Show Notes
Warning: this episode contains brief mention of sexual assault, and not at all brief mentions of cannibalism. All of Australia has some pretty messed up history from the convict days, but that shit reaaally got concentrated in Tassie. The convicts of Van Diemen’s Land, as it was known back in the day, were some of the weirdest, most brutal, and most messed up lads around. Alexander Pearce was perhaps the best example of this. A career criminal, alcoholic, occasional bushranger, and semi-constant prison escapee, his great claim to fame was escaping from the inescapable Sarah Island Penal Colony. Pearce and seven of his mates fled into the wild, wild wilderness of Tasmania’s west. As they trekked through the harsh wilderness towards freedom, when the food ran out, there was only way to starve off starvation… Apparently the tastiest part of a human being is the upper arm, if you were curious.
EPISODE NOTES: Alexander Pearce has gained a rep of being a big bad cannibal man, but the truth was, he was kind of like more like the Steven Bradbury of cannibals. As a mildly talented bushman, he didn’t really have the skills to survive in the wild on his own. The only reason he outlived the other escapees was blind luck, really.
You wouldn’t know that from all the books and movies made about him, though. People are very eager to paint him as a sadistic monster. Which yes. For sure he was. He was fully a murderous cannibal. But he was also definitely an idiot, and not a cold, calculated mastermind like he’s been painted.
Jeez, you eat seven or so guys and suddenly everyone acts like you’re Hannibal Lecter.
Our main source this week was Hell’s Gates: The Terrible Journey of Alexander Pearce, Van Diemen’s Land Cannibal by Paul Collins. It’s baller and there is a lot more historical information than we could fit in this episode, so go forth.
There’s also been about ten movies about the bloke, all hovering around the five star mark on IMDB, if that’s your bag.
An article containing Pearce’s death sketch can be found here https://www.headstuff.org/culture/history/terrible-people-from-history/alexander-pearce-the-tasmanian-cannibal/
More information can be found here, where his crime is charmingly recorded as ‘theft of boots’ https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/pearce/alexander/128595
If you like your information served with approximately eighty thousand ads, head here for the Irish perspective https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/real-life-horror-cannibal-alexander-pearce-australia If you like what we do please consider supporting us on PATREON Subscribe to the podcast on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY or your 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