Show Notes
Phuongsri Kroksamrang and Somjai Insamnan were sex workers who were murdered by teenagers Phu Ngoc Tring and Ben McLean in March of 2004. They were bound, strangled, and tossed in the river by the boys, who hoped that crocodiles would get rid of the victim’s remains. Their bodies resurfaced, however, and Trinh and McLean were arrested for the murders. The boys wove a fantastical tall tale to explain the crime, involving the Hell’s Angels, drug deals, police informants, and a completely made-up gang known as the Vietnamese People Community. EPISODE NOTES: Ben McLean told the police that he and Trinh murdered Phuongsri and Somjai because the Hell’s Angels forced him to, to clear a $50,000 drug debt. Trinh told prosecutors that he was present for the murders, but they were committed by a gang called the Vietnamese People Community who had been hounding him since he was a young teenager. Neither teen gave up the real reason for the crime, and the true motive remains unknown to this day. No one really knows whether Trinh really did snap and kill the women because he was irritated by them, as he claimed in an early confession, or if he hired the women that day with the sole intent to kill them. McLean and Trinh’s lies and obfuscations frustrated police officers, lawyers, and the jury, who sought to determine what, if any, truth could be gleaned from the mess of stories they told. Ben McLean and Phu Ngoc Trinh were not hardened gangsters, but immature, stupid young boys, who wanted to feel what it felt like to kill someone. The majority of our info today was taken from the appeal, which can be found herehttps://jade.io/article/2100 A longform article from the NT News can be found herehttps://www.ntnews.com.au/news/crime-court/teen-killers-ben-mclean-and-phu-ngoc-trinh-dumped-dying-prostitutes-in-crocinfested-waters-of-adelaide-river/news-story/a4b0558e9b87c03fc5a474aa9f5561f5 Additional news articles can be found herehttps://www.smh.com.au/national/teens-get-25-years-for-killing-sex-workers-20050517-gdlc7s.html, herehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/12/australia.davidfickling and herehttps://www.smh.com.au/national/teens-get-25-years-for-killing-sex-workers-20050517-gdlc7s.htm If you like what we do please consider supporting us on PATREON Subscribe to the podcast on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY or your podcatcher of choice. Find us on FACEBOOK,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