After The Kings of the Scam or The Fourth Trial, Netflix returns with a new miniseries inspired by real crimes. Available since January 18, this documentary traces the journey of the puppeteer who has manipulated and defrauded many victims over the past 20 years. But who is Robert Hendy-Freegard really? 
An undercover British spy
It all began in 1995 at Harper Adams University in England. Robert will meet his first victims. Pretending to be an MI5 agent (the intelligence service responsible for internal security in the United Kingdom), he confides to them that he is investigating an IRA (Irish Republican Army) cell on campus. In the same year, the arrest of a student as an arms dealer for the Irish radical group caused quite a stir. As a result, Freegard had no trouble swallowing his story. The game will then begin for this impostor who will convince three students of the danger that surrounds them and that they have no choice but to accompany him across the country. Its goal is simple: to demand huge sums of money from them by cutting them off from all contact with their loved ones. For many years, he will establish the same instructions for use with multiple women. In order to extract their fortune, he makes them believe that they live "undercover" in the name of their security. In 2002, he was finally arrested and tried for kidnapping, theft and deception with a life sentence. However, seven years later, lacking evidence on his kidnapping charges, the scammer was released. Today, history repeats itself. The authorities do not know Robert's whereabouts, only that his name is now David and has another victim: Sandra Clifton.
"No matter what we've been through, we still love you and we want you back into our lives. »
These are the words of Sandra's children. Having not heard from their mother for seven years, they launch a real cry for help. It is in 2012 that the drama begins in this British family when their mother meets Robert, under the name of David Hendy, on the internet. It is then love at first sight. The man spends more and more time in the family home. Then, little by little, he will very quickly interfere in their personal lives. This manipulator will distance children from their mother by peddling lies about his son and extracting money from his daughter. Now alone, the couple will leave the family home two years later, without saying where they are headed. But then, how could Robert Hendy-Freegard, or David Hendy, escape the authorities? 
A docuseries with the look of a thriller
By the producers of Don't F*ck with Cats, this miniseries traces the journey of this impostor through two great stories. The first, narrated by Sarah, takes place in the early 90s. This victim, stripped of money and identity, lived completely removed from the world for ten long years. While the second story takes place in 2012 with the testimonies of Jake and Sophie, children of Sandra Clifton. They are desperate to find their mother, whom they know is under David/Robert's control. The Puppet Master is a fascinating three-episode docuseries mixing archival footage, interviews and video reconstructions. The testimonies of the victims and their relatives allow us to become aware of the part of inhumanity in this man. His entire stratagem is revealed: his way of getting in touch with the victims, his many lies invented to attract them to him and his manipulation techniques to lure each individual under his total control. This practice obviously has a name: coercive control. This is a concept known in domestic violence where the abuser humiliates and isolates his victims to exercise his power. An act recognized as a criminal offense only in 2015 in England, years after the release of Robert Hendy-Freegard. Find this crime documentary on Netflix, waiting for the next one: The Tinder scammer whose release is scheduled for February 2.
