Sartaj Singh
Directed by Danny J. Boyle, ‘Baby Monitor Murders’ narrates the tale of a babysitter whose world is turned upside down when she overhears a murder plot over the baby monitor. Cassie Temple is an aspiring rock musician whose summer is off to a disappointing start when her music internship is canceled. Instead, she applies for a babysitting job and is hired by Tom and Chloe Paine to watch over their daughter, Becca. While Cassie is at their house, she overhears a suspicious conversation over the baby monitor.
When Chloe suddenly goes missing the next day, Cassie suspects that what she heard may have been connected to her disappearance. Originally titled ‘The Babysitter,’ the 2020 Lifetime murder mystery film has an interesting twist that may lead some to question whether such a scenario has played out in the real world.
Baby Monitor Murders: A Babysitter Undearths Jealousy and Misdirection
The Lifetime film spins a subversive but fictional tale penned by Emily Golden. Yet, there are some real-life cases and storylines in media which draw parallels with the movie. The story sees a babysitter playing a major role in apprehending a murderer. In the case of Jennifer Dulos’ murder, the babysitter of the victim’s family became a witness in helping punish those responsible.
Jennifer Dulos, a Connecticut-based mother of five, went missing on May 24, 2019, during a custody dispute with her estranged husband. Fotis Dulos, her husband, became the prime suspect in the murder and was charged with the same in 2020. Within a few weeks of being charged, Fotis Dulos took his own life. Jennifer Dulos’ body was still missing, which led to the investigation focusing on Michelle Troconis, the alleged former live-in girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, who was suspected of assisting him with the murder. As the trial continued, Lauren Almeida, the family’s nanny, took the stand to testify by recalling her time spent with the family and the alleged affair between Fotis Dulos and Troconis.
Fotis Dulos was in a costly custody battle with Jennifer and is speculated to have amassed a debt of $7 million. Prosecutors argued that Troconis grew hateful of Jennifer and assisted her alleged boyfriend in disposing of her. On March 1, 2024, Troconis was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering the prosecution. The jury was convinced that Troconis lied to provide an alibi for Fotis Dulos’s crime and helped him dispose of the blood-stained evidence. Lauren Almeida, the longtime nanny of the family who is almost like a mother to the children, is reported to have left the courtroom smiling.
When it comes to the twist of Chloe’s therapist being responsible for the murder and disappearance in ‘Baby Monitor Murders,’ a similar storyline is found in ‘Dexter.’ The show follows the titular sociopathic serial killer who only targets other serial killers. In episode 8 of season 1, Dexter comes across a therapist whose wealthy female clients all seem to mysteriously take their own lives. Through his investigations, Dexter uncovers that the therapist is extremely jealous of successful women and uses their insecurities and his knowledge to push them to suicide. The therapist in ‘Baby Monitor Murders’ is motivated by jealousy as well, which drives him to become homicidal.
‘Baby Monitor Murders’ is a fictional Lifetime film that stands out for having the babysitter help solve a murder instead of being the cause of it. It also introduces a twist that sees the victim’s therapist framing the husband for her disappearance. These storylines draw some parallels with an episode of ‘Dexter’ and the real-life case of Jennifer Dulos’ murder, which inspired the 2021 Lifetime movie ‘Gone Mom.’
Read More: Cradle of Deception: Is the Lifetime Movie Based on Real Life?
