Love stories rarely come with this kind of twist.
When Caroline Muirhead matched with Sandy McKellar on Tinder in October 2020, she had no idea she was walking into one of the most extraordinary true crime stories Scotland had ever seen.
Netflix’s Should I Marry a Murderer? documents exactly what happened when a romance built on highland adventures and genuine connection suddenly demanded the most impossible moral decision imaginable.
The three-part documentary, directed by Josh Allott — known for The Man with 1000 Kids — is already turning heads as one of Netflix’s most talked-about releases of 2026. True crime fans looking for their next binge-worthy obsession will find Should I Marry a Murderer? hits differently from most entries in the genre.
This one doesn’t centre on a detective or a cold case file. It centres on a woman who had to become both witness and investigator in her own love story.
The Secret Behind the Proposal
Caroline, a forensic pathologist from Glasgow, described the early stages of her relationship with Sandy as a whirlwind. She drove out to the Scottish Highlands for their first date, and the connection was immediate.
Sandy — a rugged game hunter living on a sprawling 28,000-acre estate — proposed within months. Caroline said yes. But before the wedding planning could begin, she made one heartfelt request: that they enter marriage with full honesty between them.
That request became the turning point. Sandy confessed that on September 29, 2017, he and his twin brother Robert were driving home from a party when they struck a cyclist. The man passed away at the scene. Overwhelmed by panic, the brothers buried the body on their estate.
The victim, as Caroline would later discover, was Tony Parsons — a veteran, a cancer survivor, and a father whose family had spent years searching for him without answers. The sheer weight of who Tony was is what shifted everything for Caroline.
From Fiancée to Key Witness
GettyHere is where Should I Marry a Murderer? stops being just a crime story and becomes something deeper. Caroline did not run. She did not stay silent. She built a quiet, courageous strategy.
When Sandy asked her to help him relocate Tony’s remains — construction on the estate threatened to unearth the burial site — Caroline accompanied him. Without Sandy knowing, she covertly marked the spot. She then reported it directly to Police Scotland.
The brothers were arrested but released shortly after due to insufficient evidence. What followed was months of emotional endurance. Caroline maintained her relationship with Sandy, working to secure enough evidence for a proper charge while her mental health bore the full weight of that impossible situation.
“When I came forward in December 2020, I trusted that the system would keep me safe when I was at my most vulnerable, but that wasn’t my experience,” Caroline says in the documentary.
In 2023, Sandy pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Robert received five years and three months for obstruction of justice. Both are currently serving their sentences.
Caroline has since moved to the seaside, achieved sobriety, and rebuilt relationships with the people she loves most. She is now in a committed relationship and, by her own words, finally feels free.
True crime often gives us cases. Should I Marry a Murderer? gives us a person — fully human, deeply tested, and ultimately unbreakable.
The documentary also signals a growing shift in how the genre is being told. Audiences are increasingly drawn to stories where ordinary women become the agents of justice rather than the subjects of it.
All three episodes of Should I Marry a Murderer? are streaming now on Netflix.
