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This is Jessica Knoll, host of the new series Back in Crime. If you're a follower of true crime, you're probably familiar with some of the most shocking stories from our history. Horrific tragedies like the Columbine Massacre. He turned the gun straight at us and shot. Oh my God, the window went out. And the kid standing there with me, I think he got hit. Okay. Oh God. And notorious criminals like cult leader Charles Manson.
In a scene described by one investigator as reminiscent of a weird religious rite, five persons, including actress Sharon Tate, were found dead at the home of Miss Tate and her husband, screen director Roman Poliansky. But what if we were to turn back the hands of time and relive these events as they unfolded? Follow along each week as we take a fresh look at crimes from the past. Back in Crime is available now.
Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder. This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.
Today I'm discussing the disappearance of Katie O'Shea. On December 17th, 2005, 44-year-old Katie O'Shea flew to North Queensland, Australia with her 11-year-old daughter.
They were going to visit Katie's oldest son, Alan, and his partner. They were expecting a baby in early January. And of course, like most grandparents, Katie was beyond excited to be there for the birth of her first grandchild. But when the baby was born on January 9th, Katie wasn't there. According to her daughter, Lily, this was completely unlike Katie. She was a doting mother who lived for her kids and would never miss the birth of her first grandchild.
Four days later, on January 13th, Allen reported Katie missing. He told police he last saw her on December 29th when he dropped her off on a street in Atherton. He said she had plans to go to a pub and play pool, then go visit her friend in a nearby town. But when investigators began retracing Katie's steps, they discovered that she never made it to her planned destination. This is the case of Katie O'Shea.
Kathleen Mary O'Shea, who almost always went by Katie, was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on December 4th, 1961.
Katie lived with her parents until she was 17, when she had her first child, Alan. After he was born, Katie moved in with Alan's father. After about two years, Katie and Alan moved more than a thousand miles to North Queensland. While living there, Katie met John Parmenter, who became a lifelong partner. Between 1986 and 1994, they had four children together, Lily, Danny, Tim, and Bridget.
Now, Katie's daughter, Lily, actually reached out to me to create this episode, and she was kind enough to give me an interview. Here's Lily telling me about her mom. She was the kind of mom that no matter if you did something bad, she'd go, you know what, that's okay, because I can guarantee you I've done something worse. And just know that, you know, no matter what, I'll always love you and I'm always proud of you. Like, if you fell over, she'd start crying because she's like, I'm so happy you have legs. Like, she was just...
She was just, she was a really, she was a really happy, lovely person who just, I think she was, you know, a little bit misunderstood sometimes with, I get like she, like with how she acted and stuff, but she was just, she was always there no matter what. Like there was so many of us and, you know, she basically raised us as a single mum, but she always made sure that, you know, we had time for each, like she had time for each of us and, you know, no matter what,
She was always proud of it. She was always the first to say, oh, don't forget I love you. I think she basically, she lived for her kids. Like that was her, like that was the one thing that no matter what she, that was the, she lived for us.
Lily told me that the family didn't have a lot of money while she was growing up, but Katie always provided everything her kids needed, and on birthdays, she spoiled them. Even though there were five kids to celebrate, Katie made sure they had cake and presents, and she made them feel even more special by singing happy birthday to them at the exact time they'd been born.
While Katie was known for being an incredible mother, she was also known to stand out in a crowd. Lily described her mom as an old hippie. She dressed in lots of layers and jewelry. She wore bright blue eyeliner and put flowers in her hair. She could also play the tin whistle with her nostril. Now, Katie didn't drive. She actually rode a pushbike that was decorated with these tiny figurines on the handlebars and a milk crate was on the back. It really seems like Katie is one of a kind in all the best ways.
Around 1997, Katie and her partner John separated. Katie and her four younger children moved back to Melbourne, where they lived with Katie's mother. But Katie's oldest son, Alan, stayed behind in Queensland with John. Once she was in Melbourne, Katie developed a really close friendship with her sister's ex-husband, John McKenzie. She did housework for him, and he would give her money to help out with raising the kids.
Then, in July 2005, Katie got big news. Alan told her she was going to be a grandmother. And Katie was super excited. She wanted nothing more than a grandchild.
Now, of course, like all of us, Katie's life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. At this point, Katie was struggling in different parts of her personal life. Lily told me it was really hard for Katie to be so far from some of her family. She also struggled with low self-esteem because of her childhood life at home, as well as being bullied at school as a kid. Also, in a six-year period, Katie had lost three people that were really close to her.
her best friend, her sister, and her father. But despite everything she was going through, Katie never really let on how much she was struggling. Lily told me that when Katie found out she was going to be a grandmother, everything changed. It was like all the sadness had just evaporated and she was so excited to be a goddamn grandmother. Like, I'm talking over the moon. Katie soon began planning a month-long visit for when the baby was born.
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This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by June's Journey. June's Journey is a hidden object mystery game, and you step into the role of June Parker and search for hidden clues to uncover the mystery of her sister's murder. Basically, you engage your observation skills to quickly uncover key pieces of information that lead to chapters of mystery, danger, and romance.
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On December 17, 2005, John McKenzie, Katie's ex-brother-in-law, drove Katie and her 11-year-old daughter Bridget to the airport. Lily told me that Katie packed more stuff for the baby than she did for herself.
Once they were in Queensland, Alan picked up Katie and Bridget from the airport and drove them to his place in Ravenshue. Alan, his partner Briar, and Katie's other son Tim were living on a 240-acre property belonging to Katie's friend Loma. After they got there, Katie and Bridget set up a tent on the property. But apparently Katie rarely ever stayed in this tent. She spent most of her nights with Loma, who lived on the front of the property.
There's a lot of names in this case, so stick with me. Over the next few days, Katie apparently had a really good time. She was just excited to see friends and family. But let's break down the timeline of events. On the 22nd, Katie called her son Danny. She basically just apologized that she hadn't called him on his birthday two days prior. There was no cell phone reception, and Katie hadn't been able to get to a payphone. But Katie told Danny she was having a good time and all was well.
The next day, December 23rd, Katie and Tim went to the nearby town of Mariba so Tim could go to a dentist appointment. While there, Katie ran into a friend. She asked him for their friend Deb's address. At around 2 p.m., Katie and her son Tim showed up at Deb's house. Deb said Katie was very excited about the upcoming birth of her grandchild. And Katie also mentioned something important. She said that she would be back in town on January 6th for Tim's next dental appointment.
About an hour later, around 3, Loma got to Deb's house and picked up Katie and Tim. This is the last time Deb saw Katie. But this isn't where Katie's trail ends. Five days later, on December 28th, Katie went to nearby Atherton to do some shopping. While there, she called Lily from a payphone and wished her a Merry Christmas. They only spoke for a few minutes, and they talked about pretty normal things. How Lily's Christmas was, and if Alan had the baby or not.
Before they got off the phone, Katie told Lily that she loved her and was proud of her. This call was the last time Lily ever spoke to her mother.
But again, not where Katie's trail ends. Later that day, Katie went to Loma's daughter Naomi's house in Ravenshue. She ended up spending the night after telling Naomi that she was lonely because Loma was out of town. The next morning, now December 29th, Katie told Naomi that Alan was going to pick her up and take her to town. But then, at around 1030, for some reason, Katie decided to walk into town instead. She said that she was going to get some Cooper Stout beer.
Around 11am, Alan arrived at Naomi's to pick up Katie. But of course, she wasn't there. She left 30 minutes before. Naomi tells Alan that Katie walked into town and Alan left. According to Alan, he found his mom in Ravenshue and then drove her to Atherton. Katie told Alan that she was going to the pub to play pool and then to visit Deb in nearby Mariba. This was the last time Alan said he ever saw his mother.
A few days later on New Year's Eve, Lily called Katie's cell phone to wish her a happy new year, but it went to voicemail.
Lily told me she wasn't surprised by this. Katie didn't like cell phones and didn't have reception, but Lily said that her gut told her something was just wrong. Then, flash forward to January 9th, Alan's partner gave birth to a baby girl, and Katie wasn't there. On January 11th, Alan called Lily to let her know that the baby was born. Lily playfully asked if Katie had taken over the birthing room as she'd expected, and she was pretty surprised when Alan said no, she hadn't even been there.
Lily was immediately shocked and concerned. If their mom wasn't there at the birth, where was she? And of course, Katie hadn't called Lily back. Alan told Lily that he dropped her off in Atherton on the Thursday before New Year. Like I mentioned, he said Katie told him she had plans to visit her friend Deb in Mariba. So Lily asks if Katie had her phone, and Alan said no, he had it. And
And again, Lily didn't really think much of this. Because again, Katie hated her cell phone and barely ever used it. Now, apparently nobody really had Deb's phone number.
So Lily reaches out to Loma, who was in Mariba, where Katie was supposedly visiting. Loma tells Lily that she'll go find Katie at Deb's house and get her on the phone. But Loma comes back with some pretty scary news. Katie wasn't at Deb's house. And Loma knows something's wrong and says that they need to go report Katie missing. So Lily calls Alan back and tells him what's going on. Lily said that Alan seemed confused and just kind of kept asking what she meant.
Lily kept repeating that their mother was missing and Alan needed to file a police report since he was there. But Alan said he didn't want to report Katie missing because she would get mad. And Lily fights back and says that she doesn't care. Their mom should be there and something is really, really wrong.
In the end, Alan asks if they could wait a few days. He says that in that time, they could call around and try to figure out where Katie was. And Lily ends up agreeing to this compromise. She spent the next few days calling everyone she could think of. Friends, stores, hospitals, taxi services, and even churches. But no one had seen or heard from Katie since the 29th.
When Katie still hadn't been located by January 13th, Lily calls back Alan and tells him he needs to report their mom missing. Alan called Lily later that day and said that he reported Katie missing. But Lily isn't just sitting back and waiting for things to unfold. She calls her dad and tells him what's going on.
Then she flies to central Queensland and meets with her father. As soon as they land, they drove more than 18 hours non-stop to get to northern Queensland where Katie was last seen. Lily and her father were there for the next three and a half weeks, speaking with police and searching for Katie.
Now, while Lily and her father were taking Katie's disappearance very seriously, Lily says that Alan didn't seem to be that worried, and he kept making these statements about Katie's behavior before she went missing. He said Katie had been importing drugs from Melbourne to Queensland. He also mentioned something about a bunch of ecstasy pills and a sports bag full of cash, and he said the Russian mafia was involved.
Now, of course, all this sounds really shocking, but Lily didn't believe any of it. She says the Russian mafia isn't in northern Queensland, and Katie wasn't importing drugs for anyone. She added that she wouldn't have done that with her little sister Bridget around, and she definitely wouldn't have made it through airport security with a bunch of drugs.
Now, on January 17th, Katie and Bridget were supposed to fly back to Melbourne. So if she was just out hiding somewhere or possibly engaging in dangerous illegal activities, this would be the time for Katie to get out and get back home. I'm sure her family was holding out hope that this could be the day Katie was found, but she never showed up for her flight. Then the official investigation began to heat up.
On January 18th, the local police and homicide investigation squad opened an official investigation into Katie's disappearance. They looked at her bank, her Medicare records. They contacted the interstate police and the registry of births, deaths, and marriage. The only thing they could find was that Katie withdrew $200 from her bank account at the Raven Shoe post office on December 29th. After that, there was no information about where she went or what she did.
And unfortunately, due to the delay in reporting Katie missing, there was no surveillance footage. It had all been recorded over. On January 18th, Alan went to the Atherton Police Station and gave more information. He says Katie had a lot of friends in Cairns, but didn't want to give the police any of those persons' names.
He also went over the last time he saw his mother. He says he picked up Katie from Ravenshue on the morning of December 29th. He drove Katie to a pub where she purchased a six-pack of Cooper Stout beer. Katie then asked him for another ride. She said that she was going to see Deb in Mariba, but she only wanted a ride to Atherton. She would get the rest of the way there by herself.
Alan says he drove her into Atherton, and as they were driving down what was possibly Jack Street, Katie said that she wanted to be dropped off right there. She was going to walk the rest of the way into town so she could finish drinking the beer she'd already opened. Katie also said that she was going to go to a pub and buy more stout and play pool. Alan told investigators that he thought she meant that she would go to the pub in Atherton.
Alan says that when he dropped Katie off, she was still drinking her beer, and she left the other five beers in the car with him. He added that there was no fight between him and his mother. Everything seemed normal. Now, Alan also told investigators that Katie had a history of using drugs. He said that she'd been in the methadone program, and had some ecstasy on her when she arrived in Melbourne. He also said that after she disappeared, he found some used syringes in the tent that she'd been staying in while she was sleeping on the property.
He says that he put them in an empty bottle and put the bottle in a hollow tree. I asked Lily what she thought about this. She told me she had a hard time understanding why Katie would buy a six-pack of stout, then leave five of them in the car with Alan, just to go to the pub and have a drink and play pool. She said Katie didn't have a lot of extra money. It just didn't make sense for her to buy stout, leave it behind, and then go somewhere else to drink.
And as far as the syringes, she says she's never seen them, and she doesn't think the police have either. She also said she thinks Alan is exaggerating their mother's drug use. I found out that she had sort of partaken in stuff like that. I don't think that to the extent of, you know, where people are like, oh yeah, she was really into heroin and stuff like that, because she was a full-time mum, like...
If you're that hard into it, there's no chance in hell you'd be able to look after children by yourself. Like she smoked a bit of weed, but who doesn't? And like I know that she probably did partake in other things, but it didn't affect her actual whole personality.
Now, Alan's partner, Briar, did also speak to the police, and she gave a pretty similar story. On December 29th, Katie wanted to go to Mariba to visit a friend. But because Briar was in the last days of her pregnancy, Alan didn't want to be away for too long. So he agreed to just drive Katie to Atherton. Briar said that she stayed home with Bridget and Tim while Alan gave his mom a ride.
Breyer also said that around a week after she gave birth, Allen began to express concern for Katie and called around looking for her. When he realized that Katie didn't arrive at her friend's house in Mariba, he reported her missing to the police. But Lily soon found out that's not exactly what happened. Lily told me that years later, she found out through court hearings that Allen had not officially reported Katie missing. Apparently, Allen went to the police and spoke with a desk sergeant,
He asked vague questions about what happens if someone is reported missing, then kind of mentioned that he hadn't seen his mom. He said he wasn't sure what to do. The desk sergeant suggested that they fill out a report, and Alan said he didn't want to do that. Instead, he'd spend the weekend looking for her. Alan left the police station without reporting Katie missing. But later that day, that officer reported her missing anyway.
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Investigators keep digging and keep interviewing people. They meet with Lily, Loma, Deb, and many others. According to investigators, the people who came in and interviewed about Katie described her as happy, fun-loving, a likable person.
and above all, a loving and devoted mother who would do anything for her children. Every person investigators interviewed was adamant that Katie would never leave her children for this amount of time, especially without letting them know where she was. Investigators also noted that most of the witnesses stated that they had known Katie to hitchhike, and they wouldn't be surprised if she did this in December 2005 if she needed a ride after Alan dropping her off.
So they began to explore the theory that maybe Katie had hitchhiked and something happened. But around the same time, something else happened. Officers went to Allen and Breyer's home and arrested Allen for possession of cannabis, and the Department of Child Safety took custody of their child. Five days later, Breyer did get back custody of her child, but only on the condition that she not go back and live on the property she shared with Allen. So Breyer and the baby go live with Breyer's grandmother.
A few weeks later, Alan, Tim, and Bridget also went to go live there. And about three weeks after that, the police came and took Bridget to live with Katie's mother in Melbourne. Tim, Alan, Briar, and the baby eventually moved to Melbourne as well. Alan and Briar later separated.
According to court documents, at one point, an investigator traveled to Melbourne to get another statement from Alan, but he said he wouldn't provide a statement unless his attorney was present. So the investigator says, let's go to your attorney's office, and Alan refused and walked away.
The investigation continued. About six or seven months after Katie went missing, investigators interviewed a man named James. He was employed as an attendant at the Atherton Hotel Bottle Shop. He said that Katie came into the bottle shop on December 29th and bought beer with cash. But this didn't really go anywhere.
Around the one-year mark in December 2006, the police weren't really making any further progress in solving Katie's disappearance, so they put together a new team of detectives to re-examine the case. Unfortunately, there weren't many updates after this. Now, throughout this entire time, Lily had been working to find answers for her mom. She told Women's Day Australia that she called detectives every week to see if they'd made any progress, but it was like Katie had vanished into thin air.
Lily also tried to get journalists to cover her mother's disappearance, but she said she had a hard time even getting people to call her back. You know, it's been so hard to even just try and get a little bit of media coverage, even on mom's anniversary. No one returns my phone calls now. So, you know, as a daughter grieving for her mom, it makes me feel like, you know, that mom's just...
But there are leads in this case. In 2007, investigators thought they had a possible lead when a man named Francis Frank Work pleaded guilty to committing a brutal kidnapping and rape.
According to court documents, at around 1 a.m. on June 2, 2007, Frank was driving along a highway near Ravenshue when he saw a 31-year-old woman walking. He pulls over, asks the woman if she wants a ride, and she says yes.
Frank then convinces her to go to his home, saying that after he had some tea, he would be able to take her to her final destination. Now, when she attempted to leave, Frank hit her on the head twice with a piece of timber and dragged her back into the house. He then forced her onto a bed and removed her clothes. For the next few hours, Frank did horrible, unspeakable things to this woman.
As the sun began to rise, Frank went to another room and the woman managed to free her hands and escape the house. Frank ran after her, but she got to a neighbor's house where they took her in and called police. Frank was arrested and charged with multiple counts of rape, assault, and more. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Now, because Frank was living near where Katie was last seen and had a history of picking up hitchhikers, investigators wanted to interview him in Katie's case. They made the trip to visit him in jail, but he refused to speak with them. Unfortunately, there weren't many updates in the case until 2011. That year, investigators informed Lily that they believed Katie had been the victim of a homicide.
Lily later told Women's Day Australia, quote, But then, two years later in December 2013, there was a major breakthrough in the case. This is when a witness only known as Mr. A went to the police and gave a statement. Mr. A says that he decided to provide this new information after he saw Lily's Facebook page about her mom. He just thought it was the right thing to do to come forward. And,
And here's what he said. He'd known Alan since 2001, and had actually previously lived with Katie, Alan, and some of the other kids. This was for about 7 or 8 months in 2002. And he says that during this period, he did use amphetamines and cannabis with Katie and Alan. He said that they also used heroin, but he did not. Mr. A told investigators that in 2007, he visited Alan at his house, and about a week later, Mr. A moved in with Alan.
He says that about three weeks after he moved in, he, Alan, and Tim were talking about Katie. Alan, who'd been drinking, said to Mr. A, quote, You know I killed Mom, don't you? End quote. Mr. A said that he just thought Alan was trying to scare him, and he didn't really believe it. Then, a few days later, Mr. A found Alan and Tim talking in the backyard. He heard Tim say, quote, We can just dig it up. End quote.
He asked what they were talking about, and Alan said that he'd buried 10 pounds of pot in Queensland. He then said something about it being so long ago that it would have decomposed. Then, about two weeks after that, Mr. A says he and Alan were drinking in the backyard around a fire, when the police showed up due to a fight. Alan told Mr. A that he was worried that he was going to get caught for killing Katie.
Mr. A also revealed to investigators that he had previously suffered from mental illnesses due to drug use, but was very clear that he was not using drugs when he gave that statement. He said his memory of his conversations with Alan in relation to Katie were very clear.
So all of this takes some time to investigate. Then, five months after Mr. A came forward, a coroner's inquest was held to determine whether or not Katie had passed away, and if she had, what happened to her. These hearings were held between May 12th and May 16th, 2014. Now, according to court documents, most of the witnesses interviewed gave testimony that was consistent with the information they had previously provided.
Only a handful of witnesses were able to provide new information. One of these people was James. This is the person who worked at the bottle shop.
James testified that he attended the same school as Alan, and he saw Katie over the years and knew her to be Alan's mom. He immediately recognized her when she came into the bottle shop on December 29th. James also testified that Katie came into the shop with two men. He thought one of them may have had a black beard and was wearing a flannel-like shirt. He couldn't remember what the other man looked like or was wearing. James says Katie bought a six-pack of either VB or Cooper Stout beer.
and he had a normal conversation with her. He says this would have taken about two or two and a half minutes. He says Katie then left with those two men, and he had zero doubt that the person was Katie. Now, Katie's son Tim also testified. He said he had an excellent relationship with his mother, and he didn't see anything to indicate Katie had drugs with her in December 2005. Tim
Tim says he last saw Katie around New Year's Eve while she was at Loma's. Katie told him that she was going to spend New Year's Eve with Deb and invited him to go with her, but he didn't want to go. He says the last time he saw his mom was when she and Alan drove away from Loma's, and then Alan returned about an hour later. Tim also testified that Alan was angry after he was spoken to by police about Katie's disappearance. He said Alan thought the police thought he may have been involved.
But Tim did state, quote, Out of everyone, Alan loved Mom the most, end quote.
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I think it's important to note that at the time of this inquest, Frank was also being investigated for the 1999 disappearance of 17-year-old Haley Dodd, who was last seen hitchhiking. Years later, Frank was convicted of Haley's murder and sentenced to 21 years in prison.
But what about Alan? Well, according to court records, Alan was served with a summons to attend the inquest, but he never showed up. On May 12th, the coroner did issue a warrant for his arrest. Four days later, when all the witnesses had been called, Alan still hadn't been located. So the coroner decided to pause the inquest until June 11th. This way, he would have an opportunity to contact her office and or testify.
But by the 11th, Alan still hadn't contacted them, and he still hadn't been arrested. The coroner said it was clear that Alan didn't want to take part in the inquest. She further said it became evident during the inquest that Alan was very angry about the early stages of the police investigation. He believed the police were treating him as a suspect, and that this resulted in his child being removed by the Department of Child Safety.
The coroner said this may be why Alan refused to cooperate with police after that first interview and participate in this inquest. So, on that same day, the coroner canceled the warrant and excused Alan from appearing on the summons. The following day, the coroner released her final conclusion.
She found that Mr. A was an impressive witness who answered honestly. She believed that the conversations with Alan he referred to did in fact occur, but she couldn't be certain of what those conversations meant. She said it was possible that Alan felt responsible for his mother's death, and that could have caused his initial outburst when he stated that he killed his mother.
The coroner noted that even Mr. A's initial reaction was that he didn't believe Alan's statement. The coroner said the other conversations were ambiguous. They were consistent with other evidence that Alan was concerned that the police thought he was involved. She said it was possible that the reason for his concern was that he would be arrested, rather than any true guilt on his part.
In the end, the coroner determined there were five possible explanations for Katie's disappearance. 1. She intentionally disappeared and does not want to be found. 2. She completed suicide. 3. She died from natural causes. 4. She died from a drug overdose and an unknown person disposed of her body. 5. Another person caused her death and disposed of her body.
The coroner said that there was no reason to believe that Katie intentionally disappeared. It was clear from the evidence that she would not have left her children for any period of time without telling them. The coroner also said that there was no evidence that Katie completed suicide. She was not depressed or unhappy. She was enjoying a vacation with some of her children in Ravenshue, visiting friends, and was really looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild.
Further, Katie was not suffering from any illnesses to the knowledge of her friends or family. The coroner noted that most significantly, had she completed suicide, it was likely that her body would have been located. She also said that if Katie died of natural causes, it was again reasonable to assume that her body would have been found.
And it didn't seem likely that Katie went to Mariba as planned and died from an accidental drug overdose while there, and that an unknown person or persons disposed of her body. So this is what the coroner believes. She said she believed Katie had been killed shortly after she left the bottle shop with the two men on the evening of December 29th.
that Katie's cause of death could not be determined, but it was most likely that an unknown person or persons with whom she came in contact either at the bottle shop or soon after caused her death and disposed of her body. Following this determination, the inquest was closed. When I talked to Lily, I asked her what she thought happened to her mom. She said she doesn't think Frank Wark had anything to do with it, nor does she believe her mom overdosed and someone hid her body.
Lily has a hard time believing James' testimony about seeing Katie in the bottle shop with those two men. She thinks he may have gotten confused or had a false memory. She says Katie just wasn't the type who would go out and party with a random stranger. And as I mentioned, she did have a ton of friends.
Lily brought up the fact that no one else in town except for James saw Katie after Alan said he dropped her off. And Lily believes she knows what happened to her mom. I believe that there was an incident between my mom and my brother in the car. And that incident turned violent. And I believe that he killed her and disposed of her body. Most of the families on board with it, over the years, the common consensus has sort of been, well, it's the only thing that makes any sense. Yeah.
And just the way he's acted, I say that he's either the most guilty, innocent person in the world or he's acting like he is. He's acting guilty. And nothing that he's done since mum's dinner disappeared has actually shown me anything else other than the fact that he's hiding from something.
Lily hasn't talked to Alan in a long time. She says that if he did something to their mother, she doesn't think he'll ever talk about it. And like we see in so many cases, she says the family basically fell apart after Katie disappeared. Today, most of the siblings don't talk to each other.
Kitty was the glue that held them all together. And without her, things just weren't the same. It's just, it's just, it's like mum would hate it. But, you know, it is, unfortunately, it is what it is. I keep trying to sort of hope that at some point, you know, if I can somehow bring mum home, that that'll somehow heal something that I've started off with. I think we all just need to heal individually before we can try and heal everyone else's scars.
Today, Lily is working on a double degree in criminology and human behavior. At first, Lily thought she wanted to be a criminologist so she could solve her mom's case. But as she started going through the classes, she realized she always wanted to help others who are going through a similar situation. I've always believed that if I could help like one person going through what I've had to go through, then not that it would make it worthwhile, but it would sort of
it would honor mom's memory in that way. So I've, yeah, I sort of just, and also, you know, there are some things that have happened initially, like within the investigation on like a federal level where they sort of messed up some of the paperwork, some of the details and stuff like that. And it was just, it was a whole shit show. And I sort of, you know,
Thought, well, instead of getting upset with that to try and, you know, join that group and, you know, at least be an advocate for families within the gut, like within the investigation, I guess. Because my mum always was like a really bright light and she
I know that losing someone the way that, you know, we have, it has the potential. You can either go down to like two roads, this really dark path where, you know, you just fall into it or you can try and, you know, do something with what you've been given. And I think the best way to honour mum's memory is to sort of to try and help other families.
Right now, Katie's case is still open, but it's considered cold. Lily says that until someone comes forward, there's just not much the police can do. My mom was an amazing woman. And yeah, she had, you know, she, there were some ups and downs in her life. And yeah, she may have made some mistakes, but no one deserves to be stuck in some anonymous grave where no one knows where you are. Like that's, no one deserves it. Not even the person that killed my mom. I would never wish that on them.
Everyone deserves to be laid in a place where there's recognition of this is where they are because my mum, you know, throughout most of her life she felt invisible like via her family and, you know, being bullied at school and stuff like that and I don't want her to be invisible and it breaks my heart to think that she's been gone for so long and, you know, there's still no answers for her and I don't even know where she is, where she could even be and that just –
No one deserves that. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. That brings me right to our call to action. Please go follow the Facebook page Justice for Katie O'Shea. Lily often posts updates there, as well as beautiful letters to Katie. Also, of course, please make sure to share Katie's picture. We all know that media pressure moves mountains. Your share might just generate a lead that will finally give this family answers.
At the time of her disappearance, Katie was described as 171 centimeters tall or 5 feet 7 inches. She has a slim build with green eyes, long brown hair, and a tanned complexion.
She was last seen wearing a skirt, a button-up shirt, and carrying a large red handbag with brown straps. Anyone with information is asked to call Australian Crime Stoppers at 1-800-333-000. But, as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.
Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice media original. This episode contains writing and research by Haley Gray. If you love what we do here, please don't forget to follow, rate, and review the show in your podcast player. It's an easy and free way to help us and help more people find these cases in need of justice.