Show Notes
This episode discusses domestic violence and the murder of children. Anthony Harvey was obsessed with serial killers, and in order to cope with life, he created a fantasy world in which he was a serial killer. He decided to make this fantasy a reality, and begin “hunting”, but in order to do so, he needed to eliminate those closest to him. In September 2018, Anthony Harvey murdered his wife, his three young daughters, and his mother-in-law, in a violent attack a judge deemed to be “so far beyond the bounds of acceptable human conduct that they instil horror and revulsion into even the most hardened of people”. Anthony Harvey became the first person in Western Australian history to be sentenced to life in prison with the order never to be released.
EPISODE NOTES:
Mara Lee Harvey, 41, Charlotte Kate Harvey, 3, Beatrix Mae Harvey and Alice Ester Harvey, both aged 2, and Beverley Ann Quinn, 73, were taken from this world by the person they should have been able to trust most.
Anthony Harvey planned the murder for over a month, outlining specifically his “options” to exterminate his family and what he needed to do to get away with the crime – get cash, get some gear, go out bush. Once he killed his family, the plan was for “the real hunting” to begin, but thankfully, Harvey never got that far. After spending five days living in the house where the bodies of his family members lay, Harvey drove 1500 kilometres away, and confessed his crimes to his father before turning himself into police.
The brutality of the crimes appalled the police, the prosecution and the defence, as well as Justice Hall, who determined that the severity of the murders was so extreme that Harvey should never be released from prison.
These murders were the third domestic mass killing in Western Australia in 2018, following the Margaret River murder-suicide in May and the Ellenbrook murders in July. These murders are representative of the domestic violence crisis currently occurring in Australia, where an average of one woman a week is murdered by her partner.
If you or anyone you know is currently experience domestic violence, please contact the police, or any of these confidential hotlines for counselling and support:
1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732 Lifeline: 13 11 14 Mensline Australia: 1300 789 978 Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
Our main source this week was Justice Hall’s sentencing decision, which can be found here https://ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au/eCourtsPortal/Decisions/DownloadDecision/a1edc59b-743f-4cca-bcc5-c76b31379646?unredactedVersion=False&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 note, some of this episode was taken verbatim from the decision, because we aren’t lawyers and legal stuff is hard to interpret.
To read more about the Harvey family murders, you can go here https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nation/several-bodies-discovered-at-perth-home/news-story/0086fe2e78ace29cf44571b9f6214d2e
To read about the Margaret River murders, go here https://www.sbs.com.au/news/father-of-murdered-margaret-river-family-reveals-suicide-note
To read about the Ellenbrook murders, go here Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Murder in the Land of Oz
As the final installment of our First Nation's themed season, we are talking about January 26th. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We are back after a (what turned into a much bigger than intended) break!
Whoops we covered another cult. Coming for ya, Jo Thornely. Chantelle McDougall, her six-year-old daughter Leela, her partner Simon Kadwill, and their housemate Tony Popic went missing in July of 2007. Simon was the leader of an internet-based doomsday cult, who believed that through death, a chosen few would ascend to a new plane of reality and usher in the new Aquarian age of existence. So you know, normal stuff. They told friends and family they were moving to Brazil, but their was no activity on their passports. Their disappearance left police stumped. Had they committed group suicide, or had they gone even further into isolation and completely segregated themselves from society? Our main sources this week were the coronial inquest completed in 2017. You know we love an inquest document! https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Felton,%20G;%20McDougall,%20C%20J%20and%20L;%20Popic,%20A%20K%20%20finding.pdf News articles about the case can be found here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-06/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-begins-into-missing-family/9205656 and here https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-hears-police-failed-to-investigate-report-of-dead-flesh-smell/news-story/b828be6ad139699e509c94ce62bc5292 The website for Simon’s “work” can be accessed via the Wayback Machine here https://web.archive.org/web/20071103141354/http://www.thenewcall.org/book_sdp.htm Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Okay, yes, every show and their dog (or podcast cat) have covered this case. But we just had to jump on the bandwagon. You may be familiar with the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard from the documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, or the hit TV show now on Hulu The Act, or just generally from having an internet connection at any point in time over the past four years. The internet is obsessed with this case, and for good reason – the horrific murder of Dee Dee Blanchard shocked the world, not because of the brutality of the crime – but because of the scale of the abuse that Dee Dee afflicted on Gypsy, her daughter, who she had raised to believe was sick with a whole medical textbook of illnesses. Once Dee Dee was dead, the truth came out – nothing was wrong with Gypsy. She was a victim of Munchausen by Proxy, and was horribly abused by the person who was meant to care for her most. EPISODE NOTES: Friends and neighbours looked at Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard as a perfect mother-daughter pair. Dee Dee was dedicated to her sick daughter, and Gypsy was in turn loving and devoted to her mother. When Dee Dee was murdered in 2015, people were horrified. Who was going to take care of poor Gypsy now? But as the truth came out, and Gypsy – along with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn – was charged with her death, people were horrified to discover that Dee Dee was not what she seemed – and neither was Gypsy. Gypsy had every disease under the sun, from cancer to muscular dystrophy. She was confined to a wheelchair, had tubes all over her body, and had no hair and barely any teeth. She never properly attended school and was in and out of hospital constantly. But none of her ailments were real. Dee Dee was forcing Gypsy to be sick, lying to her about her real age, and physically and mentally abusing her to keep up the sickness routine, so that Dee Dee could keep reaping the benefits of having a sick child. While Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn were both ultimately convicted of Dee Dee’s murder, many people believe that Gypsy acted in self-defence, and did what she had to do to escape from one of the most horrific situations of abuse conceivable. Read Michelle Dean's incredible longform article on the case here https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom More info about the case can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322839/who-nick-godejohn-new-details-gypsy-roses-boyfriend-man-murdered-dee-dee-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR0c95is1g2caWJ1wSQX9CobuA8rK30l_Z5BDjfW4AAdf-CpbE2IlcVH7kA Information about the case and also Munchausen by Proxy can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322870/what-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy-story-gypsy-rose-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR28fu87X_aWdA9iOnfoLHevQ_bfIyiMeabBSbHo-T2YajOWh8ey3vd7YKI For some info on Hulu's stunning new show The Act (this is not a sponsored episode but also – sponsor us, Hulu?) head here https://www.marieclaire.com.au/the-act-tv?fbclid=IwAR2Ohe3PFiupYeS2rfTO3Ux9LoluGAiYbzWQMNMiQJz8RCg5iwvChcyUMHM