Fifteen year old Rachel Barber had everything going for her. She was incredibly talented, a dancer training full time. She was popular, loved by her family who were very close, and by her beautiful boyfriend, an equally gorgeous and loving person in his own right. And she was beautiful, strikingly so. She was tall, slim, dark hair, and striking piercing green eyes. It would be very easy to envy Rachel, but she was too pure. She was too kind and loving and
full of life to everyone but one person. One person saw Rachel as having the life they would never have, and that's why Rachel ended up murdered. Oh my god, this is the truly harrowing story of fifteen year old Rachel Barber.
Oh my god. I know a little bit about this, and I'm scared of what you're about to tell me. Hey there, everybody, welcome to not Another Crime podcast. I'm Georgia Love, I'm Semmi Peterson.
I'm a journalist.
I am not. But I'll tell you what if you want to skip ahead and just listen to the story, The time code on how to do that or just actually does a time code is in the show not But.
Before you do if anyone is doing that. I want to give a preface to this week's Thursday Treat episode because it's related to the story. So don't skip ahead just yet. Not just yet, maybe don't at all, but definitely not yet. So this Thursday's Treat is going to be a real treat, indeed, because I have another podcast called Everyone Has an X Yes, And this Thursday we're going to actually have an episode of that podcast as
our Thursday Treat because it's about this story. Yes, yeah, and that's all I'll say now, because it's a special treat for you to listen to on Thursday. But yeah, it is related to this story and we're going to drop that for you on Thursday. So if you are listening to this story and you want to know more, hear more here one person's view of its side of it, their story. Yeah, listening it on Thursday.
Yeah, absolutely, And if you did skip ahead, f off say that because I don't know they don't know that.
The thing is we can actually say that.
You can say here.
But if you guys know anyone who is a skiperheader.
Yeah good, yeah, tell them off, tell them off on for us, past off on. That's that's quite hard to say. On my other podcast, Confessions, there is a new episode up already with the great Gareth Reynolds if you want to listen to that. Gareth is one of the funniest people ever and I was very excited to record with him over a wonderful thing called Zoom dot com. It makes everything harder, Oh.
Yeah, because ideas always a little bit of a delay, always always, So it's.
A program on the computer. Thank you now?
That the thing I have to record that my other podcast on.
If it has an x available on all of the apps.
Right, and there's a new season out of the Mind.
Yes, it's available in all of.
All of all of the podcast apps. It's not available on for instance.
Flow tracker.
It's not available on flow Tracker, flow Tracker, it's not available on me.
I don't know why you can't think of any apps at all.
I was about to say Spotify, but it is.
It is.
It's not available on the email your.
One very good, but it can.
Can email us at Sammy at just another company dot.
Com if you want to get in touch on don't you also send us a voicemail because we.
What are other apps? Pace day?
There's so many apps what are you talking about this YouTube app?
But it is available on YouTube.
Oh is it?
Oh wait, no, that sounds.
That sounds It's available on YouTube dot com. Scape plugs for ours though, if you want to watch you on YouTube dot com. It is out right bloody. Now, there won't be a YouTube video for Thursday's episode, but it is so worth listening to g love for people that don't know. Right now, there is I would describe it as a ruckus happening upstairs.
Yeah, there's a no, I can't think of better words, dance party.
It's called a dance party. And what a dance party is if you don't know, it's people who dance non stop. And my neighbor deb right now, I think every weekend she has a dance party with some of her friends. They are so positive they I think, what did you say? She said? They do it so they can feel safe and just have a good time. It's always in Sunday afternoon. They all bring bottles of bubble, so we can relate
to that. And all they do is they dance. They call out to digs on their balcony down and they just dance and have the best time in the world. And it is so fun to hear.
Or they're in like the maybe fifties are there?
Yeah, yeah, maybe late forty fifties, And basically they dance all all afternoon upstairs. It's too Shanaia Twain mostly and it's very good stuff. So yeah, I love it when they let's go girls come all scream out they do. Yeah, it's so good. And upstairs, all that happens is I can just hear footsteps going. But because of my double glazing, do you love, I cannot hear out there, So I do like to open it up so I can hear them dancing and go and join the Oh I have before.
I've been upstairs before to take Digs up because they have invited Digs to the dance party before. Yeah, but he loves it. He's a dancer from way back.
Oh yeah, he has dance parties himself.
Here, you know, Digs. I've been watching some Netflix documentaries recently, Sammy.
No, wait, you're allowed to tell me that, please, But you know what I'm going to ask you first?
Yes?
Yes?
What?
Yes? Please?
Have you watched fucking Heated Rivalry yet?
No?
I have not, but I have watched a lot more Morning Wars greag.
Go you why haven't you watched Heated Rivalry yet?
I started to watch the first episode and I was not in the right headspace for it because it was quite slow. You need to try, I know, I know, to trust me.
Also, it's been one of my poudry peeves before when you tell someone watch this show you'll love it, and they just don't do it.
My wife, I'm telling you because also when someone says, oh my god, you have to watch this episode, it gets great after three seasons.
This is only six episodes.
I know that, but still a lot. How long is each episode?
Fifty minutes?
Yeah, okay, so that's a long time.
It's only six episodes.
Hold on every single week, I've got a dance party to go to, or I can watch Headed Rivalry.
No, they're not the only two options.
What are the other options you can have?
No, No, they're not options at all. You can do both.
Oh I see, yes, yes, yeah, yeah, okay.
So I'm not saying every week on a Sunday and watch all six episode or go to Deb's dance party. I've never once said that, and I never.
Would as I call it about that, but I'll say, gee, love is what if I just said, yeah, I watched it and I was at the cottage this weekend, I will.
Believe that you wouldn't because then I would want to sit down and have an eight hour about it, and I would know very.
Quickly, yeah, well what if? Okay. So I was discussing this with the wonderful Gareth rene Olds the other day Sorry on the podcast. I said to him, I love your podcast, and I just forgot the name of his podcast and I said it with Jake Johnson and he goes, yeah, what's it called? He called me? And I went and I went, can we help? And he goes, it's and he goes, yeah, and he said he said a variation of what it was, but I almost got it right. It was just one word off anyway, and it was
so funny. And then we just both started saying for the rest of the podcast, yeah, I know, like we we we both know we both don't know what we're talking about. We go fantastic, Yeah, I know, because I have a great story that I kind of told on Confessions this week. But it is one of my favorite stories ever where someone that you and I both know, and he went to a play of someone else. We
both know. I'll tell you about you. You're not gonna You're not going to and okay, putting my hand on, you're going that Love the Lady and International Women's Days. We're recording this, Yes, Love the Lady.
I'll tell you about that in a minute.
I believe it's for women internationally. Think about it. We're going to the cottage.
For only the women who are international.
We're going to the cottage. And so okay, So I my friend told me this story, right, And I have since changed a little bit to this story, and I did in the Confessions episode to make it about me. What I'll say is, this story actually is not about me, but I really hear the identities of these people, and I think it's fun to just not name and shame, but get closer to what the actual story is.
Are you going to tell us the story making people listen to Confessions?
And I'm going to tell you. Sorry, Okay, I don't like repeating stories, but I'm going to do it this one time. So basically what happened is my friend was going to go and see this play, got really bored during it and went and had a joint upstairs on the on the rooftop and then during the show and didn't watch the show, and at the end this person who you know who you'll just you'll die when you
hear who these people are. He walked up the top and saw them on the deck and all the route or whatever, and said, what did you think of the play? And my friend said, really, really good, loved it. And he said, what did you think about the horse bit? And he said that was my favorite bit? And he said there was no horse bit, right, So that's the story. And so Gareth and I spoke about that for a long time, and then I decided to pretend that I've seen all lords. Gareth start so he said my film
that he hadn't sent to me. At that point, he goes, what do you think of it? Go yeah, no, yeah, no, it's real good stuff, bro. I find it one of the funniest things in the world where people pretend that they've seen something and they haven't, and it is so so easy to get caught out in it. My friend Davin, great friend Davin, when my childhood friends told me once he's like.
He's not a child anymore.
So he grew up. Yes, and he said to me, once have you seen Scooby Doo when I went, yeah, I've seen Scooby Doo and he goes, no, no, you haven't. I went, yeah, I had seen Scooby Doo and he goes, I was like, so you can tell me the spoilers and everything, just so why I would know a bit more about it. And he said what about the bit when they're in the van or something like that? And I said, oh, I love that bit and he goes, that never happened in the film. So Davin really caught
me out. Was real piece of work, real snake in the grass about that. And I never I've never forgiven him. Yes, basically it's from so I've never forgiven him. Have you done that where you pretended to I imagine you as a journalist, You probably don't do that. You don't go yeah, I loved it.
No, I don't do that. I can't think of a time when I would have done that.
Great comedians Seelipcoller did that to me and my friend brom Lewis when she came on podcast I used to do call you two Drunk Counties, and she came on to her pretending she knew it, and then we called her out on it because it was.
You would say, you would do the segment and she goes, what why are you doing that?
But are you calling it this? And I started every episode going let's go girls, and then and then she goes fuck and she lost her and she goes you let every episode was like, yes, you obviously don't listen. That's interesting, but I love it. You wouldn't do that. That was a journalist, because I remember when you went to interview A Doll a little while ago and you said you listened to the album.
That was a That was a different journalist.
And so he got a flight over to London.
The exclusive only Australian person to do an interview with Adele about her latest album.
Yeah probably called something about her age yep, yep.
And he flew over to London, sat down for a one on one interview with her, and she realized during the interview she got the vibe that he hadn't listened to it, and she asked him straight out, have you listened to it? And the only part of it, no, we did it. The only part of it due respect is that he said no, no, I haven't. It's not out and she said, we sent it to you beforehand though,
and he said, I didn't realize. So none of the none of that story is good except but I do respect that he said I haven't, because it is bad on both parts if you haven't. So this is the thing with the play that he was saying that you know someone who went.
To this is fascinating you know both people.
Oh my god, I can't person was.
In the play and the person who went to the play was.
I just need a yes or no from you? Was the person in the play. Chris Hemsworth was the person who went to the play. Bobby Darren. They like swing music style, the one that sings.
Some Okay, I cannot confirm more tonight. I cannot confirm more tonight. Probably not since I said, who was Bobby Darren? Yeah, okay, so you going would you would never do something like that because Carl Stefanovic whenever I was a person.
That was a journalist, No, it wasn't. You can't just.
Throw someone on the bus that I listened to Carl Stefanovick's podcast. Recently, he had an interview with Pauline Hanson.
I'm going to double down on the y Okay.
The real reason I listened to it is because he had an episode with Kyle Sandalans. No, but I wanted to go, what is going on with this man? And I wanted to I've never listened to Kyle Sanderan, So I was like, I want to learn a little bit about Kyl Sandalanz And I really didn't like hiding it. And then I went, oh my god, he's had Pauline Hanson on, and I.
Wanted to listeners just google these people.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, both real and shit. But Pauline Hanson, I was like, I actually find her voice very funny. Yeah, okay, And so I wanted to hear a sa plist explained, but you she has moments like that where she says ridiculous stuff and you're like, oh god, but I find her such a she seems like a character. She doesn't feel like a real person's correct,
she feels like such a character. And there used to be a character called Pauline pants Down that was a drag comedy character about Pauline, and she did an amazing song called please Explain. I don't like it. No, No, never did, I don't like it. So have you you know that one of her yeah, oh so good. I'll put it in here. I don't like it.
Anything.
I don't like it.
I went near.
I don't like it.
Anything.
My friend wants to do a show about Pauline Hansoon but playing Pauline Hanson, and they are one of the funniest people ever. They did a show about Chappelle Corby. She actually looks like Chappelle Corby, and then she did She's just done heaps of great one woman shows, and I think one about Pauline Hanson. And she's the most like like I guess for American lestens. She's very liberal
in in our term. She's very like left leaning. She's very, very, very very about gay culture and everything, and I think it'd be very funny to watch her do a show about Pauline Hanson. Anyway, Kyle Stephanovick listening to it and everything is just really interesting because I find it really hard to listen to someone sometimes when you're like because uncomfortable conversations. I find really interesting. If you're talking to
someone that you don't agree with, that's great. But I don't know where Carl stands, so I don't know whether or not he was promoting Carl Sanderlands or Pauline Hanson. So I didn't end up listening to the whole thing in the end, it was just an interesting moment to go.
It made you feel uncomfortable, not in the right way, yes, yeah, that's right.
But one of the greatest frontline episodes of all time. There's an amazing TV show in Australia by the Working Dog crew who were just incredible and also four doors down from my home, right of docs mm and I just love them so much that their address is not listened. Don't you worry about that? And yeah, I've looked and I find them so incredible. And they did an episode
basically what it was. It was in a current affair show, but it was it was way before really like any of those sort of really satirical shows.
That's where edit it's here, yes, and it's.
So brilliant and it's basically like if you've seen the Larry Sanders Show in America, it's very much like that, like behind the scenes of a current affairs show and
news report every single night. And there's one episode that actually had Pauline Hanson in and she pays herself out yeah in it, and remember that, yeah, And someone goes, she's xenophobic, and then Mike Moore, the lead guy, who's a bit dumb, he doesn't really understand what means, so he keeps going that xenophobic and people keept going, have you actually listened to her speech, and he goes, yeah, no,
he does that thing. Yeah, yeah, I get it, Yeah, I get it, and it's going that xenophobic And it's one of the funniest episodes ever because and then she goes on and she's on in the end, she's on. She kind of pays out herself a little bit, and it's not it's not something you've ever really seen from her because I think now maybe back in the day she did have a sense of humor about herself. Now
she does not know. She's like minimum, she's Trump esque. Yeah, she's one nation, yeah yeah, yeah, she's one nation in Australia, which is just you know, very yeah yeah, ultra conservative, right wing, but very problematic, very problematic. But yeah, back in the day, there was a it's a fascinating episode. I have to watch it. It is so fascinating.
I'll ask you off, Mike, your thoughts about the podcast bits that you have listened to of Carl Stefanovick's yeah, yeah, yeah, you can tell me your thoughts if you want.
Like, I've never liked Carl Carl Sevnovik, but I do find it interesting. I don't know. I don't mind listening to things sometimes that I find uncomfortable, Like I don't mind listening to something for a little bit until I go, Okay, I get the idea of what you're talking about. Yeah, okay, I get the idea. Like Joe Rogan, Like I've never really listened to Joe Rogan, but I did have a friend that was on Joe Rogan and listen to it, going, I get what it's about.
Who's your friend? Who was on?
James Donald Force McCann, who is a comedian from Adelaide who has really blown up. He's a very very very funny person. I don't agree with all of the things that he says, but he's a very very very funny person that went over to America because he opened in Australia for Shane Gillis, and who's a big American comedian. Shane Gillis really supports him, takes him around with him around the world, and he's just become really big and he was on the Joe Rogan podcast, and so that's
the only Joe Rogan podcast I've ever listened to. But I know Louis Theroux's been on there, and people that I actually like have been on there. I'm sure someone like John Ronson would go on there because I find those sorts of people they actually are okay to a certain extent in talking about who they are and then and then kind of pushing back. I think, yeah, like I did Josh Epps podcast Uncomfortable Conversations, and I don't agree with everything Josh Spp says, and I would say
that to it. But I like Josh EPs, so it's like, you.
Know, the fact that you would say it to him is why you could.
Go on Yeah, yeah, exactly. But no, Yeah, the car Stevenovik thing is a really interesting I'm not promoting his podcast. I'm just saying it is an interesting dynamic. If you are in a mind frame to go what there, what is this about? It is an interesting thing to listen to for a few seconds to go, Okay, I get it. I'm not into it. I'd rather listen to Mama miir out loud, but but I kind of go, yeah, that's interesting. That's interesting. Okay, I understand now. I get the whole
I listened to two seconds ago. I'm such a man. I get the whole view. I understand it all. On International Women's Day when we're recording this, I get it.
So what I will say about it being International Women's Day today is I had a brunch at a friends. Yes, you do this morning. Now, it wasn't purposely. It didn't purposely fall on International Women's Day. That's not why she organized it. But she just wanted to get her girlfriends together for a Sunday.
Brunch like deb today, like exactly.
And she asked everyone to bring a plate of something they had made or baked themselves. Now, I don't like that.
I don't like that. I don't like.
Baking or cooking. I'll do it when you know. If I need dinner, I'll make myself dinner, okay.
Big girl. If I'm late, if I'm hungry, oh late. And also just so you know, if G is hungry.
You'll know you. Oh my god, the hanger is real.
We have been on trips together and oh my god, when she is hangy, she tell you I don't like hanging When she hangy is when you catchrayes when she hangy, she tell you barently mcgamera when she hangy. You know, I hate hangy and you know, sorry, tell you beautiful story, right.
So I baked some savory muffins to take to this brunch because I was asked to, and I was against the fact that I was asked anyway, because and the fact that it was a lady's brunch and the invitation that went out and said ladies brunch, which lovely for my friend to host this thing. But I don't want to cook and I want to bake.
But I did. Yeah. I told you to go to work, just at some sort of bakery or something and get shit. Yeah, I said that those exact words.
Yes you did. So I spent my Saturday night at home baking muffins for ladies Brunch on International Women's Day. And I cannot tell you how angry I am at myself for when realizing that that's what I did for International Women's Day. I've put the movement back fucking forty years. I'm so angry.
You said fuck the patriarch and when you were when you were making them, yes, yes, yes, oh.
My god, so many times and she did have her husband be the waiter and clean like all the dishes and stuff around us, which you know helped a little. And I didn't speak to him. I don't like him.
Yeah, I don't like him. Other never met him, but I don't like him. Tell you that much? Uh from things I've heard, I don't like him one bit. I'm angry as hell. I can't tell you something real quick. I want to tell you this. I wish we had a behind the paywall episode so I could tell you those names, and I would tell every listener. But if you want to do in the Instagram and say, hey, who are those people, I'll tell you.
I'm not going to get her engagement very.
Clever, I'll tell you. Don't worry about I'll tell you that is so interesting though, Like I love that as a like going off. I have a friend that was one time very careful about what I say. But they were going to a friend's house and the friend said, need to make home made staff, bring homemade stuff, and she was like, oh, I don't want to do this right. It went to a i'ld say it's an o tasinal place. Went to an artisinal place where they had the most amazing home cooked caramel slice.
I see where this is go.
Everyone loved her. Now she has to continually buy caramel slice to everyone on.
My mum was not a great cook, like you know, fine but not great and did not enjoy cooking. Exactly where I got it from. And there's a family we're very good friends with who live into state and they would come to Melbourne every year for Christmas. So always every Christmas we'd have a dinner with them. And one year, after many many many years, family, No, they're very busy
in December. We catch up with them in January. Yes, yes, yes, one year she was like, fuck this, I'm just going to get it hated in But it was like, yeah, that's that same kind of thing, like home cooked stuff that she picked up during the day and ate it up that night. At the end of the dinner, when these friends were leaving, the mum of the family seach to my mum, Blinda, I've just got to say your cooking has improved out of such.
Such an insect. I told you mom on Christmas that I like, I can't tell that story, but if we're behind a paywall, I could definitely tell that story.
We need to get a pay This feels like this is all set up so people go I'd pay to listen.
Oh yeah, if you want to. If you want to, we're very happy to divulge all of these secrets. G love. We should get into the episode this week. Please do leave us a five star rating, five star review. What else do you love?
Write us an email at Sammie just another company? Do you lead us voicemail? The link is in our link tree on our Instagram and in our show notes as well. Leave us a five star ready to get a five star.
Review, Share it with a friend, watch us on YouTube tube. Thank you Oliver Clark for doing the music, thanking attends and hates for doing the artwork.
And if everyone, if every woman woman identifying person listening to this, could please not bake anything on request for at least the next month.
Don't listen to Pauline Handsome.
That will help me feel a little bit better about how far I put the movement back today by baking something because I was asked to.
I'm really at it. Take one step for take two step back. That's something that Paula Abdul's on what's that? Because ups it's a tract upper.
It's a tract. Is that how it goes?
I'm not sure. Anyway, listen to this week's episode and I'll do the theme here.
I think that's how it's okay. Before I start on the story today, I want to say that this story is one that's very very close to me. I remember it because the person involved in it, Rachel Barber, was close to my age, and I remember when it happened, and I remember, you know, kind of watching documentaries and
movies and reading books about it. It happened in Melbourne, and it's just been one that I've always it's really really really stuck with me, and I have in the last couple of years met somebody involved with the story and I will I'll tell you who when the name comes up. And that has obviously only made me much closer to the story in terms of how I feel about it, and a real insight into the story itself
from somebody that was involved in it. So I have spoken to that person about whether they would be comfortable for me to do this episode the story is an episode, and he has said yes, so yeah, we'll go into this story. It's really it is really harrowing story. Really harrowing. And this Thursday, we've got a special Thursday Treat, which is an episode of my other podcast, Everyone has an X. We'll be republishing that on our feed because that is an episode with this person that I have met involved
in this story. So yeah, I've not done the story before now because I didn't know whether my friend would be comfortable with it. But I've spoken to him and he has said that he's happy for me to do this story as an episode. So it's just an awful one. So are you ready?
Yeah? Right, I think so. Yeah.
Rachel Barber was born on September twelve, nineteen eighty three.
She has go years of her girl, of her guy.
Here did we go? Maybe this is why I feel a real conne. She was the eldest of three girls. She had a sister named Ashley.
And Heather, great names actually like those.
In her wider family. There was a children's author, a writer, a photographer, a toy maker, designer, and an artist.
A candlestick maker. Yeah, creative family, That's exactly.
What I've written. Her whole family was very talented and very creative. Rachel started dancing at Melbourne Dance Academy, where she would spend almost every night after school and even some lunch times.
Do you know how old she was when she started or she just kind of always did it.
Yeah, she started. She started dancing when she was really little, like kind of three, three or four when she started, and she loved it. And it's a very kind of nineties thing as well. Every girl I went to school with, everyone I know just did dancing after school everyone I know. Obviously not everyone did, but it was a very nineties thing.
When you dance, you're dunt and the dance of life, yeah.
Something like that. She loved it, and she was very naturally talented at it, and she worked really hard so became, you know, it really flourished in it. It wasn't just a natural talent. She worked hard as well, and she
particularly flourished in classical ballet. Her grandma was a photographer, and she would pose for her grandma's artistic shots, like in her ballet, you know, on point, and she was featured in a lot of her grandma's photography because she was just this just really from a little little girl, really striking looking. She kind of had a natural ballerina frame and she had these stunning bright bright, bright green eyes and kind of almost cutlike eyes. She was very, very, very beautiful.
I've seen photos of her before and she's just such a striking looking Yeah.
Absolutely, At age fourteen, she did a two week modeling course because she was really desperate, really really desperate to do that. So her mum and dad said, yes, you can do the course, but her parents said, you're not doing any kind of professional work in that at this age.
But you can do the course.
She convinced her parents, begged her parents and pleaded to leave school at fifteen so she could go to dance school full time. Wow, and finally managed to convince them. They said, she has such a passion and love for dance, she's not going to want to do anything else in
her life anyway. So it was kind of like they're really that she's going to do it any So she got into and then enrolled in Dance Factory, which is a dance school which has full full time academy as well as just classes that you can go to as well. In Richmond.
Oh right, okay, they're a dog Broadway baby there. I believe that's just a little insight to those of us who love dance moms.
Sure, sure, sure, yeah, I love that you. We went out for dinner with friends about and you've spent the whole dinner talking to our friend's wife about dance.
Mom.
Oh yeah, which I haven't watched. No, and I famously a theater girl. In nineteen ninety nine, she was fifteen years old and she was dancing full time at dance Factory.
Wow.
On Monday, March one of that year, she dressed in a pair of long black pants, which definitely in those days were called dance pants.
Dance pants yep, yep, a blue top, and.
Her jazz runners. I've got to tell you, do you know what jazz runners are?
Oh?
My god?
Like black, kind of like runners but with no middle. Were in their soul, so the art so you can point your toes properly.
Oh okay resting, yeah wow, God damn it. I wanted them so wow.
Okay, anyway, she had them. She had a backpack on with her wallet, a water bottle, and a homemade cushion she had made for her boyfriend Manny. It was a purple heart tied with a pink ribbon that she had made for him.
Oh wow.
Now Manny is the person who has become a friend of mine in the last few years. Rachel left her Bayswater North home at the time she always did. She held out by mum love you and got in the car with her dad, Michael, who took her to the nearby tram stop that would take her straight into school at dance Factory. He would then pick her up from the same tram stop that evening at six fifteen pm.
She got on the nine thirty am tram, arriving in Richmond, where she ate breakfast at a friend's house, a friend that went to dance as well. A group of them. We would go in there together and one of the people there was her boyfriend, sixteen year old Money. They had met a dance factory the previous May.
It was a dancer too.
Oh wow, he's a dancer as well. Rachel wasn't full time when they met, she was just dancing there, and this year, in nineteen nine, she was full time. When they met in that previous May. They had just been inseparable ever since. They were really one of those you know, teenage couples that were just like magnetized to each other, just absolutely adored each other and you know, love hard. Eye emoji.
And also like a male dancer is quite a hard thing to find as well, Like I mean a heterosexual cis like you know, like a male dancer is such a I don't know, Like I always feel like, well, this is my history watching dance mums, I always go, oh, you never really see a lot of male young dancers that want to do it. So Manny must have had like such an amazing ability to dance and everything. And what a beautiful, very.
Very very talented as well, he's an amazing singer. Wow. I also remember it was the nineties, and you know he was a teenager as well, so you know, it was less common I think for teenagers then to be like that, but also less common for the you know people anyone I suppose as teenagers in the nineties to be out and openly gay if they were at that age. Yes, So it were the cushion that she had made for him was it wasn't a special occasion the day that
she was giving it to him. She just had made it that weekend because she wanted him to know that he had captured her heart.
Oh, how to have this her heart that it's adorable.
Remember teenage relationships.
Yeah, mixtapes, mix tape, I made someone a mixtape once did do? What was on there?
Oh?
Like pretty much Backstreet Boys perfect yeah, which girls always love.
Yeah you smooth an't ye. At ten fifteen am, the group that had been a breakfast went to their dance school to start classes. During one of the classes, Rachel told a friend that she was doing something that evening that was going to make her some money, but she couldn't say what it was. She was just telling her friend to be like, I'm really excited. I'll tell you tomorrow, but I'm not gonna to tell you today what it is. Oh okay, she didn't want to jinx it.
Sure. I had a lemonade stand for a bit. Yes, I was doing stuff like that, like I wanted to meet my friend Tyron. We used to try and make any money we could, and we sold rocks with googly eyes on them at the front of the house. We'd have like we made a little stall because the trestle table pet rocks with like Google eyes, and we also had a lemonade stall as well.
I've seen photos of you when you were little and you shooting.
We thought it was amazing. With the same watch on we thought it was real cool, same watch and we to just sit there just talking all the time.
It was one of those like slap band.
Yea yeah yeah yeah, so cool would.
Have been around the same yeah yeah yeah. So at lunchtime that day, Rachel and Manny went for a walk down Swan Street in Richmond, and Rachel pointed out a pair of blue platform shoes in a shop that she said she was going to buy the next day. Oh wow, they were one hundred dollars. That's ninety nine exactly. So Manny was like, they're beautiful. I know you love that, but like, come on, but she said, I'll be able
to buy them tomorrow. I'm meeting up with an old friend tonight and she's going to help me make a bit of money to buy the shoes. Manny asked who the friend was and what she meant, and she said that she couldn't tell him same thing. She said, I don't want to jink set, but I'll tell you about it tomorrow. And this was very out of character for Rachel.
Rachel and Manny told each other everything, but she said she had been explicitly told not to tell anyone about the work before it was done, and she didn't want to stuff it up. After classes had finished for the day or March one, at five point thirty five, Rachel walked to the tram, saying goodbye to Money and telling him she'd call him when she got home and tell
him all about the job. She walked with two friends to the tram stop that they always went to, but when she got there, she said, I'm actually catching a different tram than usual, to know, from a stop further down the road. Her friends offered to walk with her, but she said it's no need. It's literally just down there, and she walked in the opposite direction to where her tram would usually take her.
Okay.
Rachel's dad, Michael, was meant to pick up Rachel at six fifteen, but when it got to seven point fifteen and neither of them were home, Rachel's mum, Michael's wife Elizabeth, got worried. Neither had a mobile phone N nine, so all she could do was wait. At seven forty pm, the home phone rang. It was Michael from his parents' house, which was closer to the tram stop, so he'd just gone straight to his parents' house to wait.
He was waiting there to pick her up till seven something and then and then went.
Yep, calling to say Rachel hadn't got off any of the trams in the past hour or so. Now sometimes she would, There's there were two different tram stops based on which tram she got onto, so and sometimes she would go on a different tramp. They would always plan it in the morning, like tonight, I'm getting on the you know five or whatever. So he thought maybe she'd mistaken which one she was meant to get off that day, So Michael went to the other tram stop, but she
wasn't there either. Elizabeth, Rachel's mum called Mannie and said, where there's Rachel with you? Where is she? He confirmed that he had last seen her at five thirty five when they parted ways, and she said she was going to a job, but wouldn't tell him what it was. Elizabeth's stomach dropped. She had heard nothing about any jobs
that Rachel was meant to be doing. She rang the dance school and rang around to Rachel's friends to try to put together a bit of a timeline and ask anyone if they knew where she was, and she just heard more of the same, that she had some secret job. She was attending and got on a dip. She found out that she got in a different trend than usual, but no one knew where she was going. Elizabeth went straight to the local police station to report her missing.
So where is the local police station? So that like dance school is in Richmond.
Dance schools in Richmond, they lived in Bayswarton.
Okay, it's a yeah, beautiful place. Yeah, and it's about I don't know how far it is, but maybe outside.
Twenty five minutes or so.
It's not very far, is it. But it's a beautiful part of the world. I mean, it's very much a orientated place. But Bayswater always Basewater to Richmond is to Richmond. Sorry, to Basewater to Richmond is twenty seven kilometers, so yeah, okay, yeah, it's not very far, but it takes about forty five minutes.
Oh wow, forty five minutes.
But twenty seven kilometers you think with all the traffic lights and never again, take about forty five minutes.
Yeah.
Yeah, So Elizabeth went to the local Basewater police station to report her missing. She said it's incredibly out of character for her not to have come home and told her to people. Yeah exactly. Also it was a big thing that she was really afraid of the dark, didn't like being out on her own, and she was a real family girl. She would never want to have made them worry.
Yeah.
She was also quite shy and quiet and introverted, so they did know she wouldn't have spoken to strangers, like got into a stranger's car or anything.
Right that that's on on the tram and went yeah.
Police very much palmed it off as a teenager just kind of going, you know, off killing run away, run away, like she's gone out somewhere.
She spent a zone or something that's yeah.
Yeah.
Police told Rachel's mum that ninety seven percent of missing teens turn up within the first two days.
Ninety seven percent. That's so high, really, you're right, Okay.
They just wouldn't listen to the fact that they were saying, she's not like a wayward teen that would she wouldn't do this to us. She's not gone out and like, you know, smoked a joint somewhere or gone out drinking and as being unruly.
She's just not like that a hole.
They would not listen to that at all. So Elizabeth and Michael themselves went out driving and just driving up and down the streets near home, near any of the tram stops around Richmond, all around Melbourne. They were asking strangers if they had seen her, and no one said they had.
Wow.
The next morning, Rachel still wasn't home. Her parents went back to the police to give them photos of Rachel to help with their search, only to find that they had done nothing since the missing person's report was lodged by Elizabeth. They really were just like, this isn't a missing nineteen fifteen year old girl come. Her parents once again took it into their own hands. They went to dance factory and she hadn't turn up there either, which
again was very out of character she loved. They spoke to her friends there, her teachers and her classmates again only heard more of the same. They searched her locker, but found and learned nothing new. They walked up and down the streets of Richmond, speaking to shop owners. Many said they recognized her, but they hadn't seen her in the last day. The only person who said they had seen her the day before was the shopkeeper in the shoe shop, who said she had come in with a
young man who was money the day before. And asked to put the blue platform shoes on hold because she would be coming back the next day.
To buy hold. How beautiful. Yeah, but the.
Shopkeeper made a note that she had not come back in that day to buy them. One thing they did learn was their worst nightmare. Two of the shopkeepers in Richmond, at separate shops told Elizabeth and Michael that the owner of an illegal brothel that operated nearby had only recently, like in the last couple of weeks, been released from jail, and he had been in jail for exploiting underage girls into sex.
Oh my god.
Now, Rachel's parents knew their daughter, and they were sure she wouldn't have fallen into something like this kind of you know, not sorry, not falling into but they knew she wouldn't have chosen to do something like this.
So she had a job.
So when she was saying, you know, there's a job I've got to do tonight, they were really confident she wouldn't have planned for that, right, But they were absolutely terrified that perhaps this is somehow been linked to it. Elizabeth went to the brothel and begged to know whether Rachel had been there, if anyone recognized her, but they swore they didn't. They said, we're not trying to cover anything up here. We swear to you we don't recognize her.
She didn't know whether to believe them or not, so she made a call to the and this is what it's called the Sex Workers Outreach Program, which worked in protecting and focusing on the health and safety of sex workers in Melbourne. They took down the details of her appearance and description, but said they were confident. They said they didn't recognize her, and they were confident that she wouldn't have got caught up in that world due to
her young age. The fact that this guy had been arrested and gone to jail for exploiting underage girls kind of made them more confident that, like they've learned not to do.
Yes, okay.
The barbers then went to Richmond Police Station because they were there, and Richmond Police Station is almost a bit of a hub. It's considered an inner city station. So they went there to report her missing, as the dance factory teachers did as well. But they were told there that because she'd already been reported at the local station and now I've got here that she was reported missing
at box Hill station. I said Bayswater Station earlier. I don't so box Hill and Bayswater aren't super super close. I don't know why. It might have been that boux Hill station was the only one that had that was manned twenty four hours or something when that when she went like after because it was eight pm or something where she went to report her missing. I don't know why it was boux Hill station, but it was apologized what I said earlier. It is definitely boux Hill station
that she went to. But yeah, the police at Richmond said she's already been report missing there. They'll deal with it right, And they were kind of saying, but we realized this is where she was last seen and they were like, oh, they've got it. They'll be fine, they can deal with it right. So they were really like, really felt like police.
Weren't looking into it seriously.
Her parents find around hospitals all around Melbourne to see if she had ended up there somehow. They were told that the privacy laws meant that they couldn't disclose the identity of any patients even yeah, so.
It makes her more worried.
That's then they had another idea. They could get their telco company to provide them with the details of numbers that had called or like a received calls to their home phone or calls placed in you know, the days later to try and find out more about what this job might have been and who calls.
Of the home phone exactly.
But guess what the privacy laws meant. They couldn't do that.
Either, even of that company.
They could provide the numbers of outgoing calls made right, but not incoming.
Their own house, yes and not.
They couldn't say the identity of the numbers that were called, like so it was like, oh, we've called this you know, nine five eight nine, But they couldn't say and that is linked to what you give number like that, that's not your number. That was the start of my homeo growing up.
But also I don't really understand that because that's your personal information, isn't it if you called that person, Why can't they give the name of the person that was on the end of the line. Is it's just how it was in Australia back then.
Yeah, I suppose that was a someone's name and number linked. Yes, against the privacy laws as just people themselves, like you know, police would be able to get that kind of but just the barber appearance weren't given that. So they checked their outgoing calls and from what they could see, they'd all been to known people. The barbers and Rachel's friends took the missing person's case, took on the missing person's
case themselves. Essentially, they printed out handfuls of missing persons posters. They were going door to door around Richmond, around Melbourne City, around anywhere anywhere they could. They was posting them on lamp posts all around the city. It wasn't until day three of Rachel not being seen the box Hill police officers said that they were going to dance Factory to interview her classmates and teachers.
And the last people that had seen her day three.
YEP, and put together an official timeline to search for her.
I feel like, even though like ninety seven percent of runaways or whatever come back after a certain point two days two days, and Yep is found dead within two days, usually like that is a statistic. You often hear that within forty eight hours or seventy two hours, they're actually the most critical moments.
Doesn't the fact that they didn't go, They didn't say until day three, all right, let's go and interview people and put a timeline together. Does that not show that they weren't treating it as a missing person's case. They were treating it as a teenager who hadn't come home. Yeah, so it was day three that they were like, okay, we'll go to dance factory. My god, they didn't go to dance factory.
That day what they said they would, and they didn't go.
They didn't go. They instead suggested that because they said to the barbers, you know, we'll go today, and they said, we've already fucking done that.
Do you mind if I use your cat trains?
Go on?
Fuck off?
Yeah, it feels good, doesn't good. Police instead suggested Rachel's parents compile a list of Rachel's associates and they'd start there.
Rachel's associates, she's a kid.
Well, you tell us anyone Rachel speaks to, and we'll go and we'll start speaking to them. They also told her parents to check under the house in case Rachel had come back was too scared to return inside, thinking she might be in trouble. What like a runaway cat?
What are you talking about?
They knew she would never do this, but still they searched under the house, sure of course. Now, Sammy, when a female goes missing or a body is found, who do we look at? First?
Boyfriend or partner?
This is where police's mind went to as well or husband. Rachel was her boyfriend. Mannie was sixteen. They were young and in love. Their families were really close, but they were definitely not allowed sleepover. It was very much like a young teenage relationship. They were young.
She made me a pillow so clean.
Police brought Manny in for questioning, and they weren't soft on him. They put to him the scenario that he had got Rachel pregnant, oh my god, and was either hiding her somewhere or had done something to her when she had given him the news that she was or thought she was pregnant. She and Mannie spoke every day and all day, so it was unbelievable to police that he had just said goodbye after school and not probed her on what this mysterious job was and just let her go.
No, she was going to call her when she got home.
But police were saying, that doesn't check out. Everyone says you spend every moment together, and you're saying she said she had a job to go to, but didn't tell me what or where it was, and you just let it go like really, that's how police sixteen years old Manny swaw black and blue that this had not happened. He had been out searching for her with her family, placing posters everywhere. He was distraught, but police weren't so sure. They eventually pushed him into admitting that, yes, they had
had sex, which he had not. Neither of them had told anyone, despite starting off by saying that they hadn't. And this just put a bigger question mark over the sixteen year old to police.
Because they thought he lied.
And then, oh my god, listen to Thursday's episode. The story hit the news. Of course, they were posters everywhere of a missing person, but not just any missing person, if you want to look at it this way, and as we always say about you know bias, it was a missing, young, beautiful, talented teenage girl from a loving family. The case hitting the news led to a lot of reports about possible sightings. All leads were followed, but inevitably
proved fruitless. Every single lead that came up, CCTV was scoured through areas of potential sightings from all the tip offs and everything were visited. There was absolutely nothing that confirmed she was or had been anywhere after her last confirmed sighting by her friends walking in the opposite direction towards a different tram that was the last confirmed sighting of her. Police searched Rachel's bedroom and found a handwritten note that read station go to money, fifty to eighty
dollars three special things. When this note was shown to her parents, her mum, Elizabeth, remembered that about four months prior lead up to Christmas, Rachel had said that she wanted to buy three special things for her boyfriend money, So the fifty to eighty dollars probably meant the amount that she thought she would be able to spend or was willing to spend, but police weren't convinced about this.
They took the note to mean that the fifty to eighty dollars was the amount of money she would need to be able to run away, and that she wanted to take three special things with her, and that the quote go to money written down solidified their belief that he had helped her run away or hide.
Wow.
Sure of this theory, police suggested that Elizabeth and Michael turn their focus into counseling themselves about the fact that Rachel may have chosen chosen to run away and to perhaps start focusing on the well being of their other two daughters. That's horrific, I will say alleged, because I've heard this in numerous reports. I haven't read, you know, any court documents that say this, but this is what her parents have said was told to them by police.
My god, Obviously they couldn't and wouldn't do that. They knew that Rachel had not run away. They just knew. So once again they felt like they were taking the search efforts upon themselves. They would man the phone at all hours and took note of every single person who had called to check in on the search. You know, people were calling in and saying, how are you doing?
What can I do to help her? They were aware of the notion that often people who kind of get involved in the search, if for someone's disappearance, could be you know, like that. You know, they've seen documentaries, they've read stories about when someone goes missing and then it turns out that someone involved has helped in the search. So they're being like hyper kind of anxious and aware and going, well, let's kind of take a note of
everyone who's calling and offering stuff. Now, nobody knows by March six, so it was March one that she was last seen. By March six, they thought that they may have a suspect in mind. Oh, they being Rachel's parents.
Oh okay, right, a boy in.
Rachel's widest social circle called the family home to check in on the search, and this pricked up Elizabeth's spidey senses.
Right, okay.
This boy had previously turned up to their house unannounced and uninvited, oh, had given Rachel unwanted gifts, had regularly called the home phone and asked to speak to her, and Rachel had said no, I don't want to speak to him. And he'd even been seen lurking outside her window.
Oh that's very strange. Was he similar age, like he's fifteen years old.
And actually could there's limited information on.
This, that's very strange. Yeah.
Elizabeth took this information straight to the police and was told allegedly they were already putting a lot of resources and time into Rachel's case. So we can't afford to be chasing down any and every lead or spidy sense from.
A mother Oh fuck off from a mother who knows best and knows her daughter. That is crazy, right, isn't that fucking all four full?
Like? Okay, Like Elizabeth, Yeah, we're doing a lot, like you know, because you've had a random memory and the thought like you need to kind of calm down, leave it to us kind of thing.
Leave it to us. We didn't even check the dance school on the day they said they did.
Which was day three of her going. When she was told this, Elizabeth ran crying from the station. She broke down in the middle of the street, screaming, they're going to let my little girl die.
Oh my god, this poor mother.
You just can't you just cannot enough. Fatherm The following day, March seven, was Elizabeth's fortieth birthday.
Oh my god.
The family spent it searching again endlessly for their missing daughter. The following day, which was a week after Rachel had been seen last, something new came out to police. A girl named Alison, who was the sister of one of Rachel's friends. Okay saw Rachel's face on the news, so she hadn't seen anything about that. Rachel's friend had a sister named Alison, and the first Allison had seen or heard of this missing person's case.
She knew Rachel hadn't seen.
Yes, she saw it on the news and called police.
Now.
And you have to remember as well, this was well before the days of you know, social media or anything, so you would you would only say this if you looked at a newspaper or the news. And as she as a teenage girl, she had she called police. She said, I know that I saw Rachel on March one, at about six forty pm six on a tram headed to Paran, which is another suburb in Melbourne. Very not New Pacewater, No,
like in the it's not far from Richmond. No, it's not to drive, but even on a tram, yeah, probably ten minutes sure, yeah, but in the very much not in the direction of her home, she said. Allison said that Rachel was with another female that she described as slightly older and very plain looking. Okay, six forty pm was an hour after Rachel's friends had seen her walk
towards a different tram stop, so checked out that. Alison said that the Rachel and this other female seemed comfortable in each other's company, so it didn't appear to be a stranger.
Okay, So like alarm bells, weren't raised for her. She saw that as an normal situation. She was like, Oh, that's my sister's from Rachel and she's with another friend.
Alison remembered that they got off the tram together in Paran, which is why she remembered that that's where the that they got there. Police took this lead seriously. Finally they compiled a sketch of this old girl based on Allison's description. Michael and Elizabeth Barber, Rachel's parents were shattered when they
saw the sketch because it didn't immediately spark any recognition. No, okay, they both said there was kind of some familiarity in it maybe, but not like a oh it looks a bit like this person.
It was just a bit like.
Yes, yeah, which they were really disheartened.
They're finally got a sketch. They're going, Okay, this might be a lead, but you don't recognize that sketch that week you go anywhere from there. Yeah.
At the same time, the TV show Australia's Most Wanted.
Oh Wow, Yeah, that's show yeah.
Asked the Barbers if they could feature Rachel's case on their show.
That's kind of like a dateline in America. Oh yes, yeah, yeah. Crime Watch is the other one that you think about, yeah yeah, which is, yeah, a show that doesn't exist anymore here in Australia.
But the Barber's obliged willingly anything that could possibly help.
Yeah.
And it was only then that the Victoria Police Missing Persons Unit formally took over the investigation. So for a week it had just been the box cell station. March ten was Elizabeth and Michael's twentieth wedding anniversary.
Oh my god.
They spent that day they.
Got mad when they're like twenty Yeah, Oh my god.
They spent that day fielding calls with tip offs, doing a press conference to plead for their daughter's safe return, and again searching the streets.
Oh your heart just breaks for them, my god.
And it doesn't matter what day it is, but I've just noted on the script that Elizabeth's fortieth birthday, their twentieth anniversary, Like, you know, they should.
Go to these old state events going I'm heartbroken. I don't want to do anything.
For yours and they should be moments in time that you remembered for being.
Happy, beautiful kids.
Yeah.
Police dressed up a mannequin as Rachel had been dressed that day and put it at the street corner that Alison had seen Rachel and this girl get off the train right in the hopes that seeing someone dressed like that might kind of jog someone's memory.
What do you mean they put it in the report?
They yes, I think it must have been so her parents did the press conference that day and they placed it like four. Yeah, they were putting it in the news that day, so the news stories could have like this is what she was wearing on this street corner that day in the news stories on the news that night for the newspapers. The missing Person's unit took the list that the Barbers had compiled of all the people who had called the home in the days leading up
to and since Rachel's disappearance. Only one of these numbers could have been, you know, described as a slightly older female who was a person called Caroline Read Robertson. She had called the Barber's home in March seven to ask after the family, upon hearing of Rachel's disappearance, ask how they were doing and if she could do anything to help the Robertson's. So this Caroline's family and the Barbers
had been neighbors in the Barber's previous home. Oh, both families had three daughters, but the Robertsons were slightly older. So Caroline, the eldest of that family, was often tasked with babysitting kind of all five, you know, her two sisters and the three barber girls, or even just the Barber girls themselves. She was five years older than Rachel, so was kind of a good age buffer to be able to kind of, you know, say, sit with them for just an hour or two while the parents went
out for dinner or something like that. And Caroline and Rachel got along, well, they weren't friends per se. Then you have five years difference between them, which you know as a kind of a child and a young teen. Yeah, but Caroline really in particular had a real fondness towards Rachel. She even once photographed her for a school project in nineteen ninety seven because remember she had Rachel had been
the subject of her grandma's photography session. So yeah, you know, Caroline at school was doing photography and was like, oh, can I photograph you? You know, as your grandma had Doe. She kind of saw that as you know, a obblo professional photographer's done that I could do that as well. Sure, okay, Caroline wasn't. I had not done dancing. She wasn't wouldn't be described as particularly pretty as Rachel has had always been, and she really seemed quite taken by the young beauty
of her family friend. Essentially, Caroline and Rachel were family friends.
A photographer like she was quite.
Police looked into Caroline just to cross her off the list because she was the only kind of slightly older female when they discovered something. Now nineteen Caroline lived in Paran. Oh wow, not even two hundred meters from the tram stop Rachel had been seen disembarking with a slightly older female.
Oh my god.
Police asked the barbers about Caroline, which sparked Elizabeth to remember that in late nineteen ninety eight, so say three months, you know, three or four months, not long, pryer.
Yeah.
The babysitter had called Rachel to say that she knew someone who was looking for models and asking if Rachel was interested in any modeling work, knowing she'd done that two week modeling course. Okay, Rachel was really excited by the prospect and asked her mum, but her mum said she was too young to do it and they weren't comfortable with her doing any modeling at her age, and
they never spoke of it again. Police were able to bypass the privacy laws that we spoke about before about checking, you know, the numbers and stuff the call logs to their home phone. They found that Caroline had called the barber home twice before the call of March seven, So March seven was when she checked in barbers. The same number had actually called twice before. Both had been on February twenty eight, the day before the night before. The first call was made at five twenty four pm and
went for fifteen last of fifteen minutes. The second call was at five forty five pm and that call went for twenty nine minutes. Elizabeth remembered Rachel answering the phone twice that night and remembered that she was chatting happily and was animated, and she assumed that it had been money on the floor.
Okay.
Finding out these calls had actually been from Caroline comforted the barbers. While they didn't know why she would or could possibly be with her, they knew Caroline and they knew her family, so it was like, if that's the person she was on the tram with, sure, more than likely she'll be saved.
Yeah. Absolutely.
Police went to Caroline's workplace to talk to her about what she knew, but she wasn't there. Coworkers said she had called in sick a few for a few times over the past week and a half, which had been out of character for her. She had first caught in sick on March one, but came to work the next day, but she left after only a couple of hours or March too, okay. Police went to Caroline's apartment when she wasn't work, the one in Paran, hoping they would find
Rachel there. They didn't know why, but that didn't matter yet. No one answered the door when they knocked, so they broke their way in, and there they found Caroline laying face down on the floor, seemingly having some kind of medical episode I guess seizure or refimed.
My god.
She was rushed to the hospital and police went with her. When she came to police were there waiting to talk to her. They asked if she had any knowledge of where the fifteen year old girl she used to Babysit might be Caroline said it was an accident. I killed her.
Oh my god.
So I'm going to give you a bit of background about Caroline Read Robertson. Caroline Read Robinson was a deeply unhappy girl. She hated herself and she hated her life. She had always been an ostracized girl very much, described always as being nondescript. She wasn't fashionable, she didn't have many friends, she wasn't in the cool group at school. She was slightly overweight, and she was very unhappy. Her
early life had been quite dysfunctional with her family. The lots of family fights, and she copped a lot of criticism from within her family. Her parents divorced when she was sixteen, and this led to the relationship with her mum deteriorating. She had such a bleak view of herself that she once painted did a self portrait for a school project and the self poor trip was just completely black.
Oh my god.
She'd write letters to her dad and notes to herself in her diary that would say things like I get teased badly at school, I get really really embarrassed, I really really need help. These are quotes. One of the letters read, I feel like a troubled, tortured, lost soul that's been thrown into an alien environment full of angels. I don't know how I have survived for this long life for me sucks. The explosion is just going to get bigger and bigger until there is nothing left inside me.
All of the feelings and horrible things everybody says about me bottle up, and I have nowhere to explode everything. She kept a diary, numerous diaries, and in a number of entries, she would describe herself as quote pizza face, which was very I don't know if it's a nineties thing or if I just think that's something that as teenagers, yes say that with quote brown, oily hair and no coordination. She referred to herself as obese and ugly with a
massive nose. She'd write over and over that she hated herself, she would never have friends, and that no one would ever love her. Her young neighbor and family friend, Rachel Barber, was everything that Caroline was not, popular, pretty, slim, talented, and had a gorgeous equally popular boyfriend who adored her. Caroline became enamored with Rachel. She would tell colleagues she didn't have friends, but she would tell colleague colleagues that
she had friends in Melbourne's theater scene. Colleagues noted this seemed at odds with who they saw Caroline to be. They were like, right, What started as adoration turned into obsession and eventually to a deep seated resentment. Caroline wanted Rachel's life, so she was going to take it. On February twenty eight, nineteen ninety nine, Caroline called Rachel at home and said she had a paid psychology job for her.
The following night, she had tried to remember I said. Previously, she'd said something about a modeling job, and she said, I'm not allowed.
To do that.
She said, there's a psychology job I can get for you. It's a study that would pay one hundred dollars cash, but you're not allowed to tell anyone about it because that could influence the study. Right if people knew about it and started telling you things, that could influence it. So you're not allowed to tell anyone about it before
it happens. She told Rachel that she would meet her at the tram stop near Dance Factory after school that day and they would go to Caroline's apartment for dinner and then she would take her to do this study. And it was there at Caroline's apartment that she enacted the plan to kill the girl who had everything the nineteen year old did not herself have.
So she said it was an accident, but that was a lie. She had planned this as a premeditator.
What happened inside the apartment on the night of March one isn't exactly known because Caroline didn't ever explain clearly exactly what happened. What is believed to have happened is this. Once inside the apartment, they ordered pizza and chatted until it arrived. When it did, Caroline drugged Rachel with a drowsy powder and that's a quote which I'll Telly White's a quote later on the pizza slices. When she was drowsy,
Caroline took Rachel to her bathtub and placed her in it. There, Caroline took a telephone cord and wrapped it around Rachel's neck, strangling. Caroline's next door neighbor, who shared a wall with the bathroom in this apartment block, would later tell police that he did wake at two am to the sound of sobbing through the wall.
Oh my God.
In the morning, Caroline stuffed Rachel's body in her wardrobe. The cord was still wrapped around her neck, and Caroline went.
To work went to work with a body in her closet.
After a couple of hours, she ended up going home. She was on her colleagues could say she could see she was unwell, and she said she wasn't feeling well, so she went home and her dad actually went to check on her when he heard that she was unwell. So this is March two. Her dad came in and sat with her in the laundroom, but later noted that she had kept her bedroom door closed the whole time.
Oh my god.
Throughout that day on March Too, Caroline made several phone calls to a colleague asking they pay her the three hundred and twenty dollars that she had previously loaned them, saying she needed it now because she needed to move some furniture to her dad's holiday home, which was out in Kilmore, which is about eighty kilometers about a bit more than a one hour drive from her home in Paran.
Right.
She also on that day March Too, booked a removalist for the following day. The following day, March three, she took the day off sick again from work, to be at home for the removalist. She told this person that she was moving a statue, which was wrapped in two blankets and placed inside an army back. She followed the removes to her dad's holiday home in Kilmore, where the removalus dropped off the army bag, took the payment and went on his way.
This removal us, it had no idea.
What was Oh my god, no idea. There in Kilmore, Caroline buried Rachel's body in a shallow grave on the same part of the rural property where their late family dog was buried. Rachel was buried under a small wooden cross bearing the name Lucy in the pet cemetery at their hot Oh Cool. The following day, March four, Caroline returned to work, where she discussed with colleagues the news that they'd all seen about a young dancer who had disappeared.
She told colleagues that she used to be her neighbor and remarked that she had been known to run away from home.
Oh my god, planning that seed that there was possibility, Oh my god.
A few days after this, Caroline went into her bank and applied for a ten thousand dollars loan, telling the bank staff that it was for a car and that she needed it really urgently. She called in sick to work again on March eleven and twelve, and sometime then she used a packet of supermarket hair dye to dye her own hair dark brown, the same color as Rachel's. And then, as we know, on March twelve, police finally
found their way to Caroline's home. A search of her apartment found a diary, and this is where they found pages and pages of notes of self loathing.
Oh god.
They also found handwritten notes confirming her plans for what she was going to do to Rachel.
Wow.
This is where she had written about herself as oh sorry. She'd written about the drowsy powder. She had actually written about lacing pizza with quote drowsy powder. One entry red quote on the way to dance school. Say that she can't tell anyone that she's meeting me as I'm not allowed to give the study results to anyone. Dash ethics
dash highly confidential, not even your boyfriend or parents. Drug Rachel quote sorry, parentheses toxic over mouth, put body into army bags and disfigure and dump somewhere way out no car end quote. Another entry read quote check farm including bags, Tuesday, arrange bank, loan, moving van, night to disguise, hair, thoroughly clean house, steam clean carpet. Police also found papers and documents containing Rachel's name and personal details it's kind of
thrown about strewn about her apartment. They also found notes and plans about Caroline changing her name, notes about undergoing plastic surgery and moving into state. There was also a suitcase full of women's size eight clothing which was not Caroline size, but it was Rachel's. Police were dumbfounded by the notes and plans they found. They found documentation of Rachel's family tree, details from her birth certificate, and written records of conversations she had had that Caroline had had
with the young teen Rachel so obsessed with her. Police found paperwork showing that she had set up a po box like a postal box, so that she could receive mail not to her own home that couldn't be kind of traced who it was going to. And they found an undated birth certificate application that had been completed in the name of Rachel.
Bar So she was going to change her own name.
Is that that's the insinuation. Diary entries in Caroline's own diary, in her handwriting, said that she intended to change her name to Jem Southall, Southall being Elizabeth's maiden name, Elizabeth Rachel's mum.
Oh my god.
So the kind of the insinuation or the what police came up with is that Caroline was going to plant to assume Rachel's identity. So she was going to go by this name, Jem Southall, but she was dyeing her hair to look like Rachel. She wanted all you know, this birth certificate to have the same date time she was born, place she was born. She wanted to become Rachel.
Wow.
When police got around to formally interviewing Caroline, her answers were really frank and direct. She would just say, she's dead. I buried her. It's too late. She confessed to keeping Rachel's body in her apartment for two days before getting the removalists to take her to her dad's property in Kilmore, where she pretended it was a statue wrapped up in blankets.
Oh god, but.
That's where Caroline read Robertson's confession began and ended. She refused to give any further details about how she had killed her, why, or if or how long she had been planning to do so. Caroline Read Robertson, nineteen years old, was charged with the premeditated murder of fifteen year old Rachel Barber. Rachel's auntie spoke to the media because her parents were unable to do so. She said, Elizabeth and quote this is what the auntie said. Elizabeth and Michael
are endeavored, endeavoring to bear the unbearable. They are being supported by loving family and friends. We have all been devastated by the death of their beloved daughter, Rachel. Rachel's burning light has been dimmed, but will burn bright in our hearts forever. She will always be young, beautiful, happy, smiling and dancing in our hearts.
Oh my god.
Caroline Read Robertson's first court appearance was on March fifteen. She rocked back and forth in the dock as her lawyer told the court. All his client remembered from the evening of March one was inviting Rachel back to her flat and the two ordering pizza. That's all she said. She remembered. Rachel Barber was farewelled at a devastating funeral on March twenty four, with eight hundred and fifty mourners in attendance.
Oh my god, that's so sad. Oh my god.
Money helped carry the casket. Do you need him in that?
Oh so? Or maybe.
Yeah?
Oh my god, Oh my god.
Fuck, you're right for me to can do. Caroline wasn't in court again until early two thousand, where she entered her plea and she pleaded not guilty. Her trial was set for later that year in two thousand, but by the time the trial day came around, she had changed her plea to guilty. She maintained she didn't remember the
details of what happened, but conceded she was responsible. The prosecutor offered their explanation of the murder, stating that Caroline was motivated by her jealousy of Rachel's attractiveness, her popularity, and her success, and perhaps a desire to emulate the success of a younger person with whom she had become infatuated.
In late November two thousand, The sentencing judge took into consideration Caroline's deep self loathing, her long history of low self esteem, and her mental health issues, but the judge also detailed her calculated plans in alluring Rachel to her death. He said that Reid Robertson quote demonstrated the operation of
a devious mind and manipulative abilities. He said, quote, At one level, it is possible to feel a considerable measure of sympathy and sadness for you, But the incontrovertible and irrevocable fact is that you have killed, and in doing so, have created more than one victim. You appear to have been totally self absorbed, concerned only with your own life, situation, feelings,
and desires end quote. The Sendenney judge express grave concerns about Caroline Read Robertson's prospect for rebilitate rehabilitation, stating that her remorse seemed to have been driven only out of self pity, rather than having any real degree of insight into the real significance of what she'd actually done. He sentenced Caroline Read Robertson to twenty years jail with a mini years with a minimum non parole period of fourteen and a half years.
Fatly nineteen that was.
In two thousand, Sammy, what year are we in Rachel's family campaigned to keep their daughter's murderer behind bars for their own safety as well as the safety of the community. She had wanted to take on Rachel's identity. They were fearing for themselves as well. Fellow inmates of Caroline's said that she never expressed any remorse and she continued to compulsively lie. She told fellow inmates that she had a boyfriend waiting for her on the outside, a boy named Manny.
Oh my god.
But unbelievably, when her fourteen and a half years of her minimum non parole period came up, Caroline was granted parole. She was released from prison in January twenty fifteen to be on act under strict parole conditions until twenty twenty. Since then, she has been a completely free woman.
My God.
When she was released, Elizabeth Barber, Rachel's mum, said in a media interview, she won't be any less on my mind, and she won't be any more. I don't think she is dangerous to us, but I don't want her to be dangerous to anybody. She said that Caroline should be thankful that she lives in a nation where she could resume her life outside of prison and Elizabeth asked the public not to harass her.
That's so strong for Elizabeth.
Isn't it? As long as the Barbers never heard from her, which they stoically do not want. They hope that Caroline gives back to the community and finally feel some sense of remorse from what she's taken away, not just from their family, but from the world. Three years after her daughter's murder, Elizabeth Barber co wrote a book about the crime with investigative journalist Megan Norris, and it was titled
Perfect Victim. Years later, an Australian filmmaker adapted the story for a film, which ended up being titled In Her Skin. The director of that film had full support from the Barber family during the movie production. They saw it as a way for Rachel to make her mark, and it highlighted the inaction of police. After Rachel was first reported missing.
Michael and Elizabeth Barber met with and have continued to meet with senior government officials to propose and push for a liaison officer to be attached to the Missing Person's Unit, whose function would be to offer support to the distressed families of missing people. The Barbers did express their gratitude
to the detectives of the Missing Persons unit. They found them to be considerate and sensitive of what they were going through, but they were very critical of the dismissive and unkind response of the local police officers, who subsequently years later offered the Barbers a formal apology for their
inaction during the initial stages of Rachel's disappearance. As a direct result of Rachel Barber's case, Victoria Police the manual for the force now contains a clause focusing on the need for police officers involved in missing persons investigations at a local level to be sensitive to the needs of the families and to keep them informed and updated on all aspects of their investigations. Manny remains very close friends with the Barber family and it's been to the weddings
of both Heather and Ashley, Rachel's sisters. It's been twenty seven years and Manny still calls Rack to the love of his life and still has the purple heart question.
Wow, it's a heartbreaking.
Oh my Gord, you were so young, fourteen years old. Yeah, I just sided and trusted like her babysitter.
Yeah, Oh my god. So I've met Mannie and I will talk about this more at the top of Thursday episode. But when I asked Manny to not to if he would tell me his story, his side of the story, for my other podcast, he immediately said yes, said, no one has ever asked me to tell my story.
Oh my god, I know, like, oh my god, she just wanted to buy those shoes.
Yeah, little darling, that's so sad, fucking owl.
And the poor the sisters of her and them you don't have her, poor parents. And also like Caroline's parents, like, I can't imagine what they would feel at being like our daughter did this.
Yeah yeah, And that's often something we don't we don't think and really talk about. But that's such a huge thing as well. Imagine what you know for that family too, yeah yeah, And things that would have gone through you know, the the Robertson's family's minds and the Barber's family minds. Don't if they just never bought that house. Imagine if they didn't live there, if she never came into her past.
The butterfly effect of just little things, one thing.
Affects the other, Like Manny's whole thing is that when he sees a butterfly, I love we'll come back later right now. When we said we might need to take a little break, correct, that little break ended up being overnight because it's okay.
Also, podcast people don't know how long a break is. Maybe it was a year, it might have.
Been a year. But the reason I have outed us on that is because we have received some news from a friend of ours in said break. And if the listener thought we just went to you know, have a cry of a beautiful Rachel and then came straight back, they might be like, how did you just find out all of that?
I know, I know, well we were. I mean, in all honesty, I did cry a lot after we recorded that episode, and then last night when we recorded, I didn't really do anything. I was very sad. I don't know, like that that really affected me. And I kind of feel like in a way, it is kind of because above you when we're recording, there is a beautiful which I have in my home, which is a child's portrait of you, which is which is just a thing that you gave me once as a joke.
Yeah, uncle moved house and came around to my house with a framed photo of me from when I was
like three or four. Years old and said, I've had this in my house for many years and I kind of don't really need it anymore, and go back to me, I'm like, well, I don't need it, and I was coming around to your house to record a podcast, and so I brought it with me just to kind of make you feel uncomfortable by very seriously saying I thought you might want this photo of me when I was three, to hang up forgetting that you are as sarcastic, if not more so than I am.
So chastick and just you pronounced that word.
And you hung it on your wall and have moved it to your new house and I've hung it.
Back on you here.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so I think when we're recording that episode about Rachel Barber, I looked over there and I kind of saw the really young photo of you and was like, oh my god, this is a girl similar age, Like it was just like such a you know, it broke me. It broke me, like I was just like I think.
France as well, being in Melbourne and up here as well, you know, the streets and suburbs and we're talking about it does make it really hit closer to home and feel very real as well. So yeah, it's just I mean, we cover so many devastating stories on this but not no butt, this is a really really just truly devastating, completely senseless.
Yeah.
And I think the description of her like saving up for shoes and just being so excited about that and try I think, yeah, that that is the thing. It's trusting, trusting the person that you think is going to help you to save up that money, and at that stage of your life, one hundred dollars is so much money, so for you to be able to save up that money and put them aside, and so I'm going to come back for those tomorrow. It is just such a
devastating thing and it just broke me yesterday. I'd like to hear that.
Yeah.
One bit that really really gets me in that story is the neighbor, Caroline's neighbor saying that he heard sobbing through the wall two am. That just that breaks me because I just I don't want to when there isn't a need to really think about what Rachel went through, but just knowing that detail that you know it might have been Caroline. So that's just so it's just it's just heartbreaking.
Yeah, it really is. And I looked up the trailer of the film as well, and I'm with Miranda Otto and yeah, I am interested to watch that. Sam Nils in it as pas, I am interested to watch that as well, So we'll really have to. And also, Lewis, I was speaking directly to you right now for your lovely spreadsheet. Beautiful person Lewis who we met recently, which
we'll go into later, I mean on another episode. I'm not later that much, I know, but but beautiful Lewis who made that spreadsheet for his partner Sarah, who said, oh god, I wish there was just kind of a an avenue for me to go to look at all these different things that they talk about in the podcast that is now available on the Instagram. There's a spreadsheet of this. I'm just saying to you, Lewis, there is
a wonderful film. I don't know it's wonderful, but in her skin, and I imagine it's such a dark and hard film to watch. From the trailer, I got that it is a very hard film to watch, but I do need to watch it just to kind of and I was not in the right mind frame to watch that last night. Also, can I just say, and this is you know this, I probably don't need to say speak about this on the podcast, let me just say it, right. So,
I was in a bit of an emotional turmoil. I was in emotional turmoil yesterday because my brother, who Michael, who I spoke about so in my comedy special, I spoke about Thank you so Much on the comedy of public YouTube channel. I spoke about him quite openly in my comedy special, and yesterday he actually messaged me so so I reckon when it first came out, he messaged me and he said, I just watched it and my heart froze because I was going to talk about him
a little bit in it. And and and I guess for people who don't know, my brother was and is an addict, he was quite violent and quite kind of I guess, you know, my my life at home when I was growing up was quite tumultius. There was a lot going on in my home. He was a violent person.
There was a lot of I mean, you know, we had quite a few restraining orders on my brother and I remember at one point there was a four hundred meter restraining order and he measured the length of four hundred meters and he sat at the end of the four hundred meter like down the road four hundred meters like, you know, quite a violent, quite an awful, quite an awful experience to have growing up right, lots of restraining
orders on him. And he messaged me when the when it first came out my special, and he said, oh my god, you know this is beautiful. I think you did this so well. I think you know, you summed me up perfectly. And then yesterday when we recorded this episode, I've got a message. A few weeks later, I've got a message and say, hey, you dog, I think you know what you've done to mom and dad and me and how you've represented us in the special is disgusting
and over exaggerating and everything. And I was like, you know, it was quite a hard message to get during the day. And then also then we recorded this episode about Rachel Barber, and I was just, you know, like, and I think that's you know, to tune in. Fine, I guess kind of tune in and hone into why I was feeling like that when recorded this episode yesterday.
You don't need to justify, no, I know, but I felt.
So vulnerable And then you were recorded that episode, and I know Rachel really spoke to me and Manny, and I think I thought so much about childhood and when you're growing up and so it was such and then looking at the photo of you and everything, it's such like a Yeah, I don't know, there's something about this story that will always be with me. Yeah, And and Manny,
I just can't even like. And I think this Thursday, there'll be an episode with Many where you talk to Many, And I've listened to the episode before, but it is such a heartbreaking you full telling of his story, which I think is so important, and it is just like another layer to this story that I think maybe you won't see coming. But I just think it is so fascinating to hear his side of the story.
Yeah, it's not a so you guys, I mean, if you hear, I assume you've listened to the episode, so that the story itself about Rachel's death, it's not a retelling of that. It is Manny's story about his life and his love with Rachel, yes, and then the effects on him of first of all her disappearance and then her death. So you know, it's listen to this story. You don't have to go, oh, well, I already know it,
so I won't listen to Thursdays. It's a really different perspective, and it's a beautiful love story and a fucking heartbreaking love story. And it's interesting that for me, Sammy, to hear you say about how much that story really affected you, because when I interviewed Maney for everyone has an X. I mean I've been interviewing people and told devastating, heartbreaking stories and heard from people about their own for fifteen years. Without a doubt, Manny's story in interviewing him for that
is the one that has broken me the most. I sleep for days after that interview because I was just so devastated for him. And I've gone on to keep a friendship with Money and he's just a beautiful person. And there is just something about this story and the love of and for Rachel and Money just really shines through in their historian. Yeah, it's heartbreaking but really beautiful to be able to hear from Manny about his love for Rachel.
Yeah.
So I hope we haven't turned you off Thursday's episode.
No, absolutely not. No, I think it's a great episode to listen to. And also, you know, a really well done episode of your other podcast. Everyone has an ex development all the goddamn podcast and also listeners.
If you've got a story that's like like this, one is to us, what's your story like that? Your kind of crime story like that? That's one that just really really sits with you and sticks with you.
Yeah.
Yeah, I want to hear about them from you guys, and if you want us to cover them or not because they're too heartbreaker.
Yeah yeah, Well you can write in at Sammy at justinothercompany dot com dot au.
You can leave us a voice note. The website is called speak Pipe and the link is in our show notes and in our Instagram bio.
Yes absolutely, and I would like to say as well. So we started talking about in this little section is that we started talking about we had a break basically in the record, and I talked about my friend Davin, who was a childhood friend of mine still is I guess, And he was a childhood friend of mine that I love very much, and he sent me a message. So today in Melbourne it's a public holiday and I had a day of just editing and I was listening to that.
So that we did and just you know, editing that together, and then Davin sent me a message and said, hey, I've just actually proposed to Emma, my partner and another Emma, Oh my god, Benny, Emma's oh my god, so many Emmas, and would you like to come and have a quick drink. And so Emma is just wonderful and she is. When I met her for the first time, I was like, oh, I get it, I get why, Jose and this person is your love and she is just the most wonderful
person ever. And so I went and had a drink with them, and then you came and met Usine I so lovely.
Yeah.
So I just thought the fact that Davin came up when we were recording this episode yesterday and then he's since got engaged, we thought we'd better give them.
A shout out, Adam shout. But also, well, I want to say, G Love, are you ready for the male bag section today? Because we always love it when people write in. And also I would like to say that G Love is incredible busy. Right now it is the peak time of your other podcast. Everyone has an X, so not right away, but g is going to take a couple of weeks off to focus on everyone has an X and we're going to have the great third host of the podcast, Scott Williams fill in for Gyg
is away for a couple of weeks. So during that time, if you want to write in a letter for Scott and I, yes, bloody.
Do an email or speak pipe to Scott and or Scott and Sammy for yeah, a couple of weeks when Scott will be filling in for me.
That's fright.
You think he'll wear like a Taylor Swift T shirt or something.
Probably properly feeling from probably yeah, absolutely, We've.
Already got him singing show tunes, like breaking into songs, so I think that's a He's a very good, feeling good replace.
He's the best. That is why he's the third host of the podcast. You already first letter comes from Karen. I've been listening to the podcast since the beginning. I'm a huge fan of Do go On, where I heard Sami as a guest. I found Confessions and am I the I don't know why I've said it like that, am ivy asshole? Both hilarious. I heard Georgia on a few episodes. Then I was onto Two Drunk Candies and this show, which is awesome. I want to gently push
back on something G said several episodes ago. It involved a crime over here where the perpetrator was convicted on the typical offense but also prior bad acts evidence. Georgia express express concern about the US legal system as Australia's strictly forbids this type of evidence, right.
Yeah, So in Australia, when something is before the charges before the courts, yeah, you're not allowed to speak about any prior convictions, right, so you can't influence the jury, can't be influenced.
By past behavior.
Yeah. Yeah.
This evidence is generally admissible in the U. S. To admit this evidence requires that it meets certain criteria and may only be used for certain purposes. There is a hearing in front of a judge where the prosecutor and defense attorney each argue their case. The judge renders a decision. States may have different rules. Australia has a roughly similar process.
My pet peeve today is people who completely block the store aisle with their overstuffed, overstuffed cart and appear to not see the long line of people just trying to get to the other side. Keep up the great podcast things.
Karen, thanks for that explanation as well. I do agree with that that if it is a relative prior conviction it should be admissible.
Yeah.
Yeah, I in many cases disagree with the Australian law that it can't be brought up at all if it is it could be related. But yeah, that makes sense that in America or in your state that it can be argued.
I find it really interesting as well, like in America, that state to state it could differ in Australia, is that kind of similar to all?
Yeah, so like the courts, I mean, yeah, not not to the extent of America, but there are slightly differing laws, you know, from policing to the courts and convictions and everything from the state to state. But I think, and this is very much a generalization, but not as drastically different as the US just based on population and size.
Yeah sure, sure, No, I find that really interesting that it can actually differ that much from state to state.
One I can think of off the top of my head is in Tasmania, the any bail applications cannot be reported on in the media at all. In Victoria, so applications there are always or more often they're not some details of the alleged crime come out in those BAOL applications because you know the prosecutor will be so, well, this is what we alleged to have happened. So that's why we don't want this person to get bail. And that can't be reported on in Tasmania.
That's really interesting. Yeah, so he don't worry about it. This comes from Phoebe.
Hello, Sammy and Georgia. It's Phoebe, long time listener, first time speak Piper.
Thank you, Phoebe.
I previously sent an email into you guys with a recommendation for a case that just so happened that the case suspect got arrested the next week.
So not to say I brought that into exist, you did.
Phoebe very much may have manifestation.
I just wanted to for you know how funny I found the ending to the most recent Kim Wall episode. Not the crime, but when Sammy started talking about the Simpsons.
I have never been more confused in my life.
I was just listening to I thought, oh, have I started the next episode?
That's a new episode, because I'm my interest.
But then I looked through the comments, I was like, oh, maybe it's a glitch like it's next week's episode. Maybe it's an editing problem that I went, oh no, oh, I've got it.
It's the Simpsons.
So I just speak to let you know how funny I found it, and yeah, love the podcast, keep up the good work, and I have a laugh like that in a long time. So thank you Sammy.
Oh my god, baby, that's fair.
I love that so much. That honestly, because there was a tiny little, you know, our little I guess sting that goes after that, and then I was launching in to a pretend new episode. But it does actually sound for the most part, like I've done that with Feathers McGraw from Models and grammat and who shot mister Burns. So it is such a funny thing.
I have.
I skipped ahead and listen to the next episode. We have a part one and part two that comes from a listener called Chasmin. You're ready for this? Yes, yes, from eleven.
Hey guys, it's just here.
I just wanted to jump on and say something really really quickly.
I've been listening to you guys forever, almost from the start, but I did.
Catch up on all of the episodes.
I'm completely up to date now.
And happened for a while.
I listened every single Monday and Tuesday. Sorry, Monday and.
Wednesday whatever, I've just finished. Thursday, I'm a paramedic and I've just finished.
Well, I know it's every Monday and Thursday.
I am a true fan. Okay.
Anyway, the point of this message a quick little side note, just a little shout out to Chloe, who's my best friend who recommended this podcast in like five months, because she's not a true fan and is.
It not to day so than you.
Agreat so, So I just wanted to jump on and say that I've been listening to your podcast and all of the speak pipes that's that have been coming in. I've been meaning to send a speak pipe for a while now, and I wanted Chloe and I to both
get in on it and do it together. Yes, but we are usually just I don't know, we never get around to it anyway, Quinn is what led me to make this speak pipe actually was that I'm actually starting to get really jealous of all the people leaving you speak pipes, and they keep saying that they feel like you guys are their best friends.
It's about to end sorry help.
Oh no, I am obsessed with Jasmine starting that by saying, I'm just going to send it.
It's going to be real quick. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, brevite Jasmine. But also that's great because it's in two parts and it does run out after our one minute and thirty seconds.
Of Sorry guys, that cut me off my hair again. Yeah so I really what prompted me to make you speak up is actually because I'm getting way too jealous.
Of everyone's saying that they're your best friends. I feel like they're just sitting down having a chat with.
Their best friends.
Because in reality, guys, I'm actually.
Your best friend.
I'm actually the one who could sit down and have a chat. And I feel special every every time I listen to a podcast Occa, it's me. Don't like feeling like everybody's feeling special because that I'm not special. I I that's right, you are, give me my delusion.
I'm the special one.
Okay, we'll be We're going to really new friends if we ever met, Like it'll be like Sammy and g meaning for the first time when we meet, like that instant click.
You know.
I feel like I love the podcast.
Love you guys, keep up the good work.
I will continue to listen every okay Thursday, and I have startedges Confession Confession everybody.
Has an ex podcast? Yes, I will start Confessions too, So thank you so much. I am loving everybody else.
And just a little side note, I sent my.
Own email in.
Which would be interesting if if I got.
Yeah, I'm likely you guys.
I will hopefully.
The off.
There's no third part from because when you're a basing it's so funny because you absolutely are one of ours because and.
I just go on and on and on.
We are you are our best friend. And this one comes from Kate, Hey Georgia and Sammy.
My name is Kate Georgia.
We've met before through our beautiful mutual friend Candice to.
Her loved.
Beautiful day one stand. Everyone has an X. I will tell anyone and.
Me.
And whilst I've been waiting for new Seasons to drop, I thought, what am I going to do with my time? I don't think give not another crime podcast to go to lose. Well, you two, you've got me, bloody hook. I've actually been living away for the past year from home in Korea with the musical Big Kid, and I feel like I've got my two little besties on the road with me. I get my Monday drop, I get my Thursday drop. Thank you very much, and I've been
having a blast. Love the banter between you two, the way you tell these stories with such love, respect and care, but also keep it light and entertaining for us.
And obviously I love all.
Of the musical theater references, so please please keep that up and just keep living your best lives.
I absolutely love your work. Okay, you're beautiful. Jasmon's gonna be very jealous friend as well, but yeah, you actually are, like hate You're amazing. Yes, Kaya's just finish up the Australian and then went international tour of Wicked. Oh my god, she's amazing. And I'll give you a little theater here by telling you all the story that this is one of my favorite things that has happened in live theater that I can think of, at least in the last few years.
Something.
Yeah, it's close. We went a bit off at the end there, but it's not that. So when the day that the queen died, oh god, yes, sorry to tell you that. It was a few years ago. Now, Nope, there is no Prince Andrew anymore, but it's no, he's not okay ah that n So the day the Queen died. That night on the West End, there was a performance of Wicked, and the director came out at the start before the show started and said to the audience, we, you know, pay our respects to the Royal family and
commiserations the other we have. The Royal family has expressed that they want Tonight's West End shows to continue on, you know, as planned. So with that in mind, we are doing the show exactly as it is done every night, written exactly how it's always been written. And he is tonight's performance of Wi Kid and the first words of the show when everyone comes out on the stage is no good news. She's dead the Wicked or which is dead?
My god? That is absolutely incredible.
It's just so funny because him coming out at the start made everyone's years tuned into why are they saying.
It hasn't been? My god? That's so funny, Oh my god. And you'll be happy to know Kats went ahead and Greece the musical well well well summer noways wear as good as they did that.
I just want to say thank you so much for bringing us this podcast. I've always been a fan of true crime, but coming across your podcast has been really refreshing and I really enjoy your take on these stories. I also consider myself a fan of musical theater and really love when Georgia talks all about her passion for it. I've seen many a show two or three times, but I am ashamed to say that.
I haven't seen Hamilton before. Angela so much about it. I actually watched it on Disney tonight.
I loved it very much.
Recommendation anyway, I just want to say thank you again. I really enjoy listening, and please keep up the good work and keep bringing us these wonderful episodes each week.
Thanks bye. That was from Angela.
Angela, and I feel like you will love Hamilton even more because there is a name very similar to yours and you should be going around singing Angela, Eliza and Peggy oh yeah.
And also, Angela, you have an incredible voice. You're ready for one more? Yes, You're ready for one more? Right now? Do you love?
Yes?
Hi, guys, I just wanted to send a speak pipe and send my love for the podcast. I love listening in every Thursday for the weekly Treat Thursday Treat and catching up on all of the episodes. I was wondering if you guys had ever heard of the Eating Westbrook case. It is on another podcast at the moment.
I think it's.
The Little Eadie or Westbrook story.
But that's a Tasmanian crime, so up your area, Georgia. But yeah, I just wondered if you had ever heard of it or would consider doing an episode on that particular case. I would love to hear your guys viewpoints. The previous episode you've done, I think it learns the Four Winds Yacht episode. The DNA that was found on that yacht bus is one of the key persons of interest in The Little Lady. Yeah, so I just wondering if you had a part of it, if you would
consider doing an episode on it. I would just love to hear another viewpoint.
Yeah.
Anyway, I hope you guys are having a great week and love the episodes.
Oh, thank you.
Yes, I've heard and read about the case. I haven't listened. There's a full podcast about it, so I will do some proper research and we'll bring you that one as well. I mean it's a tazzy story. Yeah, it's you don't need to twist my arm much further than that. That's so fascinating that there's a cross over at least in a suspect.
Of some kind. Isn't that fascinating? Thank you everyone as always for leaving voicemails, for writing into us if you want to. We'll have one more episode next week with the Great G Love, but then after that we'll have Scott Williams. So if you want to write in and leave either the G Love or Scott Williams and internet letter, you can write into Sami at just Another Company dot com dot au. You can leave us a beautiful voice mail as we call them, a speak pipe. All the
links are below in the show notes. G Love com people follows.
On Instagram and TikTok not Another Crime Podcast, and they can watch us on YouTube and not Another Crime Podcast search that in your YouTube search bar and also leave us a five star writing a five star review on your podcast app that you are listening in right now. Sammy, what is your poor dry peeve today?
I want you to go first, girl, please?
I know mine And if you guys follow us on Instagram, which she should be doing, you may have seen me go on about this on Stories yesterday. So this has come about from Timothy Chalama discing Ballet and the opera. Now, by the time this episode comes out, I hope that everyone has already seen this everywhere and hated Timothy for it,
so you don't need to go into that itself. However, one of the memes I saw about it, or not even memes but reactions, reminded me of a poetry peep And that reaction post on Instagram was a screenshot of a scene from movie musical The Greatest Showman.
Your favorite musical of all time, I believe of.
The character who is an opera singer when she does her opera performance. So it was screen No, the song is never, Never, my fricking p That is not fucking opera.
It is not a song.
It's a standard like shit ballad, and it annoys the absolute shit out of me that the whole the character's whole thing is that she's an opera singer and that they're going to the opera and she just sings like a badly written because.
Youve that just that specifically specific song in that musical, yes, and that.
People refer to that as that character is an opera singer.
Well, yeah, I think in the musical they Go, she's an opera singer and the song.
Is not an operatic song at all. It just makes me so angry. Also, it's just a ship movie musical. I'm so sorry.
Obviously, some of the songs that are great.
Some of the songs are great. Yes, this is Some of the songs are great.
Zach Efron is in it, obviously before this major malfunction with his face.
Yes, isn't it you sure?
Great?
Yeah?
Remember that love story with zac Efron. Please don't remember that.
Ah, but it's just not. Everyone thinks I'd really love it, and I just don't. I don't like, I don't.
I just don't. It's okay, not for you. Mine would be people who say I'm on my way in a text when they're still horizontal. I find it so frustrating because I am a god right now, No, because you don't do that. I'm always You're always late, but you always so I always arrive late. When you say you're on time, I always go give it ten minutes. Yeah, exactly, so I've adjusted my time set for you.
Thank you.
But people who say that when they're like when they're genuinely, Oh my god, they're not on their way at all. And I get so frustrated when it's like, oh, like, I also have stuff to do.
Yeah, so if you're not on your way, that's fine.
That I don't care. Just say it. So it's not like I could be editing a podcast. I could be doing a million things.
Okay, it's okay if you're late, but tell me.
Just tell me, and I say I'm on my way when you're absolutely not. Also, can I say a doting digs for this week? I had a beautiful friend come over today, Rachel Payne, who is the MP for legalizing cannabis, who I've started doing some editing work for, and she's absolutely fantastic and just an interesting viewpoint on whether or not you should legalize cannabis whatever lor whatever your standpoint is.
But I had a beautiful moment today with her when Will chatting and Diggs came and sat up with me because he always likes to be very close to and she goes, oh, just hanging out with your dad, And it was just such a beautiful moment because it was like, yeah, he is, and he just likes to be as close to me as possible, like he is right now, so on your phone. Yeah, just starnging out with his dad and going, it's always like he's showing me off, going.
Yeah, oh dad, yeah, my dad.
This guy's amazing. The next episode we're going to record is going to be with the Great, the Majestic, the Queen herself, Powdry Hatburn. We cannot tease this enough because she is, I'll just say it, the most beautiful cat I've ever goddamn scene.
She's the most beautiful being.
Oh my god. But I am excited to be with her. I'm excited to be in her presence for a moment. So we're gonna be recording the next episode that you hear of the main episode on the Monday, that'll be with Poudrey. Then after that a couple of episodes was Scott Williams. It's gonna be great, yes, So do right in to Scott Williams and I will be here for the next couple of weeks after that, and then g Love will of course be back.
I'll be back soon, Lucie. You remember you belong to me. I'll be back. Time will tell you'll remember that I.
Served you well. Oh rise em Bazzball.
We have cell the Riddle.
And wind Push comes to shop.
I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love.
Everything.
Oh yeah.
Also, can I just say thank you to all of the Clarks for doing the theme music. Thank you to Terms and Hayes for doing the artwork.
That song we just sang.
Can I also say, please leave a five star rating Liba five star. If you share this podcast with a goddamn friend, we can become.
Stars.
Left Francisco.
On the string thanks to the on the string, thanks to the gift. Step down, Down Down.
I don't write anything excepted like Neil Diamond,