Murder Bird

Renae Marsden was entering an exciting period of her life - she was training to be a hairdresser, preparing for her 21st birthday, and planning to move out into her own apartment. She was also in a relationship with a man she had been besotted by for over a year, and she was looking forward to his release from prison. But when that day comes and her boyfriend breaks up with her, Renae does something unthinkable. And then the ugly truth becomes unravelled, and Renae's relationships are put under the microscrope. Who the hell is Brayden Spiteri?

References and further reading:

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8002747/Renae-Marsden-inquest-Final-text-Camila-Zeidans-alleged-catfish-victim.html
• https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/20/coroner-condemns-catfisher-over-sydney-woman-renae-marsdens-suicide
• https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/renae-marsden-coroner-slams-liar-catfisher-over-20yearolds-tragic-suicide/news-story/451cdf0f65adacd92c036d8f63fe0c13
• https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/parents-of-catfishing-victim-want-laws-changed-and-named-after-renae-20200520-p54uo2.html
• https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/parents-of-suicide-victim-want-catfishing-to-be-a-crime-20200209-p53z5f.html
• https://www.mamamia.com.au/renae-marsden-catfish/
• https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/documents/findings/2020/Marsden_findings_20_May_20.pdf 
• https://expressdigest.com/renae-marsden-inquest-agony-of-suicide-victims-family-as-camila-zeidan-testifies/
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8342353/Renae-Marsden-Camila-Zeidan-charged.html
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7989951/Renae-Marsden-catfish-case-shock-Camila-Zeidan-gives-evidence.html
• https://expressdigest.com/renae-marsden-why-hasnt-camila-zeidan-ever-been-charged/
• https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/alleged-catfish-stalked-and-harassed-ex-lover-inquiry-20200212-p54001.html
• https://7news.com.au/sunrise/on-the-show/parents-of-catfish-victim-renae-marsden-speak-after-inquest-into-daughters-death-c-698962
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsnqTZUhFYE 
• https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/catfishing-renaes-parents-call-for-new-law-after-daughters-death/8b054266-dcd1-4e87-bb14-ed7896f8092e
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gap_(Sydney)

Yingying Zhang travelled from her home in China to Illinois in April 2017 to spend a year in the US as a visiting scholar. It was supposed to be an exciting year of studying, discovery, travel, and romance as she planned her wedding for the autumn. However, on a Friday afternoon in June, Yingying missed a bus that changed the course of her life. 

**Descriptions of violence and sexual assault timestamp - 23:00 - 24:35**

References and further reading:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Yingying_Zhang
• https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-missing-illinois-student-charges-20170630-story.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20170620212906/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2017-06/13/content_29723861.htm
• https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-brendt-christensen-u-of-i-killer-trial-closings-20190624-7egg6wsmxbhrziuaxu7pyeufm4-story.html
• https://news.wttw.com/2019/06/12/defense-attorney-brendt-christensen-killed-yingying-zhang
• https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/finding-yingying-trailer-jenny-shi-1234604014/
• https://www.news-gazette.com/news/mtd-its-wrong-to-blame-bus-driver-who-didnt-stop-for-scholar/article_2e811f61-33e5-50ea-8021-f84a90096f7e.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20170807173416/http://police.illinois.edu/dpsapp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/christensen-complnt.pdf 
• https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/ui_police_search_for_missing_person_060917.mp4/view
• https://www.news-gazette.com/news/missing-ui-scholars-family-will-not-leave-without-her/article_22385a9d-2a6a-5a4e-9f98-1d036e2c03ae.html
• https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3015488/brendt-christensen-accused-killer-chinese-scholar
• https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/defense-trial-chinese-scholars-death-63667947
• https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/18/us/brendt-christensen-chinese-student-death-sentence/index.html
• https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/08/07/yingying-zhang-slain-chinese-scholar-body-danville-landfill/
• https://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/brendt-christensen-claimed-killed-12-yingying-zhang-part-67057864
• https://www.weareresonate.com/2020/11/murder-of-chinese-scholar-yingying-zhang-has-been-turned-into-a-documentary-film/
• https://abc7chicago.com/brendt-christensen-yingying-zhang-trial-uiuc/5592798/
• https://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/yingying-zhang-investigation-missing-person-kidnapping-case-part-67057774
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nNBm51I3vw 
• https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-missing-illinois-student-charges-20170630-story.html

This week's case is a story about an eccentric woman searching for magic stones, and how the disapperance of her husband did not raise any alarm bells until a gruesome discovery was made 18 years after he was last seen alive. Who the hell was Leigh Ann Sabine?

**Listener discretion is always advised**

Thank you to Darwin's Deviations for this week's case suggestion. Listen to Darwin's Deviations below or on your preferred podcast platform:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/darwins-deviations/id1533779060

Support us by leaving a review/rating, or by following us on Instagram and Twitter - @murderbirdpod. You can also email me on murderbirdpod@gmail.com :)

References:

• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/19/woman-killed-husband-hid-body-never-caught-leigh-ann-sabine
• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/08/why-didnt-she-confess-killing-of-john-sabine
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-35097310
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3366447/Haunting-truth-evil-wife-accused-committing-perfect-murder-husband-hiding-body-garden.html
• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/sabine-confess-murder-stone-frog-11000846
• https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-perfect-murder-leigh-ann-sabines-daughter-speaks-out-about-her-lost-childhood/GSFYUVG7TCAOHRSLU3W35Q6SDA/
• https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/116980787/dumped-at-a-nursery-and-abandoned-into-a-life-of-misery-jane-sabines-story-on-i-am
• https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/75319948/leigh-ann-sabine-what-we-know-about-the-accused-murderer-and-runaway-mum
• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/11/welsh-police-identify-skull-as-man-missing-for-18-years-and-say-wife-is-suspect
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-35104524
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3598804/Wife-smashed-husband-s-skull-stone-frog-mummified-roofing-felt-plastic-bags-body-wearing-M-S-pyjamas-home-died-18-years-later.html
• https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/nz-family-had-a-tumultuous-history-with-their-father-whose-body-was-found-in-welsh-garden
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-36330451
• https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/05/20/no-one-believed-she-killed-her-husband-with-a-stone-frog-until-they-found-the-body.html
• https://www.pressreader.com/uk/real-people/20161117/282724816516948
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3601814/How-woman-hid-husband-s-body-attic-18-years-couldn-t-quiet-no-one-took-seriously.html

In 2009. Morgan and her friends attended a Metallica concert in Charlottesville, Virginia. In 2014, Hannah left her friends to walk to another party that was going on in downtown Charlottesville. Both women, once separated from their friends, were never seen again. In this episode, we look at the circumstances surrounding Morgan and Hannah's disappearances, and how their killer was finally apprehended after six years.

**Listener discretion is always advised**

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Morgan_Dana_Harrington

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Hannah_Graham

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech

• https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Morgan-Harrington-remembered-decade-after-disappearing-in-Charlottesville-563311022.html

• https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Morgan_Harrington

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47166910/morgan-dana-harrington

• http://themurdersquad.com/episodes/jesse-matthew-serial-predator-serial-killer/

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35713176

• https://medium.com/crimebeat/the-disturbing-murder-and-disappearance-of-morgan-harrington-7e661a9d05eb

• http://helpsavethenextgirl.com/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones_Arena

• https://imgur.com/a/7FXt4

• http://www.readthehook.com/68346/shattered-bones-harringtons-say-morgans-killer-violent-sadistic

• https://wtop.com/hannah-graham-murder/2019/09/5-years-later-former-police-chief-prosecutor-on-uva-student-hannah-grahams-murder/

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/for-hannah-grahams-family-nightmare-leaves-enduring-uncertainty-and-loss/2014/11/14/4849784a-6c2c-11e4-a31c-77759fc1eacc_story.html

• https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/02/us/jesse-matthew-plea-hearing/index.html

• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hannah-graham-what-happened-missing-virginia-student-n208556

• https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/19/missing-virginia-student/15890571/

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/authorities-confirm-body-is-u-va-student-hannah-graham/2014/10/24/6b71988c-5ac7-11e4-b812-38518ae74c67_story.html

• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/docs-uva-victim-hannah-graham-refused-to-get-in-killer-jesse-matthews-car/

• https://www.truecasefiles.com/2019/06/the-murders-of-morgan-harrington-and.html

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2771469/Pictured-Hannah-Graham-suspect-hour-abducted-drunken-UVA-student-Two-women-claim-sexually-harassed-night-teen-vanished-meeting-him.html

• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/morgan-harrington-disappearance-jesse-matthew-charged-death-virginia-tech-student-n429371

• https://wtop.com/hannah-graham-murder/2019/05/how-a-reporter-broke-the-news-of-u-va-killer-jesse-matthews-cancer-transfer/#:~:text=French%20had%20conducted%20two%20telephone,Virginia%20Tech%20student%20Morgan%20Harrington.

• https://www.reddit.com/r/Charlottesville/comments/2jqojm/getting_inside_the_head_of_jesse_lj_matthew/

• https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/killer-jesse-matthew-moved-from-sussex-i-state-prison-to-richmond-hospital

In 2015, Gayle Newland was sentenced for assaulting her friend after posing as Kye Fortune for two years. This week we look at lies, deception, and ask when does lying to coerce someone into sleeping with you become a crime?

Thank you for listening as always. If you enjoy our content, please like/subscribe/review on whichever podcast platform you prefer. You can follow us on Instagram and Twitter (@murderbirdpod) or you can email me, Sophie, on murderpod@gmail.com. Tell me what you think about this case, or any of the cases we have covered so far - I would love to hear from you. If you have a case suggestion, even better!

**Listener discretion is always advised due to content and explicit language**

Sources:

• Support Gayle Newland Facebook group
• https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/12/gayle-newland-woman-duped-female-friend-sex-pretending-be-man-jailed_n_8542698.html?fbclid=IwAR1Mqddljh8O5x67iMaoPGfcH8x5_e4_YBbMhqqnT5aIeorSdiPTOa-73RQ
• https://www.spiked-online.com/2015/11/23/the-fake-penis-case-a-moral-travesty/?fbclid=IwAR2Yb4JCRQfkaXD6iMsEpXUEx_AUNkZQmi8qAqX-i1-4ogGd2zQz1Rfyvr4
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4741312/Is-fraudster-Gayle-Newland-really-sex-offender.html?ITO=1490&fbclid=IwAR1GuJUL_aA3DPfulMLbEBzGngolqw5pHWmECBjr0oB0iigQZ7zRo6a9AWQ
• https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/gayle-newland-sentenced-posing-man-13358713?fbclid=IwAR3JPNqKNx6ttCB6kyozAfxemnBuPxuqwPCRRRkb34KFWNPIct_2vMGCLXc
• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/15/gayle-newland-retrial?CMP=share_btn_tw&fbclid=IwAR1gLiti8uKsD2OcuDlzMWZTvYev_IYEIyi1YreddHct7i08NffCWAmFo-s
• https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/29/gayle-newland-found-guilty-at-retrial-of-tricking-female-friend-into-sex?fbclid=IwAR1u6cgUKilqc24BojDleAjBljkUbhk73K4ZsG-Rmwf5n0CAoqUwhtX_TeA
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-40668960
• https://www.vice.com/en/article/43qvz9/consent-dildos-and-deception-reexamining-the-trial-of-gayle-newland
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/21/understand-gayle-newland-catfish-pretended-to-be-a-man-online-sex
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_city_walls
• https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/vital-evidence-gayle-newland-trial-13268526
• AlexisOrtizSofield and Pixabay for the music

In 1989, a lone gunman entered the École Polytechnique de Montréal. In just 20 minutes, 14 women were murdered and a further 10 women and 4 men were injured. The perpertrator killed himself, leaving behind a suicide note citing the reason for his crime as 'feminists'. This week we look at the Montreal Massacre, who Marc Lépine really was (who cares), and why he commited one of Canada's worst mass shootings in 30 years.

Support us by following me, Sophie, on Instagram and Twitter (@murderbirdpod), liking the page on Facebook, or leaving a review on your preferred podcast platform. You can also email me if you want on murderbirdpod@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! 

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/03/montreal-massacre-canadas-feminists-remember
• https://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/40-years-of-the-fifth-estate/montreal-massacre-a-legacy-of-pain
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/03/montreal-massacre-canadas-feminists-remember
• https://theconversation.com/the-montreal-massacre-is-finally-recognized-as-an-anti-feminist-attack-128450
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_L%C3%A9pine
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnique_Montr%C3%A9al
• https://web.archive.org/web/20070929132054/http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20060913/CPACTUALITES/60913134/6087/CPACTUALITES
• https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/the-14-women-who-were-killed-at-ecole-polytechnique-1.2134006
• https://globalnews.ca/news/6187845/montreal-massacre-victims/
• Legacy of Pain - The Fifth Estate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spsAJ76rP3I
• AlexisOrtizSofield and Pixabay for the music