Episode 80 - The Murder of Stephanie Scott

0:16 Welcome back to Car and Besties. We are at episode 80.

0:19 This is actually getting me. I Yeah, when I saw that I wrote

0:22 down 80 this week for this episode.

0:24 I'm like, Oh my God, 8080 we need to discuss our hundred

0:28 soon. Oh yeah, guys, give us

0:30 suggestions on what you want 100 to be that.

0:32 I mean, that's what not even half a year away.

0:34 No, I know. I thought the same thing.

0:36 I'm like, oh, 20 episodes. That's a fair few.

0:38 Yeah, but we'll be there before we know it if we don't start

0:40 thinking about it. I.

0:41 Know it's gonna have to be a massive one.

0:43 Yeah. Yeah.

0:44 Let us know what you want us to do for 100.

0:46 Yeah. We're gonna have to save a

0:47 really special case for a hundred, I reckon.

0:49 Yeah. Alright.

0:50 Let us know what you want. Let us know what you want.

0:53 How has your week been? Not as mental as last week, I'll

0:57 say, 'cause last week was ridiculous, but this week has

1:01 been, yeah, not far off. Not easing up just yet?

1:06 No, it's just yeah, it's full on at the moment.

1:09 I don't know. I need to in some parts of me

1:11 I'm like, is it already the end of term?

1:12 But we're only we're halfway and I'm like, I need more time.

1:15 So don't come fast enough to be the end.

1:18 But at the same time I feel like I've done a full terms worth of

1:20 work. Yeah, I, I, we were at

1:22 basketball training last night and I was talking to a couple of

1:25 the other mums and they were like, it feels like this term is

1:28 going on forever. Like the kids are almost ready

1:31 for a break already. Yeah.

1:32 And we're only. Yeah, just over halfway through.

1:34 And yeah, I actually I almost feel like it's it should be

1:38 almost school holiday. Yeah, it hasn't helped the fact

1:41 that like I think we're both sort of feel this little bit

1:43 that our kids are at the level of their sport now where there's

1:46 pre season training. Yeah, that like I feel like it

1:48 starts so soon that I'm not adjusted yet to that.

1:51 There's that it starts this early.

1:52 So I'm like, I feel like I'm ahead of.

1:54 Where I should be, I get it, I totally get it.

1:58 Last night Ollie had footy training and I was sitting out,

2:02 like sitting out there watching him train and it was so nice.

2:06 The weather was beautiful. It was like so rare for.

2:08 Degrees, I know it's like 25° and sunny and like just a

2:12 lovely, lovely evening. And a few parents were having a

2:15 chat and it was really nice. Yeah.

2:17 And then I was thinking, you know, we are within another few

2:21 months, we are going to be cursing the fact that we have to

2:25 be out there in the freezing fold watching cars.

2:27 Watching them instead in the. You know, with the windscreen

2:30 wipers going because it's absolutely piercing down with

2:32 rain. Yeah, but like water.

2:35 Bags or the backseat when they come back to the car soaking wet

2:37 and muddy, that's. It exactly all the towels,

2:39 everything that you need to make the winter sports, you know, the

2:42 winter outdoor sports, I don't know, easier in some ways, some

2:46 way. But what it what it reminded me

2:48 of was one of the mums that are in Ollie's footy team last year.

2:54 She was deadly serious about doing this, but I don't think

2:57 she and I'm pretty sure she didn't end up doing it, but it

2:59 was such a funny idea. You can buy these like enclosed

3:04 igloo like structures where and they come with built in chairs

3:10 and they're like a pop up tent thing and they've got little

3:13 heaters in them. So you just get a battery pack.

3:15 You can plug your battery pack into the heater and you're

3:18 sitting in this like igloo with a Perspex, you know, like a

3:23 plastic fogging up. Oh my God, it'd be like Titanic

3:27 the The Hand, but I'm like what a fucking great idea.

3:33 Because totally the second. Holders, yeah.

3:36 Oh, I'm sure there are if, I mean, if they've thought of

3:39 heaters and seats, I'm sure there are drink holders in there

3:41 for coffees, coffee. And I'm like, this is actually

3:45 such an amazing idea because watching sport from the sideline

3:50 when it's freezing cold and wet is duck.

3:53 It's so yuck. Oh.

3:56 Man, So yeah, maybe we need to invest in something like that to

3:59 make it slightly more. Pleasant, yes.

4:01 I'm pretty sure you can pick them up at ALDI too when winter

4:03 hits. Are you serious?

4:05 I'm. Sure.

4:05 I've seen something like that at ALDI, or it was when we were

4:07 doing soccer season and I'm pretty sure there was one on

4:10 there or something. That I oh, I'm gonna have to

4:11 keep an eye out on the special buys.

4:13 I do love an ALDI special buy. I'm always I always look Yep.

4:17 And then you like I always go, I'll get there and they'll win

4:20 on left. Although I have to say, ALDI, I

4:22 bought a vacuum cleaner, a stick vac.

4:25 Mm, Hmm. I just wanna want 'cause I had a

4:26 Dyson upstairs at my place that I love just having up there to

4:29 whip over. Yeah, when I'd like, you know,

4:30 little bits when I was up there, 'cause I'm not up there all the

4:32 time, like so. Yeah.

4:35 And I so, but my Dyson had completely died.

4:37 It was total piss shit. Dyson overrated anyway.

4:40 Controversial. No no, I hard agree.

4:42 We've got a Dyson as well and I won't buy another.

4:44 One, I wouldn't buy another one. So I was like not buying a

4:45 Dyson, but I love having stick back up there.

4:47 Yeah, I already had one for 100 bucks.

4:49 Oh, I'm like, you know what? I'm just gonna fucking do it.

4:51 See how it is? Yeah.

4:53 Is way better than my Dyson. I'm gonna say this, this, this

4:56 is next bit is controversial. It's better than my Shark.

5:01 Yeah, Shark. It's damn good.

5:04 I actually reckon that this ALDI one for 100 bucks did better

5:08 than that upstairs. Amazing.

5:10 So. Good so for 100 bucks.

5:12 Does grease ever go upstairs? No, no.

5:14 OK, 'cause I'm like, I wonder you.

5:16 Have to fully coax him. Yeah, I can't have to push him

5:18 up. Yeah, I can imagine he wouldn't

5:19 be a they always. Have to come down though, yeah.

5:22 Too much 'cause I'm like, I wonder how have you tried it

5:25 with dog hair? Yeah, so I I did, when I first

5:28 put it together, I did downstairs just and like and

5:30 went insane. And it did really well.

5:34 That's where that was when I went.

5:35 It's better than my shark because that's the whole thing.

5:37 My shark is so heavy. Yeah.

5:38 I don't like doing the stairs with it.

5:40 Yep. So that was why I was like, I

5:41 want like a stick upstairs that I can just do this.

5:43 It's more doing the actual physical stairs.

5:45 Yeah, right with it because it's just, yeah, it's too bloody

5:47 heavy. But it does a great job.

5:49 But this thing does better. Amazing.

5:51 I'm so blown away. Yeah, LD stick vac.

5:54 If you see them, grab one. I might.

5:56 Actually have to do that, yeah. I mean, because I don't use it

6:00 consistently like it definitely my shark gets used like every

6:03 like every every day. Yeah, pretty much as a minimum

6:06 with the hair at the moment. So from the dog I mean, not just

6:09 me. Although you're a contributing.

6:12 I am definitely a contributing factor and the long.

6:14 Have you seen how much hair you've got?

6:16 I've got like 4 hairs on my head.

6:17 You've got like an absolute thick, thick mop.

6:21 It's insane. This.

6:22 Is this is my my perimenopause thinned out here?

6:25 Oh fuck off, you can fuck right off I.

6:27 Can actually get a hair tie around it now.

6:29 So oh fuck off. No, it's fine.

6:33 Meanwhile my ponytails like thin as anyway.

6:36 God I. Hate how thick mine.

6:38 It's just there's too much of it.

6:39 I can't get rid of it. Take some of mine please.

6:43 Loving my 4th end out here that is for sure.

6:47 The one positive to perimenopause.

6:50 Negative for me, I don't need less hair, no.

6:54 But I know everyone gets doesn't get what they want.

6:56 No, you always, you always want what you don't have.

6:59 We've got a, what do you call it, a robo vac that does

7:03 vacuuming and mopping and that is amazing.

7:06 I love that. But we don't.

7:08 Piper doesn't shed really. So yeah, it's not AI.

7:12 Don't know how it would go with pet hair.

7:13 Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

7:14 Not sure. Yeah, definitely not Grizz.

7:17 Hair. No, no, that's thicken.

7:19 Yeah, there's so much of it. Yeah, yeah, all the Tufts.

7:23 Oh God, this is it. They're the Tufts or the

7:24 tumbleweeds. Yeah, yeah.

7:27 Oh, Grizz. But to add to the pet scenario

7:31 at the moment, Oh yeah, go on. We had our new frogs arrive last

7:35 weekend. Oh yeah, What are their names?

7:38 OK, I actually love this. Me too.

7:39 So Brody got one and Mason got 3 because it was his birthday

7:44 present at Mason's and Brody is renting a space for his frog in

7:49 the enclosure and so he is named his single Marsh Frog Waffles.

7:56 Love it. So a little waffle waffle.

7:59 Waffle waff. Now, is Kyle jealous of Waffle?

8:04 No, OK, I wouldn't be either. Waffle is not the cutest of

8:09 things. It's a weird looking.

8:11 There is Kyle. No, no, I'm sorry.

8:15 I'm giving Kyle credit here. Waffle is very odd looking, OK?

8:20 And he's a marsh frog, so he kind of lives underground, so

8:23 you don't really see him too often.

8:24 OK. So then we have.

8:27 Great pet. So then Mason has 2 brown tree

8:32 frogs, OK, and also a marsh frog, right?

8:35 And the three of them are called Kevin Stewart and Bob AKA the

8:39 Minions love it. Which is just so it's I'm

8:43 constantly. So where's Kevin?

8:45 What's Stewart up to? Fully buying into it.

8:49 Oh, you have to funny. Oh, you have to.

8:51 You have to the frogs themselves.

8:53 Look, you know what? They're actually quite cute.

8:55 I need to know if they're noisy. No, no.

8:58 Well, no croaking. I think I've decided.

8:59 We've got all free, all females. OK, there's been no croaking.

9:02 Is there, is there such a thing as a frog sexer?

9:05 You know how there's like chicken sexes and they they have

9:08 to see if they're girls or boys and if they're boys they get,

9:11 you know, and if they're girls, they can go and lay eggs.

9:14 Yeah, not that I'm aware of. And I don't know that I'll even

9:17 Google search that because that'll.

9:19 Imagine that coming up on your history.

9:23 Oh God, yeah, no, I don't. Know so you just you think you

9:25 were just lucky enough to get girls.

9:27 I reckon we might be at this stage, but also it's off season

9:30 so we'll just wait and see. Maybe things will change.

9:33 Oh geez, when we get into a different season, OK, I don't

9:36 know. But at the moment, no, no

9:37 croaking yet. OK.

9:39 But the thing that does make noise is the fucking crickets.

9:42 Where do you keep them? At the moment, well, like

9:45 they're in a container, like containers and they, they just

9:47 stay next to the the enclosure at the moment.

9:50 OK yeah, but that's. So we had a bit of a mishap.

9:56 I, I let them, I said to them like the boys.

9:59 I, I showed them what to do and I was doing OK with like, you

10:02 know, getting the crickets. I did unfortunately make a

10:06 mistake in the laundry the other day and when I was trying to get

10:08 them back, 'cause you've got to coat them with calcium powder

10:11 and that's the hardest bit anyway, trying to do that with

10:13 them and I release but. How do you I don't understand

10:15 how you get a cricket out of a container when they just jump?

10:20 Yeah. So yeah.

10:21 OK, so these ones just did jump, and I had three of them escape

10:26 into my laundry. Oh.

10:27 For fuck's sake. So I managed to catch all three

10:29 of them and get them back into the container.

10:31 I need them. So then, so then from there I

10:33 went, OK, we're gonna change how we do this.

10:35 So now we do the we go. I open the container and then

10:38 put it into the enclosure, take the lid off.

10:42 And then if some jump out, they jump out.

10:44 And I have with these giant tweezer things.

10:46 And then you dip them in calcium powder and put them in the

10:49 enclosure. Well, they're still alive.

10:50 Oh, yeah, yeah, they've got to be alive.

10:52 And then put the lid back on and take it out.

10:53 OK, So I was like, OK, this isn't that hard.

10:56 I've done it a few times. Boys have watched me.

10:57 OK, you boys are going to have a go at this.

10:59 Oh God, I. Said don't worry about the

11:01 calcium powder because we don't have to do that every time.

11:03 OK, just get some frogs in there.

11:05 I get some crickets in there. So the two of them, I don't know

11:08 what the fuck happened, but all of a sudden I hear this and they

11:12 dropped something and anyway, crickets apparently escaped all

11:15 into the living room. How many I don't know.

11:18 Oh, Jesus. And so I I was Oh my God.

11:24 So I got the vacuum cleaner like you know, and I vacuumed under

11:26 the cabinet a bit trying to like suck them out and they went

11:28 under there and you know, all this.

11:30 Anyway, as we then sat down the couch later, like the boys would

11:33 be like Mum, look the cricket shit.

11:35 All right, I hand caught for crickets.

11:40 Oh, do you like Mr. Miyagi? Well, no, they didn't call me

11:42 Mr. Miyagi though. So I'm like Steve Irwin and I'm

11:47 like, Oh yeah, call me the Cricket Hunter instead of the

11:49 Crocodile Hunter. I love it.

11:53 Meg Owen. Like yeah, crocodiles, Crickets.

11:58 Same same. So fun you're.

12:02 Gonna have to practice with your chopsticks, I know.

12:04 I really will actually try to get up with the tweezer things.

12:07 That was like insane. Oh.

12:09 Mate, Oh, you're a better woman than I, you really are.

12:13 No, I'm not. I'm insane.

12:14 It's ridiculous, it's so stupid, but God, it's entertaining.

12:20 I love it. I love it.

12:23 So when I was look, so you know how our algorithms are tailored

12:28 in a certain way, right? And rabbit holes happen.

12:32 So this week I think I was actually looking up.

12:36 So we had heaps of case suggestions come through from

12:39 different people this week. Yes.

12:40 And that was great, which has been awesome.

12:42 Yeah, I've we've added quite a few and ones that I didn't know

12:45 about. So before I add them to the

12:47 list, I just have a quick look and just say like, is there

12:51 enough in this? Yeah.

12:52 So I was looking this up, but that's obviously fed my

12:56 algorithm right. And I came across this case.

12:59 Now, it's certainly not something that we can do a full

13:02 episode on, but I wanted to talk about it today.

13:04 Because I love this. Fucking fascinating.

13:07 So this happened in Japan in 19 November of 1993, right?

13:13 It's, it's a fucking tragic. So a woman, a 32 year old woman

13:16 by the name of Namiko Takaba was murdered in her own home with

13:22 her two year old son present, right?

13:24 This is in 1993. And it was an apparently it was

13:29 an absolute bloodbath. You know, she was, it was a

13:32 brutal, brutal murder. And so her husband, his name was

13:40 Satoru Takaba. He spent about 145 thousand U.S.

13:45 dollars over the subsequent 26 years still paying rent on that,

13:51 on that, on their unit, on their house, and he left it in.

13:56 It had been untouched. So when the investigation

13:59 happened into her murder, they, the police back in 1993 couldn't

14:04 do anything that they collected samples for DNA and that kind of

14:08 thing, but it never LED anywhere.

14:09 Nothing ever really happened in order to preserve the crime

14:14 scene until her murderer was found.

14:16 He and his son moved out of there.

14:18 Yep. But he kept that apartment.

14:22 Wow without touching it. No one went in there for 26

14:27 years. Yeah, right.

14:29 Until end of last year, end of 2025, I think it was in November

14:35 of last year. Yeah.

14:37 Some blood stains. So the police would go in and

14:40 maybe take extra bits of evidence and that kind of thing

14:43 because they knew he was preserving this crime scene.

14:46 Yeah. And they did that, and they

14:49 found the person who murdered her 26 years after the fact.

14:53 Wow. Right.

14:55 So the other thing is in Japan, there was a statute of

14:59 limitations for being convicted of a murder.

15:02 And I think it was something like 10 years.

15:04 It was not much at all, No. So her husband, he actually

15:10 ended up being part of a team of people.

15:13 Yeah. Who abolished who abolished the

15:16 statute of limitations? So it's there is no statute of

15:19 limitations anymore for murder. They should never be.

15:21 There shouldn't be. He did that in 2010, knowing

15:25 that, knowing that his wife's murder state did.

15:27 Even find out who it was, they're not gonna get convicted.

15:29 Yes. Love that, love this.

15:32 Wow. What a dedicated human.

15:33 What a dedicated human. Now, what they found was that

15:38 the murderer was a classmate of his wife.

15:43 They'd been on the same tennis team, right?

15:46 And they had they think the the police now pose the what's the

15:53 word? The the MO like the reason she

15:55 did it. Yeah.

15:57 Is because there was an unrequited love.

15:59 There, so stalked her and. Basically she no it was a

16:02 female. Female.

16:04 Yep. Wow.

16:05 A female by the name of Kumiko Yasufuku.

16:11 I mean, cause in Japan, I mean, it doesn't rates are so low, so

16:15 low and like this kind of murder just doesn't happen.

16:17 So yeah, wow. Isn't that amazing?

16:20 That's incredible. Yeah, well, her husband.

16:23 Oh my God. Yeah, hats off to him.

16:24 Absolutely. I mean, but also I hope in doing

16:27 all of that he also was able to go and live his life though too,

16:31 for some sake if anything. Yeah, I, I couldn't find a lot

16:34 about, no, what had happened aside from this advocacy kind of

16:37 work that he'd done. So he obviously he didn't let it

16:41 go. No.

16:41 So it would have impacted his life.

16:43 Absolutely. But yeah, Crazy.

16:46 That's wow. Crazy.

16:47 Crazy. That is crazy.

16:48 Yeah. Gosh.

16:50 Whoa, I mean that's so much to put into that of like, I just

16:53 want to I've got so many questions around like the

16:56 preserving of that room and what because I mean natural things

16:59 occur, you know, like and that's like that and I.

17:01 Question the smell. That was my first one.

17:04 Like did he clear the fridge out or did he like Oh no I believe.

17:06 I believe, I believe it wasn't just left.

17:10 Left. Yeah, but but I'm like if he

17:12 left the blood stains on the floor and that kind of thing,

17:15 I'm like, yeah, that would. Well, after a while it actually

17:17 probably wouldn't smell. But while it was yeah, doing it,

17:22 no, actually probably still would.

17:24 Poor neighbors. Yeah, Yeah.

17:26 I don't, I don't know. I couldn't find anything about

17:28 that. And would like the DNA in like

17:31 the blood like that, would it become not usable at at a point?

17:35 No, I think you could be dried and and it would be, yeah,

17:38 remaining, Yeah, they could still use.

17:40 They could still because there was so much of it to.

17:42 It's not like it was Trace from what I can gather.

17:45 It was an absolute bloodbath. He's seen it wasn't like he

17:48 cleaned up, but like he cleaned. But you know, obviously, you

17:50 know how it's never clean. Yeah, no.

17:52 So they. Didn't even do that.

17:53 He was like he. Literally left it.

17:55 Wow. Yeah, yeah.

17:56 Yeah, God. Sorry for any men out there who

18:00 is wives. Wow, you've got to live.

18:02 You've got to live to that standard now, guys. 100 percent,

18:05 100%, yeah. An absolute like, oh, just

18:08 amazing, Yeah. Crazy.

18:10 Well, I mean he got ruled out pretty quick.

18:11 I'm dare say of like being like because it'd be he'd be prime

18:14 suspect, you know first. Definitely.

18:16 Definitely was. Not no, no.

18:18 Wow. And then the other thing.

18:20 Have you seen the latest update in the Nancy Guthrie

18:23 disappearance? No, I've actually dropped off my

18:27 radar. Yeah, came on there well.

18:29 Same. I was thinking about it the

18:30 other day and I'm like, I actually haven't heard much

18:33 about it, but so you know how there was that doorbell camera

18:36 footage? Yes, OK.

18:38 So obviously that that's been put out to the world.

18:41 I mean, we've seen it. We're in Australia, Yeah.

18:43 And it's obviously all over social media.

18:46 And so you've got your social media sleuths who are like,

18:48 we're gonna fucking figure out who this person is.

18:51 Seriously, I really think that cases like this need to be

18:53 handed to a group of like retired women.

18:55 Yeah, Bloody oak. Yeah.

18:57 So what happened from that was this bloke by the name of Luke

19:01 Daly was identified by multiple sources and all of that sort of

19:06 stuff, and he was actually detained in a SWAT raid because

19:10 they thought he was linked to her.

19:11 Yeah, I remember that happening too.

19:13 Yeah, those appearance. Right.

19:14 Yep, Yep. So what they're saying now is

19:16 that he actually isn't the. Person No.

19:21 And yeah, so like, I feel like, you know, you say, let's hand

19:26 this to Internet sleuths. Yes, yeah.

19:28 But we can clearly, obviously, very easily go down a path that

19:31 may not be quite right. And now this bloke is input 1.1

19:35 million. Was it like?

19:36 Son-in-law like in like he was kind of a little bit of.

19:40 AI I'm not sure nothing's really come of.

19:42 No, it really, it went quiet on that entirely.

19:45 And I was like, well, the FBI, someone who knows her, is to me

19:49 the right place to start. I think so too.

19:53 There's a $1.1 million reward out.

19:56 Right. I'll just so I'm I'm dying to

20:00 know what happened. I know.

20:01 Do you really think she's alive? No.

20:03 I don't. This is the thing.

20:04 I don't. Anyway, what's this space?

20:07 Well, the. Other thing we probably talk

20:09 about too though is what happened yesterday.

20:11 What happened yesterday? What have I missed?

20:13 Greg Lynn? Oh, tell me.

20:14 I don't know. You don't know.

20:16 Oh, my God. OK, So Greg Lynn, yesterday the

20:18 judge came back with his ruling on whether or not he got bail.

20:22 It was denied. Oh, thank fuck.

20:24 I literally, I was driving along when it came on the radio and I

20:28 was like, yes, like. Thank God, like he couldn't have

20:32 been let out. Like that would have been

20:34 dangerous. The judge to decide that would

20:35 have been dangerous to society. I think so too.

20:39 I mean. Have you also seen Scott

20:42 Peterson? So there's a new documentary

20:45 apparently come being made by A&E at the minute.

20:48 Yeah. And it's about, it's like from

20:51 the perspective of, I think his legal team and why they are

20:54 appealing his sentence. Yeah.

20:56 And they're pushing, Well, they're pushing for a new trial.

20:58 Yeah. So apparently that's gonna be

21:02 the subject of a new documentary.

21:04 So that I think that'll be an interesting one to watch.

21:07 But I mean, when we feel how we feel about that, that's.

21:11 What we haven't done, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.

21:13 We need to. I feel like we now need to wait

21:16 for this to play out before we can do the lazy people.

21:18 And there's a lot of people who think that he's innocent.

21:20 Yeah, yeah. And I'm just really interested

21:23 to watch this space. And I believe from what I've

21:26 been reading, there are grounds for a new trial.

21:30 I I. Would so I believe, I think that

21:32 will happen previously, yeah. So that'll be an interesting one

21:36 to see through. This is where I think, and

21:38 again, Greg Lynn's case I think highlights this entirely, that

21:40 there needs to be a re look at laws of how we can stop.

21:44 I mean, you need, you need guilty people being put away and

21:47 innocent people will not. Yeah, I fully understand that.

21:50 But like in this case where with like Greg Lynn, where there is

21:53 clear evidence that he, well, he has admitted to being there, to

21:58 destroying the bodies to, you know, OK, he needs to get

22:01 something. He can't even like, I just can't

22:04 understand. He's off of 1 charge already

22:06 entirely. I know the fact that he is only

22:09 now having to appeal, you know? Oh, my God.

22:13 Clay's. Yeah.

22:14 Carol Clay. Clay's murder is just beyond my

22:17 comprehension. I know especially like, OK, you

22:20 say the death of Russell was an, like, accidental or whatever.

22:27 Yeah, but you're still tampered with a dead body.

22:30 You moved a dead body. You hit it.

22:32 You hit it. You didn't.

22:34 Go to the police at all at any point.

22:36 I just feel like even if we take his story at face value of what

22:39 he has admitted, you still belong in jail for, for

22:43 something. Yeah, OK.

22:44 I, I that's what I I feel like that fully.

22:46 Justice is not. I fully fully agree like I I

22:50 his. Family, the families alone of

22:52 what they had to go through, of not knowing because you chose to

22:56 not tell anyone what happened. Yeah.

22:58 And. It's to me enough to me.

22:59 I feel really sorry for Russell Hill's family because like, I

23:03 feel for his wife. I feel for her because of the

23:07 situation and circumstance that he was in when he died.

23:10 Yes. Like that's one thing for her to

23:12 have to process and, and for his children as well for, for people

23:15 who knew him, but especially for his wife.

23:17 And then on top of that, for Greg Lynn not to be convicted of

23:22 his murder. Like I just, it's, it's

23:23 disgusting. Disgusting, but he admitted to

23:26 what he admitted. To I know exactly.

23:28 So he needs to be at least convicted of that.

23:31 Yeah. Anyway, again, watch this space.

23:34 All right, shout outs for today. Patreons.

23:36 We have two new Patreons. Amber Armstrong and Azara are

23:40 who. Azara actually gave us some

23:42 really good case suggestions. I think it was her case

23:44 suggestions I was looking up when I came across the Japanese

23:47 story. Yeah.

23:48 And then we had a coffee bought for us.

23:50 Coffee, some coffees bought for us by Sally J, who's a North

23:53 Carolina via New Jersey but originally from a beach town in

23:57 Connecticut. So thank you very much to

24:00 everybody for your support. Thank you to everyone.

24:02 We've, I've noticed we've actually had a huge amount of

24:05 engagement in terms of like shares and that kind of thing on

24:08 the socials and people making lots of comments and that kind

24:11 of thing. Especially we really appreciate

24:14 the comments by Sarah Atkinson. She actually was commenting on

24:18 how slow 9 year olds are. She's like.

24:19 Wait until they're 14. I actually, that is my biggest

24:23 fear is yeah. Teenage.

24:24 Sorry, hold on, sorry they get slower.

24:27 Is that even possible? That sloth in like, Zooland,

24:32 Yeah, Oh my God. Zootopia.

24:34 Oh my God. In my brain.

24:35 Yeah, that's exactly what they all look like, isn't it?

24:39 Yeah, 100%. And then another, another really

24:43 lovely comment on our socials from Tracy Vaughn.

24:46 So please keep them coming everyone.

24:48 I have to say too, there was a heap of comments in a group that

24:52 I'm, I'm in as a pod. It's like podcasts kind of

24:56 group, like just in general, true crime podcast specifically.

24:59 And a lot of people put suggestions in there for

25:00 podcasts and things to listen to.

25:03 And I saw someone asking about specifically wanting some

25:06 banter, you know, true crime podcast.

25:08 And I was like, well, this sounds like they're describing

25:10 us. And I went to go and comment I

25:12 didn't know to because we had multiple people watching us,

25:17 which was so cool to say. I've that was amazing.

25:19 So thank you to what? The hell?

25:21 That's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

25:23 There's even a particular comment was like, I second this.

25:26 Yeah, I second to car investies. So yeah, like it was, it was

25:28 multiple people. Oh.

25:30 My God, that actually makes me feel like really like.

25:33 Oh, I totally, I've actually screenshot it because I was

25:34 going to send it to you and I forgot.

25:36 So can you send it to you? And I was really cool.

25:38 I was really impressed. I was like, Oh my gosh.

25:40 Because normally I go in and go, you know, check us out, you

25:42 know, and, and tag, tag the page or whatever.

25:44 Yeah. And I was thinking, oh God, as

25:46 the person who produced, you know, is that a little bit, you

25:50 know, But I mean, I'm just trying to put it out there for

25:52 people like, yeah, find us elsewhere.

25:53 But like for other people to do that for us, I think is it

25:55 speaks even more. And then the person who I mean,

25:58 clearly I'm gonna say we're good and other people say it.

26:01 Although I think we're our own harshest critics.

26:03 To be fair, that's true as well. Actually, no, we're not our

26:06 harshest critics. Oh, no, no, we didn't say that.

26:09 We're, you know, so sorry. All those comments in there.

26:11 I know. Please come back.

26:12 I know. No, it's so funny.

26:14 Yes. Yeah, alright.

26:15 We don't feel sorry for people who like.

26:20 That's my favorite. Yeah, I love it.

26:23 Oh God. OK, so let's get into today's

26:25 case cause bloody hell Peter will be in the city by the time

26:28 this band is finished for today. Jesus, yes.

26:30 Yeah, maybe I can edit some out. I'm so good at that.

26:34 Don't you dare. I know I won't.

26:35 He needs, he deserves he deserves a whole train ride of

26:38 just listening to our banter. OK, so today we're covering the

26:43 case of Stephanie Scott. This case is.

26:47 I remember it happening. It is absolutely, Oh my God, the

26:54 most tragic of circumstances. Yeah.

26:57 And oh, it's, it's, it's a big, well, there's not a huge amount.

27:02 The stories, the story, we kind of know everything there is to

27:04 know about it, which is in some ways a good thing because I

27:08 think we can learn. Well, I think we have learned a

27:10 lot from this. And I think there has been, you

27:14 know, different things that have happened, different procedures

27:16 that have happened, and things that have come from this that,

27:19 you know, even though this is the most tragic thing and it

27:21 should never have happened, learnings have come from it and

27:25 things have come from it, I think.

27:26 We can still do better, but yeah.

27:28 Of course we can always do better.

27:29 Yeah, we can always do better. So Stephanie Claire Scott was

27:33 born on the 14th of October in 1988 in Sydney.

27:38 She was born to parents Robert or Bob and Marilyn Scott.

27:44 Her, she had two sisters and two brothers.

27:47 Big family. Yeah, that's.

27:49 I can't imagine having 5. Kids.

27:51 Holy crap. Her mom and dad are the most

27:54 gorgeous down to earth. Like you can just tell they are

27:57 sort of the earth type of people really, you know, obviously very

28:03 family oriented, very much, you know, loved their children,

28:07 loved their life. Yeah.

28:09 And just absolutely lovely at the time of of all of these

28:16 these goings on, Stephanie was engaged to a man by the name of

28:20 Aaron Leeson Wooley. They'd been together for five

28:23 years and they'd actually met at high school, didn't sort of have

28:28 a relationship during that time, but remained in similar circles

28:32 and would socialize together. And at Aaron's 21st, they

28:36 actually got together so and were basically inseparable from

28:40 that point onward. They just loved one another

28:45 very, very much. And even during this time,

28:50 Stephanie had gone off to university in Wagga.

28:53 So she attended Charleston University.

28:55 She was starting studying a Bachelor of Education of

28:57 Secondary Education. And even though they were, I

29:01 mean, Wagga's probably, what, like a couple of hours drive?

29:05 Couple of hour drive, Yeah. From where they were living?

29:07 From where? Yeah, from where Aaron was

29:08 living. They still stayed together

29:11 throughout that whole time. They're separate, but they were

29:13 still together. Yeah, and they did anything they

29:16 could to see each other on weekends and catch up whenever

29:18 they could. They definitely kept their

29:21 relationship alive via text messages and phone calls, and

29:25 Aaron has said since said that during their relationship they

29:29 didn't really even go a few hours without sending, checking

29:31 in with each other, sending a text, sending something just.

29:34 Used to like long distance relationship and they were good

29:36 at it like kind of thing in that sense that they they knew how to

29:39 communicate like that. Yeah, which is lovely because I

29:43 think especially in a university environment, that would have

29:45 been really tough. Yeah.

29:47 But, you know, they did they they stuck it out.

29:50 So after Stephanie graduated from university, she got her

29:54 first job at a very, very small town, Leighton High School.

29:58 You got 10,000 people in the community.

30:00 Yeah, and the school, the high school only had a few 100 kids.

30:03 Yeah, it was. So it wasn't big, but then you

30:05 look at the footprint of the school, I'm like, they had

30:06 really good facilities, Really good facilities.

30:08 I. Know yeah aerial shots of it I

30:10 was like. Good high school, good high

30:12 school, Like really nice, nice, lots of buildings, lots of so

30:15 much space. Like really, really cool, which

30:18 is awesome. She was employed there as an

30:20 English and drama teacher. Yep.

30:23 And the students all describe her as being somebody like, she

30:27 was 26 years old at the time of of this incident, but she'd been

30:31 working there, I think. Yeah, she'd.

30:33 Been there. So she was young.

30:35 Yep. It was her first job out of

30:36 university, but, and so I think the students really related to

30:40 her. And in a school of that size, I

30:43 would feel, I feel as though she would know.

30:46 They would all the students would know all the teachers,

30:48 whether you had her as a teacher.

30:49 Or not, this is it. There was actually a student

30:51 that was interviewed on a news story.

30:53 And it broke me when I this this young girl, she was, would have

30:56 been like, you know, sort of 1516.

30:57 And she said, she said about it like this when they were looking

31:00 for her, they didn't know what what had gone on yet.

31:03 But she said she's just the teacher.

31:04 When you've got problems at home, no matter whether you were

31:06 her student or not, you knew you could go and speak to her.

31:10 And I just thought that is just in a rural community like that

31:14 there, you know, where you are limited of how many people in

31:17 your life, you know, you can go to potentially.

31:19 I think to know that she was someone, regardless of being

31:22 your teacher or not, she was a teacher that would be there for

31:24 you. And listen.

31:26 Yeah. Oh God, I that really that was

31:27 she's She was clearly damn good at her job.

31:29 Yeah. Did you have a teacher like that

31:31 at school? I said you have somebody.

31:32 Yeah, same. I can, I can think of actually

31:34 two teachers who I feel like, you know, I had that kind of

31:38 impact on me. Yeah, one in primary school, Mom

31:40 from high. Same same.

31:41 One from primary, one from high school.

31:42 That's probably why ended up doing what I did probably in the

31:44 end, like, wow, OK, yeah, 'cause I, yeah, they, they teachers do,

31:48 I mean, teachers do make marks on kids, you know, they, they,

31:51 you know. And so if it's just impressive

31:53 the in her first couple of years of teaching really that that's

31:57 the, the, and I reckon they're probably your big years of

32:01 teaching because that's when you, you know.

32:02 You're not jaded, jaded and you don't, you know, she didn't have

32:05 her own children at this time. So you're very, you know, very

32:08 committed. Yeah, that's it.

32:10 But I mean, well, teaching was in her blood, too, because her

32:12 dad was a teacher and a principal of a school.

32:14 So I think it was, you know, almost bred into her this, you

32:17 know, this nature. But yeah, so.

32:19 So she was clearly loved by her students.

32:21 Absolutely. She was described by the

32:23 principal of Leaton High School as bright, bubbly and very fun

32:26 loving. Yeah, and she really was.

32:28 But she was so dedicated to her job.

32:30 Yes, so dedicated. So much so that on Easter

32:35 Sunday, so April 15th, April the 5th.

32:38 Sorry, 2015. So we should just say, like, I

32:41 think you were going on to it before, but no, no, that they're

32:44 living in Leighton as in like that Aaron, when they when she

32:47 got the job at Leighton, Aaron and yes, Aaron, Stephanie made

32:52 the decision that instead of doing remote kind of living

32:54 remote to the to each other that way that they would live

32:56 together. So they moved into Leighton them

32:59 together and he found a job locally doing what he was doing.

33:02 So it all sort of was going really well for them in that

33:04 sense. And we, and then we should say,

33:07 I guess in a on April 5th, no, April 11th, 2014, they became

33:14 engaged. Yes.

33:15 And so they were absolutely ecstatic.

33:17 So really excited to to start that next chapter of their

33:20 lives, which was clearly the right thing.

33:22 They were living together. They'd already been living

33:24 together in Leighton and and living a great life.

33:26 You know, they were really on their way.

33:27 Yeah. Yeah.

33:28 Yeah, that's so true. And they were actually due to be

33:31 married a year later. So a year after they got

33:34 engaged, they were. They were due to be married,

33:37 Yeah. Which was only a week after

33:40 Easter. Yeah, so.

33:42 Her true teacher doing it in the school.

33:45 That's right. I mean.

33:46 The dedication right there. She's just, but I feel like her

33:50 dedication is like another level above even, You know, there's

33:54 always those teachers who go above and beyond.

33:56 And she was absolutely one of those people.

33:57 Because. So on Easter Sunday, on the 5th

34:01 of April in 2015, so the night before, so on the 4th of April,

34:06 yeah. They were actually invited to a

34:08 party back at their hometown, their hometown.

34:12 And Aaron Stephanie was like, oh, you know what?

34:16 I'm gonna stay at home. I've actually got a few things

34:18 to do for the wedding, which was only a week away.

34:20 Yeah. And I wanted to.

34:21 She wanted to get a few things done for the teacher who was

34:25 going to be taking over from her because even though she was

34:28 getting married on the school holidays, their honeymoon, which

34:31 was to Tahiti, was going to be extended beyond the school

34:35 holidays. So she wanted to have all of her

34:36 lesson plans and stuff, you know, ready for that?

34:39 Yeah. Ready for that substitute

34:41 teacher to come in and and hit the ground running with her

34:43 students. Yeah.

34:44 So she said to Aaron, you go off, you go to that party, no

34:46 worries. And I'll just stay back and get

34:48 all these things done. Now, apparently, in terms of

34:51 preparation for her wedding, she had done everything herself.

34:56 Like as in, I'm not saying she begrudgingly did it.

34:59 She wanted to do everything. Herself, she was so ready for

35:04 this and wanted it so badly. And like it was so excited she'd

35:07 had her hens day the weekend before and which was a really

35:11 lovely day. Like you can see photos of

35:13 especially there's a really lovely photo that's available.

35:17 You can just Google it of her and her mum and and Stephanie's

35:21 wearing a, you know, one of those bride to be sashes and she

35:24 just looks she's so beautiful and her mum looks her and her

35:28 mum looks so similar. They do and her mum just looks.

35:31 They just have the same smile. They're beaming.

35:33 They're so happy, they're so excited.

35:36 Her mum and dad loved Aaron so much.

35:38 He was like another son to them. I mean, he they'd known him ever

35:42 since they were in high the. Kids believed Aaron went to high

35:44 school where her dad was principal.

35:46 Yeah, and he had developed a good relationship with him at

35:49 school later. Even that says a lot.

35:51 Doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

35:53 So yeah, they would definitely, you know, this was meant to be,

35:56 I think. Almost 100 percent, 100%.

35:59 Yeah, so OK, basically on that day, on the Easter Sunday.

36:05 Now, again, Speaking of dedication, going into school on

36:09 Easter Sunday, which is the day that nothing happens, nothing's

36:12 open. No, no.

36:13 You know, everyone's out doing family things.

36:15 Stephanie decided to go to the school to finish off her lesson

36:19 plans. Stephanie didn't actually have

36:21 her own key to the schools, so she went to one of her

36:24 colleagues houses and the colleague went to the school

36:27 with her, unlocked the door and gave Stephanie the keys to lock

36:31 back up when she was finished. These keys were on a lanyard and

36:36 like quite a distinctive reset of keys.

36:39 Yep, like. Lanyard Yep Yep and I had

36:42 Leighton Heights on them or something like that I.

36:43 Believe. So marks something somewhere.

36:45 And there was something on the lanyard that sort of made them

36:48 distinctive in that visually, people knew that they belonged

36:52 to this particular teacher. Yeah.

36:53 So what Stephanie did when she got to school on that day is she

36:57 actually went straight to the English staff room and did all

37:02 of her prepping. Apparently as soon as she got to

37:05 the school, she logged in and she sent an e-mail to the bus

37:08 company that she'd hired to transport all of her wedding

37:11 guests, just to confirm timings and that kind of thing, because

37:15 it was only a week away, I suppose.

37:17 And I guess you know, the fact they were getting married in

37:20 Leeton, but they, well, they've had guests.

37:22 Family and friends were three hours away where their hometown

37:25 sort. Of thing.

37:25 So everyone was coming to the town, so they organized

37:29 transport to and from the wedding, which is great.

37:31 Amazing. I would have loved that.

37:32 Yeah. You know, you don't have to

37:33 worry about it. Have a few bevies and whatnot.

37:36 And so she did that as soon as she got to the school, then she

37:43 spent a couple of hours. She, I think they, I think she

37:46 and Aaron had had some text conversations during that.

37:49 Morning had and they to the point where he had let her know

37:53 that he had left where he was at this at the hometown.

37:56 Yep, which they both knew the length of that trip being sort

38:00 of a three hour trip. Yep that they had communicated

38:02 already of roughly her. She wouldn't, she knew roughly

38:04 when he was due back and but he they'd also said that they would

38:07 communicate on the throughout the day.

38:10 And you know, he'd sort of left the message with like, I'll,

38:12 I'll, I'll chat to you later, like kind of thing, as in I'll

38:14 message you as I'm on my way again, like kind of thing.

38:17 So he'd left and he was, the plan was to communicate again

38:19 before he even got home. And obviously that they would

38:22 get together once they got home and he was planning he'd, I

38:25 think he'd booked a restaurant he had for that night as well.

38:27 So that she was aware of plans beyond the next few hours of her

38:31 working at the school and doing that job, that there was things

38:34 to do. Yeah, that's it.

38:36 So she spent a couple of hours at the school preparing her

38:40 lesson plans and it got to the point where she'd kind of

38:43 finished up and she needed to go into a certain, I don't know

38:47 whether it was like her actual classroom that she went into,

38:50 but she needed to use a special code to go in there to disarm

38:54 the alarm. Yes.

38:55 So she disarmed the alarm. I think it was at like 131 or

38:59 something like that. Yeah, I've got it written down.

39:01 Oh, here we go. Yeah, it was 13131.

39:04 And then she re armed it at 1:38.

39:06 So she's gone into this particular classroom where she

39:08 had her own code. So they know it was her because

39:10 it was an individualized code. So we know that at 138 she

39:14 rearmed that alarm. Yeah.

39:16 And it likely has gone to leave leave the school at that point.

39:21 Yes, when she's left the school, she's encountered a cleaner

39:26 well. She did see him earlier.

39:28 Well, he no, sorry, I shouldn't say that he saw her earlier.

39:31 He did say he saw her in that staff room on her laptop

39:35 working. He believes that she knew that

39:40 he was there. His car was in the same car

39:43 park, yeah. So I don't think and because I

39:46 mean, I've been in many schools on my own doing similar to what

39:49 Stephanie has done, That's very eerie because kids are noisy and

39:53 when the kids aren't there, it's like what?

39:55 It's a it's a weird feeling. I bet you hear the smallest

39:58 noises. OK, so I dare say her I would

40:01 personally is how I would have felt pulling up saying that

40:04 someone else's car was there and that you can't, you probably

40:06 would have recognised whose car it was potentially as well that

40:09 you'd be like, OK, I'm not here by myself.

40:11 So you would hear the noises and kind of know that's that'll be

40:14 so and so doing what they doing, you know, right.

40:17 So I think that would have been almost comforting to her at that

40:19 point of like, you know, someone who else who else is meant to be

40:22 here like as in well meant to. I'll keep that for later talk.

40:26 We'll come back to that. But like someone that you have

40:28 seen to be in the area and is employed by that space then

40:33 yeah, then you would be like, OK, that's OK.

40:35 That noise is fine because otherwise the Creek of every

40:38 wall and anything is creepy. Oh my God.

40:41 Yeah, I can imagine it would be. Yeah.

40:43 So as Stephanie is walking out of the school, she sees this

40:48 person who she knows is a cleaner at the school.

40:51 And she says, oh, see you later. Have a Have a lovely Easter.

40:55 Yeah. Aaron comes home from where did

41:00 they live? Kanawindra.

41:02 Yes. And he gets home and he's like,

41:05 oh, that's really weird. Steph's car isn't in the

41:07 driveway. She drove a red Mazda and which

41:10 he he expected her to be home because she only had a couple of

41:14 hours of work. He had been messaging her and he

41:17 tried to call her on his way home, but she hadn't answered.

41:20 And she's and he thought, oh, she's either deep in whatever

41:25 she's doing in work, or she's let her phone go flat.

41:27 And and that's why. He was like, that's, that's

41:29 unusual for her, but I guess it happened.

41:32 Yeah, yeah. So he gets home and he's like,

41:35 really strange. She's not here.

41:37 He waits at home for a little bit and then he decides to go

41:39 out and look for her because the town of Leighton is small.

41:43 It's got 1 main road really. And then there's a couple of

41:45 other, you know, points of interest like the school.

41:49 So he's driven down the main road, hasn't seen her car.

41:51 He's driven to the school, her, the car's not there.

41:54 He's then driven around like the streets where she, he knows her

41:59 friends live, like work colleagues and other friends.

42:02 Her car's nowhere to be seen. So he goes home and he's like,

42:04 this is so weird. Obviously he's trying to call

42:06 her. Still no answer.

42:09 And he ends up that night he actually phones all of her

42:13 friends in Leighton to say, you know, have you seen her?

42:17 And no one had seen her. No one knew where she was.

42:20 She was also supposed to return those keys to that colleague of

42:22 hers and they hadn't been returned.

42:24 So that was obviously of note as well because that was so out of

42:26 character. She wouldn't do that, who she

42:28 was. And she also wouldn't ever want

42:30 to worry anyone. And Aaron was worried.

42:33 And her friends who Aaron had spoken to was sort of a bit

42:37 worried too. This is really strange.

42:40 Aaron ends up going to bed that night, very restless sleep.

42:43 I, I, daddy would have slept at all.

42:45 Felt sick. He would have felt horrible.

42:48 The next morning he wakes up and Steph's still not at home.

42:50 Sorry if he he slept at. All Yeah, well he he, you know

42:53 early it was very early hours of the morning that he then

42:56 contacted her family yeah. They immediately get in the car

42:59 and come to Leighton to help look for her.

43:02 And they did. They looked for her for the rest

43:03 of that day because. They sort of thought that in

43:06 Leighton there's a number of like sort of irrigation ditches

43:09 and things like that, that potentially if she'd driven

43:11 somewhere, there was a chance that maybe she'd had a car

43:13 accident and that she was stuck somewhere like, and this is sort

43:16 of, I guess the, you know, positive thinking.

43:19 And that that's the best case scenario, I guess in this, you

43:21 know, like she's just had a car accident.

43:23 She's looking for needs help. We just need to get to her like.

43:26 Got in that so. It's a scary thought.

43:28 Exactly. That's right.

43:29 That's scary enough. Yeah.

43:30 But, you know, you're like, I mean, I guess that's what you're

43:32 hoping at this point. When she hasn't turned up,

43:33 you're kind of like, she's had a car accident.

43:35 She just needs help. We'll get to her.

43:36 We'll get there. Feel like that would be where

43:38 your mind would go like yeah, yeah.

43:41 So by 4:30 PM though, they're they decided, oh we, we need to

43:45 report this now to the police. So Aaron goes to the local

43:49 police station and does so. Reports her as a missing person

43:52 and look, they take it pretty. Seriously.

43:53 Very seriously. Immediately.

43:54 Which is great, but they helicopters up.

43:56 Everything. Yeah, but they assumed the same

43:58 thing. They assumed that she'd either

44:00 had a car accident, had gone off the road somewhere, was in a

44:02 ditch. Very quickly, I mean, in any of

44:04 these scenarios, you sort of go, you know, future husband as she,

44:08 you know, getting cold feet. Has she gone to, you know, go

44:11 and like have some time to herself because oh, God, am I

44:14 doing the right thing marrying this person?

44:16 But police very quickly, from talking to Aaron and his and her

44:19 parents were like, oh, that's not the scenario.

44:21 And all the everyone they spoke to, like all the colleagues in

44:24 Leeton were like, no, no, no, no, no, that's.

44:26 Not who she. Is no no.

44:27 She was so excited about this wedding.

44:29 There is no way that that's what she's doing.

44:31 Like yeah, but I so you. Stand the police.

44:33 Oh, I have a good question. Absolutely.

44:35 No, I totally agree with them. And but it didn't also stop them

44:37 from looking for it. It's not like they went, oh,

44:39 let's wait another 24 hours, no. They were on striking, but they

44:42 were like, I was like, well, maybe this is the scenario.

44:44 Maybe she just needs some time. And but they were very quickly

44:47 like, oh, actually, let's just not even bother thinking about

44:50 that path anymore because that's not who she was.

44:52 Yeah. Yeah, which, good on them.

44:54 Good on the police for listening.

44:55 Yeah, to them and to the people who knew.

44:57 Her best and not just missing that of like, yeah, I should

44:59 just turn up. Yeah, yeah.

45:01 As you said, they got helicopters up in the air very,

45:04 very quickly. They had obviously patrol cars

45:08 going out searching. Stephanie's family were out

45:11 searching and unfortunately to no, to no avail.

45:17 And it was just like I, I can't imagine how harrowing that would

45:23 be, not only for Aaron, but for her family.

45:26 Like how I just can't. I actually just can't imagine.

45:30 It no, no. All right, so I guess we get to

45:34 the point where her body is found.

45:42 Well, before that, like they, they sort of start, yeah.

45:46 So obviously they're looking at, you know, what's going on here.

45:48 There was actually a report from someone who knew Stephanie that

45:51 had said actually that she had seen Stephanie at the

45:53 supermarket at about 1:00, which at the time they took that on

45:57 face value that that's, you know, truth.

45:59 And so that kind of that through their timeline a little bit that

46:02 if that's where she they basically were that shifted

46:04 where they were looking for her because they weren't then

46:06 looking at the school so much as they were then, OK, well, she's

46:09 at the supermarket. That was after whatever time she

46:12 thought she saw Stephanie at the supermarket was after she'd been

46:16 at the school. So they were like, OK, well, so

46:18 she's been seen, seen beyond the school grounds.

46:22 But then very soon, soon after that, this person came back to

46:26 the police and said, I'm really sorry.

46:28 I've stuffed up. That was actually the day

46:30 before. That was Saturday, not Sunday

46:32 that I saw her do that. And so that then shifted their

46:35 thinking as well. So they went back to looking at

46:37 the school. So at the school they were

46:40 going, OK, this has to be in the last place that she was seen.

46:44 So obviously with those communications from her laptop,

46:46 the logins from the, you know, from the room, all those types

46:49 of things. And they started looking at who

46:51 else was there. And there was a report from a

46:53 neighbor from the school who said that they had seen, he'd

46:56 seen this other person's car at the the car park there alongside

47:01 Stephanie's. So that sort of flagged them to

47:04 be starting to look at this person who else was on the

47:06 grounds. They want to talk to them about

47:08 what they had seen and what time did Stephanie leave and all

47:11 these sorts of things. So I believe that's sort of what

47:14 flagged them to this person originally.

47:18 So they went and had a chat with this person.

47:19 So he was the by the name of Vincent Stanford.

47:23 Vincent had a conversation with the police and and he said to

47:26 them he didn't know too much, that he saw Stephanie, as we

47:30 said, like in that room and that she was on her computer.

47:33 And that's really all he knew about that.

47:35 And then they said, what did you do after you left the school?

47:38 And he said that he went to a particular shop and he named

47:40 that shop and that immediately red flag to this cop.

47:45 Well, it's been a small. Town didn't though.

47:47 He actually went back to his, He went back to the station and

47:50 said to his Sergeant, oh, he said he was here, so I'm gonna

47:54 go and check that out. And the sergeant's like, it was

47:56 Easter Sunday, mate. Yeah, the shot was shut, was

47:58 shut. And he's like, oh, yeah, yeah.

47:59 So that actually then he's like, you need to go out and

48:02 reinterview him and figure out what what happened.

48:05 Yeah. And where he actually was,

48:08 because that's he. Actually flagged that he's lying

48:11 about where he was, clearly because yeah, yeah, yeah.

48:14 That was basically the same from that.

48:15 They've gone to his house, yes. So to go and go, OK, we need to

48:18 have another chat with him when they've rocked up at the house.

48:20 He wasn't home, but his mum was now interestingly.

48:25 So they this is, I guess it's a small town.

48:27 They, these people had not been living in the town no terribly

48:30 long, no, but they were known as because it was such a small

48:33 place. People didn't know of them.

48:34 It's and although that sort of thing.

48:36 But so they did, they spoke to the mum and the mum very much

48:39 when they said, you know, like, can we come in, You know, we

48:41 have a little look around. Mum was immediately like, yeah,

48:44 she'll go for it. She didn't, she was pretty keen

48:47 for them to I think not keen for them to have a look around.

48:49 But she didn't, she wasn't faced by that.

48:51 She wasn't concerned. So she let them do that in there

48:55 looking or just looking around. So they are not, they don't have

48:57 a warrant to search. They're not searching the

48:59 property. They were looking around.

49:01 They did not pick things up and lift things or open things.

49:04 They looked right in looking. They saw a set of keys that

49:09 looked very much like the keys that were identified as being

49:12 the ones that should have been returned to this friend that's

49:14 right at the, which was school keys.

49:18 So by seeing that, that flagged enough for them to say, have

49:22 reasonable grounds to have a search.

49:25 Get a warrant. Actually have a warrant and

49:27 search so that search then brought up a whole lot of other.

49:31 Stuff. Oh my God, So much stuff, So

49:35 much stuff. So they got the warrant pretty

49:37 much immediately and they did the, you know, for essentially A

49:42 forensic search to figure out what it was going on.

49:45 They found, well, they actually found outside the house, so

49:49 still on the property, but not inside the home.

49:53 They found a used condom that had been tied off inside the

49:58 house. They found the packet to that

50:00 used condom that had been ripped open, obviously to be used.

50:06 They during the search, Vincent came home, yes, in his car.

50:16 And immediately they seized his car, which was part of the

50:19 warrant. Yep.

50:20 And he's, they said to him, hey, mate, where have you been?

50:23 Like, what have you been doing? And he's like, oh, I've just

50:25 been out taking photos and they're like, oh, can we have a

50:28 look at your camera? And he's like, yeah, sure.

50:30 Yeah. What do they find on there, man?

50:32 Oh, God. Oh, it's actually, it's actually

50:34 horrible. And it's literally the first

50:36 photos they look at too, like which is.

50:37 The first two photos. Two photos like so he hadn't

50:40 been out that day doing that. I don't know like this as.

50:42 Well, no, I believe he had. Been that day.

50:44 It was that day. So, So this is the photos day.

50:48 Yeah, this is the Monday of the. Easter Monday, Monday.

50:50 So the day after Stephanie went missing.

50:53 So on this camera, they open it up and see a photo of clearly a

50:58 burnt body. And when they asked him what

51:03 what is this and where does it come from, his response was that

51:06 he had it was a screenshot that he'd taken of a horror movie.

51:11 The the police knew immediately that wasn't the case.

51:15 They could tell that it was not that, but that was his response

51:19 to it. You.

51:20 Can't tell when a photo's being taken of a from a screen.

51:23 Oh my God. Yeah, like, and this was not

51:25 that. Yeah, it was.

51:27 Yeah, it. Wasn't that and they could.

51:29 Even from this photo they could tell it was a female body.

51:32 In a wooded area, that was kind of.

51:33 That was kind. Of all they contact from that.

51:35 Photo, but they would see it was a female body that had been what

51:39 was burnt. So I mean, God, you have to be

51:42 like, what the fuck? You know, you've got your guy

51:45 basically right here now you can become tunnel vision to me like

51:48 this is. Yeah, you know.

51:49 Well, the other things that they found in the home, sorry, just

51:52 getting back to that. So like this was all happening

51:54 concurrently. This is all happening at the

51:56 same time. Yeah.

51:57 They found a bra, Yes. And they found a knife that

52:02 actually still had some blood staining on it.

52:04 So they're looking at that. They also then obviously search

52:07 his car. There's some MDF board in the

52:10 back of his car that had blood on it.

52:12 And so they've obviously seized all of these things to then go

52:17 and really practically test it. Yeah, it's horrific because the

52:23 other thing that they found on that camera roll was nearly 2000

52:28 photos of young girls, 1 particular girl.

52:36 There were a lot of photos of a 12 year old girl who was later

52:40 found to be a girl, a student of Layton high school.

52:45 They found photos depicting beastiality and other lewd

52:50 sexual acts on minors and women, and a lot of photos that the

52:58 police could tell the women were and girls were unaware that

53:02 those photos were being taken of them.

53:03 He was really, it was really obvious.

53:05 He'd been stalking a number of people.

53:08 Yeah. They were not photos of

53:09 Stephanie. No on the camera aside from.

53:12 Well, well. We're streaming, Yeah at this

53:15 point, but yeah, yeah, there were no photos of Stephanie like

53:17 with her unknowingly being taken with like where the other women

53:20 known to Stephanie, even teachers from the school

53:23 students, as we said once, 2. Shopkeepers.

53:25 So there were two different shops and there was a woman from

53:29 these two shops in Leighton that had had a quite a large number

53:34 of photos of those two women. Yeah, just horrible.

53:37 So Vincent Stanford, he was born on the 21st of December in 1990

53:43 in Tasmania. When he was I think 3 years old,

53:47 he moved to the Netherlands with his mom.

53:49 So his mom and dad split up and his mom was from the Netherlands

53:53 so they moved back there. He was an identical twin and he

53:57 had another brother and when they were, I think he was a

54:03 young, it wasn't that I I think he was like 11 or 12 and they

54:08 moved back to Australia. Oh no, I think it was older than

54:11 that actually. Oh, was it?

54:12 So the incident with the teacher, did that happen in the

54:14 Netherlands? Did it?

54:15 Oh. Now you've got me questioning

54:16 that, actually. I thought it happened.

54:18 Yeah. No, I think you might be right.

54:19 No, it might be earlier. They came back here.

54:20 Yeah. Right.

54:21 So I, I, I believe he was like roughly 10 when they moved back

54:24 from the Netherlands. Yeah, when he was 12 years old,

54:28 he choked a teacher. So apparently he was quite,

54:33 like, he had a lot of behavioral issues at school.

54:36 And on this particular day, he'd absconded, and this teacher

54:39 found him and went to grab his jacket to kind of, I guess,

54:43 restrain him, you know? I mean, you know, I can't even

54:46 imagine a teacher being in that situation.

54:48 You know, he's leaving the school.

54:50 They've got responsibility. There's a duty of care.

54:52 And anyway, so she's going to grab his jacket.

54:55 And with that, he's turned and choked her.

54:57 Yeah. She ended up in hospital.

55:02 Like unbelievable. Yeah, he ended up being expelled

55:05 from that school and he went to a school.

55:09 That behavioral school, they kind of call it, which I don't

55:12 know what that would be. I don't know what what sort of

55:15 yeah, but some sort of focused school on children with

55:19 challenging behaviours. Yeah, around this time he was

55:22 actually also diagnosed with autism and oppositional defiant

55:26 disorder. ODD.

55:27 Yeah. And it sounds to me like he had

55:30 other really psychotic behaviours.

55:33 Let's really just say there's two things can be true at the

55:35 same time. He may have autism, but I do

55:39 believe he had a whole lot of other things going.

55:40 On 100. Percent.

55:41 And I do think that diagnostically, you know, the

55:46 ASD is not potentially the cause of these physically harmful.

55:52 Not at all. Things that he's he did as a

55:55 child and then as an adult, I think they're, they're two

55:57 separate issues going on for him.

55:58 Personally, I fully agree. There's also.

56:00 Social stuff that he has with and I, I can understand that

56:03 being ASD traits, Yep. But these other intrusive

56:07 thoughts, et cetera, that he he describes basically having

56:10 thoughts around wanting to kill people from the age of 7.

56:14 Yes. That stuff I don't that to me is

56:18 not symptomatic, symptomatic of like an ASD diagnosis.

56:21 That's that's more. Oh yeah, yeah.

56:23 And other, other things going on.

56:25 So definitely, I mean, I think the combination of the two would

56:28 be, yeah, really challenging, Yeah.

56:31 But yeah, let's just say that. Oh, definitely.

56:35 Yeah. There is no way that I'm saying

56:37 that, no, just because he's autistic, he's perpetrated

56:39 something horrific or, you know, yeah, there's so much going on

56:45 with this. Bloke, yeah.

56:47 All right, So he's obviously then arrested and at the point

56:54 where, you know, the police have been conducting this search and

56:56 found some very interesting and damning things.

57:01 The police do then at this point they also then find the car.

57:05 So the car is found at about. It's about 8 kilometers away

57:08 from. 11. 11 kilometers. What is it from the?

57:12 From where they? Live.

57:12 Not that it really matters. But yeah, well, about that, you

57:14 know, like honey. So about 11 K away from the high

57:18 school and where they live and it's found like in a paddock

57:21 next to an irrigation ditch which is full of water.

57:25 So they they did find the car there which.

57:29 It was parked under a tree as well which like under a big tree

57:32 which is why they think when they did the aerial search of

57:35 the area that they didn't see in a.

57:36 Car, right? Yeah.

57:38 So they do do a massive search around then from the car, like

57:41 trying to find, you know, it's the body near here.

57:45 They also then get a tip once they do find the car, they have

57:48 a phone call come in saying that they that someone did see a

57:51 person throwing something into a ditch near there.

57:56 So that sent the divers out then into that water to then have a

57:59 look as well. So the divers then were able to

58:02 retrieve from there the laptop or an iPad.

58:05 Laptop. So the guy thought it was an

58:07 iPad but it ended up being her laptop.

58:09 A laptop. So it ended up being Stephanie's

58:11 laptop. So this really sort of, again,

58:13 sort of led to them to think, you know, well, obviously

58:16 Stephanie hasn't driven the car to hear herself kind of thing

58:18 and then thrown her laptop in there.

58:19 That doesn't really make sense. So yeah, so they found the

58:22 laptop. Was there anything that they

58:24 found in the water? No, no, no, no.

58:26 Just a laptop there. So yeah, this is all sort of

58:29 coming together. But at this point, Vincent is

58:32 still not saying anything until the 11th of April.

58:39 Yep. Finally on the 11th of April, he

58:41 says that he wants to speak to the police officers.

58:45 Now, unbeknownst to him prior to that, him saying that they

58:49 actually did find her body. So they actually had another tip

58:54 of someone else came in where they had identified an area that

58:58 they had seen someone drive up to and dump something.

59:02 And so they followed that up and it turned out that they they did

59:06 find Stephanie's body 70 kilometers away from Leighton.

59:11 Yeah. So a fair drive out.

59:13 In Kokopara National Park, yeah. So this was a place that Vincent

59:17 frequented as a camper. Yeah.

59:19 So it was an area that was very familiar to him.

59:22 He did like to spend a lot of time on his own and camping was

59:27 one of the ways that he sort of, I guess, escaped and had that

59:30 time. So, yeah, he was.

59:34 This area in particular was very familiar to him.

59:37 Yeah. What he.

59:39 Yeah. Are we going to get?

59:41 To the. Perpetration of it.

59:42 Now, so, yeah, so I mean, alongside them finding this body

59:44 basically, then they do get a bit more of a story from him,

59:47 yeah, to then be able to marry up.

59:48 What's going on? So they don't, they don't tell

59:50 him though, no, that they have found her body, no.

59:53 They found her body the day before her wedding day and he.

59:57 Finally confessed on the wedding day.

59:59 Yeah. Yeah, OK.

1:00:01 So what he says happened. Yeah.

1:00:05 So his take, yeah, Yeah, is, well, one thing I'll just say if

1:00:10 you you can see the interview tapes, they are out there.

1:00:15 It is haunting how he speaks to this, the lack of emotion, which

1:00:21 he admits to even that he has no emotions.

1:00:23 He didn't. He talks about that of like, you

1:00:24 know, that's his autism, but I don't know.

1:00:27 Well, he, he says that. He says that he wasn't angry.

1:00:32 No, he wasn't. We'll, we'll get to all of this.

1:00:34 But he was. Yeah, absolutely.

1:00:36 Those interviews show he was emotionless, absolutely

1:00:39 remorseless. Absolutely.

1:00:40 He had 0 empathy for what had happened to Stephanie or even

1:00:44 the fact that this impacted so many different people.

1:00:49 Yeah. His words were I think I went a

1:00:52 little nuts. I just could not stop myself.

1:00:54 OK, So what he says happened is on that day he says that he had

1:00:59 gone to the school to empty the bins and to do a little bit of

1:01:03 cleaning. Yeah.

1:01:04 Now he was not meant to be there at all.

1:01:07 Like so his employment was not actually directly to the school.

1:01:10 There was a contract out by the department to for the cleaning

1:01:13 and he was employed by a separate company and there was

1:01:16 no need for him to have keys to this school.

1:01:20 At all, I believe that his contracted hours were like

1:01:24 before school, like 6 till 8:00 AM or something.

1:01:26 He would come and do something and then he was allowed to then

1:01:30 be on site after that as well. So I think the latest that he

1:01:35 was, you know, contracted to be at school was until, like 7:00

1:01:38 or 8:00 PM, something like that, during the day, Monday to Friday

1:01:41 only. Yeah.

1:01:42 There was no need for him to be there on the weekends.

1:01:44 There was no need to be for him to be there on Easter Sunday,

1:01:47 you know. But, you know, he was.

1:01:50 Yeah. So what he says is that he saw

1:01:53 Stephanie about to leave. So obviously he'd seen that she

1:01:56 was there. Yeah.

1:01:58 He saw that she was about to leave and she'd said, see you

1:02:02 later, have a nice Easter. And with that, he grabbed her.

1:02:05 So he explains in great detail which hand was where.

1:02:08 And he put a hand over her mouth and the other hand around her

1:02:11 waist to pull her in. He dragged her into a store room

1:02:14 that used to be a photography dark room, so it didn't have any

1:02:17 windows. And it was sort of in an area of

1:02:21 the school that was sort of quite secluded.

1:02:24 Yeah, there were. There was another teacher who

1:02:27 had come to the school that afternoon, so she arrived at the

1:02:32 school and when she arrived there, she was just dropping

1:02:35 something off. I believe she was there for a

1:02:37 little bit of time, though, because when she got there she

1:02:40 saw Stephanie's car and the white car, the white van in the

1:02:44 car park. She then went about her about

1:02:49 her thing. She said she did hear something

1:02:50 that sounded like dragging, but she knew that the cleaner was

1:02:54 there. So assume the cleaner was

1:02:55 dragging something around as you said, like you said, exactly

1:02:59 that. You, you, you explain those

1:03:00 things away. Of course you do.

1:03:02 Yep. She then when she left,

1:03:04 Stephanie's car was no longer in the car park, but the white van

1:03:06 was. So she was like, oh, Stephanie's

1:03:08 gone, Stephanie's gone. It's all good, right?

1:03:10 We're all sort of. Just been doing something in her

1:03:12 classroom. Yep, Yep.

1:03:14 Anyone would explain it away in that way.

1:03:16 Yeah. What was actually going on at

1:03:18 that time was that Vincent had dragged Stephanie into this

1:03:22 storeroom. He had beaten her to death and

1:03:26 also stabbed her. He had punched her 30 to 40

1:03:29 times in the head. Oh my God.

1:03:32 After doing that, he then sexually assaulted her.

1:03:37 After sexually assaulting her, he realized that maybe she's not

1:03:40 dead. Yep, he took out his knife and

1:03:43 slit her throat. Just stabbed her in the note

1:03:46 Next. Sorry, I should say.

1:03:46 Yeah, just to make sure. Just to make sure that she's

1:03:49 actually dead. Dead.

1:03:52 After he did that, he felt a bit hungry.

1:03:55 Yeah. So he got in his car.

1:03:58 No. Oh, in her car.

1:03:59 Stephanie's car. Sorry, he did.

1:04:02 Oh no, he did. No, he did.

1:04:04 Yep. He went home and had a sandwich

1:04:06 and a coffee. With his mum, Yep, and his

1:04:08 brother, Yep, his older brother. Came home, I came back to the

1:04:13 school and started cleaning up. In doing so, he placed

1:04:18 Stephanie's body in the boot of her own car.

1:04:21 He then went back into the storeroom and cleaned it all up.

1:04:28 He then drove Stephanie's car back to his mom's place.

1:04:33 Parked it at the back shed. Yep, Yep.

1:04:36 Until the early hours of the morning in which he drove to the

1:04:41 National Park. And well overnight I believe he

1:04:45 transferred her body to his car. So he must have gone back to the

1:04:49 school at some point and collected his own car.

1:04:51 He did. Sorry.

1:04:51 You're absolutely right. And then he's.

1:04:53 Transferred the body into his car and then the next morning

1:04:56 driven her car to where it was eventually found.

1:04:59 Drove it there, left it there, dropped it in the in, dropped

1:05:02 the laptop in the in the irrigation ditch.

1:05:05 He's then walked home from there.

1:05:06 So as we say, it was only sort of 11 K out of town, but he's

1:05:09 then walked that distance back, back home again in her body.

1:05:13 And so yeah, then taken his car and driven IT70K out of town to

1:05:18 where he's eventually dumped the body.

1:05:20 He then used petrol to ignite her body and the area around her

1:05:27 body. The way he describes that I find

1:05:30 particularly off putting. So the cops are asking specific

1:05:33 questions around well, how did you light it?

1:05:35 What did you did you use a match?

1:05:37 Did you, you know, sort of thing.

1:05:38 And he the way he clarifies, you know, his response and things.

1:05:42 I just that was that's really chilling.

1:05:44 It's so I can't even describe it.

1:05:48 It's, it's the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

1:05:50 I reckon one of the way he just sort of Oh no, no, I'll do it

1:05:53 like this. Yeah.

1:05:54 And then the the police officer interview, the detective

1:05:57 interviewing him said do you, did you stand there and watch

1:06:01 it? And he's like, no, as soon as it

1:06:03 was the light, I just sort of like left.

1:06:05 I knew what was going to happen. Yeah.

1:06:07 I thought I'll watch for a minute maybe, yeah.

1:06:09 But then yeah, then just went, it's so detached, it's creepy.

1:06:15 So detached. Oh, sorry, I actually forgot one

1:06:18 thing. Oh, yeah?

1:06:18 So when he saw that she was at the school, this was before.

1:06:25 Yeah. He actually went home and got

1:06:28 what he calls his rape kit. Yeah.

1:06:31 Yeah. Which included Viagra,

1:06:34 handcuffs, the knife, cleaning products.

1:06:39 The police, when they looked on his computer, found a Google

1:06:43 history with terms like bride rape.

1:06:47 So apparently he did this car on the way like he got back from

1:06:50 getting his rape kit. Necrophilia Bride raped with

1:06:55 wedding gown. The police asked him why he kept

1:06:59 her bra, and he said it's because it was mostly clean.

1:07:04 I don't really know. I guess it was a trophy, a

1:07:06 keepsake, they said, Did you wash it?

1:07:09 And he's like, yeah, yeah, I chucked it in the machine, in

1:07:11 the washing machine. And then he's just like, left it

1:07:14 on the floor of his bedroom. It's fucking weird.

1:07:17 It's. Really bizarre.

1:07:19 The other thing he does they then ask him about is because

1:07:22 obviously Bumby knows to him they found the body and so

1:07:24 they're saying to him like, and what about her engagement ring

1:07:28 and her other jewelry? Where's that?

1:07:31 And he he sort of, he can see him change a little bit in this,

1:07:35 in this questioning. Definitely.

1:07:37 And he goes, Oh no, no, I can't remember.

1:07:40 No, I think I took them off her at the school.

1:07:43 No, no, I did that when she was in the car at home.

1:07:46 Oh, and he changed his story a number of times and kind of

1:07:48 because he can't get it to fit. And then he's like, oh, I don't

1:07:51 know. Yeah, I don't want to happen.

1:07:52 I just can't remember in all of that like what?

1:07:54 Although he remembers in meticulous detail all the other.

1:07:56 The other sheet, like literally meticulous detail where his

1:07:58 hands were where, you know, like, almost enjoying telling

1:08:01 them, like kind of stuff. Whereas this pit, he just kind

1:08:03 of goes, yeah, yeah, I don't remember.

1:08:05 Yeah. When I took those off her, turns

1:08:08 out he took those off her and he mailed them to his identical

1:08:13 brother in South Australia. His brother Marcus received that

1:08:19 those goods and he then disposed of them.

1:08:23 Now he knew at this point what was being sent to him and what

1:08:28 why he needed to get rid of them that that was proven in in all

1:08:31 of this. So he ended up getting $750 for

1:08:36 he pawned them at a pawn shop. And yeah, I mean just.

1:08:41 It's disgusting. So, so awful.

1:08:43 It was her engagement ring and then also ring.

1:08:46 Yeah, a graduation ring her mum and dad had bought her when she

1:08:49 graduated from university. Yeah.

1:08:53 He also mailed Marcus her driver's license.

1:08:56 So Marcus burnt that. Yes.

1:08:59 As you said, he pawned the jewellery and unfortunately, the

1:09:02 person who bought the jewellery melted it down and sold it for

1:09:07 the the precious metal. Yeah.

1:09:09 And so there is no way the family could ever get, it's not

1:09:13 like they could go to the pawn shop and buy them.

1:09:15 They'd already been bought and melted down.

1:09:17 Oh, it's just, it's just awful. That is awful, I feel.

1:09:22 Actually, I thought that maybe Aaron had got those things.

1:09:23 Back. No, he didn't.

1:09:25 He didn't. Marcus was charged with being an

1:09:31 accessory after the fact of murder and he was sentenced to

1:09:35 15 months in prison. People say that that was

1:09:40 woefully inadequate and so he was actually extradited to NSW

1:09:45 for that charge and for his imprisonment.

1:09:47 When he was released from prison he went back to live with his

1:09:51 mum in Leighton and they were literally, I think they lasted 2

1:09:54 days. Who thought they had?

1:09:55 To move that was a good way to go.

1:09:57 I just that I he what the fact that he's he's identical and I

1:10:01 mean identical, but they are would have just been so

1:10:06 upsetting to people to see him around town.

1:10:09 Yeah, how dare they. How dare they I?

1:10:12 Really was fuming when I read that.

1:10:14 Yeah. I just find that so thoughtless.

1:10:17 No matter because he tries to make out.

1:10:19 When he came out of jail, he was like, oh, I have nothing to do

1:10:21 with my brother. I don't want anything to do with

1:10:23 him. His his his line is that, yeah,

1:10:25 what he did was horrible and doesn't agree with it.

1:10:29 I don't care. Then use your brain and don't go

1:10:32 moving back into that town. I can't.

1:10:33 Yeah. What the fuck.

1:10:38 However, he's also a sack of shit.

1:10:40 Yeah. So just last year, end of last

1:10:43 year in November, there was a manhunt out for him after a

1:10:48 physical abuse. Abuse of it wasn't.

1:10:51 I can't find out whether it was male or female that the abuse

1:10:55 occurred against, but yeah he he's obviously also a piece of

1:10:59 shit with. Did this happen in Tasmania?

1:11:01 Because isn't he living with his dad in Tassie at the moment?

1:11:03 Must have, yeah. Must have, yeah.

1:11:05 Yeah. Oh God, yes.

1:11:08 Absolutely horrific, yeah. So obviously, yeah, as we say,

1:11:15 Vincent does confess with a few holes in his story.

1:11:19 Well, he never admits to the sexual assault.

1:11:21 No, he won't admit to that completely.

1:11:23 No, I just, he talked about the fact that he did hit her and

1:11:26 that he stabbed her, but he never went anywhere near talking

1:11:29 about he wouldn't have that, that he sexually assaulted her.

1:11:32 He had scratches all over his face, so Stephanie was

1:11:34 definitely fighting for her life, which.

1:11:37 Good. Oh.

1:11:38 It's just horrible. That's horrible.

1:11:40 Yeah, No. So obviously he's charged with

1:11:46 her murder, but and also the sexual assault.

1:11:49 Aggravated sexual. Sexual assault, he is charged

1:11:52 with both because they do have evidence of that, so that's also

1:11:57 put onto him as well. Why do you think he admitted to

1:12:01 the murder but not to the sexual assault?

1:12:03 Yeah, there's got to be something in this.

1:12:05 Psychologically for him, in terms of what?

1:12:07 He he perceives as being worse than the other or being able to

1:12:10 be accepted. But I, I don't know, I mean,

1:12:13 rape worse than murder, but I yeah, like he was just free.

1:12:19 Fucking awful. The worst.

1:12:20 Yeah, the worst. But he was freely admitting to

1:12:23 the killing like he was. Just a bit, yeah.

1:12:26 There's some sort of shame around the site, the sexuality

1:12:28 of it. But why?

1:12:30 Who knows? I mean, there's got to be

1:12:31 something in his past that's created this site.

1:12:33 To be honest, I think there's. In the investigation of all this

1:12:36 as well, and I think this is noteworthy.

1:12:39 When they were looking into all of these photos of these young

1:12:41 girls, in particular this 12 year old school girl, they

1:12:46 obviously they interviewed him about that.

1:12:48 They asked him about that. But he he had, he was meticulous

1:12:54 in his stalking of these women. So he was documenting

1:12:59 everything. So he documented about this 12

1:13:01 year old girl. There was an entry that was like

1:13:03 1540 at home, alone time to abduct.

1:13:08 A long enough time to. Yeah, enough time to abduct or

1:13:11 something. I'm like fucking hell.

1:13:14 He so he. Could have easily been that.

1:13:15 Girl, this is it. Stephanie could have been this

1:13:17 girl. Yeah, you will not convince me

1:13:19 of anything to say that he decided in that he was.

1:13:22 Going to be serial killer. Yeah, as he put it, you know, I

1:13:25 just went a little nuts and, you know, I couldn't stop myself in

1:13:27 the moment. No, sorry.

1:13:28 No. He's been looking for a scenario

1:13:31 where he can enact this. And you know, I really, I look

1:13:36 at like the fact that he had photos of other women on his

1:13:39 camera that he was stalking and yet not Stephanie.

1:13:42 But I do think it was a bit opportunistic in that he he I

1:13:46 think he followed her to the school.

1:13:47 I think he saw her doing that and was like, oh, there's going

1:13:49 to be no one else there. I can, you know, use this to my

1:13:53 advantage. But that doesn't that doesn't

1:13:56 mean there's not pre planning. Like there was definite pre

1:13:58 planning. I mean the rape kit that he had.

1:14:00 So like. Exactly.

1:14:01 And he ordered all of that stuff, and he called handcuffs.

1:14:04 Like, I mean, that's what he called it.

1:14:06 He'd ordered the handcuffs and the knife from like, yeah, I

1:14:09 don't know. If it wasn't Amazon, I don't

1:14:10 even know. Maybe it was.

1:14:11 I don't know. But he'd ordered that stuff.

1:14:13 So he had 100% premeditated it. Yeah.

1:14:16 Whether it was maybe not premeditated murdering

1:14:19 Stephanie. No, that's someone, but someone.

1:14:21 This was something he was planning to do.

1:14:23 He was waiting. For a moment, he would have done

1:14:25 this again. Absolutely, Absolutely.

1:14:29 Oh God, yeah. I think that's the thing.

1:14:31 We, you know, we have to understand that these people

1:14:35 that'll like think like this will do this multiple times.

1:14:39 This is not a one off. The police asked him in his

1:14:42 interview, why did why did you do this?

1:14:44 And he said, oh, I think I've got mental problems.

1:14:47 Yeah. Just keep going back to that.

1:14:48 Yeah. Yeah.

1:14:49 So he was recognizing it in himself that it was wrong on

1:14:53 some level, but not enough to stop.

1:14:56 Himself. Yeah.

1:14:58 So in October of 2016, Justice Robert Holm sentenced Vincent to

1:15:04 life in prison without the possibility of parole.

1:15:07 Yeah, that was for the the murder.

1:15:09 The murder, he said there's and then he got. 15. 15 for the

1:15:14 aggregated rape, yeah. With no parole or no, you know,

1:15:17 yeah, that that just doesn't. No minimum.

1:15:20 No minimum. That well, that he said there's

1:15:22 no, there's no need to put there's, it would be moot

1:15:25 basically. Yeah, yeah.

1:15:27 He said that the crime fell into the worst category of murder and

1:15:30 that his lack of remorse and extreme violence of the attack

1:15:33 and the calculated nature of the cover up led to led to the

1:15:36 sentence. It's absolutely.

1:15:42 It's just absolutely horrific. Yeah.

1:15:47 I think at least the fact that he pled guilty meant that a

1:15:52 trial didn't have to happen. Yeah.

1:15:55 Maybe that's a slightly saving grace for her family.

1:15:59 I'm not really sure. His defense lawyers really laid

1:16:02 on thick the fact that he was diagnosed ISD and then the

1:16:07 court, which thankfully they ruled that that did not reduce

1:16:12 culpability whatsoever. Because they had their own

1:16:15 psychological assessments done, and those psychological

1:16:17 assessments said that he was a psychopath.

1:16:19 Absolutely. And he was unable to be

1:16:22 rehabilitated. Yeah, thank God they did that.

1:16:25 Oh. Absolutely.

1:16:26 Absolutely. Oh God, yeah.

1:16:28 They called his actions one of the worst categories of murder.

1:16:31 Yeah, absolutely it is. Yeah.

1:16:33 It's just horrific. Absolutely horrific.

1:16:36 So now I guess what happened after?

1:16:42 Yep, this poor town. I mean, God, they were they have

1:16:46 really did take this. So like bad, like it wasn't

1:16:51 good. They they, they had a beautiful

1:16:54 memorial, like sort of spot where they at the school and

1:16:57 they were looking for etcetera. There was people gathered there.

1:17:00 The town were shocked like big time by this because they are

1:17:03 such a small community that for one of their own to be taken

1:17:08 like that and and that someone in their own community could

1:17:12 perform that on someone who lived in the local community.

1:17:14 It just seems so oh God, so so shit.

1:17:18 So. Shit, so shit.

1:17:19 Her family and Aaron, I mean, he's her family.

1:17:23 Yeah, they we're really open to the community that Stephanie

1:17:31 lived in. And so much so that on the day

1:17:34 that was supposed to be their wedding, they invited the the

1:17:37 town to the local park and they released yellow.

1:17:41 Everyone came dressed in yellow, which was Stephanie's favorite

1:17:44 colour. And they released yellow

1:17:45 balloons in in her memory on what should have been the best

1:17:49 day of her life. Yeah, because.

1:17:50 She was so looking forward. To that day, looking forward to

1:17:52 getting married. A lot of people had travelled

1:17:55 from overseas, Interstate and from, you know, far away given

1:17:59 that Leighton was such a small town, you know, supposedly for

1:18:03 her wedding, but it ended up they were there for her funeral,

1:18:08 which is just horrible. Absolutely.

1:18:10 Stephanie's family and her fiance Aaron launched a civil

1:18:15 suit against the NSW Department of Education for more stringent

1:18:19 screening processes for non teaching staff and contractors

1:18:23 of schools like cleaners, maintenance workers, any anyone,

1:18:27 anyone who's coming on a school premises.

1:18:31 The matter was settled confidentially.

1:18:32 So we don't know how that was settled or what kind of

1:18:35 monetary, you know, exchange there was for that.

1:18:40 But it did prompt a review of how background information is

1:18:44 shared across borders within Australia.

1:18:46 Because what came to pass was that in Tasmania, Vincent

1:18:52 actually did have charges for that assault I believe.

1:18:57 And obviously when he was employed in to the NSW

1:19:01 Department of Education through this contractor, they didn't

1:19:04 know that. And the fact that he even as a

1:19:06 12 year old attacked a teacher, he to me that's someone who then

1:19:11 has had a bad experience within school environment

1:19:14 psychologically. That's then someone who could

1:19:17 perform those acts again as an adult against a teacher like.

1:19:20 And I wonder whether there is something in a bit more in that

1:19:23 of whether he had some sort of disdain for teachers and why

1:19:27 then it became a teacher that he targeted.

1:19:30 That's interesting. I actually hadn't thought about

1:19:32 that, but yeah. Yeah, I mean, schools can be

1:19:37 really great places for people. They can be really shit places

1:19:39 for people. And if you've had a bad

1:19:41 experience and you also have, you know, mental health and

1:19:43 psychological issues. Going on.

1:19:45 That's maybe not the best place for you to work.

1:19:47 Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

1:19:50 So if if nothing else, I guess that that kind of came of it.

1:19:54 After the sentencing, Stephanie's family came out to

1:19:58 say that they did a press conference just out the front of

1:20:02 the courthouse and they pretty much said we.

1:20:07 You know, we really thank everybody for their support.

1:20:11 We thank we're, we're so glad to be able to get Stephanie's, you

1:20:14 know, all of the good things about her out there and the fact

1:20:16 that we've had all of this support, but we're actually not

1:20:19 going to be doing any more interviews.

1:20:21 We are we're sort of done. We need to now privately grieve

1:20:24 and figure out how to live life. Let the music back in, I said.

1:20:28 That's it now. He was sentenced the day before

1:20:31 her 28th birthday, I believe it was.

1:20:35 And So what they asked was that everyone had a mince slice and a

1:20:38 cup of tea at 3:00 PM. Yeah, at 3:00 PM, the following

1:20:42 date in her memory and in her honour.

1:20:44 I did that last night. Before we did this, I had a tea.

1:20:47 Well, I read over my notes and I meant slice because I just felt

1:20:50 like that was respectful. Yeah, yeah.

1:20:53 I think, yeah. I think if you're going to

1:20:56 honour the memory of people like that, it's thinking about them

1:20:59 in the way that they would wanna be remembered.

1:21:03 And I'm sure, you know, she would wanna be remembered as the

1:21:06 the magnificent human being that she was.

1:21:09 Yeah. I feel really sad that she never

1:21:11 got to have children of her own. Yeah.

1:21:13 And have that wedding that she was so looking forward to.

1:21:16 Off with Aaron, yeah. Aaron moved to Europe after this

1:21:21 because he just needed to get away and and have a bit of space

1:21:24 and while he was over there he actually met I believe an

1:21:27 Australian woman by. The name of or haven't got her

1:21:30 name. It was like 5 years after her

1:21:32 her death though. So like there was a big gap, you

1:21:34 know, ends in like between. Of course it.

1:21:35 Took him time but he's met someone who's.

1:21:38 Really special to him is her name.

1:21:40 No, that rings about. I didn't write it down though.

1:21:42 They they are now married and they have a daughter and.

1:21:47 She looks like Stephanie. She.

1:21:49 Yeah, she does. She does look like not the

1:21:51 daughter. The other one.

1:21:54 They do look very similar, but I'm glad that he was able to

1:21:57 find love again. I know that, Stephanie.

1:22:00 Nothing for him. Oh, definitely.

1:22:01 Nothing would will ever erase what he and Stephanie had.

1:22:04 And I'm just glad that he was able to to find love and find

1:22:08 support. Yeah, in the way that he has.

1:22:10 Absolutely. Unfortunately, that's not the

1:22:12 end of the tragedy for this family, though not which is.

1:22:14 This is awful. Yeah, I believe it was about a

1:22:17 year. After a year.

1:22:18 Or a year after her death. Year after the sentence.

1:22:20 No sentence sentencing, wasn't it?

1:22:22 Yeah, a freak accident. Unfortunately, her dad was

1:22:26 killed by a tree that fell on him.

1:22:29 Which on their property. Yeah, it's just that's awful.

1:22:32 I mean as. If a family hasn't been through

1:22:34 enough tragedy as it is. For a bit of Strat twice.

1:22:38 I mean, all I can say of that is that they'll be together, you

1:22:41 know, and that that's, that's the only comforting thing I

1:22:43 think you can have from that, that her and her dad will have

1:22:46 each other together. But that's just too soon and too

1:22:50 awful for the family. How can I don't even know how

1:22:54 her mum would cope, how her mum would cope with that?

1:22:57 No. To lose Stephanie in that way

1:22:59 and then to lose her husband in that way.

1:23:01 Fuck. Oh my God.

1:23:03 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, God, there's she, she's

1:23:06 been through the ring up. I mean, no, no one deserves all

1:23:09 that tragedy in their life, God. Not at.

1:23:12 All but we're thinking of them. That's potential.

1:23:14 And that's. I think all we can do from a

1:23:15 distance is hope that she knows that people are.

1:23:19 Yeah, thinking of them and and that she's she, she's got this.

1:23:24 Absolutely. Because Oh my God, I I can't

1:23:27 even imagine being the family of someone whose daughter, you

1:23:32 know, friend, sister disappears and that this is then what you

1:23:38 find out about. I know it's just when I was

1:23:41 started researching this and I found that Aaron had spent that

1:23:46 afternoon and evening like he'd cancelled those dinner plans,

1:23:49 like he actually rang to cancel the booking and stuff.

1:23:52 So I'm like, he knew she wasn't going to be home.

1:23:55 Why didn't he go to the police earlier?

1:23:57 But I actually do. When I stop and think about it,

1:24:01 I do actually get it because. You'd think like, you know, I'm

1:24:04 just being silly, so I'm just going to walk through the door.

1:24:06 And then I'll have been to the police and I'm like that idiot,

1:24:09 yeah. And she's going to come home

1:24:10 with, like, such an explanation as to why this has occurred

1:24:14 because he knew her so well. Yeah.

1:24:15 Like, they it was she. He wasn't concerned in that she

1:24:20 was doing something like disappearing in cold feet for

1:24:23 the wedding. No, you know.

1:24:25 That would have not have been what he would have thought at

1:24:27 all because that's not who she was.

1:24:30 So I guess in his mind, he's like, oh, she's gonna rock in

1:24:32 here and we're gonna have the biggest laugh eventually about

1:24:34 whatever has happened. Or I'll be shitty because she

1:24:35 should have let me know where she was, but you know.

1:24:38 But she's gonna have. There's gonna be a reason.

1:24:40 Yeah, I understand. I can too.

1:24:43 I can too. Convincing yourself, think about

1:24:45 it of like, why this is not like you feel like an idiot of like

1:24:48 going like, why would I? How many people do I alert about

1:24:52 this when she's just gonna walk through the door in a minute?

1:24:54 Yeah. Exactly.

1:24:56 Oh God, and that's all and that's the thing.

1:24:58 I'm sure he beats himself up over like you know, not that I

1:25:01 don't think him. You know it wouldn't to the

1:25:03 police any it wouldn't have made any he.

1:25:05 Wasn't even in Leighton when she was murdered, he was still

1:25:09 travelling home so you know there's nothing he could have

1:25:13 done and I really hope he doesn't blame himself.

1:25:16 No, not at all. I mean, you know, you can do the

1:25:18 whole like, you know, oh, what if I'd said I wouldn't go to

1:25:20 that party, she just would have still would have gone to work

1:25:22 that day, you know, like so him not even being in town, I

1:25:25 wouldn't have. Made a difference.

1:25:26 Made a difference whether he was there or not because she would

1:25:28 have still gone and done because of who she was as a person in

1:25:32 her core. She was a dedicated teacher and

1:25:34 didn't want to leave her students high and dry while she

1:25:36 was having a honeymoon. She would have gone to that

1:25:39 school. She would have gone on her own.

1:25:41 That's what would have happened. And you should be able to go and

1:25:44 do into your workplace. And be safe.

1:25:46 And be safe and do those things. I mean, as I say, I've done it a

1:25:50 million times over myself. And you are, you're fine.

1:25:53 Like it's, you know, you worry about every noise, but whatever.

1:25:55 And she would have done the same thing and gone like, yeah, I'm

1:25:58 being silly at noises or whatever.

1:26:00 Or this other person wandering around.

1:26:01 Well, he's meant to be here. Yeah.

1:26:03 Wasn't meant to be there, but she was.

1:26:05 She had every right to think that he was allowed to be.

1:26:07 There. Oh for sure.

1:26:08 There's no reason why she would request any different.

1:26:09 Of a cleaner wandering around? No, not at all.

1:26:12 That's God. That's normal.

1:26:14 Yeah. Especially in the school

1:26:15 holidays. You go, they come in and get

1:26:17 jobs done they can't do when the students are here.

1:26:18 That's you. Know they do a deeper clean they

1:26:20 might be like doing. Carpet.

1:26:21 Yeah, you always do the carpet steam cleaning holidays or

1:26:23 whatever. Yeah, but there's always

1:26:24 cleaners floating around during the holidays.

1:26:26 More so she wouldn't have thought anything of it.

1:26:29 It's not on her. It's not on him.

1:26:31 It's all it's on. It's on Vincent.

1:26:33 That's it. And he's fucked up brother as

1:26:35 well. Yeah.

1:26:36 His dad has also come out and spoken about him being in jail

1:26:40 and they have nothing to do with him, that they do have massive

1:26:45 issue with what he did. So I guess that's one thing, but

1:26:49 I don't know. There's a responsibility there

1:26:50 with I think, I think the family.

1:26:52 I do think also his education as well, that at times where there

1:26:56 could have been points where this he could have been

1:26:58 intervened with these behaviours.

1:27:00 He was clearly someone who had issues.

1:27:03 The fact that at 7 years of age he fantasized about killing

1:27:06 someone. And the fact that they knew that

1:27:07 like that's that had come out during certain psychological

1:27:10 assessments around, I mean, I think I question that the ISD

1:27:14 diagnosis. I somewhat question.

1:27:17 I'm not saying it's not there, but I just wonder whether it's

1:27:19 just misdiagnosed, you know, kind of thing.

1:27:21 And that with certain traits overlapping with others you

1:27:26 know, with other traits of. Others do you mean with like a

1:27:28 personality disorder or something like?

1:27:29 That Yeah, yeah. I sort of feel like, you know,

1:27:31 yeah, you say like the social, the social anxiety and all those

1:27:35 sorts of things that he had could be, you know, come under

1:27:38 an ASD diagnosis, but they could also come under a psychopath's

1:27:42 diagnosis. So I think that they've.

1:27:44 Been there's crossover for sure. Yeah.

1:27:46 And as I said, two things can be true at once.

1:27:47 Yeah, you could have both. I'm not saying that's not, but I

1:27:50 do think that it's missed what else was going on.

1:27:52 Sure. Because a kid who behaves the

1:27:56 way he did and strangling somebody at the age of 12, we

1:28:01 have to consider what's going on here to create that at this like

1:28:06 to what what was around what was going on I.

1:28:08 Wonder this behavioral school that he went to.

1:28:11 I wonder if there were interventions there.

1:28:13 This is the thing, you got to wonder what interventions there

1:28:16 were in place. Yeah, I couldn't find what the

1:28:18 school was or anything like that because I was, I was interested.

1:28:21 I'm like, what is a behavioral school and what happens there?

1:28:24 Like because yeah, I get it. They're.

1:28:26 Do they still exist? Yeah, there are kids who fall

1:28:28 outside of the scope of mainstream schooling.

1:28:33 I understand that. But what is the Department of

1:28:37 Education doing for them? How are they supporting them?

1:28:40 How are they managing them? And where does that

1:28:43 responsibility lie as well? I mean, yeah, it's, it's a tough

1:28:47 one because, I mean, obviously eventually you age out of

1:28:49 school, don't you? And and he was, he was in his,

1:28:53 how old was he? He was 20 something at the time

1:28:56 of this. Yeah.

1:28:57 So. Looks a lot older than 24 but.

1:29:00 Oh yeah, he does. And his, he and his brother,

1:29:02 they look. I mean, obviously they're

1:29:03 identical. They just say they look.

1:29:05 Two years younger than than Stephanie, but to be honest, he

1:29:07 looks far older. Than 10 years older.

1:29:09 Easy, easy. Yeah.

1:29:11 He was also rejected from joining the Army, Yeah, which I

1:29:14 find interesting again, that there's another point of

1:29:17 intervention there of like, not saying the Army's in responsible

1:29:19 for it, but surely if there's great red flags on someone being

1:29:23 rejected from the Army. Well, he failed.

1:29:26 Directions in a government sense of like going, hey, this person

1:29:30 didn't get in because of these factors.

1:29:32 It was the psychological assessment he failed, but I

1:29:36 would imagine a lot of people would fail for a lot of

1:29:39 different reasons. Totally but surely the reasons

1:29:41 why he failed. Do you think that the Army then

1:29:43 had a duty of care to follow that through?

1:29:45 Well, maybe not follow through entirely, but but at least

1:29:49 redirect refer on. I do think that if as a

1:29:52 psychologist, you know, even under that umbrella.

1:29:55 Yep. Going hang on a minute this.

1:29:57 Yeah, I can see why he wants to join the army.

1:29:59 I mean he's, he's Vincent's own description of that is that he

1:30:02 didn't know what to do with himself and what he fitted into

1:30:06 and he decided the army could be a place where he could find

1:30:09 discipline et. Cetera.

1:30:10 He also found it really hard to get a job, yes, because he

1:30:13 didn't interview. Well, no.

1:30:15 And he wasn't personable. He was weird.

1:30:19 Yeah. And so, yeah, the job that he

1:30:22 got, as we spoke about before, it was a five week contract

1:30:25 originally because they just they desperately apparently

1:30:28 really needed someone quick smart.

1:30:30 Yeah. And then I think he must have

1:30:32 been doing an OK job because they they sort of continued that

1:30:34 contract on then. Yeah.

1:30:36 But that was the only job he could find in around the town.

1:30:39 And he had tried multiple things even in towns nearby and he

1:30:44 couldn't gain employment so. We should also say too he was

1:30:47 flagged. I don't know if anyone people

1:30:49 spoke about this after the fact, I don't know what reports are

1:30:52 made at the time, but he was known to be hovering around the

1:30:54 girls toilets. I know.

1:30:56 And that that's what make like was it not reported until after

1:31:00 this? Because, I mean, I guess there's

1:31:02 a reasonable reason that a cleaner would be in a toilet.

1:31:06 Right. Yeah.

1:31:07 You would sort of be like, OK, well, like he's in here to clean

1:31:09 something. Or, you know, he's waiting out

1:31:10 the front till we finish to come in or, yeah, to clean something.

1:31:14 But he wasn't even meant to be at the school.

1:31:15 At that time that. Time which that's not on

1:31:18 students or teachers to know that, No, but someone at that

1:31:20 school had to have known what the contract was and why.

1:31:22 What was he doing there? At my work, we have male

1:31:26 cleaners and they are, you know, the, the protocol is they knock

1:31:31 on the door and if anyone says yes, we're in here or whatever,

1:31:34 or they get a female to go and check and see if there's anyone

1:31:37 in the toilet. If there's not, they'll go in

1:31:40 and clean. They put their sign up, they go

1:31:41 in and clean. If there is, they respectfully

1:31:45 wait out until everyone's finished and out of there and

1:31:48 then they go in and clean. Like that should be the process

1:31:51 at any school, you know that that's just the way it should

1:31:57 be. In fact, you know, with the

1:31:59 cleanest toilets in every any high school ever because they're

1:32:02 always gross. Like was.

1:32:03 He was he actually cleaning though?

1:32:05 Probably not. He was just lurking around.

1:32:07 And what? And we're stalking, let's call

1:32:10 it what it really was. Yeah.

1:32:12 Like, there's all these. I just feel like there was

1:32:14 points of intervention that were overlooked.

1:32:17 I think as a society, we need to get better at calling the stuff

1:32:20 out. I know that means put people in

1:32:23 awkward positions of like, feeling like, I mean, because

1:32:26 you're innocent till proven guilty, but you also just need

1:32:29 to. I think things should be flagged

1:32:31 more. Yeah.

1:32:32 And more things could be put in place at times at intervention

1:32:35 points. Yep.

1:32:35 To avoid things. I think you're right.

1:32:38 It's, it's really hard though, where responsibility lies at the

1:32:41 end of the day. But you're right, he had there

1:32:44 were multiple points here where things could have could have

1:32:47 been different. I don't think he would have

1:32:49 changed no matter what. Intervention never happened, no,

1:32:52 in terms of his psychological state.

1:32:55 But at least we could have avoided him being in a situation

1:32:57 like working in that scenario where he could be alone with

1:33:01 somebody. He, you know, he needed more

1:33:06 eyes over him and he needed more happening in the background.

1:33:10 Agreed. Yeah.

1:33:13 May Stephanie's memory live on. I mean, I feel like we talked

1:33:17 about in a Patreon episode recently about cases that we

1:33:21 don't that come to our mind frequently or things that we

1:33:26 cases that we think about a lot. And yeah, when I was researching

1:33:28 this, I'm like, Oh yeah, this is actually one of them for me.

1:33:30 I didn't mention it at the time. Yeah, I.

1:33:33 Do Maybe not as frequently as the ones that I mentioned in our

1:33:35 Patreon episode, but this is one that I do think about from time

1:33:39 to time. Oh, definitely.

1:33:40 This one. This one hit me when it

1:33:42 happened. It really hit me hard because,

1:33:43 yeah, being at the time, I was actually on mat leave with my

1:33:47 first and I remember at the time going, holy fuck, that could be

1:33:51 any one of my friends working in schools because we've all done

1:33:56 it. We've all been in schools and

1:33:57 those scenarios on our own. I know now there are many more

1:34:01 checks in balance these days in terms of signing in and everyone

1:34:03 knowing where you are and who's who's there.

1:34:06 Working with children's checks and that kind of thing as well,

1:34:08 that might bring up they might. Now start doing something

1:34:11 though, though they're pretty much in the past have been like

1:34:13 not worth the paper they're written on as much as like I

1:34:15 think it would stop someone who thought something might get

1:34:18 flagged by it. Applying for a job like that and

1:34:20 then requiring one? Yeah, maybe.

1:34:22 But police? Checks, checks if nothing else.

1:34:25 Like if if this contractor had just done a police check, they

1:34:28 would have known that he'd been arrested for an assault, like an

1:34:31 aggravated assault. If it's see a police check's

1:34:34 very different to working with children's check in the past.

1:34:36 Yeah. So they're now changed, but

1:34:38 yeah, so in the past those things wouldn't have flagged.

1:34:40 But I mean, not that the person applying for one would have

1:34:43 known that at the time, yes. So if you did have things in

1:34:45 your past, yes. But then there's always those

1:34:47 people who haven't yet done it and can get a working with

1:34:50 children's checks it's, you know, kind of thing.

1:34:52 So it's not to say that that is I.

1:34:54 Haven't been caught I. Haven't been caught yet, You

1:34:56 know, that's and that's a whole other issue.

1:34:58 That's a whole other issue. Yeah, absolutely.

1:35:00 But, yeah, you'd hope that anyone now in those situations

1:35:04 has those checks. But, you know, working with

1:35:06 children's check isn't necessarily going to stop you

1:35:08 from having someone who around adults.

1:35:11 That's it, you know? Yeah.

1:35:13 That's it. Because technically, I guess he

1:35:15 shouldn't have ever been there when a student was there.

1:35:17 That's right. Yeah.

1:35:19 So yeah. So maybe, yeah, I don't know,

1:35:23 it's, it's so complex. It really is really complex.

1:35:26 It really is. All right, Well, thank you

1:35:28 everybody for joining us again this week.

1:35:31 Yeah, we look forward to bringing you another episode

1:35:33 next week. As always, you can hit us up on

1:35:36 the socials. We love engagement over there.

1:35:39 You can message us on Instagram, Facebook, through Spotify or

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1:35:47 something that you feel compelled to do.

1:35:49 That really helps get our podcast out to more and more

1:35:51 people, and we really appreciate your support.

1:35:55 Should we do a little teaser of what's to come soon that we've

1:35:58 been working or you've been working on, I should say?

1:36:01 We can't. Yes.

1:36:02 OK, we're right. A little teaser.

1:36:04 A little teaser. How much?

1:36:11 That's all I'm gonna say for now.

1:36:12 We may have found a way. We.

1:36:14 May have found a way. I'm pretty sure we have, but

1:36:17 stay tuned. More to come.

1:36:19 More to come, yeah. Stay curious, crying besties.

1:36:23 Bye.