Murder Bird Sophie Thompson

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 2005, Geetha Angara's body was discovered in a water tank at a plant where she had worked for over 12 years. The injuries she sustained pointed to homicide, however the lack of forensic evidence and solid suspects mean that the case has gone cold. This week we look into the life and death of Dr Geetha Angara.



**Listener discretion is always advised - this case is unsolved**



Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geetha_Angara_homicide

https://www.nj.com/news/2015/02/death_in_the_water_tank_nightmarish_case_remains_u.html

https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2015/02/26/geetha-angara-macabre-death-case-to-be-reopened-after-10-years-in-new-jersey/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola_College,_Chennai

https://www.loyolacollege.edu/index

https://obits.nj.com/amp/obituaries/starledger/3159414

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/nyregion/coworkers-become-focus-in-killing-at-water-tank.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_chemistry

On the 4th May 2016, Natalie Hemming was reported missing by her mother. This triggered one of the biggest man hunts in Milton Keynes history as the public searched for the missing mother of three. This is a story of domestic abuse, coercive control, and ultimately, murder.



**Listener discretion is always advised**



If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, please seek help. Abuse is not always physical; if someone gaslights you, isolates you from your loved ones, controls what you wear and where you go, or prevents you from having financial independence, this is also abuse! Please see a list of resources that can help you in your time of need:


Getting help during the Coronavirus pandemic - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4L2BBhCvARIsAO0SBdazlu4Nsnw07i2ldiMEeNzQ1XHRD8G_PEfLXQMavqajtucsQzOenAIaAo8oEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

There are many resources list on the above website for a range of different situations. Many agencies have call, text, and email contacts, so you do not need to call if you are not safe! If you are in immediate danger, call the emergency services.


Women's Aid - https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/
Safe Spaces (Ask for Ani) - https://uksaysnomore.org/safespaces/
Refuge - https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ (0808 2000 247)
Men's Advice Line - https://mensadviceline.org.uk/ (0808 801 0327 info@mensadviceline.org.uk)
Galop - https://www.galop.org.uk/galop-to-run-national-lgbt-domestic-violence-helpline (0800 999 5428)
Karma Nirvana - https://karmanirvana.org.uk/ (0800 5999 247 support@karmanirvana.org.uk)

Sources:


Behind Closed Doors - Through the Eyes of a Child (BBC)
Catching a Killer - The Search for Natalie Hemming (Channel 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHXX7So9wsM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-51457221
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1079893/natalie-hemming-murder-paul-partner/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3682519/natalie-hemming-murder-paul-partner/
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x720s45
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/killers-chilling-words-murdered-partners-14161895
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-37774361
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-47117453
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-40014326
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/catching-killer-paul-natalie-hemming-10544438
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/natalie-hemming-obituary?pid=186911905
https://www.enhertsccg.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/MASH-information-leaflet.pdf
https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/coercive-control/
https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/What-is-abuse
https://www.health.com/relationships/love-bombing-emotional-abuse
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-51457221