Dateline Friday: “The Devil Wore White” May 29 2026

Dateline NBC revisits one of the most notorious true crime stories of the late 20th century with “The Devil Wore White,” airing Friday, May 29, 2026, at 9/8c. Reported by Keith Morrison, the special examines the extraordinary crimes of Sante Kimes and her son Kenneth “Kenny” Kimes, a mother-son duo whose decades-long trail of fraud, theft, deception, and murder shocked the nation.

At the center of the story is the disappearance of Irene Silverman, a wealthy 82-year-old New York socialite who vanished from her Manhattan brownstone in July 1998. Silverman was known for renting rooms in her elegant Upper East Side home. When she suddenly disappeared, friends and family immediately suspected something was wrong. Investigators soon learned that Silverman had recently become entangled with Sante and Kenny Kimes, who had been posing as prospective tenants.

As detectives searched for Silverman, they uncovered evidence suggesting she had been murdered and that the Kimeses had stolen her identity and attempted to seize control of her valuable property. Although Silverman’s body was never found, prosecutors assembled a powerful circumstantial case that linked the pair to her disappearance.

The investigation revealed that Irene Silverman’s case was only one chapter in a much larger criminal history. Authorities discovered that Sante Kimes had spent decades running elaborate scams across the United States. Charismatic and manipulative, she frequently reinvented herself while involving her sons in her schemes. Over the years, the family became connected to insurance fraud, forgery, theft, arson, and other crimes.

One son, Kent Kimes, eventually distanced himself from his mother, later describing the control she exercised over those around her. Kenny Kimes, however, remained fiercely loyal. Prosecutors argued that he became his mother’s willing partner in increasingly dangerous crimes, helping carry out schemes that eventually escalated to murder.

The case captivated the public because of its unusual dynamics. Sante projected the image of a glamorous socialite while investigators portrayed her as the mastermind behind a criminal empire. Court proceedings exposed years of deception and painted a picture of a mother who manipulated those closest to her for personal gain.

“The Devil Wore White” explores the rise and fall of the Kimes family, the disappearance of Irene Silverman, and the investigation that finally brought Sante and Kenny to justice. Through archival footage, interviews, and Keith Morrison’s reporting, the broadcast revisits a case that remains one of America’s most infamous examples of family-driven crime.