True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

*Please be aware that the details I will be sharing in this post will be disturbing. I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be without taking away from the facts of the case. If you would like to discuss this post or any of the cases I have covered on this blog, please email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com. Feel free to leave any comments below at the end of the post. Thank you*

This is one of those horrific cases where it not only disturbs you, it makes you feel sick knowing that such individuals walk among us. No matter how nice the guy at the local coffee shop may seem or how lovely the lady is who runs the local Pilates class....you can never be too careful who you allow into your personal space. By all means, always be polite to people but be careful who you associate with. I'm also aware that even keeping your cards close to your chest in regards to people not personally known to you, still doesn't guarantee one's safety. So called friends and relatives can turn on you as we've seen in the numerous cases I have covered in the past. It's always important that you trust your instincts. There really is no way to predict falling into the trap of a dangerous person, all we can do is try our best to keep ourselves safe and try to be aware of any red flags that pop up. 

With this case, it's not only very disturbing, it should never have happened in the first place because this individual had been demonstrating terrifying signs since being a young child. Even his parents were freaked out by him. It was non-stop red flags for years and his parents did try to get him professional help but they also failed in a lot of ways and as I go through this post you will understand why I think this to be the case. It was not only the failure of the parents, but the police conduct which allowed this monster to continue to spiral out of control. The blame is ultimately on the perpetrator's shoulders but there was circumstances surrounding him which allowed his demonic and sickening behaviour to fester until it was too late. 

Jamie Reynolds had been a ticking time bomb since his childhood. In his early years he had been witness to his mother being physically assaulted by his biological father. His mother was able to escape this abusive relationship and was able to move on with her life having met Jamie's step-father. With his mother's new relationship things were a lot happier and he welcomed a baby sister into the family. By all accounts his childhood with his step-father now part of the family, seemed to be quite normal. When he got into his early teen years, it became apparent to his mother and step-father that Jamie had a disturbing fixation with violent pornography. He was trying to keep this addiction from his family but the nature of the porn that he was watching was not what you would consider to be the norm for a young teenage boy. Boys of a certain age are often curious when it comes to sex and will often look through adult magazines, watch blue movies when they think their parents have gone to bed or look up something on the internet. Jamie, however wasn't interested in your standard, run of the mill porn. He was looking at sites that went beyond BDSM (which is about bondage, discipline, dominance and submission by both willing participants) and was more violent, abusive and necrophiliac in nature. He became obsessed with hanging and torture and fantasised about strangling or hanging girls. 

As I mentioned earlier, his mother and step-dad did contact authorities but long story short, it was useless. It was put down to him going through a phase. His mother and step-dad put a block on the computers in the family home so that he could no longer get access to certain porn sites. Jamie was so determined that he found a way, using a fake name and details to create new accounts on these sites. As he got older, his addiction just grew and grew. He was viewing violent porn daily and began downloading pictures from various porn sites as well as stealing pictures from Facebook accounts of girls he knewfrom high school and the local area. 

Up until May of 2013, he had a sick and violent collection of 72 extreme pornographic videos and 16,800 images. The stolen Facebook pictures of various girls that he knew (and some were unknown) had been digitally altered so that the girls would appear nude, engaging in sexual acts or in which they appeared to be deceased with a noose around their necks. He had written 40 stories based on 40 different girls who he had become fixated on, one in particular was a girl named Georgia Williams. Now aged 22 and still living at home with his mother and step-dad, he had a part-time job in a petrol station and had seen Georgia around the neighbourhood. He had been in the same year at high school as Georgia's older sister Scarlett. Scarlett knew of him to say hello to here and there, but she wasn't friends with him. Georgia didn't know him personally either but she was always polite to him if she ever saw him at the petrol station or in the neighbourhood. Georgia was just 17 and came from a well respected family, her father was a policeman and she was academically gifted, as well as beautiful and popular. Georgia was the head girl at her school and had quite a busy social life with friends and outside activities, she was very talented and had dreams of becoming a paramedic in the RAF. With her striking red hair, dark eyes, sparkling smile and friendly personality, it was no wonder she was greatly admired by those around her, even oddballs like Jamie Reynolds.

Despite her looks and talent, Georgia knew what it was like to be the odd one out, to go through bullying. She had experienced some bullying in primary school so she was always sympathetic to anyone who felt alone. Jamie, despite the fact that he was quite obviously a loner and a bit odd, always came across to Georgia and those who ever met him, as a harmless, nice and quiet guy. Georgia felt sorry for him so she would say hello now and then if she saw him, just to be nice and friendly. Unknown to her, Jamie had become obsessed with her and in his private story that he had written about her, he wanted to tie her up, murder her, photograph her and violate her deceased body. 

Jamie Reynolds was a complete and utter monster who portrayed himself as this shy, quiet guy who wouldn't hurt a fly. The real truth about who he really was behind the nice-guy act was horrifying. 

When I mentioned earlier about his parents and the police not doing enough to act where this individual was concerned, it wasn't just because of the addiction to the violent porn (which was bad enough), he had actually tried to carry  out some evil abductions previously at his family home. In January of 2008, he put on the nice guy act and attempted to trick a young girl back to his house to do a photoshoot for a book he claimed to have been working on. Once the poor girl was in the house, as soon as he closed the front door and she saw that look in his eye, the change across his face....she knew she had to get out of there. He tried to force her to go upstairs, when that didn't work, he tried to drag her into the kitchen. A struggle between the pair ensued with the girl trying to defend herself as he tried to strangle her. She managed to fight him off, get out of the house and ran for her life. Later at the police station when she reported the terrifying ordeal, she still had a swollen neck and her skin was still red. Unbelievably nothing was actually done about this, he was given a warning....just a warning!!! 

There was another incident where he went berserk after a female colleague politely declined his advances. Instead of respecting the girl's wishes and leaving her alone, he began to pester her, getting more and more aggressive. It all came to a head when he drove his car deliberately into the back of her car. The police were contacted and guess what.....nothing was done! It was later found that he had indecent pictures and a story he had written about this girl who he also fantasised about killing. The guy was a serious danger to girls and women but yet the police were too lazy to do their jobs properly and his mother and step-dad continued to turn a blind eye. His mother and his step-dad knew they had a dangerous, psychopath and sexual sadist on their hands and they felt that it was perfectly ok to leave this guy in the house by himself, in fact, they would venture off for holidays, leaving him to his own devices. 

It was always going to end in murder with someone like this, they get to a point where the pictures, the stories, the porn and the fantasies are not enough anymore, they want the real thing! He was an incel (involuntary celibate) amongst everything else that he was and he was getting sick and tired of being rejected right, left and center. Instead of working on himself and getting proper psychiatric help, he decided it was everyone else's fault, especially these girls. With incels, they desire certain women but become frustrated and angry that they cannot have them. There's this sense of entitlement that they have and a deep, seated hatred of females. If they can't have a woman, they will try to destroy her. In his stories he was the one in control, it was his way or the high way and when he was finished with these girls, he discarded them. He wanted them to feel like he felt. 

After his previous attempts of abducting and harassing girls, he wasn't about to give up. Those stories were his plans and he decided he was going to try again, this time by contacting some girls on Facebook about a possible photoshoot. He also contacted Georgia Williams, who was his main target. Unknown to Georgia, Jamie began to really resent the fact that she wasn't interested in him in a romantic way. Jamie Reynolds had a difficult time taking 'no' for an answer. He tried to ask her out on a date, he wanted to take her to see a movie but she politely declined and explained that she had a boyfriend. She did her best not to hurt his feelings but with unstable people like him, there is no way to be gentle. He decided he was going to have her one way or the other. Using his original story and the digitally altered images that he had of Georgia, he set about planning her demise. One can only assume that because she felt sorry for him that she agreed to do this photoshoot at his house. He waited until his mother and step-dad were away for a break and his sister wasn't around before he invited Georgia to the house. 

Georgia agreed to do the quick photoshoot, she dressed up and put on some makeup before heading out the door, never knowing the horror that awaited. When she arrived at Jamie's house, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He told her he wanted her to wear an outfit for him which he had previously purchased. The outfit was described as leather shorts, a leather jacket and high heels. She agreed and changed into them. He took some pictures of her in the outfit and then he requested that she stand on a box underneath a beam, he told her that he wanted to pretend that she was 'hanging'. Georgia being just 17 and kind of heart put her trust in Jamie and agreed to go along with it. He looped some rope around her neck and around the beam before taking more pictures. Georgia was smiling in these pictures as they talked. Suddenly without warning, Jamie walked behind Georgia and pulled on the back of the rope before violently kicking her back, causing the box to move, instantly hanging her. As she struggled to breathe, he watched and took more pictures. 

Once it was clear that she was deceased, the monster then cut her down and took her to his bed where he undressed her. He placed her in various positions whilst taking pictures, he then undressed himself and proceeded to abuse her body. After an hour of this horror he took Georgia downstairs to the livingroom area where he took more pictures and committed more obscene acts. 

The sick monster enjoyed the whole thing, he had finally lived out one of his fantasies and in his sick mind, he finally had Georgia. He couldn't have her so he took her, violated her and disrespected her in every way possible, it was the ultimate revenge and feeling of power for him. Even as Georgia was lying there deceased, he was on Facebook trying to con other girls into a fake photoshoot, he wanted to do it AGAIN! There was no crying, throwing up, regrets or remorse....he enjoyed every moment and couldn't stop taking pictures.

As time went on, Georgia's family were texting her phone wondering when she was coming back. Jamie managed to get into Georgia's phone and began texting people back pretending to be Georgia. For the rest of the night he kept Georgia's body in the house before taking her outside and placing her body in his step-father's van. The next morning his sister came to the house and she later claimed that nothing was out of the ordinary, Jamie was acting like he always did. After lunchtime he drove the van (which contained Georgia's body together with his hard drive and photographs) to Wales where he was planning to dispose of her body. In a sick twist, he stopped at a cinema and decided to watch a movie whilst Georgia's body was still in the van. This was another vile act of revenge and an attempt at demonstrating the power he thought he had  because she had previously rejected his offer of a cinema date. He had previously heard that Georgia's boyfriend had planned to see a specific movie with her, so the sick monster went to see that exact movie. 

After seeing the movie, he drove to some woodland where he discarded Georgia's naked body. All of her clothes and belongings were never found. He then drove to Glasgow, Scotland and went to see another movie before checking into a hotel. Georgia's family were concerned, even with the text message replies, they knew something was going on and that she had gone to Jamie's house. The police were contacted and the search was on to find Georgia and the whereabouts of Jamie Reynolds. 

It didn't take long for the police to track him down at the hotel and they arrested him straight away on suspicion of kidnapping Georgia. Her body was found a couple of days after his arrest, he claimed that he had memory loss and denied everything. 

Six months after Georgia's murder he was due to stand trial but finally admitted his guilt on day one of the court proceedings. He was sentenced to a whole life order on the 19th of December 2013. At just 23 years old, he was one of the youngest persons in the UK to be handed this type of sentence. He will never be released from prison. It might sound predictable (if you are a regular reader of my blog) but guess where he is? Yes, he's serving his sentence at the infamous 'Monsters Mansion' aka Wakefield Prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. 

He did try to appeal the whole life order but this was thrown out by the judge. Anyone who had the unfortunate experience of meeting Jamie Reynolds and looking into his case and the evidence presented, all agreed that this guy was dangerous and was on the path to becoming a fully fledged serial killer. 

Georgia had a beautiful funeral on the 14th of June 2013, 800 people reportedly attended and everyone was requested to wear bright colours. Loved ones and friends said their goodbyes before her coffin was taken away by her family for a private cremation. 

In a loving tribute to Georgia, her family set up The Georgia Williams Trust which is an incredible charity dedicated to honouring Georgia's legacy by helping provide young people with various social activities, training and courses. 

This case was extremely difficult to get through and I appreciate your time in joining me in this horrendous story. It's heartbreaking that such a beautiful, talented and kind-hearted young women is no longer with us. What happened to Georgia and all the other victims and survivors of the Monster Jamie Reynolds, is unforgivable and I'm glad that Georgia's parents held the police and the Reynolds family to account for the lack of proper warning, attention and protection that should have been given to the victims of Jamie. All of these girls he had written about, whose pictures were also stolen, should have been informed and protected, he should have been locked up! His mother and his step-father had no business leaving this perverted nutcase on his own (I'm calling a spade, a spade) in the house when he had previous attempts at kidnapping, violence towards girls and a fixation on violent pornography. I can only imagine the trauma that the surviving girls (who were identified in the stolen pictures) feel, to know that you were on his list. I can't imagine the pain and anger that Georgia's family feel. I watched some of their press conferences and interviews and I know Georgia would have been so proud at how strong her parents were and how they stood up and called out the horrific mistakes that were made here to ensure that this doesn't happen again to other families. They truly are remarkable people and all of this should never have happened. 

RIP Georgia, you will never be forgotten. My heart also goes out to the Williams family and the survivors. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Our Georgia | Book by Lynnette Williams and Robin Eveleigh

- Georgia Williams: Article | BBC News

- The Queen vs Jamie Reynolds: Court Documents | Judiciary Of England And Wales

- Jamie Reynolds: Article | The Guardian

- Georgia Williams: Article | BBC News

- Jamie Reynolds: Article | BBC News

- Jamie Reynolds | Murderpedia

Thank you, as always for taking the time to read my latest post. I hope you will join me for the next one. In the meantime, I hope to see you elsewhere on my Socials

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Take care and stay safe, until next time......x 

*Please be aware that the details shared in this post are quite disturbing. I will be discussing the heartbreaking case of the death of Emmanuel Haro. This post will include harrowing details of child abuse and violence. I have tried, as always to share the details of the case in a sensitive manner, without taking away from the facts of the story. If you would like to discuss this post with me, you can do so via my email address at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com or you can leave your comments below*

I think one of the most difficult experiences a parent can go through, is the absolute trauma of a missing child. I'm not a parent myself but I have witnessed the undeniable pain and anguish that such a horrible event can bring. 

When I was a kid, I would drive my parents and grandmother crazy because I had a habit of wandering off. I also had a thing about climbing trees and fences. When I was two years old I managed to climb over the garden gate and got out into the street where I ran down to the local lake. Luckily my sister found me before something potentially sinister could have happened. The police were called, everyone was worried sick and out looking for me. So I was eventually found, taken back home by my sister and faced the admonishment from my parents and they took measures not to accidentally leave the back door open again. I was certainly a handful and a lot of kids are like that, you literally blink and they've somehow managed to disappear into another room....the little magical beings that they are! 

Recently we had a tragic situation where a three year old boy named Noah Woods, seemed to have just vanished after running off whilst his grandfather took him to a play park in Brantham, Suffolk (England). The little boy was too quick for his grandfather who lost sight of him as he ran off. Noah also had autism and hearing difficulties so trying to keep track of him was difficult. His heartbroken grandfather did all he could to raise the alarm and soon word had spread nationwide with pictures of Noah plastered all over TV screens and social media. The whole of the UK had taken this little boy to their hearts and everyone was praying that he would be found safe and well. As the hours dragged on, the outlook was appearing to be more and more bleak, and then the tragic news came.....a little body had been found in a pond, not too far from where he went missing. It was a heartbreaking end to a little life that had hardly even begun. 

When a child goes missing, especially in today's age of social media, it can be both a help and a hinder when it comes to looking for a child. The family of Noah Woods had well meaning and concerned members of the public showing them support, but they also had the odd one or two people who had suspicions. Noah's family were 100% innocent of any wrongdoing but they were still subjected to a small number of people who tried to pin blame on the family when they have no idea of the actual facts. 

I think some people have become accustomed to some really traumatic high profile missing child cases. These are the situations where the disturbing outcome of the case is sadly that the child had died through horrific circumstances, at the hands of their own parent or parents. We've seen the press conferences in the past where (for example, just to name two of the cases I have previously covered: The Abduction of Shannon Matthews and the Philpott Family Murders) you see the parents sat at the table in front of the cameras, holding up pictures of their missing child, maybe even holding a teddy bear and pleading through tears, begging the public for any bit of information. Our hearts have gone out to them and we've all hoped and prayed for a positive outcome. Then in some cases, we are shocked and horrified to find out that the Father, Mother or both parents, have murdered their own child. The whole time we listened to them and felt such sympathy for them, unknown to us that the whole time, they had been the most wicked and evil murderers all along, who fooled us all.

I think nowadays the public as well as the police, pay close attention to press conferences. The difficulty with that is, that you can't always go on someone's body language. Some people are nervous in front of cameras and rooms full of people, so that might make them appear to be guilty or acting strangely to some observers. This case which I am covering in this post is one of those extra horrifying situations where you have what looks like worried and panicked parents of a missing 7 month old boy. Both Jake and Rebecca Haro both appeared to be the frantic parents who were beside themselves with worry over where their little boy, Emmanuel was. This is a recent case which occurred in August of 2025. Rebecca claimed that she had been to a Sporting Goods store in Yucaipa in California on the evening of the 14th of August at around 7:47pm. She had been in the parking lot of the store and noticed that Emmanuel needed his diaper changed. In the middle of changing his diaper, she claimed that a unknown man had attacked her and the next thing thing she knew, she woke up on the ground. She claims that the unknown man must have knocked her out and when she came to, she got up as quick as she could and noticed that Emmanuel was nowhere to be seen. 

It was a horrifying story and every parent's worst nightmare. When she and her husband Jake had originally raised the alarm, the cops noticed that she had a bruise on her face. She claimed the bruise was the result of this unknown kidnapper attacking her before taking Emmanuel. At the time there didn't seem to be any reason to doubt the couple but as the investigation went on, the police were becoming more and more suspicious. 

For supposed worried parents, there seemed to be a severe lack of baby products or items in the family home. Their behaviour was also questionable. They talked about Emmanuel in the past tense as if they believed him to be deceased. It also came to light that Jake wasn't the nice guy that he was making himself out to be, in fact he was one of the most dangerous and hideously evil individuals to ever exist. A creature that was an absolute danger to children as well as women. It turned out that the bruise on Rebecca's face was down to him, he was forever physically and psychologically abusing her, but as much as I feel sympathy for the hell that she must have endured, I'm not letting her off the hook and you will soon learn why. He was utterly horrendous, having been in a previous relationship where he had a young daughter. He was a monster in this situation also. For some reason his partner at the time felt that she could trust him to look after their little girl and all hell broke loose, as it usually did with him around. 

He claimed that he had been trying to bathe his 10 week old daughter in the sink and accidentally dropped her. The child survived but was left permanently disabled. When authorities examined the poor child they found horrific injuries, some were recent and some were healing, meaning he had been abusing this girl for quite some time. She had suffered a severe skill fracture, bleeding on the brain and broken ribs amongst other horrific injuries. As a result of such horrendous long-term child abuse (she was only 10 weeks old so this little baby had endured abuse from pretty much the moment she was born) the little girl is now bedridden and needing to have care for the rest of her life. There are just no words strong enough to even describe Jake Haro. Sickeningly, he managed to get away with this! He was charged with child cruelty but they gave him a suspended sentence. He was put on probation for 48 months. 

It was later revealed that when the little girl's mother realised what had happened, he threatened her not to take their daughter to the hospital. He told her that if she informed the authorities and sought medical care, that he would tell everyone that she abused their daughter. Luckily this lady stood her ground for the sake of her child and had managed to get to the hospital. It was a miracle that the baby survived, but sadly as I mentioned, with not the full quality of life that she deserved. 

This monster should not have been out on the streets, he should have been locked up but he met Rebecca and they went on to have Emmanuel. Sadly it turned out that Emmanuel went through the same hell that Jake's daughter had previously done. The little boy was subjected to constant daily abuse and his poor excuse for a mother (who was well aware of what her evil husband was doing to their son) continued to let it happen. Any cuts or bruises that would appear on Emmanuel's little body as a result of his father's abuse would be excused by her. Eventually Emmanuel died of his injuries, his little body couldn't take any more. Instead of protecting her son whilst he was alive, Rebecca continued to stay with Jake and continued to turn a blind eye to what was going on. Now, in the result of her child's death, instead of doing the right thing to finally show some respect to her little boy, she again, covered up for her rotten monster of a husband! 

The evil pair came up with a plan to tell the police that Emmanuel had been abducted. They played the part of the worried parents but the couldn't keep the charade up for that long because the cops didn't take that much time to become suspicious, especially with Jake's background. They did some interviews appealing for information and tried to fool everyone around them that Emmanuel was genuinely missing. 

Rebecca tried to keep the act up for a bit longer than Jake. She claimed that she was not guilty but with the evidence also stacked up against her, she eventually caved in and admitted she was aware of the abuse and let it carry on as well as lie about Emmanuel's death and the whole kidnapping story. 

Jake Haro was sentenced to 25 years to life for Emmanuel's murder and other charges were added such as his previous abusive behaviour and gun ownership. The total number of years he is to serve is 32 years to life. Rebecca was given an abysmal sentence of just 12 years and 8 months. In my opinion, she should have gotten the same as her husband. 

This was another case which just horrified me from start to finish. This monster, Jake Haro has managed to ruin too many lives, he doesn't deserve to exist. How could he do those horrible things to his own children, little babies? It's evil in it's purest form. I hope his days and nights in prison are slow and painful. As for Rebecca, I hope the same for her. They both absolutely sicken me. 

Poor Emmanuel never stood a chance, I will never forget is heartbreaking story and I hope that one day his remains will be found so that he can have a proper burial. That little boy deserved so much more and so did his sister. Both of these beautiful babies had to endure that monster for a father. I hope he's always looking over his shoulder in prison because they don't too kindly to baby murderers.

RIP Emmanuel, we will never forget you and I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that. You're with the angels now darling. 

Also, my thoughts and prayers are with Emmanuel's sister, we keep you in our thoughts and best wishes. The fact that you were able to survive all that you went through, shows you are a little fighter. Wishing you the best.

Further Reading & Sources:

- Rebecca Haro: Press release | Office of The District Attorney County of Riverside

- Emmanuel Hora: Article | ABC & News

- Emmanuel Haro: Article | CBS News

- Emmanuel Haro | Reddit Discussion Thread

- Emmanuel Haro: Article | NBC Los Angeles

- Emmanuel Haro: Article | CNN

- Emmanuel Haro: Article | ABC 7 New York

This post was a difficult and harrowing one, as always, I thank you and appreciate you being here going through this sad journey with me, with this case. 

I hope you will join me in my next post. In the meantime, you can find me on all of my socials Here! 

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Take care & stay safe....until next time x 

 (Mark Dixie. Picture credit: The Guardian)

*Please be aware that the details shared in this post will be very disturbing. I have aimed, as always, to be as sensitive as I can be with the details, without taking the facts away from the case. If you would like to discuss this post with me or any of the cases I have previously covered on this blog, please email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

In this post, I will be looking back to September of 2005 when the horrific murder of a beautiful aspiring 18 year old model occurred. I remember being shocked as the pictures of this young, stunning girl was splashed across the TV screens and newspapers. Her death was nightmarish and the more details that were made available to the public, the more deeply disturbing the whole thing was. A beautiful, talented young girl who had her whole life ahead of her, a promising modelling career, a loving family, a handsome boyfriend and close friends, Sally Anne Bowman had everything to live for and she certainly was living her life to the fullest before it was so heartlessly taken away from her. 

Sally was born on the 11th of September 1987 in Carshalton, South London to loving parents, Linda and Paul. She was the little baby sister of her three elder siblings and no matter what age she was, her three sisters would always treat her like she was their little princess. Linda and her four daughters were each blessed with stunning looks, piercing blue eyes and glossy blonde hair. Her sisters ventured into other careers and raising their families but Sally dreamed of a career in the beauty industry and was also enjoying her part time modelling career. 

With her striking looks and mature, professional behaviour, poise and commitment to her fashion shoots, she quickly began to shine and offers from various brands were coming through thick and fast. She was being nicknamed 'The New Kate Moss' and the future looked incredibly bright for young Sally, she was often approached to promote products, wear outfits, tread the catwalk and be the face of up and coming or established brands. It was a dream come true for an aspiring model and she was just getting started. She attended performing arts school and signed to a popular modelling agency, she was going places and she was going to go even further. Sally Anne Bowman was going to be a name that was going to be known the world over. Unfortunately it was not going to be in the way that it was supposed to be. Sally was set for more success and that's what was supposed to happen but it didn't. It didn't because in the early hours of the 25th of September 2005, evil had crossed her path and there was no way that she could have foreseen what was going to happen just hours before as she was enjoying a girly night out. 

Having just turned 18 years old, Sally had already achieved so much in her short life. Some would say that she was living the dream and that things were only going to get more incredible for her. Both herself and her boyfriend Lewis were quite a glamorous young couple but their relationship could be quite fiery at times. They would often have arguments which would result in either one of them storming off, refusing to answer each others calls, having shouting matches and arguing over petty things such as who was talking to who in a bar and a little bit of possessiveness going on but it was clear to see that they were both crazy about each other. 

On the evening of Saturday 24th of September 2005, Sally had gone out for a few hours and had a few drinks. The usual girly evening, at some point she called Lewis and the pair had an argument. Lewis picked her up in his car and drove her to just outside of the apartment that she had been renting in Blenheim Crescent, Croydon. It was a lovely, quiet area that never usually saw any problems. The argument continued with Sally eventually getting out of the car, slamming the door shut and making her way towards her residence. Lewis drove off unaware that this would be the last time he would ever see Sally alive. 

Unknown to Sally, she was being watched the whole time by a creepy, perverted and dangerous monster by the name of Mark Dixie. He had been hiding in the bushes watching the young couple as they argued and then carried on watching as Sally exited the car. When he saw that Lewis was no longer in sight, he charged at Sally and began what can only be described as a sickening and horrific attack. She was stabbed repeatedly and (obviously I have to be careful how I word this because it is absolutely horrendous) whilst she was lying in a pool of blood, either deceased or dying, he proceeded to carry out a disgusting and violent sexual assault on Sally Anne. She was so tiny and just around a UK size 6 to 8 so some of the stab wounds had actually gone straight through her, it was horrifying. The sick, perverted monster had carried out this evil and disgusting murder just hours after he turned 35 years old. He'd just been celebrating his birthday only hours earlier. Sally had lost so much blood and the scene was utterly horrific, like a bloodbath so much so that her beautiful blonde hair went completely dark because it was soaked in her own blood. 

This piece of filth then stole Sally's little designer bag, her cardigan, her mobile phone and her underwear before fleeing the scene. He took these items as trophies. Sally's body laid there until 6:30am. When the neighbours were later questioned by the police, they claimed that they had heard some commotion just after 4am but that it sounded like a fox (they were used to hearing foxes sometimes at night and in the early hours of the morning) so they didn't think anything of it at the time. One neighbor did say that they heard a sort of dragging sound outside and they thought that they did see a man in the street but nothing else. In the morning around 6:30am a woman who was a neighbour had been thinking about the noises that she had heard a few hours earlier, the noises that she initially thought was a fox. The neighbour noticed as she looked outside that there appeared to be what looked like mannequin legs lying next to a skip, as she got closer she made the horrific discovery and immediately called the police and relevant authorities.

After Mark Dixie had fled the crime scene he returned to a friend's apartment where he had been staying. The friend was none the wiser about what Mark had done. He had also put Sally's belongings into a plastic bag and kept them hidden before leaving the apartment some time later. 

Sally's bag, cardigan, mobile phone and underwear have never been found, Mark Dixie had repeatedly refused to say where they actually are, He had previously lied to the police about their whereabouts, claiming that he had thrown them in the skip at the time of the murder but the police had searched the whole area and found nothing. 

The sickening murder of Sally Anne Bowman completely horrified anyone who heard the news, nobody could believe it and when the exact details were made public, everyone was stunned and sickened. It was made quite clear that this monster (who was unidentified at the time) had violated Sally Anne's body as she was deceased. It was just beyond a nightmare and nobody could imagine what her family must have been going through to not only lose Sally Anne in this horrific and evil way but to hear about how this monster disrespected her even in death. It was too much to cope with. I honestly don't know how the family were able to put one foot in front of the other with news like that. 

So that piece of filth, Mark Dixie, who was originally from Streatham, South London had just celebrated his 35th birthday and had managed to evade justice until June of 2006. In his pathetic 35 years on earth up until that point, they were as you would expect from an individual like him....full of disappointment and nothing but trouble. He was involved with drugs and petty crime from a young age and this escalated into public indecency and sexual assaults. For a short period of time he actually managed to have a long term relationship with a woman who he had two children with and had lived in Australia for some time. It wasn't long before he was causing trouble over there, getting up to creepy behaviour and Australian authorities kicked him out of the country after he had been found to be carrying out indecent behaviour and a serious sexual assault of which he wasn't charged. The Australian authorities handling of this disgusting crime was a shambles and nothing was properly investigated. Despite the fact that they have DNA evidence now which confirms his guilt, they have yet to follow this up with an official charge. For some reason their dragging their heels on this. 

Sometimes in cases where a murderer or sexual predator is caught (and in Mark Dixie's case, he is both) there can be a lazy attitude by authorities, especially if the crime was committed in another country. It's there's view that he's been found guilty of other crimes, he's serving a sentence so he's locked up and off the streets. 

After returning to the UK, he had also spent some time in Spain before returning again. In June of 2006 he had been working as a chef in a pub in Surrey, England. Leading up to that point, as you can imagine, there was still news reports and information posters that were around appealing for information in regards to Sally Anne's murder. In the early stages of the investigation, Lewis, Sally Anne's boyfriend was initially considered to be a suspect. It was an agonising few days for Lewis and Sally Anne's family as they waited for Lewis's DNA results to come back, which obviously proved that he was 100% innocent. 

So in June of 2006 as I just mentioned. creepy Mark Dixie who never seemed to be far away from trouble, had got into a fight at the pub. There was some sort of disruption over a football match and he ended up in an altercation which resulted in the police being called. He was arrested and it was at the station where he was having his finger prints etc taken that investigators ran his details through their database and it was there that they found a match for the number one suspect in the murder of Sally Ann Bowman. He was finally caught. 

The nightmare should have come to an end there but this evil individual stood trial and Sally Anne's family, who'd already been through enough hell as it was because of this cretin, had to listen to the horrific lies coming out of his disgusting mouth. This absolute monster, without a shred of remorse, claimed that he was not responsible for Sally Anne's murder. He said somebody else had murdered her and that he had just happened to be walking by, saw her lying on the ground deceased and decided that he would basically take advantage of her body. Despite the fact that she was lying in a pool of blood, her hair was covered in blood, he claimed that he didn't know she was dead when he performed certain acts on her body. It was horrendous. 

It is beyond upsetting that Sally Anne's family and Lewis had to go through all of that and to have to see Mark Dixie's hideous face and hear his hideous lies, I don't know where they got their strength from. He was finally sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years and the possibility of parole being 2040. He won't see the life outside of prison again unless it's by vehicle to a hospital or court because he was later found guilty of other offences and received additional life sentences. These other crimes were sexual assaults, so far we only know that he is responsible for Sally Anne's murder but he is suspected of others and this is still under investigation. There's a possibility that he may have committed murders in Australia in the early 1990's but nobody knows for sure. Investigators continue to look into these cases and his possible involvement in other crimes.

Mark Dixie is currently behind bars in Frankland prison in County Durham and will be 56 years old this year (2026).

Sally Anne was cremated at a private service involving her close friends and loved ones. Her remains were originally buried at the Croydon Cemetery next to where her funeral service was. In another horrific turn of events, some sick individuals had targeted Sally Anne's memorial stone, vandalising the grave so the decision was taken by the family to have Sally Anne's urn exhumed and kept at a private memorial in the family home. 

This horrifying murder of Sally Anne Bowman and the details of the case from start to finish have always haunted me. Even after her murder the utter disrespect by that sick monster, the traumatic trial and then her poor family having to deal with sick individuals vandalising Sally's grave, it's just unbelievable. My heart goes out to her family. 

RIP Sally Anne, you will never be forgotten. Your beautiful light will never fade.

Further Reading & Sources:

- Mark Dixie: Article | The Guardian

- Sally Anne Bowman: Article | Belfast Telegraph

- Sally Anne Bowman | Reddit Discussion Thread

- Sally Anne Bowman: Article | BBC News

- Sally Anne Bowman: Article | Sky News

- Sally Anne Bowman | Memorial

- Sally Anne Bowman | Documentary

- Sally Anne Bowman: Article | BBC News

As always, if you have made it this far in the post, I thank you so much. It's always heartbreaking with every case that I cover, especially with what happened to Sally Anne. You can imagine how she would have been living her best life right now, probably married with children of her own, a fantastic career behind her, enjoying the fruits of all the success of the years. As I mentioned before, she achieved so much at just 18 and had created such a buzz around her that you just knew that she was destined for bigger things. She is so very missed. 

I hope you will join me in my next post and in the meantime, I hope to see you on my Socials

Stay safe and take care, until next time.....x 

If you're a reader in the UK you might recognise the face above, those cold, dark eyes are familiar...aren't they? The name that still has the ability to leave a chill down your spine.....Raoul Moat! To those further afield who this name won't ring a bell with, this terrifying man literally had England on tenterhooks back in 2010. It may seem a long time ago now, but nobody has ever forgotten the Raoul Moat case.

His face splashed across every newspaper, his name mentioned in news report after news report. A Facebook page was set up that was dedicated to his every move. People were living in fear, he literally brought England to a stand still. 

So who was he? For those who are not familiar, Raoul (Full name, Raoul Thomas Moat) was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on the 17th of June 1973. He had a difficult childhood which was scarce in affection and love, having never known his biological father and dealing with his mother's severe battle with depression. He and his brother Angus were often left in the care of their grandmother due to their mother's regular hospitalizations. He was a loner at school and would often make up stories as a way to get attention. As he grew older, he developed from a young, sensitive boy, to a bit of a rebel. He took up karate classes and was obsessed with training. Raoul was a hard worker and never turned away from rolling his sleeves up but his temper was very short at times. As with a lot of these cases, there was a lot of red flags even in his late teenage years but nobody could have predicted the volcano that would eventually erupt. 

He found himself a job and decided to get his own place at the age of 24. He had big dreams and was determined to succeed in life. Raoul was a fantasist and would have big grand ideas but wouldn't be able to see the plan through and when things would turn sour, he could become very deeply depressed and very aggressive. 

His addiction to bodybuilding often included steroids and with his background and obvious signs of mental illness, this was a recipe for disaster. As a child he felt powerless, meek and abandoned but the larger he got, the stronger he felt. He started working the doors on Nightclubs and he enjoyed the responsibility, the power and the popularity that the role brought him. He was very well liked amongst the regular nightclubbers and he even became friendly with celebrities. His role as a doorman provided him with the opportunity to meet women who were often spellbound by the strong gentleman who was keeping everyone safe. Raoul was charismatic and loved to have a bit of banter but these were the highlights that he was showing to people who were loosely acquainted with him. He made a lot of friendships and did have a reputation amongst some of them as being a person that was a man of his word, who would go out of his way to help you. 

He had a reputation of being a ladies man and had bragged that he had slept with numerous women. He became involved with a pretty young blond named Samantha Stobbart. At first, the pair were infatuated with each other. Samantha already knew about Raoul's short fuse and possessiveness but she saw this as him trying to protect her. The relationship was very controlling and abusive but Samantha, who was a teenager when she first met Raoul, didn't have any self-esteem or confidence. Samantha and Raoul had a daughter and there was talk of marriage but the relationship was a very toxic one. Raoul had been involved in petty crime for most of his adult life and his view on the local police was not the best. He utterly detested the police and claimed that they would always try to fit him up with something or pull him over when he was driving. He blamed the police for certain things going wrong in his life and it was always a sour point in a conversation with him, the mere mention of the police and he would explode into a rant. 

Raoul was always finding himself in trouble because he was too hot headed. He ended up serving time in prison in 2010 for assault. Samantha, who'd had enough of the violence and control, saw this as an opportunity to escape. She pretended that she would stick by him whilst he was due to go to prison but as soon as the gates shut behind him, she was off. She wrote him a few letters and spoke to him on the phone and basically told him that the relationship was over. Being cooped up in prison with no control over the situation drove Raoul crazy, he was completely enraged, he refused to accept that the relationship was over. He was determined that Samantha belonged to him and that she was never going to leave him. 

Samantha knew that he would be getting out of prison soon and was terrified because she knew what he was like, she knew he would come looking for her. Raoul was in prison, more and more anger building up inside and more anger towards the police. In his mind, Samantha leaving him was not his fault, it was the police again. He believed the police were trying to destroy his life. 

As the weeks went on, it was clear that Raoul was not taking no for an answer, Samantha just wanted to get on with her life. Being young and naive, Samantha was scared as the phone calls from prison kept happening and Raoul's letters would pile up at the door, she knew he wouldn't let go and decided to come up with a plan. 

She had been attending karate classes and had taken a shine to the Karate instructor, Chris Brown. He felt the same way towards her and they started going out for dates together. Samantha was very happy because she felt that she had all of this freedom with Raoul being locked up, she felt that she could enjoy her time with Chris. A full relationship with Samantha and Chris blossomed but amongst the joy, Samantha dreaded the day that Raoul would be released. She felt that the best way to deal with him (where he couldn't physically hurt her) was to, not only say that the relationship was well and truly over, but that she was dating a police man. 

So, Samantha told Raoul that she had been seeing another man named Chris Brown and that he was a police officer. She later said that she told him this because she felt that he would stay away from her. Well, knowing Raoul's complete hatred and paranoia about the police as it was, this was probably not the smartest move on Samantha's part. Not only was she putting herself in danger but Chris too. Poor Chris had only been on the scene for a few weeks and found himself in the middle of all of it. 

Raoul's head was spinning whilst he was in jail, he was literally climbing the walls and vowing for revenge. He put a plan in place to get a gun and upon his release, he was going to go berserk. 

As I mentioned previously, Raoul was known for being a man of his word. If he had something in his mind, he would stop at nothing to carry whatever it was, out. As far as he was concerned (and he clearly stated on his personal Facebook page) he had ''lost everything''. He also warned ''Watch and see what happens''

Without missing a beat, as soon as he walked out the gates of Durham prison on the 1st of July 2010, he started putting his plan in to action. He was spotted on CCTV cameras buying camping equipment and supplies. He'd literally just left prison and within days, he had tracked Samantha and Chris down. Chris, who was shot and killed instantly by Raoul Moat, was just 29 years old. Raoul tried to shoot Samantha through the window of the house, he did manage to hit her but she fortunately was able to get medical help and survived. Raoul, thinking he'd killed them both, fled the scene and so began a nerve-wracking manhunt for a psychotic, steroid and woman abuser who was capable of anything. The police had to work hard to get this man off the streets as soon as possible because he was a serious danger to everyone. 

The situation was already horrific but Raoul Moat made it clear that he wasn't done carrying out what he saw was revenge for all of the injustices he claimed to have endured at the hands of other people, especially the police. The truth was, Raoul had nobody to blame but himself. There's sympathy for his childhood and the struggles he went through but the dealings with drugs, violence, domestic abuse...so on and so forth was all on him. There was no excuse, Samantha was a vulnerable young girl when he met her and instead of protecting her he abused her. 

He began a sort of cat and mouse game with the police and the media, he called the police and made several threats. At first many people assumed that he was bluffing despite already shooting Chris and Samantha, they thought it was a domestic situation. That was until he walked up to the patrol car of PC David Rathband (the pair were unknown to each other but Raoul had warned that he was 'hunting the police') and shot him twice, once in the face, blinding him instantly and the second shot was to ensure that David was dead. By some miracle, David was still alive and even in that horrific moment he displayed such bravery. David later said that he had to 'play dead' because he feared that if Raoul saw him moving, he would fire another shot. In the horrendous moment, PC David Rathband's life would change forever, he was just 42 when he was left permanently blinded by Raoul Moat, the last thing he saw was that evil face and it haunted the poor man. 

PC David Rathband was looked upon by the public as a hero, a brave survivor and the support from well-wishers meant so much to David and his family. He did his best to adjust to his new way of living and declared that he was determined to move on but the image of Raoul Moat and those horrifying moments where 'everything just went black', continued to haunt him. David Rathband took his own life at the age of just 44, just 19 months after that horrendous day. 

So, after he had cruelly attacked PC David Rathband, he went on the run and the police, media and public were on edge, terrified of where he would turn up next. I remember keeping my eye on the news and all the reports and it was quite scary. I'd gotten so hooked on the case, along with everyone I knew, that I was scared he was going to show up in my back garden. It sounds like madness but everyone was worried and just wanted this madman found and arrested. 

On the evening of the 9th of July 2010, he was seen by a member of the public in the beautiful, English town of Rothbury. The local community were terrified and told to lock all of their doors and windows, nobody was to leave their homes. Everyone was on lockdown. It turned out that Raoul knew the area well because he had previously spent some time camping there. The town was just a peaceful, tranquil place that wasn't used to all of this commotion with police cars, vans and media all over the place. 

Whether it be exhaustion, hunger or a moment of clarity, Raoul Moat gave up, laid down on the ground and held a sawn-off shotgun to his neck. He was surrounded by armed police and there was no getting away with it this time. The British public were gripped as a six-hour stand off took place. There was a live chat on Facebook with constant pictures of the scene. The news channels were reporting live whilst trying to keep certain angles from public view because they were concerned that Raoul Moat may pull the trigger and shoot himself or other people and they didn't want that live on air. 

In the middle of all of this, a well-known English footballer, Paul Gascoigne showed up out of the blue and announced that he knew Raoul and wanted the opportunity to talk to him. Paul brought with him a fishing rod, some beer and other items. It was a bit like the Twilight Zone, there was this horrendous situation going on where anyone could be killed in a split second and Paul showed up with a fishing rod and cans of beer. People still talk about that to this day and it's a popular meme. In a moment of crisis people expect Paul Gascoigne to show up with a fishing rod and cans of beer. It was just more madness to add to a horrible and very confusing situation. 

On a side note, Paul claimed that he had known Raoul from his days as a doorman and felt that he would be able to talk some sense into him. Understandably, the police wouldn't allow Paul to approach Raoul, so he took the cans of beer and the fishing rod and left. 

As the hours went on and darkness fell, it was more and more sinister. I remember being up late, watching the livestream and wondering how this was all going to end. I think we all just wanted him to give it up and just go to prison. Surprisingly, there was a lot of support from the public for Raoul Moat because they felt that he had been victimized by the police and that he was a man who was done wrong. The full details of what happened with PC David Rathband was not fully known at that time. 

Just after 1am on the 10th of July 2010, to their credit, the armed police never gave up but Raoul Moat couldn't do it any longer. Despite hours of negotiations, Raoul decided that the rest of his life in prison, was not for him. He made the motion to pull the trigger and the police fired a taser in an attempt to stop him. It was too late, he pulled the trigger and that was that! The manhunt, the nightmare....was over! After an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Raoul Moat, his death was officially ruled a suicide. 

Samantha Stobbart spent some time in hospital recovering, she gave an interview to the News of The World newspaper for which she received a significant amount of money which was not disclosed to the public. Samantha and her family had hired Max Clifford (I might write a post about him in the future) and he secured the deal and financial amount with the newspaper. This was criticised by some members of the public, the fact that Samantha had accepted money over what was a horrifying situation. She also received a lot of backlash for her role in telling Raoul the lie that Chris was a police man, they thought that Chris was put in danger because of that and he ended up losing his life. 

Whilst Raoul Moat was on the run, he had various associates who helped him with vehicles, guns and supplies. These men were later arrested and are still serving time in prison. 

Raoul Moat was cremated and a small gathering of his family and friends scattered his ashes not too far from where he took his own life. 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this case is pretty well-known in the UK and it is often quoted as one of the biggest manhunts in British history. 

It happened all those years ago but writing about it now has left me feeling the chills. That's how it felt at the time, watching the news, not knowing what was going to happen next. It's a shame that Raoul Moat was not given the proper professional help back where he was younger with all that had been going on with his mother. I do believe though, that there's only so many excuses for one's behaviour. He left home at 24 it was up to him to make good with his life, he decided to go down a bad path and abused and nearly killed the one person who loved him, Samantha. 

The evil attack on PC David Rathband will be forever haunting. The pain and suffering that man endured, a totally innocent man just sitting at the side of the road, unarmed in his patrol car, just doing his job. To have something so horrifying happen, to lose you sight or have it wiped out in a second is utterly terrifying to think about. He was a very brave man and when I think of him, I remember seeing the interview that he did and he was choked up with tears, he was in constant torture, it was terrible. I hope that he is in peace now and knows that none of us have forgotten what happened to him. RIP PC David Rathband.

Further Reading & Sources:

- Raoul Moat: Article | The Guardian

- Raoul Moat: Article | BBC News

- Raoul Moat | Wikipedia

- The Hunt For Raoul Moat | Apple TV

- Raoul Moat: Article | The Independent

- Rothbury | Wikipedia

If you have made it this far in the post, I salute you and thank you! I hope that you come away from this post, knowing a bit more about this case or if you are 

new to it, that it was easy to follow. I know the details were very uncomfortable and disturbing, I appreciate you taking the time to read it. I hope you will join me on my Socials

Stay safe, until next time x

*Please be aware that the details shared in this post will be disturbing. I have aimed to, as always, share the details as sensitive as I can without taking the facts away from the case. If you would like to discuss this post with me or any of the cases that I have covered in this blog, please email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

At the beginning of 2013, 17 year old Tara Rose Willenborg from Clarksville, Indiana (USA) was busy thinking about life, exploring dreams, being a typical teenager and enjoying her close relationship with her boyfriend of six months, Josh. Josh was 21 but adored her and did his best to support her as they decided to move in together. The young couple were having fun, taking on adult responsibilities and thinking about their future. There was so many experiences to share, so many moments to be had and so many places they wanted to see together. Everyone who knew them personally would always describe them as a young loved-up couple, they would refer to themselves as 'Fiance/Fiancee' and had plans to get married. Josh was saving up some of the money he earned from his job to buy Tara a ring. They were just a young, sweet, good looking couple who were working hard to make ends meet and thinking about what they wanted to do with their lives together. 

Because money was tight and they had only just moved in together at the Cambridge Square Apartments, their living situation was quite modest. Some of the neighbours looked a bit on the dodgy side and some of the apartments had seen better days. For Tara and Josh they made the best with what they had and for them it was really just a stepping stone to save money and eventually move on to somewhere better. Tara came from a loving family, along with her brothers Todd, Derek and sister Colleen, the four of them could have been models if they had chosen that path, they also had their own talents. The family shared a great sense of humour and would always be teasing each other, they also had a dedication to their Christian faith. 

As well as her fun and bubbly personality, Tara was well known for her cupcakes, she just loved to bake and delighted in the endless compliments that she would receive from friends and family about how great they were. People would tell her that she would make a fortune if she turned her baking skills into a business, she was interested in making this a reality and was looking at ways to go about it. So Tara had the world at her feet and there was lots of things that she had planned and wanted to carry on planning, but it wasn't to be because someone she thought was a harmless neighbour, turned out to be a hideous monster hidden in sheep's clothing.

Young Tara and Josh had no idea who their neighbours really were, they were just people they would exchange pleasantries with. Unbeknown to the pair, the often dishevelled looking guy who was their neighbour, the guy called 'Richard' was actually a convicted sex offender who had spend the majority of his life behind bars for a series of horrific sexual assaults on women. Richard Hooten was 49 years old and his path of crime began in his early 20's, this is when he later said that his first sexual assault occurred. So this lovely young couple had a ticking time-bomb living near them and nobody knew. Richard looked creepy but he had a girlfriend so that could've possibly softened his image up a bit but that was all a facade, he was just waiting for the next victim. 

Richard had noticed Tara and Josh but didn't have long, full-on conversations with them. There was a quick exchange of words when Richard had bought some alcohol from Josh but that was about it. Josh could sense that Richard found Tara attractive but he was used to that, Tara was a beautiful girl and people were going to take a shine to her so he didn't think that deeply about it. 

On the 2nd of March (2013), Josh had gone to do his night shift as usual, leaving Tara at home just to relax. It was just days before her 18th birthday and that was going to be a huge milestone for her. Richard Hooten and his girlfriend, who Tara was used to seeing come and go, were out for the evening. Richard had a few drinks but was ready to go back home, his girlfriend and her family decided they were going to stay out for a little bit longer. When Richard approached his apartment he spotted Tara sitting alone on a stoop just outside her apartment. He watched her for a little while and could see that nobody else was around, he knew Josh worked night shifts. He would later reveal the disturbing and chilling fact that he knew he was going to sexually assault Tara when he saw her sitting there that night. 

He walked over to Tara and they exchanged polite conversation, he probably seemed harmless, a bit pathetic, probably mentioned that he was waiting for his girlfriend to come home. One wonders if Tara being young and looking at this guy as a bit creepy but possibly more like a Dad type of figure. She maybe thought about the fact that he had a girlfriend, maybe gave off the impression that he couldn't be that bad or dangerous if a woman had chosen to live with him? Tara also knew his girlfriend would be returning home at any time so maybe thought that no harm could come to her. It's reminded me of the false sense of security that some victims in the past have felt when they've met someone (who unknown to them at the time was a dangerous and psychotic killer) who has shown them family pictures or wears a wedding ring in an attempt to appear harmless and to gain trust. 

I've made the mistake myself in the past and I cringe at the memory, but an old man had fallen outside of my apartment block (this happened years ago). He'd just gotten out of a cab and was holding a translucent bag with all of his belongings in, money, clothes etc and he had fallen, there was blood on his face and he looked like he was in shock. Myself being young at the time and my boyfriend being at a university class, I decided to invite this guy into the kitchen for a cup of tea and to call him another cab. It sounds ridiculous now but my first instinct was to help this man. He had so much cash falling out of his pockets and I had to help him put everything into his bag. I remember thinking at the time that this guy was so lucky that he fell outside of my apartment and not some other place because someone could've possibly robbed him. Anyway, I made him some sweet tea for the shock and I kept the kitchen door open whilst we talked and I called him a cab to take him to his correct address. The guy got into the cab safely and that was it. When I told my boyfriend, friends and relatives about what happened, everyone looked at me horrified and told me I was nuts. My boyfriend at the time was frantic that something bad could've happened to me. I look back now and it is a cringeworthy moment but we all make mistakes. 

So Tara and Richard were talking and either she invited him into her apartment or he asked to join her. Either way, he was pretending to be nice and once inside the apartment, Tara put on the TV whilst they continued to chat. When the pair were on the sofa Richard suddenly turned from Mr nice guy to disgusting predator. Tara made it clear that she wasn't interested and asked him to leave, from that moment on, things turned very ugly. Richard grabbed Tara and dragged her to the bedroom where he ripped off her clothing and assaulted her in the worst ways that you do not want to imagine. Obviously I know the horrific details but out of respect for Tara and her family I have to be careful how I describe what happened. It was brutal, it was sick and it was pure evil! The absolute hell he put that poor child through, 17 is no age and it wouldn't be acceptable at any age. He was a disgusting, evil monster and during the horrific torture and assault, he strangled Tara. The details of her death haunt me, as I'm sure they have done with anyone who has worked on this case or researched it. It just fills you will anger and disgust. To add further depravity this creature took a candle and assaulted Tara with it after he strangled her. 

Richard Hooten claims that he tried to revive Tara when he'd realised that she was deceased. He then tried to cover his tracks by grabbing one of her Subway aprons and tying it around her neck to make it look like she had taken her own life. He then fled the scene and went back to his apartment, where his girlfriend now was. This monster knew that Josh would return from work to find Tara and he was already putting an act on like everything was normal. Josh was horrified and devastated when he found Tara, he tried everything he could for her and contacted authorities. He told them that he had a feeling that Richard had something to do with her death. Other neighbours had mentioned their concerns about Richard who had mysteriously vanished from his apartment. The police went looking for him and they finally found him a mile away from the apartments and arrested him on the spot. They knew he had a long list of previous crimes and outstanding warrants. He had also failed to register as a sex offender. 

With the evidence stacked up against him and his previous convictions Richard admitted what he had done because he claimed that he wanted to give Tara's family closure. In front of reporters he gave a sort of press conference where he unemotionally stated what he had done, answered their questions and admitted that he had been involved in numerous sexual assaults in the past for which he spent time in prison. He'd spent most of his life in prison and claimed that he had been committing sexual deviancy for as far back as he could remember. There were no tears shed and no remorse, he stated that he wished that he hadn't have murdered Tara but there was no actual feeling to it, it was like the guy had no soul. He was asked numerous times if he had committed murder before and he said that he hadn't. He admitted to sexual assaults and violence but that Tara was the first time he had actually murdered a victim. 

When asked about his thoughts on the death penalty he accepted it and agreed to any form of punishment that was going to be handed out. As he admitted his guilt in Tara's horrific assault and murder, he spared her family the ordeal of a trial and as part of a deal he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 70 years was also added on to his sentence. He is currently 62 years old (as of 2026) and is incarcerated at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle, Indiana. 

Tara's funeral took place on the 6th of March 2013 just a few days shy of what would have been her 18th birthday. It's so difficult to imagine what Josh and her family must have been going through. It was just so unfair for such a horrific thing to have happened to a beautiful young girl who had her whole life and dreams in front of her. 

Tara's family have done such an incredible job over the years to raise money for charities and have been dedicated to keeping Tara's memory alive. Sadly Tara's brother Todd Jr passed away in May of 2022 at the age of 29. Colleen and Derek have done a wonderful job over the years keeping the spirit of both their beloved sister and brother alive, it must be so difficult to have both your sister and brother gone. They are so strong and very much an inspiration. 

Please check out Tara's Garden which is a charity which was set up by Tara's loved ones to honour her legacy: Tara's Garden

RIP Tara and Todd, you will never be forgotten x

Further Reading & Sources

- Richard Hooten: Article | Wave News

- Tara Rose Willenborg | Obituary

- Richard Hooten: Article | The Courier

- Tara Rose Willenborg | Find A Grave

- Richard Hooten: Article | USA Today

- Richard Hooten: Article | NY Daily News

- Richard Hooten: Confession Press Conference | News And Tribune (Video)

- Richard Hooten: News Report (Video) | WLKY News Louisville

I know this was another difficult case to get through but I appreciate you, as always, for being here and for all your support over the years with my content. Don't forget you can request any cases you would like me to cover (jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com) and come and say hello on my Socials

Take care....until next time x 

(Terence Darrell Kelly. Picture credit: The Guardian)

*Please be aware that some of the details shared in this post will be quite disturbing. I have aimed, as always, to be as sensitive as I can be with the details whilst not taking away from the facts of the case. If you would like to discuss this post or any of the other cases that I have covered on this blog, please feel free to email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com* 

Isn't it crazy how social media has become such an every day thing in our lives? Even old school people who tried to avoid being a part of it had to join in eventually. I get the latest news from X (Twitter - I still call it Twitter) and literally everyone that I know has some form of social apps on their phone. Everyone seems to have Facebook, even the ones that hate it. Some people have Facebook but never use it and prefer being on another social platform. Everyone has their favourites and for me, it's X/Twitter. So being online over the years, you don't need me to tell you that there is quite a few people on these platforms that are 'a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket' shall we say.

All jokes aside, you get your usual perverts (and that's scary enough....I don't even want to tell you some of the horrific things I have seen and heard, the most unbelievable and strangest sexual fetishes right through to so many monstrosities that I won't even mention, you get the drift). 

You get your harmless oddballs and your potentially dangerous oddballs and sometimes it is difficult to decipher who's harmless and who isn't. Step forward a Mr Terence Kelly from the beautiful country of Australia (I've written a few cases out of Australia lately, go check them out if you haven't already done so), who shocked, not just Australia but the rest of the world when it was revealed that he had abducted a 4 year old girl from a campsite. That just there is terrifying enough but we thank the lord that the little girl known as Cleo Smith, was found alive after being held captive by Terrence for 18 days. The monster even followed the girl's family on social media and watched as they frantically searched and appealed for information, knowing full well that he had taken this poor child from her devastated family. 

The fact this beautiful child was found and returned safely into the arms of her family, was such a miracle and a blessing because we all know how horrific these types of situations can go. I've written about a number of cases involving child abduction and murder, and it never gets easier, it always haunts me. 18 days with this utterly strange individual and it must have been terrifying. In a strange place with a strange man and far away from your parents, it must have been such a fright for little Cleo but she was such a tough little thing, she endured it and powered through. She was a lot stronger than most adults and I'm so glad that she was found.

Terence Kelly's home demonstrated that the guy's state of mental health was way worse than anyone thought. After a thorough search of his home and online activities they found that Terence, who was in his 30's, was completely obsessed with Bratz Dolls! So much so that he had shelves full of them as well as stacks of merchandise. Bratz is a well known cartoon which is based on young girls who love fashion and glamour. The cartoon is aimed at young girls, not adults. Some adult women like to wear Bratz merch like t-shirts or dress up like them for Halloween but it's pretty much a child's cartoon and designed just to be for fun. For some odd reason Terence was obsessed beyond belief, he would wear Bratz T-shirts and take the dolls out with him in his car. He would talk to them, brush their hair, change their outfits and take selfies with them. He said that he loved hanging out with them at home. He actually made videos online of himself with the dolls. 

I'm sure some people would have thought that the guy had issues and was harmless, but to me it just looks like red flags all over the place. What have I always said with these types of individuals, they start with the fantasies and then they want the real thing. For Terence, it was the cartoon, then he had to have the dolls and then he wanted his own real life doll so he snatched a terrified child away from her family. It was an evil and selfish act to have done such a thing as well as stalking her family as they searched for Cleo.

Again, I'm just thankful that Cleo was found and hopefully has been able to take steps to move on with her life. 

A lot of people go through difficult childhoods and they don't go on to kidnap children. Terence did have a traumatic childhood and suffered a lot of physical and psychological abuse. It is believed that he created a fantasy life for himself (as abused children often do) as an attempt at coping with the difficulties in his life. He became fixated on cartoons and being so lonely and isolated, he felt that these cartoons were his friends. He was removed from his parents home at a young age and placed with another relative, his great-aunt. When she passed away, his feelings of isolation and loneliness just got worse. He was even more fixated on cartoons, toys and Bratz dolls as if he was trying to compensate for the childhood that was taken from him.

Terence pleaded guilty to Cleo's abduction and was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months (he maybe eligible for parole after 11 years and 6 months). He did try to appeal this sentence but this was dismissed. He is currently serving his sentence at maximum-security prison known as Casuarina in Perth (Western Australia).

This was another shocking case but thankfully one that ended on a positive note with Cleo being found. I do hope that Terence is able to receive the proper psychiatric help that he needs. With such a difficult upbringing, another bizarre fact about this story is that Terence is probably better off in a facility where he can be able to work through his trauma and difficulties. What are your thoughts on this case? Leave your comments below or email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Terence Kelly: Article | The Guardian

- Terence Kelly: Article | The Independent

- Terence Kelly: Article | ABC News

- Terence Kelly: Article | The West Australian

- Cleo Smith | Wikipedia

- Terence Kelly: Article | BBC News

- Terence Kelly: Article | Sky News

I hope you will join me in my next post. In the meantime as always, I hope to see you on my Socials

Until next time, please stay safe and take care x