Journalist Laura Greenberg Befriended Forgotten Serial Killer and Crossed a Line That Consumed Her Life

A journalist's search to understand why people kill led to an unsettling relationship that would shape her life for decades.

Laura Greenberg, a reporter then working in Tucson, forged an unusually close bond with a long-forgotten serial killer, a connection that is now being examined in Oxygen's new true-crime documentary Charmed by the Devil.

The film revisits how Greenberg befriended Doug Gretzler, who, along with accomplice Willie Steelman, murdered 17 people during a three-week spree across Arizona and California. While the crimes were among the most brutal of the era, Gretzler largely faded from public memory.

What did not fade was Greenberg's determination to understand him and the personal cost of getting too close.

A Killer History Few Remembered

Gretzler and Steelman were sentenced to death after a killing spree that included the murders of two children. Steelman died in prison in 1986, while Gretzler remained on death row until his execution in 1998.

By the time Greenberg learned of him through a tip, he had become a largely forgotten figure who refused to discuss his crimes with most journalists.

According to Fox News, Greenberg first contacted Gretzler by letter, hoping to gain his trust after he had declined to speak openly with others. Her persistence intrigued him enough to respond, setting the stage for a relationship unlike any other between a reporter and a convicted murderer.

How Access Turned Into Attachment

What followed was extraordinary access. According to the same report by Fox News, Greenberg visited Gretzler roughly 350 times, exchanged hundreds of letters and recorded more than 500 hours of conversations in her effort to understand him. At the time, he was speaking to almost no one else.

The recordings reveal conversations that extended far beyond accounts of murder. Some tapes capture mundane exchanges about music, the weather and daily life, while others include detailed descriptions of the killings. Greenberg has described listening to these recordings late at night, alone, as her personal life continued around her.

Filmmaker Ben Giroux, Greenberg's nephew, said the relationship became unnerving in its depth. He has described her home as a case archive filled with police reports, letters, recordings and artwork connected to Gretzler.

When Professional Boundaries Blurred

As the years passed, the line between reporter and subject became harder to define. Gretzler professed love for Greenberg and grew jealous after she married.

Giroux has said the pair appeared to rely on one another, describing the dynamic as obsessive and, at times, codependent.

The documentary does not frame the relationship as romantic, but it raises difficult questions about how far a journalist should go in pursuit of a story.

Greenberg repeatedly challenged Gretzler on his crimes and made clear that no explanation could justify the brutality, yet the intimacy of the contact remained.

Ethical Questions at the Centre of the Story

Executive producer Lauren Flowers said Charmed by the Devil confronts the ethical tension head-on. The film examines whether Greenberg's access crossed professional boundaries and how obsession can distort perspective, even when the intent is to uncover truth.

Gretzler spoke in detail about his background, including a chaotic childhood, heavy drug and alcohol use, and the pact of loyalty he formed with Steelman. He told Greenberg that killing came easily to him.

She challenged those claims, reminding him that many people endure traumatic childhoods without committing murder.

The Impact on Families and the Aftermath

Some victims' families later said the interviews helped answer questions that police files and court records never fully resolved.

Greenberg also connected with Gretzler's sister, who had never spoken publicly about her brother before.

Greenberg witnessed Gretzler's execution in June 1998, sitting near his sister. Those close to her say the execution did not end the fixation.

Giroux has noted that the story continued to consume her long after Gretzler's death, shaping more than 40 years of her life.

Charmed by the Devil draws on recordings that were previously unheard, placing Greenberg's experience at the centre of a broader examination of true crime, access and the personal toll of getting too close to evil.