The family of a New Jersey woman, who gained national attention after being shot by her Olympic equestrian coach, is speaking out against the portrayal of the case in recent true crime documentaries. They argue that the narratives unfairly favor her assailant.
Netflix’s 2026 documentary, “Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill,” along with a 2022 episode of CBS News’ “48 Hours,” delve into the chilling incident involving Lauren Kanarek. Kanarek, a dressage rider, was shot twice in the chest by Olympian Michael Barisone outside his Long Valley farm in 2019.
Despite the severity of her injuries, Kanarek survived, and Barisone was subsequently arrested, facing several charges, including first-degree attempted murder.
However, in a 2022 trial, a Morris County jury found Barisone not guilty by reason of insanity. He was released from a psychiatric facility a year after the verdict.
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Lauren Kanarek is pictured with her horse in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy of the Kanarek family)
The shooting quickly became a popular topic within true crime media, with “48 Hours” and Netflix both releasing shows retelling Kanarek’s story. But shortly after Netflix’s release earlier this year, her family began disputing filmmakers’ version of events, alleging both documentaries put a larger emphasis on Barisone’s side of the story while portraying him as the victim.
“It’s horrible. In the case of ‘48 Hours’, we were just flabbergasted at the time,” Jonathan Kanarek, Lauren’s father, told Fox News Digital. “It was so defamatory about Lauren.”
The release of both shows opened the door to a public harassment against Kanarek, including endless social media comments and ostracism within the equestrian community, according to her father.
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Michael Barisone appears in court in Morristown, N.J., on Aug. 14, 2019. (Seth Wenig/AP)
“CBS has a big audience of true crime fans,” Jonathan Kanarek said. “These true crime people, this is what they do. Lauren’s getting all this hate mail, [saying], ‘You should be dead, you miserable b—-. He should have shot you in the head.’”
Steven Beer, the Kanarek family attorney, echoed the father’s sentiments surrounding the case’s portrayal in mainstream media.
“I don’t think anyone who viewed ‘48 Hours’ or ‘Untold’ on Netflix could view that as a slice of victim advocacy,” Beer told Fox News Digital.
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Beer added that upon watching Netflix’s trailer for the show, they grew suspicious that the documentary was not giving air to Kanarek’s side of the story and approached Netflix and Propagate, the film’s production company, to request a screener ahead of its release.
“We asked Netflix and Propagate for a copy of the screener of the film beforehand so we could help Lauren manage her anxiety,” Beer said. “And they turned us down, [which was] just shocking. So that certainly was a confirmation of what we could expect.”
According to Beer, Kanarek and her family were especially disheartened by what they believe was an attempt by Netflix and “48 Hours” to reframe her story for the sake of profits and popularity.
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Lauren Kanarek walked away from a shooting with a damaged left lung and required several reconstructive surgeries. (Photo provided by the Kanerek family)
“After all the things that have happened in the world of sports and in the world in general, where powerful people have victimized or intimidated young women, that in this particular environment where we feel we are shining a light on this and talking about support and holding powerful people accountable,” Beer said. “It’s just a head-scratcher that Propagate and Netflix would disregard that conversation and the opportunity to do well.”
“All they had to do was be responsible and tell a story that wasn’t solely geared at giving the audience the impression that maybe [Lauren] could have driven [Barisone] to that point,” Beer continued. “As if anything Lauren could have done would have merited Michael Barisone from getting a gun and attempting to kill her.”
Kanarek began training under Barisone in 2018 and eventually moved into an on-site apartment with her fiancé at his training farm, Hawthorne Hill. However, the pair’s working relationship quickly turned sour, with the Netflix documentary revealing both individuals blamed each other for the fallout.
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Posts made by Kanarek to Facebook at the time played a large role in both the criminal trial and subsequent documentary, with Barisone telling “48 Hours” the fallout was substantial.
“There were things coming out on social media that were horrific,” Barisone said in an episode of “48 Hours” about the shooting. “I remember complete and total panic. Everybody says I was unglued. I was unglued.”
However, both Kanarek and her family have vehemently denied that the posts were intended to make Barisone feel uncomfortable, with Kanarek telling Netflix the posts were made in response to Barisone’s girlfriend trying to keep her from riding at the farm.
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Months of tension came to a head on Aug. 7, 2019, when Barisone confronted Kanarek and her fiancé, Rob Goodwin, while the pair were staying on his property, and shot her twice in the chest.
“I’m walking over to him, and he is just staring at me,” Kanarek said in the Netflix documentary. “There was just something not right. And immediately, Michael pulls out a gun, shoots at me, bang, bang.”
She was subsequently transported to a hospital and placed in a medically induced coma for several days as doctors raced to save her life.
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“After a month in the hospital, she was able to leave and they spent the last several years going through her recovery, which – at least the physical parts – will never end,” Jonathan Kanarek told Fox News Digital.
Kanarek ultimately walked away with a damaged left lung and required several reconstructive surgeries stemming from the shooting.
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Barisone was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, with authorities adding he also fired at Goodwin but narrowly missed.
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After being found not guilty by reason of insanity, Barisone was civilly committed to Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton before moving to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris County, according to NJ.com. He was later released in 2023.
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In 2025, Barisone was permanently banned from riding in events sanctioned by the U.S. Equestrian Foundation by SafeSport on the grounds of “sexual harassment; emotional misconduct; violated NGB policies/bylaws,” according to its website. The decision is eligible for appeal.
A disclaimer at the end of the Netflix documentary notes that additional documents and evidence provided by both sides were not included in the show.
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Additionally, Kanarek was paid an unspecified amount for her appearance in the documentary, according to NJ.com. Barisone, however, was not paid, according to a GoFundMe created on his behalf.
“Despite wild claims of us being paid upwards of six figures for our interviews, we did not ask for nor receive a dime,” a March 4 update to the fundraiser read. “We were told the show has a small budget to pay for some documents, which we declined, as we did not want to give them exclusive rights to certain documents.”
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The fundraiser has received more than $85,000 in donations for Barisone.
In light of the show’s release, Kanarek is hoping her story of survival and victim advocacy will inspire change within institutions that have a responsibility to protect women.
“[Lauren] has a purpose as she moves forward. She is not a professional victim,” Beer told Fox News Digital. “She wants people to learn from her experience and to help spark that constructive conversation.”
“She is healing, and that is paramount,” Beer added. “Part of her healing is trying to bring light from darkness, and trying to bring good from her tragic circumstances so that fewer women have to endure this kind of toxic environment – where they are vulnerable to intimidation, harassment and worse from powerful gatekeepers.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Barisone’s attorney, Netflix, CBS News and Propagate for comment.
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