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Deadly Devotion: Motherhood and Mayhem, Part 1
4.4k Plays3 years ago
This Mother’s Day, join Shane Waters on a chilling adventure featuring 14 podcasters (including Coffee and Cases) as they share sinister stories of motherhood. Mother’s Day is typically a time to honor the love and sacrifices of mothers, but today we’ll be exploring the twisted tales that lurk behind the shadows.
It’s an extra special, two parts, more than two-hour, Mother’s Day event.
Podcasts are listed here in order of appearance:
Part 1:
- Foul Play: Crime Series [www.itsfoulplay.com]
- Music City 911[https://musiccity911.com]
- Crimes from the East [https://tinyurl.com/37sx22bt]
- Cults, Crimes, Cabernet [https://www.cultscrimescabernet.com]
- A Nefarious Nightmare [https://tinyurl.com/y5nuezs5]
- Crimelines [https://linktr.ee/Crimelines]
- The Asian Madness Podcast [https://tinyurl.com/5n8nv6ay]
Part 2 (released tomorrow):
- Once Upon A Crime [https://www.truecrimepodcast.com]
- PNW Haunts & Homicides [https://www.pnwhauntsandhomicides.com]
- The Trail Went Cold [https://www.trailwentcold.com]
- Coffee & Cases [https://tinyurl.com/pc25pzzs]
- Already Gone [https://www.alreadygonepodcast.com]
- Twisted and Uncorked [https://www.twistedanduncorked.com]
- Mystery Inc [https://www.itsmysteryinc.com]
If you enjoyed this holiday collaboration special, check out the other collaboration specials: Deceptions & Resurrections [https://tinyurl.com/3a9d7yrf], Bloody Valentine [https://tinyurl.com/e6ynmzpr], and A Nightmare before Halloween [https://tinyurl.com/52jeh66d]. Until our next adventure, stay safe and stay vigilant.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Dark Motherhood Podcast
00:00:15
Speaker
Greetings, friend and welcome to a chilling mother's day collaboration podcast. I'm your guide, Shane waters from the foul play crime series podcast.
00:00:28
Speaker
And together we'll be delving into the shadows of motherhood on this eerie adventure. Thirteen skilled podcasters will join us as we explore the darker side of true crime stories, each with an unsettling connection to motherhood. All participating podcasts are listed in the show notes. When you hear one you like, I suggest you go find them.
00:00:58
Speaker
before we embark on our hunting journey. Although Mother's Day is typically a time to honor the love and sacrifices of mothers, today we'll be exploring the twisted tales that lurk behind the scenes.
00:01:15
Speaker
As we explore these chilling stories, let's not forget that the role of a mother often embodies the ideas of protection and nourishment, of guiding and nurturing their children through life's challenges. However, as we'll discover, that's not always the case.
00:01:38
Speaker
Sometimes, even in relationships that once flourished with happiness and warmth, things can take a dark turn, causing everything to fall apart and crumble. It's a sobering reminder that the complexity of human relationships and the depths of the human psyche can lead to unpredictable and devastating outcomes.
First Tale: Garden of Darkness
00:02:04
Speaker
Now, let's begin our sinister journey. Our adventure starts in an abandoned garden
00:02:27
Speaker
where overgrown vegetation casts dark shadows and a chilling wind whispers secrets through the trees. The once vibrant flowers have wilted and the air is heavy with decay.
Foul Play Crime Series: The Hart Family Tragedy
00:02:44
Speaker
As we make our way through the tangled underbrush, we encounter our first podcast, our friend, Wendy, who joins me on foul play crime series to share a harrowing tale of motherhood gone awry.
00:03:18
Speaker
It was a beautiful March day on the west coast of America. A German tourist was enjoying the magnificent views as he drove down Highway 1. He took regular stops to breathe in the fresh sea air and take photographs to preserve his memories. The coastline was truly spectacular. Highway 1 being a firm favorite for visiting tourists. Mile upon mile of unspoilt scenery on either side of the road.
00:03:46
Speaker
I have in fact done that drive many times myself and it's not something I will ever get tired of seeing. But it's not always memorable for the right reasons. The road is narrow in places. It curves around the coastline like a snake. And you are often close to the edge of the cliffs. And accidents happen. Maybe you lose concentration for a split second. Maybe you swerve to avoid an oncoming vehicle that is too close to you. It happens.
00:04:14
Speaker
And so when this gentleman spotted a car upside down on the ragged rocks below, as he stooped to take a photograph, he assumed that it was an accident. Authorities arrived quickly and rescuers descended down the rocks to the upturned vehicle. There was no movement. There were no cries for help. They arrived to silence.
00:04:48
Speaker
Inside the GMC Yukon XL were what appeared to be two women with the bodies of three children found nearby. They were all confirmed dead at the scene. What a terrible accident. A whole family gone.
00:05:10
Speaker
Investigators began to try and piece together what had happened. A witness from a local campsite came forward to say that he believed he had seen the vehicle earlier in the evening. And then at around 3am he heard an engine revving and tyres on gravel. He got up to investigate but it was too dark to see anything. As he returned to bed he thought he heard cries for help but assumed it was animals and went back to sleep.
00:05:37
Speaker
Following the autopsies, the family were identified as the hearts. And this is when the investigation turned from an accident to a suspected murder suicide. Jennifer, age 38, had been driving the car. Her body contained high levels of alcohol.
00:06:00
Speaker
Sarah, also 38, had high levels of Benadryl in her body, as did those of their three adopted children who were found near the vehicle. Marcus, age 19, and Jeremiah and Abigail, both aged 14. So what had happened that night?
00:06:24
Speaker
As friends of the family heard the news, they just couldn't believe that it wasn't an accident. Jennifer and Sarah had an idyllic life with their six adopted children. Or so it appeared from the outside. And yes, you did hear that right. There were six children. So where were the other three?
00:06:44
Speaker
An extensive search of the crash site discovered the bodies of Hannah, aged 16, and Sierra, aged 12, after a few days. But there was no sign of 15-year-old Devontae. The scene and the data from the car was analyzed.
00:07:01
Speaker
It showed that Jennifer had pulled the car off Highway 1 onto a gravel turnout about 70 feet away from the edge of the cliffs. She had then accelerated the vehicle to around 90 miles an hour before driving straight off the edge of the 100 foot cliffs landing upside down on the rocks below.
00:07:30
Speaker
killing herself, her wife, and their six children. There were no signs that she tried to break. Jennifer and Sarah Hart met around 1998 at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. They'd fallen in love and moved to Alexandria, Minnesota.
00:07:58
Speaker
In 2004, the couple decided to open their home and share their love with foster children. Their first daughter was 15 years old and she told reporters that one day, Jennifer and Sarah dropped her off for an appointment with her therapist and just never returned to collect her. She'd never heard from them again. In 2006, the couple adopted three siblings from Texas, Marcus, seven years old, Hannah Four and Abigail Two.
00:08:29
Speaker
Then just two years later, in 2008, they adopted three more siblings, again from Texas. Devontae, five years old, Jeremiah, four, and Sierra, three. Investigation Discovery said, quote, the Hart tribe was now complete and they looked like the model of a progressive 21st century family. Two white lesbian mothers and six adopted black children, end quote.
00:08:59
Speaker
Jennifer stayed at home to look after the children while Sarah went to work. Jennifer was always on social media, posting photographs of the family, attending various events, and having adventures. The posts were always positive, portraying a tight-knit family unit full of smiles, fun, and cuddles.
00:09:24
Speaker
But the reality was very different. The children were all being abused. The couple were reported to the authorities a number of times. In September 2008, a teacher noticed a bruise on Hannah's arm. Hannah told them that her mum had whipped her with a belt.
00:09:43
Speaker
No further action was taken, but all of the Hart children were taken out of school for a year by Sarah and Jennifer. Then in November 2010, teachers noticed signs of abuse on Abigail, then aged six. Abigail said that her mum, Jennifer, had held her head under cold water and punched her. All of the Hart children were interviewed, and they said that they were regularly refused food and were often spanked and grounded.
00:10:09
Speaker
Sarah took the blame for Abigail's injuries. She was charged and convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse and sent into a 12 months community service and probation. It was at this time that all six of the Hart children were removed from school for good. With nobody checking on the children's welfare, the abuse escalated. In 2013, the family moved to Oregon.
00:10:36
Speaker
Attendees at the music festivals that the family attended were concerned that the children looked small for their ages and reported that while in photographs, they were full of smiles. As soon as the camera was turned away, the children looked lifeless and acted like robots, doing whatever necessary to keep Jennifer happy.
00:11:01
Speaker
Jennifer convinced officials that there was nothing wrong and that people just like to pick on them because they were different. By 2017, the family were living in Washington in a rural property next to Bruce and Dana DeKalb.
00:11:18
Speaker
Bruce and Dana said the children rarely left the house and that the blinds were always drawn. In 2017, at around 1.30am, Hannah appeared at Bruce and Dana's door banging frantically, asking for help. Apparently she said, quote, don't make me go back, they're racist and they abuse us, end quote. The couple was shocked, but before they could react, Jennifer had arrived to take Hannah home.
00:11:45
Speaker
The next morning, all eight of the Hart family arrived at Bruce and Dana's house to apologise for the previous night's events, and Jennifer explained that the children had all come from mothers who abused drugs and had some issues. Dana told her father what had happened and he reported the Harts to the authorities, but no action was taken.
00:12:05
Speaker
Things didn't improve for the heart children, and just eight months later, Devontae approached Bruce while he was cleaning his car and begged him for some food. Bruce couldn't see the poor lad starving, so helped him out. Devontae made Bruce promise not to mention this to his parents.
00:12:27
Speaker
After this first time, Devontae asked for food for himself and his siblings a few more times before Bruce and Diana reported the family to authorities again. A child protection services worker visited the home, but there was nobody in. She left a card.
00:12:52
Speaker
The following Saturday, March the 24th, Bruce and Dana noticed that the family's GMC Yukon was not in the driveway. That same morning at 3 a.m., Sarah had text work to tell them she was too sick to come in. The last sighting of the Hart family alive was at a Safeway store in Fort Bragg, California on the morning of Sunday, the 25th of March. The next morning, their car was found belly up on the rocks.
00:13:22
Speaker
Devontae's body has never been recovered.
A Mother's Desperate 911 Call
00:13:49
Speaker
With our hearts pounding, we venture deeper into the garden and discover a murky pond. The stagnant water is a stark reminder of the darker side of motherhood. Beside the pond, we find Brandon, who shares a spine-chilling true crime story from their podcast, Music City 911.
00:14:23
Speaker
A 911 dispatcher can get any number of types of calls when their phone rings. Most of the time, it's a very routine call like a traffic collision or someone wanting an ambulance for a person who's just passed out. But on occasion, we might get a call that no one wants to hear, a call in which children have been hurt or worse.
00:14:50
Speaker
9-1-1 when you're reporting. Hi, ma'am. Hi, this is 9-1-1. Yes. What's going on there? Please help me. What address are you at? Okay, what's going on there? My babies won't go down. I'm breast fed them. I'm formerly fed them. And what are they doing?
00:15:20
Speaker
And what are they doing? They're not calming down. What do you mean, calming down? They're not calming down. Are they repeatedly crying? Yes. So they are conscious? Yes. Okay, and do you think they need medical attention? Yes, I don't know what they want. Okay, how many children do you have?
00:15:51
Speaker
Okay, and are they all four not coming down? Okay, what's going on there? Yes, we need an ambulance immediately for two babies. Okay, what's going on there? Okay, and what's going on with the babies?
00:16:17
Speaker
They're bleeding right now. We need an ambulance immediately. Where are they bleeding from? The neck. We need an ambulance immediately. My partner is talking to them. Why are they bleeding? What happened to them? I'm not sure. Send the ambulance immediately. Okay.
00:16:37
Speaker
I don't want them to die. I don't want them to die. Don't say anything when they say anything.
00:17:06
Speaker
I love you! I love you! Oh my god, something is so wrong there.
00:17:23
Speaker
The dispatcher's last comments, Oh my God, something is so wrong there was 100% accurate. The initial caller 29 year old Christina Booth called 911 just after 1 AM on a Sunday in January of 2015 in the community of Olympia, Washington. Well, before the call was placed, Christina and her husband Thomas were enjoying a movie with some wine.
00:17:48
Speaker
There are three children, one of which at the time was two years old and the other two twins that were six months old were there in the house with a couple. Christina took the two year old to bed when the twins started crying.
00:18:03
Speaker
During the 911 call, she said that the babies won't calm down, that she's breastfed them, formula fed them, and that they weren't calming down. Christina was diagnosed with postpartum depression. She was on a prescription medication that was supposed to help her with this, but the overall stress was too much for her. And she says she reached a breaking point.
00:18:27
Speaker
She had said that her husband, who served in the army, often got annoyed at the children crying. Her solution to this was ghastly. She believed if she killed her children that the house would be quiet again for her husband.
00:18:42
Speaker
After putting her two-year-old in bed, she went to the dishwasher, grabbed a knife, and walked back to the two-year-old's room where she didn't slash her throat. She covered up the two-year-old completely, then moved to the twins and did the same with them. When police arrived, they found the six-month-old twins laying on the couch crying and covered in blood. The two-year-old was found underneath the covers with dried blood all over her.
00:19:09
Speaker
They were all transported to a local hospital where surgery was performed and after all three survived.
The Mukherjee Family Deception
00:19:17
Speaker
Christina was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder and then sentenced to 14 and a half years in prison and was also ordered to desist from contacting her children after release.
00:19:39
Speaker
We leave the pond and enter a desolate village where the laughter of children has been silenced. Shadows dance across the empty streets, hinting at the unspeakable horrors that once took place here. In the eerie silence of the village square, we encounter Pia and Alex.
00:20:04
Speaker
who share a terrifying tale from their podcast, Crimes from the East. On May 23, 2012, a man discovered burnt skeletal remains in the Paine National Forest area outside Mumbai, India. These were the remains of 25-year-old Sheena Bora.
00:20:32
Speaker
Surely her mother was worried about her missing daughter, right? Well, in today's story, we will see how this mother may have helped put her own child in this horrific state. The story starts with Indrani Mukherjee, who grew up in Guwahati in the northeast of India as an only child. By 18, she had her daughter, Sheena Bora, and a son, Mikhail, with a young man. After a few years, Indrani was fed up with the stagnant life that seemingly was going nowhere. And so in 1993,
00:21:02
Speaker
When Mikhail was just a toddler, she abandoned them one fine day with her parents and moved to the big city, Kolkata. Indrani was naturally beautiful, with an extroverted personality to match. She charmed her way through social clubs and worked her way up the HR consulting industry.
00:21:20
Speaker
She met and quickly married a socialite, Sanjay Kanna, with whom she had another daughter. Alex, did you have any thoughts so far? Okay, so she had her two kids and was like, nah, I don't like these kids. And then she goes and has another one. So did she like this daughter? Like what's going on? Did she, did she treat this child better? By all accounts, she absolutely loved this child.
00:21:45
Speaker
And it's rather unfair from the sounds of it, the way she abandoned her first two children and then completely doted on this child. Okay.
00:21:54
Speaker
Now feeling restless yet again in 1997, Indrani moved on to Mumbai city, determined to find a partner with deeper pockets and higher ambition. She worked her charm and married a wealthy influential TV network executive called Peter Mukherjee. By this time, Indrani's two children in Guwahati, Sheena and Mikhail, were living lonely lives, being cared for by ailing grandparents.
00:22:20
Speaker
Sheena expressed anger and sadness over her mother's abandonment in her journal. So she's abandoned her third daughter or not? No. No, but she remarried again. Yes, she remarried and she took her daughter with her to her new home.
00:22:36
Speaker
And does she have contact with the two children she left? From what I read, no. She never contacted them. She never met them. She never really even checked on them. Sheena saw her mother's face in the newspaper one day in a wedding announcement with a famous TV executive, Peter Mukherjee.
00:22:53
Speaker
She wrote a letter asking to meet her mother. Indrani knew she had to respond and control the narrative because she had hidden her past from everyone. No one in Kolkata or Mumbai knew she had two children in Guwahati.
00:23:07
Speaker
In 2006, Indrani arranged for 18-year-old Sheena and 16-year-old Mikhail to meet her at a hotel. There she laid it out straight. They could stay with her in Mumbai, all expenses paid, if they agreed to lie to people and say that they were her siblings, not children. They begrudgingly agreed. Now, Indrani separated the siblings and she never really let them stay in touch. She weakened their bond.
00:23:33
Speaker
She barely paid their minimum expenses and often used money to control their actions.
00:23:39
Speaker
Now this went on till one fine day in 2008 when Sheena met Peter Mukherjee's son Rahul from his previous marriage. They fell completely in love. They began a relationship which Indrani was completely against. She was perhaps jealous of her daughter getting to be part of this wealthy family by possibly marrying Rahul. Or maybe because Indrani knew Rahul was technically Sheena's step-brother. Although I don't know how it would matter. They're not related by blood.
00:24:08
Speaker
Indrani only viewed her two children as burdens and reminders of a past that she wanted to erase. Sheena and Indrani fought often as Indrani devised conniving schemes to get Sheena fired from jobs and get isolated from friends.
00:24:25
Speaker
Indrani even tried to get her son Mikhail committed to rehab. By arranging him to be drugged, he woke up in a mental health facility and barely escaped a few weeks of being forcibly held there. It sounds like maybe she was just too young when she had the first two kids and yeah, she probably resented them for that and when she got her second chance at a life.
00:24:48
Speaker
She was really possessive of that second chance, so the fact that they came back into her life posed some kind of threat to her.
00:24:56
Speaker
To add another level of complication, Indrani and Peter allegedly embezzled more than a hundred million dollars out of a TV network that they started and closed up within a few years. They parked this embezzled money in an overseas account in the name of her daughter, Sheena Bora. Sketchy. Sheena had threatened to freeze the money if Indrani didn't treat her well. I mean, Indrani only knew how to respect money so maybe that's what Sheena thought will get her attention.
00:25:24
Speaker
But Sheena was now a pawn in a very dangerous game with an unforgiving willingness. In 2011, Indrani used her personal doctor to prescribe various anti-psychotic drugs to Sheena. She fell sick and almost died, but for Rahul, who rescued her and took her to another city to get better away from Indrani.
00:25:45
Speaker
A year later, Indrani secretly got Sheena a job back in Mumbai, which she could not refuse, and so she and Rahul moved back to Mumbai within Indrani's clutches. The happy couple got engaged and planned to get married soon. It was endgame for Indrani now. In April 2012, Indrani started to send Sheena brief messages as if she wanted to patch up their tumultuous mother-daughter relationship.
00:26:15
Speaker
Indrani dangled the prospect of paying for Sheena's MBA in London to get her to meet her. Poor Sheena believed her mother had finally come around and agreed to meet her for shopping, dinner, and apartment hunting. Indrani took Sheena sari shopping and then allegedly gave her a bottle of water laced with a powerful sedative. Once Sheena was fully unconscious, Indrani allegedly strangled her with the help of her driver and ex-husband Sanjay Kannada.
00:26:45
Speaker
The trio parked the car in the garage overnight with Sheena's body in the trunk.
00:26:50
Speaker
Indrani had invited her son Mikhail over to her home the same night and tried to get him blackout drunk. Mikhail was cautious and locked himself in a room pretending to be sick. This saved his life. And so leaving Mikhail at home, the three got back on the road the next day to dispose of Sheena's body. Indrani put makeup on her deceased daughter's face and leaned her on the seat next to her as if she were sleeping.
00:27:17
Speaker
They then allegedly dumped Sheena's body in the forest and burnt her remains. Rahul Sheena's fiancé was beside himself with worry as Sheena had been missing for months.
00:27:30
Speaker
Indrani told him that Sheena had left him and moved to the US. Rahul loved her and so he persevered and finally the cops arrested the driver on weapons charges which led to this confession of the entire murder plot. Both Indrani and Peter were eventually arrested and their trial is slated to start in the coming year.
00:27:51
Speaker
No matter what the outcome of the trial is, we can be sure of one thing. Indrani was a horrible mother who used her kids like disposable assets. I wonder what her third child thinks of the whole situation. I'm hoping that she's not sending any Mother's Day flowers to Indrani in jail. Yeah, I mean, she really tried to eliminate both her kids from her life as if they meant nothing.
00:28:20
Speaker
And on that note, happy Mother's Day, y'all. Happy Mother's Day.
A Shocking Mother's Day Murder
00:28:36
Speaker
Our journey takes us through a moonlit forest where gnarled trees twist and reach for the sky like the grasping hands of vengeful spirits.
00:28:48
Speaker
In the darkness, a mother's love can turn into something much more sinister. In a moonlit clearing, we meet Whitney and Melissa, who share a story from their podcast, Cults, Crimes, and Cabernet.
00:29:11
Speaker
This day is extra special to Whitney and I. For those that don't know, we are both boy moms. But let's just jump right in. May 14th, 1995 was Mother's Day in Universal City, California. And it was exactly as you can imagine. Beautiful weather, a perfect day with a high of 65 degrees. What mother wouldn't want to take this opportunity to have a late dinner with her son to celebrate?
00:29:41
Speaker
That is exactly what 61-year-old Doris Karasi did. Her son, Paul Karasi, invited her and the mother of his two-year-old son, Sonia Salinas, out to dinner. They settled on the Country Star restaurant in Universal Studios CityWalk. For those that don't know, the CityWalk is a strip of restaurants and retail stores that is just adjacent to Universal Studios' amusement park.
00:30:13
Speaker
After what appeared to be a lovely dinner, the four family members headed towards their car at the top level of the parking garage shortly after 11pm. Now, this was not the only available parking at the time, so keep that in mind.
00:30:30
Speaker
What happened on the fifth floor is not entirely clear either. What we do know is that Paul stumbled down to the fourth floor of the garage where he encountered a security guard. He had cuts on his hands and then collapsed near the stairwell. He told the guard that two women had been attacked and that his kid was in the car. The guards radioed into the police department and there were several units within five miles for another call.
00:30:57
Speaker
When the security team followed Paul up to his blue Chevy Caprice, they noted that there was quite a scene. Two women laying on the ground where it seemed as though a struggle had occurred. The doors were wide open. The guards noted that the victims had been brutally stabbed in their face, chest, and had their throats deeply slashed.
00:31:21
Speaker
Paul and Sonia's son remained strapped into his car seat in the back seat of the car yelling for his mother. Paul was covered in blood and originally told officers that he did not touch the bodies and he did not know why he was covered in blood. He claimed that he unlocked the car and he realized he didn't have all of his keys and that someone shoved him in the back demanding money.
00:31:48
Speaker
He claimed to say he didn't have any and that the attacker took his fanny pack and pushed him to the ground. Then he stood up and Sonia and Doris had already been murdered. He then said he made his way downstairs looking for help. During his interrogation, he couldn't remember what his attacker looked like or which way they had fled the sea. He did say they had male voices, but that was all he could share.
00:32:18
Speaker
Paramedics arrived on scene and assessed Paul. They found a small cut on his thumb that was not bleeding, but could not determine where the copious amounts of blood on his clothing could have come from. The paramedic did mention that Paul's responses to his questions seemed a bit strange. Sometimes he would calmly and concisely answer the question, and other times he would get emotional with his answers, and almost seemed confused.
00:32:45
Speaker
In the paramedics experience, most people he encounters after a trauma act withdrawn or upset, but not both. The officers that were a few miles away had received a 911 call for a woman that claimed she had pulled over on the side of the road and someone had attempted to rob her.
00:33:05
Speaker
The 44 year old Donna Lee had been stabbed in the back and abdomen. She was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for her injuries, but they were extensive enough for her to need to be sedated.
00:33:18
Speaker
One officer stayed with her red Chevrolet Beretta, which was strangely locked. The officer noted that there were two fanny packs, one that the investigators would later learn belonged to Paul, and the other Doris. A blue sweater, a latex glove, a washcloth, a pair of wool gloves,
00:33:39
Speaker
and a large butcher knife with a blunted tip inside one of the fanny packs that had been tossed aside, as well as Sonia's purse. One of these fanny packs had belonged to Doris and Paul had told the guard back at the parking garage that they had been robbed.
00:33:55
Speaker
As investigations continue, law enforcement learned that Donna and Paul are not only connected, they are coworkers, and we're in a relationship together. Doris, Paul, and Sonya all worked at the downtown branch of the Bank of America.
00:34:14
Speaker
A neighbor had told police that when Paul, Donna, and Sonia left for dinner around 9 PM, they were happy and chatty. But that wasn't the case a few weeks prior. Doris had gotten into a fight with Donna, saying she shouldn't be living there and hit Donna in the head with her keys.
00:34:32
Speaker
Paul must have put this aside to be able to celebrate Mother's Day with his mom and the mother of his child. A little further digging into Paul and Sonia's past seemed to draw out some skeletons. In mid-1993, Sonia had some health complications, and she was in and out of the hospital a bit. Doris helped with the then-baby, but when she finally recovered, Sonia decided to move to West Hollywood to stay in her family's home to ease the burden on her health for a little while.
00:35:02
Speaker
Sonya brought the baby back and forth to see his father and grandmother, but this just wasn't enough for Paul. He made several statements to his coworkers and friends that he was concerned Sonya's family wouldn't allow him to see his son. He even made a comment to a fellow coworker that he hoped that B word had died in the hospital.
00:35:23
Speaker
Others came forward with character testimonies, talking about how Paul was very controlling, especially towards women, and that he had an arrogant wannabe attitude and carried a police scanner. Heck, even his Chevy Caprice seemed to lend to him wanting to be a member of law enforcement. One even stated he would drive to Hollywood and scare sex workers into thinking he was watching them for solicitation.
00:35:51
Speaker
In fall of 1994, Sonia took Paul to court for child support and the judge agreed to garnish the $375 a month out of his paychecks. This put a huge strain on their relationship. He made many veiled threats about how the money she was taking put him in dire financial strain. He had over $50,000 in consumer debt and was closing in on the need to file bankruptcy.
00:36:23
Speaker
Investigations also yielded that whoever committed these murders seemed to have done their homework. The location was one of the few blind spots in the cameras of the garage. And remember how I said that it was not the only parking available between the restaurant and the parking garage? Interesting that he would choose that area.
00:36:45
Speaker
May 18th, Paul was arrested but later released when prosecution was not ready to press charges due to not quite having enough evidence yet.
00:36:54
Speaker
A forensic expert recreated the crime scene and evidence for the court, and the report showed that one of the victims fought back on her attacker, and the clothing that Paul was wearing that night had a bloody handprint and blood splatter that could have only been present had he been close to her during the attack.
00:37:17
Speaker
Other evidence supported that there was more than one assailant, and Donna's blood was found at the scene as well as the victim's blood on Donna's genes. Both Paul and Donna were arrested on first-degree murder charges. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for both, but ultimately Paul received the death penalty and is currently on death row, while Donna was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Happy Mother's Day.
Rachel Hudson's Regret
00:37:56
Speaker
As we press on, we arrive at a crumbling cafe where mothers once gathered to share stories and support one another. The dilapidated building stands as a testament to the shadowy secrets that can lie beneath even the most wholesome facades.
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Within the crumbling cafe, two ghostly figures materialize before us, Amanda and Courtney. They share a bone-chilling tale from their podcast, A Nefarious Nightmare.
00:38:43
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As mothers, we always love our children unconditionally and often give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes our job in motherhood is a thankless one. What with endless dirty diapers, kissed boo-boos, bath time, what to make for dinner, navigating growing pains and
00:39:01
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finding the nicest way to tell your kid no when they want something they can't have like candy or the latest video game and then when you think that things are looking up you're hit with the inevitable pain that comes with puberty emotions real high rebellion sets in social and peer pressure increases and let's be honest
00:39:23
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Kids of all ages can be so mean. Depression is at its all-time high in that age, when teenagers are finding out a lot more about themselves and becoming a version of who they will be for the rest of their lives, while keeping somewhat of a naive and innocence with them as they learn a lot more about right and wrong.
00:39:44
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With that, I'm Amanda Cronin. And I'm Courtney Fenner. And we are a nefarious nightmare. Today we will be discussing the case of Rachel Hudson, who very tragically murdered her mother. As a teenager, can you remember a time where, despite loving your mom and dad, you also just couldn't stand them? Some of you are listening to this and cringing. Some of you are pretending you have no idea what we're talking about.
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And let's be real here, you've had that moment, don't be shy, just admit it. But unfortunately, some of you may not have had a decent mother, or even a mother figure at all, to which we say, I am so sorry that you've had that pain to endure.
00:40:27
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Believe us, we empathize, but many of you are rolling your eyes and chuckling, remembering the time your mom showed up unexpected at your school dance and did the Roger Rabbit or something in front of everyone. Yeah, moms. Am I right?
00:40:45
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This particular case is heartbreaking. It's about a girl named Rachel who felt she needed to, essentially, save her mom or herself. But unfortunately, that's not at all what happened. This case is very hairy for everyone because as mothers, we had this longing to understand and forgive and even empathize with the perpetrator in this case.
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but also feel extreme terror for ourselves and empathize with the family because this could very well happen to any mother
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at any time by anyone." The Thanksgiving celebration of the Hudson family took a tragic turn when Rachel, who was 19 years old at the time, fatally shot her mother inside their Virginia residence in the early hours of the Friday following Thanksgiving in 2013. Subsequently, Rachel sent a photograph of her deceased mother to her father, who was out shopping for Black Friday sales.
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In an interview exclusively conducted by Dr. Phil from the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Virginia, Rachel discloses the events that lead up to the murder and expresses her regret for her actions. Rachel has stated that she had intended to end her mother's life and subsequently her own. She expressed a desire for her father to be informed of the situation before she took her own life.
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It was at this point that she decided to send him a photograph of her deceased mother to prove her actions. Rachel explains that her father repeatedly requested to speak with her mother, despite her informing him of her passing.
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She wished for her father to believe her as every moment of reality was unbearable and she longed to depart. Rachel has shared that her family was under significant strain while caring for her ailing mother who was slowly passing away after enduring multiple heart attacks over the years and was also dealing with kidney and heart failure. Quote, we had been fussing and fighting a lot and we had promised we were going to get along better.
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she said in an interview. Rachel said that at approximately 1am, she had been engaging in a disagreement with her father, Donald. According to her account, Donald called her into his room and asked why she was still awake. Rachel responded by saying that she had been using the computer, which then led to a heated exchange. She recounted feeling as though the situation was hopeless, with no hope for improvement or change and that stress would be a constant presence in her life.
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Rachel was aware that her future held difficult times following her mother's passing, and Donald eventually left, leaving Rachel and her mother alone in the residence. It was at this point that Rachel made a decision that would have a lasting impact on the family. Rachel said, quote, I wanted to kill myself. I had an overwhelming sense of not wanting to be there anymore.
00:43:49
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She said explaining that she felt that her family would be better off without her. Rachel then composed a suicide note and proceeded to retrieve a shotgun from a secure gun safe located in her closet. She expressed concern regarding the individual who would discover her lifeless body, acknowledging that it would likely be her mother who would hear the sound of the gunshot and find her. Rachel further explained that she began to contemplate the impact her actions would have on her family.
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believing that they would be better off without her. In an effort to spare her mother the anguish of discovering her body, Rachel made the decision to take her own mother's life with a single shot from the shotgun.
00:44:30
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Afterward, Rachel made the decision not to take her own life without first speaking with her father. After that incident, according to Rachel, she skimmed the suicide note, felt it didn't seem adequate, and then claimed that she was apprehensive that her father would arrive home to find both her and her mother deceased, and there would still be a firearm in the house. She also expressed concern that he might harm himself.
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I just wanted him to understand. I didn't want him to think it was his fault. He was asking me, how could I do this? And I told him that I was sorry. I just kept saying I was sorry and that I was going to kill myself.
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Rachel had said. Donald was able to persuade his daughter not to take her own life. Rachel shared with Dr. Phil that her father advised her against it as he could not bear to lose both of them. She realized that her family was already in a lot of pain because of her actions, and taking her own life would only make things worse. Dr. Phil asked her if she had the opportunity to relive that night would she still shoot her mom.
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Rachel had answered, no, and claiming that she would contact the authorities and inform them of her suicidal ideation with a request for them to assist her with aid. Rachel had shown remorse for her actions, claiming that if her mother were able to contact her that she would say, quote, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And then I love her. I wish I could take it back.
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And I wish it would have been different. I didn't want it to be like this at all. And I miss her a lot. I miss her every day. I think about her. I'm going to do better. I'm going to do something with my life to fix what I've done. I don't want to be known for this. I want to be known for something better. One day, I want my parents to be proud of me.
00:46:21
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Rachel was sentenced to 50 years in prison with 35 years suspended and will serve a total of 18 years behind bars. After her attorney argued she suffered from mental illness that was undiagnosed for years. This case was very heartbreaking and Courtney and I both hope you gained and learned something from it. With all of this said, happy Mother's Day. Be safe and be vigilant for when you mess with the bees, you get the hive.
Justice or Revenge? Marianne Bachmeyer's Case
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We leave the eerie cafe and find ourselves in a desolate playground, where rusted swings creak in the wind and abandoned toys are strewn across the grounds.
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It's here that we meet Charlie who recounts a gripping story from her podcast, Crimelines.
00:47:38
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Today, we're going to talk about how far a mother's love and rage can push her. This case starts in 1980 with Mary Ann Bachmeyer and her seven-year-old daughter Anna, who lived in the city of Lübeck, which was then a part of West Germany. Mary Ann had suffered a lot in her life, including first abuse at the hands of her former Nazi soldier father, and then at the hands of her ultra-religious stepfather.
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At 16, she was kicked out of her home because she became pregnant. She placed that child for adoption. At 18, she had her second baby and barely able to support herself. Marianne also placed that child for adoption.
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Then in 1973, Marianne gave birth to Anna at the age of 23. Finally, with a stable home and a job, she felt she was in a place to raise her child, but only the one. After Anna's birth, Marianne had her tubes tied.
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Marianne largely raised Anna alone and had to take the little girl to work with her at a local bar. And when her shift was over and Anna was asleep on a bench somewhere, Marianne would stay late partying with her friends.
00:48:57
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During the day when Marianne would sleep, Anna would largely be left to her own devices. At one point, Marianne spoke with another family about fostering Anna for a while while she tried to get her life back on track, but she never went through with it. It seems living without her child even temporarily was not something Marianne wanted to do.
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In 1980, Anna was seven years old and was described as an energetic and happy child who was a lot more independent than most children her age. On the morning of Monday, May 5, 1980, Anna and Marianne got into an argument before Anna left for school.
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Angry, Anna stormed out, headed not in the direction of her school, but instead towards a friend's house. Of course, the friend was at school, so Anna just played outside. One of her neighbors, 35-year-old Klaus Grabowski, invited Anna in to play with his cats. This was something she had done before, but this time, Anna never left the house alive.
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When Anna didn't make it home from school that day and Marianne couldn't find her, she called the police. Within about 24 hours, Klaus's fiance showed up at the police station to report that Klaus had confessed to her that he had killed Anna. Klaus then confessed to the police. He claimed that after he hugged Anna, oh so innocently, she demanded he pay her five marks or she would tell her mother that Klaus had molested her.
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Klaus said he was afraid to go to jail, so he held Anna in his apartment until he figured out what to do. He decided he had no other choice but to kill her. He grabbed a pair of his fiance's pantyhose and strangled the little girl to death. He then put her body into a box and buried her in a shallow grave by the canal. Little Anna's body was then recovered.
00:50:58
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The investigators did not believe that this little seven-year-old girl tried to extort Klaus for no reason. They fully believed that he had either molested her or tried to when she fought back or threatened to tell her mother what happened. And that's when Klaus decided he had to kill her. And they believed this because Klaus had a history.
00:51:20
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In the early 1970s, Klaus was convicted of molesting a six-year-old girl and attempting to strangle her. For this, he was given one year of probation. Less than two years after that, Klaus was arrested for molesting two children, a boy and a girl both nine years old. He was found guilty and sentenced to a year in a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
00:51:45
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In 1976, Klaus underwent a voluntary castration in an attempt to curb his sex drive. Not a chemical castration, but a physical one, and supposedly irreversible.
00:51:58
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However, by 1978, Klaus had gone to a urologist and asked for hormone replacement therapy so that he could have a normal sex life with his partner. He had to obtain court approval for this, which he got. So Klaus was a convicted pedophile who was getting hormone therapy to restore his sex drive.
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He said he knew no one would believe him that he didn't molest Anna if she accused him due to his past. And Klaus was right. 40 years later and I still don't believe him.
00:52:32
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Klaus's trial began in March 1981, ten months after Anna's murder. The prosecutors couldn't prove that Anna had been molested, so they focused their case on the murder. The third day of trial occurred on March 6, 1981. Thirty-one-year-old Marianne Bockmeyer showed up and took her seat. At 10 a.m., Klaus and his attorney came in as the judge was about to start the testimony.
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As soon as Klaus sat down, Marianne stood up, pulled out a Beretta 70 from her purse, and opened fire, hitting Klaus six times. When the gun was empty, Marianne threw it on the ground and waited for the courtroom guards to take her into custody. Klaus died within minutes of hitting the courtroom floor. Marianne was charged with murder, but her defense claimed this was, at most, manslaughter as she hadn't planned to kill Klaus.
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It was a heat of the moment decision, and the reason she had a gun was because the life she was going to take was her own. On the morning of the shooting, Marianne visited Anna's grave before court and was overcome with grief. When she arrived at the courthouse, she overheard Klaus and his attorney talking about him making a statement in court that day.
00:53:48
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She took her seat, thinking about how Klaus had accused her sweet daughter of trying to blackmail him, as though her death was because of her actions and not his. So when Marianne saw the back of Klaus in court and thought about what he was about to say on the record, she couldn't think rationally. She said she had a vision of Anna and heard her scream before Marianne pulled the trigger.
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Marianne was convicted of manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. She was sentenced to six years but was released early in June 1985. Marianne moved out of the country first with her new husband, who taught at a German school. And then in 1990, after they divorced, Marianne moved to Palermo, Sicily, where she became a hospice worker. In 1996, Marianne was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
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She returned to Germany and died on September 17th, 1996 at only 46 years old. She was then buried next to Anna. Before her death, Marianne admitted that she thought about killing Klaus before she did it, undermining her own defense that it was a heat of the moment decision. And later, to erase all doubt, a friend came forward and said that Marianne had spent days shooting the gun in the basement of the bar where she worked.
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perfecting her aim so she could exact her revenge on the man who took her child away from her. In response to this revelation, most people thought, who could blame her?
Wu Ruo Shu's Tragic Downfall
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As we step away from the ghostly playground, we enter a dimly lit alley, where secrets lurk in the shadows.
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In the gloom, we encounter Jessica, who shares a spine tingling true crime tale from her show, the Asian Madness podcast.
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I've decided to bring you a case that took place in Taiwan, because that's where I'm from. Quick warning, this case is pretty depressing, not at all happy. Her name is Wu Ruo Shu, and she was a young mother who did everything she could. But sometimes, giving it your all just isn't enough. Let's begin.
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Who was Wu Shu? I will refer to her as Wu for this segment. She was born in late March, 1990, and if you do the math, she is very young. Unfortunately, like many others out there, she came from a broken home where her father physically abused her mother and the two eventually divorced before she started elementary school.
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Her mother tried her best, even at one point remarrying, hoping to give her four children a father figure and a stable family dynamic. Despite her efforts, the things we experienced as a child really ended up impacting her. Growing up, her biggest dream was to have a family of her own, have a present and loving husband slash father. That's very normal. Many of us look forward to having our own families, but sometimes that want and need can cloud our judgments.
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When Wu was 19, she met and fell in love with a man who would eventually become her husband. It was not a fairy tale romance. He would not turn out to be the prince charming she was hoping for. He was abusive, she worked her ass off, and after falling pregnant the first time, he managed to convince her to abort the baby because it was not a good time. In a sense, I get it. If you're both struggling, it's very difficult to add another member to your family.
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She did as he demanded, but soon after she felt pregnant again. Both her husband and her mother again tried to tell her not to have this baby, that it will only add stress and financial issues to her already problematic situation. This time, though, she was determined to keep her baby. As a quick side note, abortion is very much legal in Taiwan, depending on how far along you are, of course.
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Wu's husband did not like that she had a baby, but what could he do? The two decided to get married anyway, in the year 2013, when Wu was 23. Taiwan is not super conservative, but it's quite uncommon to see unmarried couples with kids.
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So now that they got married, you'd think they'd at least play the part of a happy family, right? Well, no. It was set up during their entire marriage that couple lived separately. According to sources, the only time the husband would show up to see his wife was when he wanted sex.
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He did nothing for the baby. It was all on her, with her family members occasionally pitching in. This unhealthy dynamic continued on for a bit, and by the year 2015, Wu had her second baby, and the couple decided to divorce. At this point, staying married was completely pointless. She was the only parent giving two shits about their kids anyway.
00:58:48
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Not saying her ex-husband did not have a say in whether she had a baby or not, but it did not seem like they practiced safe sex. And if they didn't, well, there are usually consequences, like, say, getting pregnant.
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So beginning in the year 2015, Wu became a single mother. Her educational background was very limited, as in she was only a high school graduate and did not earn another degree. Obviously, there are various jobs that do not require college degrees, but it was difficult. Most jobs she came across were either low paying or the hours required were over the top.
00:59:25
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Working regular jobs in Taiwan can be very excruciating. Not as bad as it is in Japan or Korea, but there's usually mandatory overtime with no pay, very traditional work styles, and of course, low pay despite living costs not being that high compared to, say, the U.S. Honestly, all the jobs she looked into were doable, definitely could have been enough for her, but 100% not enough with two kids.
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She did find a decent paying job at one point, but because they required her to come in every other Saturday, it meant that she would have to find childcare for her kids, and that extra expense alone just did not make any sense to her, so she had to give that up. She would sometimes work several part-time jobs just to have enough for her and her two kids.
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You might be thinking, she has family though, right? Her mom, her siblings, even her sister-in-law. But we were not there. We're not part of that family. It's very difficult to say how involved they were, if they even wanted to be involved, or if we even wanted to ask her family members for help. She might have wanted to prove to others that she could do it, that she was not a failure. And as they were her children, maybe she felt it was her sole duty to provide
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By the year 2019, 29-year-old Wu was on the brink of a breakdown. She had no choice but to move in with her brother and her sister-in-law. She was heavily depressed, in financial ruin, had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, and also took a lot of sleeping pills. Her health was worsening day by day, and people around her began to notice a drastic change.
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She had mentioned suicide multiple times, and her first recorded attempt was in November of 2019, where she tried to duct tape her mouth and nose shut in order to asphyxiate. She was found in time, but instead of helping her, her brother found her to be annoying. He allegedly texted her after her attempt, saying something along the lines of,
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What is your issue? What are you doing? Trying to die? Do I look like Charity? You better explain what the duct tape thing was about. If you want to die, take your kids to their father and die together. Better yet, wear a red dress. FYI
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It's pretty typical for some female ghosts in Taiwan lore to wear red dresses or clothing, because supposedly if you kill yourself wearing red, you come back as a vengeful spirit. But anyway, the text was very harsh. I understand he felt a lot of pressure, and if she were to die, would he have to take over for the two children?
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As someone who was already depressed and ready to die, these words only made it worse for her. She felt guiltier and like she was a terrible mother. Around January of 2020, she had lost so much weight she weighed a whopping 32 kilograms, approximately 70 pounds. Her two kids also required expensive medical care. How was she going to make this work?
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In February of 2020, Wu decided to take her two kids and leave her brother's home. Where was she planning on going is unknown. Her daughter's teacher found out and informed social services, stating that Wu was a single mother with financial stress and that she needed help. Wu's brother got involved and despite his previous complaints, he managed to get her to come back to his place but set some ground rules. She had to stop sleeping all day and she had to get a job before the end of March.
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The two argued over this, and once again, we will grab to two kids and left. If you haven't noticed, mental health issues is not widely understood or even accepted in Taiwan yet. The new generation, of course, is a lot more open-minded, but overall, it's still considered kind of like a myth, like a get over it kind of situation. It's very frustrating.
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She took them to a motel, and that's when she decided she had to end it for everyone. She tried to suffocate her kids to death with a pillow, but that failed miserably.
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A couple days after her first attempt to kill them, she tried her hand at it again, this time putting her crushed up sleeping pills in their jello cups. Once the two kids fell into a deep sleep, she proceeded to strangle them with a rope. This time, she succeeded. Of course, she didn't want to live either. She grabbed a handful of her depression and sleeping pills, swallowed them, drank alcohol, and fell asleep.
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She believed that this would have been enough to kill her, but turns out that was not the case. She was saved again just in time. This was a very upsetting case overall. A young woman who became a mother to two kids, struggled her entire life to find a kind of warmth. She lacked as a child, but only to end up realizing how cold and lonely the world really was for her. Long story short, the judge on her trial was not at all sympathetic to her situation.
01:04:21
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I know, she killed her two young children. That is horrible. But things are rarely ever black and white. She did not kill out of malice, as she had intentions of ending her life as well. Not that it makes it any better. The judge refused to look at her overall situation. He called her a bad mother, told her to get it together, that tons of people are in her situation. If they can make it work, why can't she?
01:04:47
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If she loved her kids, she would never have killed them. Therefore, she never loved them. He completely overlooked the court issues, basically rejecting anything that could have led up to such tragedy. I hate it when people refuse to let others have a difficult time. Like you're struggling, so and so have it worse. It's not a suffering contest.
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No one wants to win the trophy for a worse life ever. Wu wasn't initially sentenced to death, but her sentence was later reduced to life in prison. So there you have it. A very tragic story of a young mother who wanted to be the best for her children, who wanted a complete family, but in the end had to resort to some extreme ways.
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I know for sure she's not the only struggling parent out there. Yes, it could have been worse, but does it mean her situation wasn't terrible? Everyone reacts differently under harsh conditions. Couple that with her crippling depression. It just was a disaster waiting to happen.
01:05:49
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I want to give a shout out to all the mothers out there, except the select few like Casey Anthony and Susan Smith, because you guys keep the family going, keep the kids alive, and I know there are sacrifices along the way. Thank you so much, and happy Mother's Day to you lovely people. Stay safe, till next time.
Conclusion and More Stories Ahead
01:06:20
Speaker
We leave the shadows of the alley and find ourselves in a once grand mansion, now overgrown with Ivy and shrouded in darkness. It's here we make camp for the night and end the first night of our Mother's Day collaboration. Remember friend, all the shows you heard from tonight are listed in the show notes in order of appearance, along with a link to find them.
01:06:49
Speaker
I'm Shane Waters from Foul Play Crime Series. It's been a pleasure to be your guide tonight. I'll see you tomorrow for part two. Good night.