Jens Söring was sentenced to two life sentences in the USA. This is the short version of the true events that Netflix is presenting in the new mini-series The Jens Söring Case: Deadly Passion. Starting today you can watch the four episodes on the streaming service.
Jens Söring confessed to the double murder – and still denies his guilt to this day
Derek and Nancy Haysom were the parents of Elizabeth Haysom, with whom the diplomat’s son Jens Söring was in a romantic relationship. After Elizabeth’s parents were found dead, Jens Söring soon became the target of the investigation. The couple left the country, traveled around the world and were finally caught in London. Söring initially confessed to the murders, but recanted his statement in court.
Netflix
Jens Söring in the Netflix documentary
Elizabeth Haysom, in turn, accused her boyfriend of murder during the trial and admitted that she had incited Söring to commit the crime. Soering served a 33-year prison sentence, denies his innocence to this day and is working on his public rehabilitation. The Netflix documentary wants to share the story “Examine archive recordings and new interviews.”
The Jens Söring case: Two sides argue about guilt and innocence
In recent years, various documentaries and podcasts have examined the Jens Söring case – with sometimes different tendencies on the question of guilt. The highly regarded documentary The Promise – First Love Lifelong by Marcus Vetter and Karin Steinberger, for example, supports Söring’s version, who claims that he did not receive a fair trial and was innocently convicted. The lawyer Andrew Hammel, among others, criticized the documentation and criticized it “Attitude journalism” before. Jens Söring is “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”.
On the subject:
Also the podcast The Soering system questioned the convicted murderer’s portrayal. He paints the picture of a PR machine made up of supporters behind Jens Söring who are trying to influence public opinion in his favor.
From a legal perspective, the case has been completely solved: Söring committed the double murders. His release and expulsion to Germany in 2019 did not constitute a pardon. The discussion about guilt or innocence only takes place in public.
The Netflix documentary will now bring the case the biggest wave of attention in years. But does it also lead to new insights?
The 4 episodes of The Jens Söring Case will be available on Netflix from Wednesday.