Tag: NSW

Episode 143: Jack and Jenny Edwards (Part 2)

In the last episode, I told you the first part of the story of 15-year-old Jack Edwards and his 13-year-old sister, Jennifer. I told you about the multiple romantic partners and children their father, John Edwards, abused and manipulated over the years, the various complaints against John of domestic violence and stalking, and how, despite all that, he was able to obtain permits and licenses to both shoot and own multiple firearms in New South Wales, Australia.

In this episode, I’ll tell you about how John Edwards’ diabolical preparations led up to his most horrific act; how he carried out the brutal murder of Jack and Jenny on July 5, 2018; the devastation John left in his wake; and how the incredibly thorough coroner’s inquest into this terrible crime exposed the failures of the systems and individuals who could have prevented it.

This is part two of the infuriating story of Jack and Jennifer Edwards. 

Gun Violence Archive (America): https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/ 

Domestic violence resources in Australia:

1800 Respect national helpline: 1800 737 732

Women’s Crisis Line: 1800 811 811

Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491

Lifeline (24 hour crisis line): 131 114

Relationships Australia: 1300 364 277

NSW Domestic Violence Line: 1800 656 463

Qld DV Connect Womensline: 1800 811 811

Vic Safe Steps crisis response line: 1800 015 188

ACT 24/7 Crisis Line: (02) 6280 0900

Tas Family Violence Counseling and Support Service: 1800 608 122

SA Domestic Violence Crisis Line: 1800 800 098

WA Women’s Domestic Violence 24h Helpline: 1800 007 339

NT Domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 142: Jack and Jenny Edwards (Part 1)

On July 5, 2018, 13-year-old Jennifer Edwards got off the bus and walked eight minutes to get to her home in West Pennant Hills, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Jenny had no idea that her father, 67-year-old John Edwards, was following her in a car he rented so she wouldn’t recognize him. When Jenny arrived at home, John pulled into the driveway and chased her inside the house with a handgun. Jenny fled to her brother’s bedroom, where she and 15-year-old Jack huddled under his computer desk, terrified, as their own father stormed in and fired multiple shots directly into his helpless children’s bodies.

This is the story of two kids whose mother did everything she could to protect them from the man she left after years of psychological and physical abuse. It’s also the story of a family who was catastrophically failed by multiple systems that were in place to prevent horrific events like Jack and Jenny’s murders from occurring, and of a man who, despite leaving decades of red flags in his wake, still managed to secure the permits and licenses he needed to buy multiple guns.

This is part one of the infuriating story of Jack and Jennifer Edwards. 

Links discussed in this episode:

Laura Richards on coercive control: https://www.thelaurarichards.com/resources/coercivecontrol 

Domestic violence resources in Australia:

1800 Respect national helpline: 1800 737 732

Women’s Crisis Line: 1800 811 811

Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491

Lifeline (24 hour crisis line): 131 114

Relationships Australia: 1300 364 277

NSW Domestic Violence Line: 1800 656 463

Qld DV Connect Womensline: 1800 811 811

Vic Safe Steps crisis response line: 1800 015 188

ACT 24/7 Crisis Line: (02) 6280 0900

Tas Family Violence Counseling and Support Service: 1800 608 122

SA Domestic Violence Crisis Line: 1800 800 098

WA Women’s Domestic Violence 24h Helpline: 1800 007 339

NT Domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 92: Shellay “Ebony” Ward (Part 2)

Last week, I told you the first part of the story of seven-year-old Shellay Ward, who was found dead in her family’s home in Hawks Nest, New South Wales, Australia on November 3, 2007, emaciated, lying on a bare mattress in a filthy room filled with human waste. Shellay, who was autistic and had never attended school, spent her final months imprisoned in her dark, filthy bedroom. She is largely known across Australia by her middle name, Ebony, the girl who suffered the country’s worst child neglect death.

In this episode, I will tell you the rest of Shellay’s story, including the arrest and trial of her parents and the results of multiple investigations into the catastrophic systemic failure of multiple government agencies responsible for protecting Australia’s most vulnerable children. 

This is part two of the tragic story of Shellay “Ebony” Ward.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also follow the podcast on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 91: Shellay “Ebony” Ward (Part 1)

On November 3, 2007, first responders to a home in Hawks Nest, New South Wales, Australia were shocked and horrified by what they found. On a mattress in a feces-covered bedroom with a boarded-over window lay the twisted, emaciated form of 7-year-old Shellay Ward, who had been deprived of food, water, sunlight, medical attention, and basic human decency for months, if not years. Shellay’s parents, Blakeley and Sharyn Ward, were charged with her murder.

This is the story of the catastrophic failure of multiple government agencies created to protect Australia’s most vulnerable children. It’s also the story of the long, torturous death of an autistic seven-year-old girl who spent her final months imprisoned in her dark, filthy bedroom and who is largely known across Australia as Ebony, the girl who suffered the country’s worst child neglect death.

This is part one of the tragic story of Shellay “Ebony” Ward.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also follow the podcast on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.