A&E PRESENTS “FRAMED BY THE KILLER,” ICE-T’S SERIES ON SHOCKING CASES OF FALSE MURDER ACCUSATIONS

A&E premieres a new production from Ice-T on Tuesday, June 9, “FRAMED BY THE KILLER,” a gripping documentary series that explores some of the most baffling criminal cases of recent years, in which investigators followed seemingly airtight leads that ended up sending them in the wrong direction.

The series reconstructs complex murders in which the true perpetrator devised elaborate schemes to frame other people, plant false evidence, and divert authorities’ attention. As the investigations unfold, each case reveals a web of deception, manipulation, and stunning twists that prove nothing is as it seems.

Produced by Oxygen, “FRAMED BY THE KILLER” follows the classic, gripping true crime format, combining three main elements to build each episode: real testimony, dramatic recreations, and archival footage. With interviews from investigators, prosecutors, attorneys, family members, and those directly involved in each story, the series offers a compelling look at how the justice system works and the devastating consequences that altered evidence, rushed conclusions, and false accusations can cause.

This is also a new Ice-T production for A&E, arriving on screen following the 2025 premiere of “Fame and Fentanyl,” further cementing his ongoing presence in the true crime genre with projects that dig into real cases from a direct, testimonial perspective.

Ice-T explains that the true crime genre, which many people know very well, takes real events and retells the story. He notes that plenty of people are currently in prison for something they didn’t do, and that these are the dramatic true crime stories the show is telling.

The first episode, “The Sex Cult Frame,” tackles a disturbing case that begins with the discovery of a businessman’s body along the side of a highway. What initially looks like a relatively straightforward homicide quickly turns into an investigation full of mystery when a strange note found during the autopsy points to two suspects who gradually prove to be innocent. The investigation ends up uncovering a dark network tied to an alleged sex cult and practices associated with Santería, as detectives unravel a scheme of manipulation so unusual that no one could have guessed who was really behind the crime.

The case reconstructs the murder of Mark Foster, a pharmaceutical businessman and tech pioneer found dead in a rural area of Wisconsin in 1997. Initial suspicion fell on two men named in a note found hidden in one of his shoes, but both had solid alibis. As the investigation progressed, detectives found Foster’s home filled with pornographic material and items linked to sexual practices. The victim also led a cult-like group tied to voodoo and Santería, and had taken out substantial life insurance policies shortly before his death. The investigation would ultimately reveal a complex conspiracy in which Foster himself had allegedly participated in planning his own death, also attempting to frame people with whom he had personal conflicts.

On Tuesday, June 16, it’s the turn of “A Lover’s Frame,” the chilling story of a missing woman whose husband and lover accuse each other of committing the crime. With both men under suspicion and conflicting accounts of events, investigators must painstakingly reconstruct what happened to determine who is lying and who is telling the truth.

This episode covers the murder of Tamara “Tami” Reay, a South Dakota woman whose 2006 disappearance led to an investigation marked by deception. After her body was found with multiple stab wounds, all eyes initially turned to Brian Clark, the man with whom she was having an affair. However, investigators discovered that her husband, Brad Reay, had devised an elaborate plan to frame him, even going so far as to plant false evidence to strengthen the case against him. When that strategy began to fall apart, he tried to pin the blame on his own teenage daughter. He was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

The series wraps up on Tuesday, June 23 with “The Family Man and the Frame,” a harrowing case that shows how a flawed investigation can destroy an innocent person’s life. When a former officer’s wife and two children are murdered, all the evidence seems to point to him as the culprit. Years later, however, new evidence and scientific advances force investigators to completely rethink the case.

The episode follows the story of David Camm, a former Indiana state trooper who spent thirteen years in prison after being convicted of murdering his wife and two children. Despite maintaining his innocence from the start, he was tried three times while prosecutors misread various pieces of forensic evidence. Over time, new DNA evidence and the discovery of another suspect’s involvement helped dismantle the case against him. In 2013, after three trials and more than a decade behind bars, Camm was finally acquitted and exonerated.

EPISODE SYNOPSES — “FRAMED BY THE KILLER”

Tuesday, June 9
THE SEX CULT FRAME
In this episode of the true crime series produced by Ice-T, investigators encounter a brutal murder carried out amid a deceptive sex cult. Now they must unravel a masterful plan of revenge that will lead them to a killer no one saw coming.

Tuesday, June 16
A LOVER’S FRAME
When a woman vanishes without a trace, both her husband and her boyfriend rush to point the finger at each other. Now investigators must use every resource available to uncover which of the two was truly involved in her disappearance.

Tuesday, June 23
THE FAMILY MAN AND THE FRAME
When a state trooper’s family is murdered, he is framed by the real killer. Despite having a solid alibi, the crime scene is not fully documented and the evidence is misread. After long legal battles and advances in DNA testing, he is finally exonerated.

ABOUT ICE-T
Tracy Marrow, known as Ice-T, was born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 16, 1958, and spent his early years in Summit with his parents. When he was in third grade, his mother died of a heart attack. Four years later, his father also died of a heart attack, leaving him orphaned at a young age. After these losses, he moved to South Central Los Angeles to live with his aunt. It was there, as a sixth grader, that he began getting involved in inner-city life, an experience that would shape his career as a rapper and later give him the credibility to become a spokesperson against gang violence. Despite his friends’ disapproval, Ice-T managed to finish high school with good grades.

Before fully committing to rap, Ice-T spent a few years in the U.S. Army and then returned to Los Angeles, working as a street hustler to make a living. He adopted the stage name “Ice T,” inspired by author “Iceberg Slim” (Robert Maupin Beck III), whom he considered a role model.

He signed with Sire Records in 1987 and released his debut album, Rhyme Pays, that same year, which later went gold. He also wrote the theme song for the film “Colors” (1987), which helped him gain early attention. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, he released several albums that cemented his status as a key figure in West Coast rap. In particular, his album O.G. Original Gangster (1991) is considered one of the cornerstones of the “gangsta rap” subgenre.

His musical career also includes his collaboration with rap-metal band Body Count. In 1992, they released their self-titled album, which included the controversial song “Cop Killer,” sparking intense public and media debate.

Alongside his music career, Ice-T began acting in film and television. He appeared in movies such as “New Jack City” (1991), “Ricochet” (1991), “Trespass” (1992), and “Johnny Mnemonic” (1995). The rapper-turned-actor also found time to build a television career, including numerous guest appearances and even his own VH1 reality show, “Ice-T’s Rap School.” Since 2000, he has been a fixture on television playing Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola on NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Through this role, he managed to transcend his image as a rapper and establish himself as a long-standing actor.

In 2010, he took on one of his most passionate projects, “The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars,” an A&E reality show chronicling the life of gang mediator Malik Spellman. Like the show’s star, producer Ice-T remained firmly committed to ending violence in the place where he grew up, hoping that the word “opportunity” would mean as much to the new generation as it did for him when hip-hop first inspired him to escape the streets.

He also served as host and executive producer of “Fame and Fentanyl,” the A&E documentary that premiered in Latin America in 2025, exploring the devastating impact of a drug that permanently changed the landscape of the United States.

Ice-T is the father of LeTesha, with his ex-partner Adrienne, and Tracy Marrow Jr., with his ex-partner Darlene Ortiz. In 2005, he married Nicole “Coco” Austin, with whom he starred in the E! reality show “Ice Loves Coco” (2011–2013). In November 2015, his daughter with Coco, Chanel Nicole, was born.

Ice-T is considered one of the pioneers of West Coast rap and the “gangsta rap” subgenre. His lyrics conveyed street reality with rawness, blending social critique, neighborhood life, and urban rhythm. Thanks to his many facets — musician, actor, TV personality — he managed to bridge different cultural worlds: hip-hop, film, and television. Additionally, his lasting screen presence as an actor (particularly on “Law & Order: SVU”) has allowed him to stay relevant for decades, something few rappers have achieved so consistently.