Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

In September of 1977, Kirk Anderson a 21 year old American Mormon missionary is reported missing in Ewell, a town just south and west of London. Three days later, Kirk turns up again. Reports emerged that he had been kidnapped by a woman who was obsessed with him, and forced to have sex with her. But Joyce McKinney was a petite pretty blonde woman, and the British press and public were incredulous...

On 12th July, 2002 Jong Ok Shin a Korean language student was brutally murdered while living in Bournemouth. A local drug addicted man, Omar Benguit was quickly identified as the prime suspect.  But shortly after, it would emerge that at the time of Ms Shin's death, a man that had committed two murders, was living just streets away.  ********* Thanks to our sponsors for today's episode: Sign up to...

In April of 2000, 27 year old John Carthy, who suffered from bi-polar disorder, barricaded himself in his family home while in the throws of a manic episode. The gardai were called, and soon the old, dilapidated bungalow was surrounded by armed officers.  What followed was a standoff that lasted over 24 hours, and resulted in the tragic death of John.  But where the gardai responsible?  **********...

In 1996, former nun with the Sisters of Mercy Nora Wall was accused of rape by a girl who had formerly been in her care at a group home in Cappoquin, Co Waterford. Alongside her, a homeless man, Paul "Pablo" McCabe, who had once been resident at the same institution was also implicated. The two went to trial, but the affair would later be declared a miscarriage of justice.  Find us on Facebook or...

Gangs and drugs effect nearly every community. But in 2012, the Dublin suburb of Tallaght was shocked by the spillover of violence. 16 year old Melanie McCarthy McNamara was shot while she sat in the back of a parked car on a residential street. The gunman had shot from the back of a black SUV and sped off immediately.  Two men alleged to be involved in drugs locally were identified by gardai, and...

In 1992, a murder unlike any other happened in the quiet seaside town of Malahide. Grace Livingstone (56) was bound and then shot in the head in her own home.  Gardai initially suspected that the culprit was someone close to her - Grace's husband, Jim. But Jim himself suspected that whoever was responsible had taken their displeasure for him, and his position at the Irish taxing authority, out on...

1990 was a decade of missing women. We remember the names of the unfound - Annie McCarrick, Eva Brennan, Jo Jo Dollard, Deirdre Jacob.  The names Patricia McGauley and Mary Cummins were once on that list. These two women disappeared from Dublin in the space of a year, and it wasn't until a large scale review of cases of missing women from Dublin that a startling link was discovered between the two...

In the summer of 1992, the McCann Family endured a series of gas leaks in their home, and a spate of threatening phone calls. These nuisances escalated quickly though, and culminated in a raging fire in their Rathfarnham home. Esther McCann and her foster daughter, Jessica, died in the blaze. Investigators ruled that this was a case of arson, and gardai quickly discovered that Frank McCann - the g...

A stranger snatching a child off the street is thankfully a rare thing. But throughout the 70s and 80s, in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, a number of young girls disappeared as if into thin air while walking alone. Most went missing in broad daylight. Some were found - their bodies dumped hundreds of miles from home. Some remain missing, presumed murdered. In 1990, police in Scotland real...

This week, we delve into the world of the paranormal - sort of. In 1974, in the small town of Ossett, northern England, Michael and Christine Taylor found religion. They became born again after attending a small Fellowship meeting in their community.  The meetings had a profound effect on Michael, and he began to act oddly. His behaviour led local clergy to suspect that Michael had been possessed...

Mary Gough tragically fell down the stairs in her home, only 6 months after her wedding day. Or, at least that's what her husband, Colin Whelan, said. When Mary was rushed to the hospital after this purported accident, the Gardai did not take him at his word. His story did not add up, and Colin Whelan was charged with with Mary's murder. But when Whelan's car was discovered at the top of Howth Hea...

In 1976, there was a crime spree in Ireland. Houses and caravans were burgled, cars were stolen, and then two women went missing. Elizabeth Plunkett disappeared in Brittas Bay in Wicklow, and a month later, across the country in Castlebar, Mary Duffy went missing without a trace. The gardai discovered that all these crimes were related, and had been committed by two men who had only arrived into t...

In August of 2015, a Limerick man, Jason Corbett, was found dead on his bedroom floor of the master bedroom of his lavish family home in North Carolina. His young wife and her father were covered in blood hen police arrived, and a bloody baseball bat and paving brick were found in the bedroom. They told the police that Jason had been killed in self defence. But Molly and Tom Martens would both fac...

A man is hanged for the murder of his child, and presumed to be the his wife's murderer, too. But three years later, in the same house that the couple had lived, more bodies were found. Six More.  Including the wife of the man who had been the Crown's star witness against Tim Evans in his murder trial. This is the story of the serial murders of John Reginald Christie at Ten Rillington Place.  ****...

In March of 2002, Milly Dowler went missing. She was 13 years old and had been walking home after school that afternoon, down a busy road in a familiar area, near to her middle class home. Despite efforts by Surrey police to locate her there were no leads. Her body was found 20 miles away over 6 months later. No one knew who had taken Milly, or what had happened to her. Nor was it know that hers w...

In 1987, Brian McGrath disappeared. His wife, Vera, said he'd gone to Holland to find work. That he was abusive and delusional. But 6 years later, their eldest daughter Veronica told police that her mother, and her fiance at the time, had beaten Brian McGrath to death and buried and burned his body at their home in Coole, Co. Westmeath. Who murdered Brian McGrath? Find us on Facebook or Twitter! W...

Bobby Ryan was a well known and well loved figure in Tipperary. He was a local DJ, known as Mr moonlight, in addition to his work in the local quarry. He was divorced, with two grown up children and in 2011, he was dating a local widow - Mary Lowry. On the 3rd of June of that year, Bobby Ryan went missing. 8 years later, it was spark the longest-running criminal trial in the history of the state....

Bobby Ryan was a well known and well loved figure in Tipperary. He was a local DJ, known as Mr moonlight, in addition to his work in the local quarry. He was divorced, with two grown up children and in 2011, he was dating a local widow - Mary Lowry. On the 3rd of June of that year, Bobby Ryan went missing. 8 years later, it was spark the longest-running criminal trial in the history of the state....

Casper Wyoming is a quiet town. But in 1973, it was marred by an horrific crime. Two girls, sisters - Becky Thompson and Amy Burridge - were snatched off the street, attacked and driven 35 miles to an iron bridge over Fremont Canyon. Then the two men that took them threw them over. But one of the girls survived the 112 foot fall and identified Ronald Kennedy and Jerry Jenkins as the men who attack...

Women have been disappearing from, or ending up found dead in, the Wicklow Mountains for over 30 years. In this bonus episode we look at a man that is suspected to have committed some of these abductions and murders,  look back on a number of unsolved rape and murder cases in the 80's, and bring the story right up-to-date with that latest unfortunate woman to have been killed and dumped in what is...

In the summer of 2000, 8 year old Sarah Payne was out playing in the evening sunshine with her two older brothers and her little sister. After falling, she ran out of the field and into a lane to head back to her grandparents with brother Lee following behind.  But then, Sarah vanished.  Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! If you would like to support the podc...

Celine Cawley was a model, a former bond girl, an advertising producer and a successful business owner. But in December of 2008, she was attacked in her own home and died of her injuries. Her husband, Eamonn Lillis, said that there had been an intruder in their exclusive Howth home, but was he telling the truth? Promo: The Murder in My Family Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supp...

In April of 2015, two countries were gripped by the disappearance of a 24 year old nurse. Karen Buckley, from Co. Cork had gone on a night out in Glasgow's busy West End. But she didn't return home. Quickly a police search for the missing woman was up and running. But it would prove to be too late. Karen's fate was sealed mere minutes after she told her friends goodbye. Find us on Facebook or Twit...

In September of 2006, Melissa Mahon (14) went missing in Sligo Town. She was supposed to in the care of the Health Service, but she had developed a habit of running away. That summer, she had met some new friends. The Dunbar girls. And through them, their father, Ronnie Dunbar. Nearly two years later, Melissa's remains would be found in the nearby River Bonet after a shocking confession of her fri...

In 1988, a routine flight took off from London Heathrow. It was the second leg of a transatlantic flight that would stop in JFK, before heading even further west, to Detroit. In fact, Flight 103 had started off in Frankfurt. But something got on the flight in the German airport that shouldn't have. It was a brown samsonite suitcase, filled with clothing and a Toshiba cassette tape player. Inside t...