It started with a stare across a dance floor. Amanda Stanhope felt butterflies. Her body was telling her something else. Within weeks he had moved into her home. He told her he was “special” and she would understand him in time. He told her he had never felt this way…
Zoe Watts says she was taken to the appointments as well, and the way the GP and psychologist responded made her believe it was a recognised medical condition. This moment is one of many in Zoe’s story where the professionals around her failed to protect her. Laura Richards, former New…
He charmed a church. He charmed a community. He charmed the professionals who were supposed to protect her. Then he had to face a courtroom. In Part 3 of this powerful conversation, Laura and Zoe Watts talk about what happened after the police got involved: the long road to court,…
He told the court it was what she wanted. Laura Richards, former New Scotland Yard criminal behavioural analyst, takes that defence apart in under a minute and shows what it reveals about the man who used it. In this interview Laura and Zoe cover drug-facilitated r@pe, coercive control and the…
After a four-year fight for justice, Zoe Watts says she was grateful for “scraps.” Laura explains why survivors lower their expectations until any outcome feels like a victory, and why the system should never ask that of them. In this interview Laura and Zoe cover the failures that followed her…
He made Zoe a cup of tea. After Church. He disclosed that he had been sedating her with their son’s sleeping medication and s*xually violating her while she slept in every way — for years. He told her it was for her benefit. She still didn’t have the language for…
Zoe Watts was 17 when she met him. He was 28. He spoke to her mother first — then pursued her with relentless intensity, changed his work schedule to match hers, and told her he had been waiting all his life for her. Within weeks, he had assaulted her physically.…
Mica Francis walked a mile into a remote North Carolina swamp. Through waist-deep water. Into gator country. Her body was found 100 feet from the shell casings. There was no su!cide note. She had $500 in cash. She had just filled up her gas tank. She had called her sister…
John Paul Miller was interviewed by Rich McHugh, the investigative producer who exposed Harvey Weinstein. Before a single question was asked, Miller started crying, head in hands. But there were no actual tears. Just the performance of grief. You will hear much more about this extraordinary interview in this episode…
The coercive control law that could have saved Mica Francis has been drafted four times - four times it has died. Attorney Regina Ward knows exactly why — and exactly who is responsible. In Part 2 Laura and Regina go beyond the Netflix documentary to examine the legal and political…
JP Miller called his Mica’s divorce attorney. Repeatedly. He thought he could spin the narrative one more time — with the woman who had been hired to fight against him. Laura interviews Attorney Regina Ward — Mica Francis's attorney and one of the standout voices in the Netflix number one…
Leaving an abuser is not a single moment. It is a process that must be planned. In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Laura and Grace pick up from the moment Grace called 911 — and walk through everything that followed. The police response that changed everything. The no contact…
Grace Stuart was 20 years old when she met him. He was 34. A personal trainer. Charismatic. He handed her his number and made her feel like she had to chase him. Within weeks she was already in the web — and it would take years to find her way…
In 89% of domestic abuse cases, victims experience economic abuse. Most don't recognise it. Many don't know it has a name. Economic abuse is one of the most powerful and least understood tools of coercive control — and it doesn't end when the relationship does. In this conversation, Laura sits…
Paris reported Robert Lee Hastings to the police on 25th September 2024. From that day to the day of trial, she waited 530 days. She prepared relentlessly. She psychologically built herself up to walk into that courtroom and face him. She arranged childcare. She drove herself to court alone. And…
Paris met Robert Lee Hastings in August 2022. Within months he had moved into her home, isolated her from her job, controlled her finances, strangled her twice, and subjected her to sustained coercive and controlling behaviour throughout her pregnancy. She had an emergency C-section after he pushed her against a…
Gogoa Tape escalated his behavior before he killed Kennedi Westcarr Sabaroche. This was missed by police. Watch the full video with Kennedi’s mum Linda Westcarr #KennediWestcarrSabaroche #CrimeAnalyst #LauraRichards #DomesticAbuse #CoerciveControl #MaleViolence #Femicide #Expert #Analysis #Victimology #HomicidePrevention #TrueCrime #Podcast #podcastclips #podcasts
Kennedi Westcar was 25 years old — five weeks short of her 26th birthday — when she was killed by her partner of nine years on April 5th, 2024, in Hackney, East London. She was a mother. A daughter. A beacon of light in every room she walked into. She…
Watch my full interview with investigative journalist Mandy Matney. She thought she’d be shielded from a deposition due to being a credentialed journalist. The attorneys were those who represented Russell Lafitte and Corey Fleming - men whom Mandy had exposed as being corrupt and stealing money from tax payers and…
Award winning investigative journalist Mandy Matney broke the Murdaugh Murders story wide open before the rest of the world was paying attention. The story is not over. Alex Murdaugh has been awarded a new trial in 2027 and now Mandy’s facing a $176, 500 contempt order and a justice system…
Sally Challen killed her husband Richard after decades of abuse and coercive control. She was convicted of murder — not manslaughter. John Warboys r@ped hundreds of women and was due to be released from prison after serving just 8 years. Lawyer Harriet Wistrich was involved in both cases. In Sally's…
Joanna Simpson was killed by her estranged husband Robert Brown on October 31st, 2010. She was a fighter. She was a mother. She was a best friend. And in the hour before he killed her, she told Hetti she felt sorry for him. In this powerful episode, Laura is joined…
Jazmine was 14 years old. She gave evidence at a five and a half week trial. The boys were found guilty of 17 s*xual offences, including 10 r@pes. Judge Rowland said ‘None of you need go to prison today’ and he did not want to criminalize the boys, unnecessarily. In…
Mum of two, Joanna Simpson, was killed by her estranged husband Robert Brown on October 31 2010. Her children were in the house. The trial that followed was a miscarriage of justice. And for 15 years, her mother Diana Parkes has refused to stop fighting. In this powerful update, Laura…