Episode 1272: Mr Big's arrest, Sean McGovern's trial, and the cold case murder of Emer O'Loughlin

IT'S a mystery that spanned decades, full of fake identities, murders, and kidnappings.In April 1990, when Tonya Hughes was killed after a hit-and-run incident in Oklahoma City, the FBI revealed that her so-called husband, Clarence Hughes, was actually her father.Coming forward to tell authorities what she knew, Tonya’s former best friend, Jennifer Fisher, revealed that her pal's real name was Sharon Marshall, her father Warren Marshall.She detailed the heart-breaking life of Tonya and how her creepy father Warren bought her raunchy lingerie and took her to nightclubs.But it was discovered that Warren wasn’t who he said he was, and Sharon, a victim who was taken from her mother as a young child. Today, Crime World researcher and Sunday World journalist Clodagh Meaney talks to Matt Birkbeck, the author of 'A Beautiful Child' and 'Finding Sharon', as well as a producer and contributor to the Netflix documentary on the story 'Girl In The Picture'. He tells of his decades working on the case, how he managed to help unite a family in grief and how the story is far from over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Aug 20221h 1min

HIS career has seen him head up investigations into terrorism, corruption, human trafficking, drugs and homicide.The one-time head of Organised Crime for the PSNI in Northern Ireland and Deputy Director at the National Crime Agency in the UK, Roy McComb has had a decorated..But still he recalls one case that haunts him today - and one he would do anything to help solve.When a newborn baby girl was found dumped in a plastic bag in his hometown of Carryduff, County Down on March 26, 2002 he became the lead detective and named the child 'Baby Carrie'.Forensics would later determine that she had been stabbed 11 times, her head was crushed and she had been buried elsewhere before the discovery which led to a massive probe.But despite all attempts to find out who she was or where she had come from, the baby's case remains unsolved.Now, Nicola Tallant talks with Roy about the brutality of the crime, the twists and turns of the investigation and his hopes that it will one day be solved by advances in DNA or a witnesses finally coming forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Aug 202247min

Disgraced former garda Paul Moody lost his badge and his image as a womanising charmer when he pleaded guilty to coercive control against his ex-partner.The shocking campaign of harassment, physical and mental abuse, as well as threats and vile messages to the cancer victim, painted him as a deeply devious individual who hid behind his job and his celebrity friends.But behind bars, Moody is now under investigation for historical sexual abuse, while Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has ordered a special case review into how previous complaints about him were handled.Nicola Tallant talks with Sunday Independent journalist Ali Bracken, who paints a picture of Moody as a fun-loving socialite who hid a dark side. She explains the dating sites, gaslighting and the possibility of further victims of the garda who was an unpopular character within the force. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Aug 202231min

Convicted child killer Robert Black was caught when a curious postman turned his head to look at the unfamiliar van as it passed on his street and in those seconds saw a child’s feet disappear into the back.The sliding-doors moment meant the end of the road for Black but the start of a massive police investigation which would him to some of the most notorious child murders and abductions of the previous decades.Black pleaded guilty to kidnap and was later convicted of five murders and one attempted abduction - but a delve into his past links him to many more and unravels a story of pure evil.Nicola Tallant talks to journalist Zoe Apostolides, whose book End of Innocence focuses on the unsolved cases that bear all the hallmarks of Black’s dark heart.She describes the early life and forgotten crimes of Robert Black and reveals how he moonlighted as a willing delivery driver while staking out victims. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Aug 202243min

The murder of Robbie O’Connor behind the walls of Mountjoy Jail has been a shocking and rare killing of an inmate in the Irish Prison System.Lured to a cell by his attackers and fatally injured in a matter of seconds, his brutal death is a reminder of the highly dangerous and volatile atmosphere that exists at all times in our jails.Nicola Tallant talks to Irish Independent Crime Correspondent Ken Foy about the motives behind the murder and about the systems in place to make sure such killings are the rarest of occurrences.We discuss the perfect crime scene that was left behind for investigators and why science and not motive will prevail in solving the killing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Aug 202225min

When journalist Hugh Jordan first exposed a Belfast taxi driver who’d offered his friend a job as a naked clearer he named him ‘Mucky Marty’.And 12 years on, he had no idea how apt the nickname would become when Martin Heaney pleaded guilty to controlling 10 women in prostitution and became the first person subject to a 'Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order'.Understood to have pimped out vulnerable and addicted women for decades while pocketing a fortune for their services, Heaney was sentenced to five years for his crimes.Now, Jordan recalls how he first came across 'Mucky' Marty and how he followed his career of sleaze and greed, facing him down a number of times as he groomed young women to sell sex to strangers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Aug 202225min

HE might appear to be just another drug dealer passing through the courts after he was nabbed with a consignment of cocaine.But the story of Patrick Casey tells more about the criminal underworld than most.A rising Dublin football and hurling star, his life was derailed through a drug habit and later when he was jailed for his crimes he met up with some of Ireland's most-feared underworld figures behind barsNicola Tallant talks with Irish Independent Crime Correspondent Ken Foy on the jailing of Casey and how his past mistakes finally caught up with him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Aug 202218min

From a notorious robber who splurged his loot on properties and a six-week Florida holiday, to a gangland criminal whose mammy tried to help get back his cash in the attic, the targets of the Criminal Assets Bureau are wide and varied.Nicola Tallant talks with journalist Eamon Dillon as they dip in to the latest CAB listings before the High Court and give listeners a snapshot of the Bureau's work.They talk about the colourful, eagle-eyed Judge who presides over the list, about the cases that come before him and about the lengths some will go to hold on to their ill-gotten gains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Juli 202240min