00:00:00
case file is coming to an end for the year but don't worry we'll be back in late January with all
00:00:05
new episodes in the meantime you need to check out a podcast called missing Alyssa missing Alyssa is a
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podcast the documentary series exploring the cold case of missing teenager Alyssa Turney who disappeared from
00:00:19
Phoenix Arizona in 2001 the podcast is put together by an investigative journalist who spent two years
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researching this complex case it's a long-form narration style podcast for people who are interested in delving
00:00:32
into a single story and it needs more ease on it because it doesn't have to remain unsolved so type in missing
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Alyssa into your favorite podcast player subscribe download and to listen today [Music]
00:01:00
our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact
00:01:07
your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this
00:01:13
episode on your app or on our website on June 29 2003 in the United Kingdom town
00:01:23
of ultrium patrons were enjoying a beer in a corner pub affectionately known as the fishbowl
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due to its large floor-to-ceiling glass walls there was a stifling hot day by English standards even for the height of
00:01:37
summer and to the fishbowl was the perfect place to escape into air-conditioned comfort and to refresh
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with a cold drink the fishbowl was situated in Goose Green and enclaved nestled in a quiet yet fashionable part
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of ultrium a market town in Greater Manchester the town featured the red brick buildings typical of Manchester
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filled with independent and artisan businesses including a deli a butcher and a cafe it was frequented by shoppers
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wanting to get away from the Moores there are commercialized environment of nearby traffic centre shopping more a
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brick paved pedestrian square featured a sculpture of a flock of geese at its centre surrounded by benches where local
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workers gathered and enjoyed their lunch in the sunshine aside from the odd shoplifter crime and drama were not
00:02:29
something the regulars at Goose Green were accustomed to so when an ambulance and police cars came roaring into the
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area with their sirens blaring and pulled up at an le Way entrance 30 meters away from the fishbowl pub on
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lookers were curious first responders rushed into the alley after receiving reports of a stabbing
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towards the dead end of the narrow passageway they found a teenage boy lying in a pool of blood and on the
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brink of death paramedics went to work fighting to keep him alive as his organs began to fail he had suffered two severe
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stab wounds the first to his chest and to the second deep into his abdomen a large kitchen knife lay on the ground
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beside his body the victim was rushed to Manchester's within Shaw hospital with life-threatening injuries
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blood pooled inside his stomach cavity restricting the function of his lungs and diaphragm whilst on the operating
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table the patient's heart stopped twice the surgeons removed his gallbladder and
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fought desperately to stabilize him the teenager emerged from the operation in a
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critical condition and was taken to the intensive care unit where a respirator was used to assist his breathing the
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attack in the alley was witnessed by the victims teenage friend who taught police
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the pair had been walking through goose green sipping on soft drinks they had bought from a nearby McDonald's when
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they were accosted by a man aged in his 20s wearing a black hoodie black jeans and a white baseball cap the unknown men
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had tried to grab one of the teenagers and dragged them into the alley in the ensuing scuffle the assailant pulled out
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a knife and stabbed the victim twice before fleeing the scene following the attack Greater Manchester Police put out
00:04:24
a public appeal to identify the suspect newspapers were soon reporting alleged sightings of the perpetrator with the
00:04:32
Manchester Evening News denouncing someone who fit the description was later seen at Ultra Holmes Metrolink
00:04:38
station with no clue to suggest a motive police worked swiftly concerned the unknown
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assailant may strike again investigators retrieved footage from the few CCTV cameras in the goose green area and
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discovered that we're in luck one camera faced directly towards the early way where the teenager was
00:05:01
attacked [Music] in the early 2000s the internet had become more affordable and available in
00:05:34
homes throughout the United Kingdom and as a result online chat rooms soared in popularity chat rooms were not
00:05:41
completely new they've been around in some form since the late 1980s and had spawned an entire language of their own
00:05:49
online conversations typically started with the ubiquitous greeting hire ASL which stood for age sex location the
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response would generally determine whether communications between participants would continue in the days
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before Gmail Facebook whatsapp snapchat Twitter and Instagram teenagers were turning in droves to MSM chat one of the
00:06:17
first computer services to allow online users to communicate directly from their
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web browser with little to no technical knowledge users simply logged in under nicknames and were instantly able to
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create or join hundreds of chat rooms reflecting every sort of hobby interest and demographic imaginable popular rooms
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were a never-ending flow of scrolling text recorded in real time as users typed questions and comments to one
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another peppered with emoticons abbreviations acronyms and changing text colors current active users within a
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room were listed in a box to the right of the screen with alerts informing others whenever someone logged in or out
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clicking on a username would allow you to initiate a private chat function with that person known as whispers users
00:07:09
didn't have to provide any identification and could log in under any screen name or profile they liked
00:07:15
this anonymity came with both pros and cons people could adopt an alias ensuring they were safe to interact
00:07:23
online without fears of being identified in the real world yet this meant users were not always who they said they were
00:07:32
online chat rooms were a hotbed for adult predators pretending to be much younger than they were in order to have
00:07:39
sexually charged conversations with unsuspecting teens mark was the typical 16 year old from Stockport one of the
00:07:49
more sought-after postcodes in Manchester tall fair-haired and with a powerful build mark was the only child
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of working-class parents who provided him a good upbringing his school grades were average and aspirations modest
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hoping to do well enough a business college to find work although not academically inclined mark was still
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well-liked by his teachers stayed out of trouble and was passionate about sport especially soccer he was popular with
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the girls at school but wasn't always sure how to interact with them in 2002 the computer Marc's parents had bought
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to help with his schoolwork opened up a whole new world to the teenager once he connected to the Internet mark was
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introduced to online chat rooms where he could talk to strangers from all over the world from the safety of his bedroom
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the computer screen provided a barrier that allowed mark to be more open and at ease than he was in his real life
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interactions and he found himself spending most of his spare time online in February 2003 mark was logged into
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one of his favourite online chat rooms for men Chester teenagers he was one of the millions of teenage boys who went
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online hoping to meet girls and whenever a new person with a feminine user name appeared in the chat room mark would
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strike up a conversation hoping to turn successful online interactions into real-world hookups knock perked up when
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a new user logged into the Manchester teens chat room under the screen name Rachel underscore West after Rachel
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introduced herself to the room mark summoned to the courage to initiate a private chat discovering she was also a
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16 year old manchester local Rachel worked in a gymnasium and her uploaded photograph showed a slim fresh
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based patanè girl with long blonde hair mark couldn't believe his luck that out of all the people in the chat room
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Rachel seemed to want to speak to him the most their banter came easily and Rachel seemed open to more provocative
00:10:04
conversation mark turned on his webcam so that she could see him but Rachel wasn't keen on video chatting alluding
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it was due to troubling online interactions she had in the past for the next two days
00:10:18
mark loitered in the Manchester teens chat room awaiting the words Rachel West has entered the room to
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appear on screen days after mark and Rachel's first online encounter another new person entered the Manchester teens
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chat room fourteen-year-old John Rachel introduced the newcomer as her little brother but
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John later clarified their relationship as stepbrother and stepsister the step-siblings lived in a well-to-do
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neighborhood in Manchester in a comfortable double storey brick house with a garden the family were firmly
00:10:56
middle class not rich by any means but I warned enough to send their children to
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private schools John's childhood was marred by instability and poor father figures his
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parents split when he was 7 years old and too later John stumbled across his birth certificate and discovered the men
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whom he grew up believing to be his father was actually not at all it turned out John's biological father was a
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violent man who had once tried to abduct him as a baby leading his mother to flee
00:11:28
the situation John's mother had a string of unsuccessful relationships over the years before settling down with a
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plumber when John was 11 years old who remained his stepfather ever since John was given a laptop to help with his
00:11:46
studies and soon began frequenting Internet chat rooms meeting Mark online just a few weeks later their households
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both had a broadband internet connections quite a novelty at the time which meant they could be online for
00:12:00
hours without tying up the phone line or running out massive bills although there
00:12:06
was a two-year age difference between them John and Mark shared mutual interests in gaming girls and football
00:12:12
and quickly struck up an online friendship they bonded over movies they both enjoyed especially the crime drama
00:12:19
catch me if you can a film based on the true story of a teenage prankster who grew up to become one of the world's
00:12:26
most wanted con men the pair turned on their webcams during interactions proving they were exactly who they
00:12:34
claimed to be DS a webcam hangouts were spent gaming or searching internet forums together and made the to feel as
00:12:42
though they were in the same room when it was just the two of them conversations were dominated by x-rated
00:12:49
topics typical of teenage boys although mark liked the younger John under the pair soon became best friends it was
00:12:59
Rachel who mark hoped for see whenever he logged in online mark had a tendency to become infatuated
00:13:05
quickly and he had come to think of Rachel as his girlfriend their conversations would carry on late into
00:13:12
the night and occasionally turned to sexual at Rachel's request mark would sometimes stamp before his webcam and
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strip off his clothes while she watched throughout their many online interactions mark and Rachel's teen
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romance deepened hidden from on lookers in whispered chats and personal emails one night mark summoned up the courage
00:13:35
and declared his love for her when Rachel responded I love you too he couldn't have been happier over the
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following weeks mark Rachel and John spent nearly all their spare time in the Manchester teens MSN chat room although
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they interacted with other visitors they were a tight trio who had their own inside jokes and special language mark
00:14:02
and Rachel discussed the plans to meet up in the real world mark was willing to skip school to make the time but Rachel
00:14:09
had a much busier schedule to work around instead mark and John took their friendship offline for a face-to-face
00:14:16
meeting in many ways the two teenagers were an unlikely pairing fourteen-year-old John was small and
00:14:26
slight while sixteen-year-old mark was tall with a strong build mark was an only child of a stable parental
00:14:33
relationship whereas John had never known his biological father and didn't get along with his stepfather mark was
00:14:42
an average student at a modest school while John excelled at his more exclusive grammar school earning grades
00:14:48
that put him on track to gain entry to a prestigious university considered polite
00:14:55
and well behaved mark was easygoing and popular whereas John was sullen withdrawn and prone to disobedience
00:15:03
John was at the mercy of racists school bullies who taunted the young teen over his olive colored skin as most of John's
00:15:11
friends were female he was also bullied about his perceived sexuality in April 2003 a new user
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joined the Manchester teens chatroom kevin mcgregor stood out by writing exclusively in pink colored font telling
00:15:32
the room he did so because he was openly gay he adopted a shock and horror online
00:15:38
persona wherein he boasted crudely about his foot fetish and claimed to be a stalker quote a real stalker a proper
00:15:47
stalker [Music] members of the chatroom were generally dubious of Kevin's outlandish claims and
00:15:54
perceived him as little more than a nobody character in their virtual world but mark soon discovered that his
00:16:01
friends John and Rachel had reason to be quite scared of Kevin who had been threatening them John even suspected
00:16:08
Kevin was following him home from school mark reassured the pair that Kevin McGregor was unlikely to be truly
00:16:16
dangerous who was forced to reconsider when Kevin started targeting mark taunting him with personal information
00:16:22
about the lives of Rachel John and himself Kevin had no way of knowing these insider details unless he really
00:16:30
had been stalking them with marking out convinced that Kevin presented a genuine
00:16:37
threat kevin ordered mark to show him his feet and to masturbate on webcam for him threatening to kidnap and rape
00:16:45
Rachel if his demands were not met in a private message mark told Rachel about Kevin's threat feeling he had no choice
00:16:55
but to do as he was told to protect her mark asked what else can I do Rachel was touched replying you don't
00:17:05
have to do anything for me but Mark responded I do Rach I love you Rachel said she loved him too
00:17:16
mark went through with the humiliating act as demanded by Kevin McGregor satisfied that by doing so he had saved
00:17:24
two Rachel from danger d ordeal strengthened to the love shared between the young couple and propelled
00:17:31
them to finally meet outside MSN chat their real-world introduction was to take place in the upmarket town of
00:17:39
altering him a popular shopping and a meeting place eight miles southwest of Manchester's city center mark bordered a
00:17:47
public bus and took the 40-minute journey to altering him to meet his love [Music]
00:17:55
upon reaching their designated meeting point mark waited in nervous excitement for Rachel to arrive yet hours passed
00:18:04
and there was no sign of her eventually mark accepted Rachel was not going to show up and return home to his computer
00:18:12
hoping there was a message from her with an explanation but there were no emails
00:18:17
no private whisper messages and she wasn't in their usual chat room however there was an email from Kevin McGregor
00:18:27
the psychopathic Manchester teens chatroom regular who had blackmailed mark into performing sex acts of a
00:18:33
webcam to ensure Rachel's safety Kevin's email revealed he had gone through with
00:18:40
his plans to kidnap Rachel after all adding that the 16 year old had been gang raped and murdered Kevin taunted
00:18:48
mark with the gruesome details of her death describing how he kicked Rachel in the stomach and held her head under
00:18:54
freezing cold water in a final blow Kevin said you weren't there for her however much she screamed for you Nach
00:19:04
replied how could I have been there when I didn't know where she was feeling unable to go to the police or
00:19:14
tell his parents Marc privately mourned the tragic murder of his online girlfriend
00:19:19
his overwhelming guilt spiraling him into a deep depression his school grades led down into days and deaths dooming
00:19:27
him to inevitable failure for the year John was also grieving the sudden traumatic loss of his stepsister and to
00:19:36
the best friends found some solace in each other but Marc remained withdrawn his distant behavior began to concern
00:19:44
John who reached out one night over webcam chat nook brushed off the worry explaining he was just tired John made a
00:19:53
light-hearted joke and his friends mood instantly lifted a small appearing across his face John asked why are you
00:20:03
so happy to which mark replied because I got you as a mate since losing Rachel mark was less inclined to hang out
00:20:17
online but when he did frequent the chat rooms he wanted to talk to girls he struck up a friendship with an older
00:20:24
teenage girl called a Lindsay East a recent newcomer to the Manchester teens chat room Lindsay consult mark over the
00:20:32
loss of his previous relationship and to the pair soon began flirting mark slipped into the familiar routine of
00:20:40
falling for a girl he had never met the feeling was reciprocated with Lindsay confessing she was falling in love with
00:20:47
him leading mark to perform sex acts in front of his webcam for her trusting mark wholeheartedly Lindsay revealed to
00:20:57
him a highly confidential piece of information she was a junior Secret Service agent for the British
00:21:03
intelligence service more commonly known as mi6 mark was in trade he loved movies and
00:21:11
did st. plenty of James Bond films but had never met a real-life spire before Lindsey revealed the real reason she had
00:21:21
originally joined the Manchester teens chatroom was that marks bestfriend 14 year old John was under government
00:21:28
protection John was unknowingly being targeted by Kevin Makaha the psychopathic chat regula who kidnapped
00:21:36
and murdered Rachel Lindsay was hoping mark would help her track down the confessed killer expressing how
00:21:43
important it was but John never found out he was under threat all being secretly observed by government spies
00:21:50
just days after their first online meeting mark received a post-dated email from Lindsay which had been arranged to
00:21:59
be sent to him in the event she was killed in action the email revealed the young spy had failed in her mission into
00:22:06
urged mark to complete her objective to protect John at the end of April 2003 Mark's Bazaar online world took an even
00:22:18
crazier twist when his recently deceased girlfriend Rachel suddenly reappeared in
00:22:23
the Manchester teens chatroom Mark was initially overjoyed that she was alive but once they started talking he
00:22:32
realized something was very wrong about her story Rachel claimed to have been held captive whilst in a coma and she
00:22:41
had since given birth to Mark's baby this presented multiple red flags firstly Rachel had only been missing for
00:22:49
a few weeks and secondly they'd only known each other for a couple of months and had never met in real life it was
00:22:57
impossible for them to have conceived a child mark didn't know what was going on
00:23:03
or what to believe but before he could get answers Rachel vanished once again Janet Dobbins enjoined the Manchester
00:23:13
tames chat room with a flourish typing in capital letters and making it known that as an older woman she had no time
00:23:20
for idle adolescent chitchat Janet was looking for someone special and a 16 year old mark fit the bill in a private
00:23:30
chat with mark Janet confided that sheets who was a member of the British intelligence
00:23:35
service holding a much more senior position than the NIA deceased the junior agent Lindsay as number three in
00:23:43
the hierarchy of the British Secret Service Janet's cover as a real estate agent
00:23:47
gave her the freedom to travel around and although she was in her 40s and married she specified that she was still
00:23:54
very sexy given Mark's recent string of bizarre experiences in the chat room he was skeptical of Janet's claims but went
00:24:03
along with them had a curiosity aware that mark once held Irwin Z's confidence Janet felt he could be trusted to keep
00:24:11
her secret he was being covertly tested by the Secret Service and that they now wanted to recruit him the teenager would
00:24:21
be well compensated for his work with paychecks in the millions of pounds and opportunities to meet Queen Elizabeth
00:24:27
and Prime Minister Tony Blair after speaking at length everything slowly began to make sense to mark convinced
00:24:37
that Janet Overton was the real deal his initial suspicions about the whole spy drama dissipated although it seemed too
00:24:45
good to be true mark accepted the once-in-a-lifetime offer before mark could be taken to
00:24:55
London for his mi6 briefing he needed to prove himself capable of completing top-secret assignments only then would
00:25:02
he receive his agent number and a license to kill as a part of his initiation into the British intelligence
00:25:09
service mark was required to act as a bodyguard for an important manchester teenager and a fellow mi6 operative
00:25:17
named James Bell it was imperative that nobody including James him knew that mark had been contracted to
00:25:25
keep an eye on him although he was up for the job mark was curious as to what made James
00:25:32
so important that he required a bodyguard after receiving authority from her superiors including the prime
00:25:39
minister himself Janet Dodson confided that a huge safe containing jewels worth a staggering 568
00:25:47
billion pounds lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean a few countries knew about the safes existence but only the
00:25:55
Queen of England had the combination to open it as she could not personally access the safe the Queen had entrusted
00:26:02
its code to just the one other person James Bell Janet Johnson told mark only James can walk through the door that is
00:26:13
only half of why he's so important this loads more that we will leave for another day
00:26:20
mark was stunned to discover that the James Bell he was assigned to covertly protect was not a complete stranger but
00:26:27
none other than his best friend 14-year old John therefore it would be easy for mark to guard John as it would look like
00:26:36
he was simply socialising with his mate the British intelligence recruit was quick to get started on his classified
00:26:43
government work asking John if he wanted to hang out more often oblivious to what
00:26:49
was truly going on John evilly agreed to the offer and the two boys started meeting up after school and spending all
00:26:56
their spare time together the teenager's sudden and intense friendship raised the
00:27:03
concerns of their respective mothers who insisted on meeting one another to ensure their boys were in safe and
00:27:09
acceptable company relieved to find that each boy came from a respectable family
00:27:14
the mothers were glad their children had bonded in real life hoping it meant the
00:27:19
pair would spend a less time inside on their computers taking his new responsibilities to protect her John
00:27:26
seriously Mark reported his whereabouts and actions back to agent Janet Johnson who approved of his progress
00:27:34
but also warned other British intelligence buyers were always keeping an eye on mark to ensure he was carrying
00:27:39
out his mission to prove it Janet specified the locations where the two teenagers had been spotted and what
00:27:47
they had been doing at the time mark was both spooked and excited to learn that he was under surveillance
00:27:55
his next initiation assignment was to get his target out of school without raising suspicion convincing the school
00:28:03
administration that he had been sent by John's mother to take the fourteen-year-old to a dentist
00:28:08
appointment mark successfully completed this mission John was delighted to skip school and to
00:28:15
the two friends went shopping and spent the day together John's mother was alerted that he had left school early
00:28:21
for the day and checked his computer for hints as to where her son might have gone after discovering online messages
00:28:29
involving a woman named - Janet Johnson she headed to Stockport where she found her true and son at marks house and
00:28:36
demanded to speak to his parents a search of marks laptop revealed similar messages from Janet Robinson claiming to
00:28:44
be a female Secret Service agent the two boys were warned that not everyone online was who they claimed to be and
00:28:53
were banned from having any further contact with the so called spire [Music] what would it look like if we all
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after a short break from their computers the teenagers ingeniously got around to
00:34:15
their parents restrictions and was soon back online and de logging into chat rooms appointees returned to the digital
00:34:22
world mark was once again under Janet Johnson's command his latest the Salomon was regarded as a matter of national
00:34:29
security and if he didn't complete this urgent task Janet could lose her job and
00:34:34
possibly even her life although she wasn't allowed to say wire Marc's new mission was to make her John look gay by
00:34:43
performing a sex act on the younger boy she reminded him that undercover agents were watching at all times to decide if
00:34:50
the sixteen-year-old who truly was ready to join mi6 whilst spending the weekend
00:34:57
over at John's house mark carried through with his latest assignment and Janet was very pleased to learn that the
00:35:03
boys watched pornography together and engaged in oral sex with this mission now complete mark had successfully
00:35:11
passed his initiation into mi6 as a reward he would meet the defense secretary and Prime Minister and to be
00:35:19
awarded with a gun 500,000 pounds in cash and a license to kill mark was ready to rise further up the ranks but
00:35:29
the stakes were immediately under drastically increased when pressed to consider whether he was capable of
00:35:36
killing someone close to him NOC responded yeah I could there's no answer as it turned out this question was not
00:35:47
rhetorical agent dobbert sin' handed mark his first official mission as a Secret Service
00:35:53
agent an assassination the target of all people was James Bell otherwise known as Marx best friend John
00:36:04
the revelation through Marx world into a tailspin he hadn't even gone through weapons training yet and presumes spars
00:36:12
killed bad guys in foreign countries not their best friend's knock thought Jenner
00:36:19
might be joking but she was adamant his country was depending on him to carry out the kill upon completion mark would
00:36:29
be given an employment contract for the Secret Intelligence Service a payment of
00:36:33
80 million pounds and sexual favors perhaps even supplied by Janet herself mark asked Janet ain't it murder when
00:36:44
you kill someone she responded not in your case according to Janet John had an inoperable brain tumor that would result
00:36:56
in an agonizing death thus giving moral justification for the hip the mark was still reluctant then days later the two
00:37:06
teenage friends were chatting online when John wrote I got a letter today from my dog I went in a few weeks ago
00:37:14
because I was depressed and [ __ ] I've got a brain thingy tumor it's beak Janet
00:37:23
was telling the truth mark was shocked and saddened by the grim diagnosis but felt killing John
00:37:30
would now be a sort of mercy killing this rationale strengthened marks resolved to carry out his first official
00:37:38
mission and he discussed the intricacies of the plot with the Janet who provided
00:37:42
every single detail stabbing was deemed to be the ideal method as it was up close and personal something only a
00:37:50
close friend of the victim could carry out mark was ordered to say the words trust me to John as he died
00:38:01
On June 28 2003 the British Secret Intelligence Service formally welcomed their newest agent 16 year-old mark from
00:38:10
Manchester who was assigned agent number four seven six nine five in preparation
00:38:17
to carry out his first assassination mark made arrangements to meet his target in altering him the following day
00:38:25
equal parts proud and terrified mark spent the day before the assassination chatting online to his superior Janet
00:38:33
Johnson making sure all the plans were in place for the kill Janet insisted apakah knife would not suffice as the
00:38:41
murder weapon advising mark to buy a larger knife he was also instructed to purchase a pair of gloves to wear during
00:38:48
the stabbing so we didn't leave his fingerprints at the scene not entirely convinced of the plan mark wrote to
00:38:56
Janet you want me to take him to traffic Sena and kill him in the middle of traffic
00:39:02
Sena that's what you're asking me what should I say to him stay in there a minute while I stab you
00:39:10
Jenna told the reluctant young assassin to carry out his mission somewhere quiet
00:39:15
and to tell John that he loved him before he drew his final breath Marc responded I love him but this has to be
00:39:26
done Marc was ordered not to call an ambulance straight away and to remain put after the stabbing as Janet would
00:39:35
arrive disguised as a detective Superintendent to ensure he would not be arrested at 9:57 p.m. that evening Marc
00:39:45
received the word of a change to the original plan he was told to commit the act of barehanded until police the
00:39:52
attacker wore gloves accounting for his being the only fingerprints on the knife
00:39:58
the scene was set the next day Marc would stab his best friend to death under the orders of the British
00:40:05
government if at any point Marc heard the Code 6969 he was advised to immediately abort the mission the code
00:40:15
could come from any source but would most likely be shouted over a loudspeaker Sunday June 29 proved to be
00:40:26
an uncharacteristically hot summer's day in Britain's West mi6 Secret Service agent Marc arrived to traffic shopping
00:40:34
centre in altering him where his unsuspecting target was eagerly awaiting beaming with happiness when he saw his
00:40:40
friend mark felt the dreaded task would be a little easier if John chose his own
00:40:46
implement of death so he asked for John's help to shop for a knife with a long sturdy blade John picked out a
00:40:54
six-inch Sabatier chef's knife used for slicing through thick cuts of meat and mark paid for the item as the day wore
00:41:04
on mark felt increasingly sick and dizzy remaining on constant alert for the announcement of the abort code 6 9 6 9
00:41:13
he nervously rh seemingly nonchalant shopper and store employee presuming any one of them could be a fellow undercover
00:41:21
mi6 agent tasked with tracking his progress sensing his usually laid-back friend was on edge John question mark
00:41:30
strange behavior who brushed off concerns by cryptically remarking that he might have to do something that day
00:41:39
the code had not sounded for Mark to abort his mission so he carried on suggesting they take a stroll in a
00:41:46
secluded wooded area nearby upon arrival mark panicked realizing he might not be
00:41:54
able to hear the abort code announcement if they wandered too far into the isolated woods as such the teenagers
00:42:01
returned to town heading towards the fashionable Goose Green and clave where a deserted dead-end alleyway presented
00:42:08
mark the perfect opportunity it was quiet enough that nobody else was likely to come by but close enough to
00:42:18
civilization to hear the abort code announcement if it was made wracked with nerves a thought crossed Marc's mind
00:42:26
what if the whole ploy was simply another test that would be stopped at the last minute once he had proven his
00:42:32
loyalty and a willingness to carry out his government orders as the teens entered the other way Marc pulled out
00:42:40
the knife and told John what he had to do his target looked at him then at the knife but said nothing
00:42:50
Marc told his friend I love you bro before thrusting the knife into John's chest feeling it pierced through his
00:42:59
ribcage the fourteen-year-old crumpled to the ground crying out for an ambulance kneeling down alongside the
00:43:07
badly injured body of his friend Marc whispered shush people will hear please be quiet John cried out you've killed me
00:43:19
Marc hugged him and said don't say that don't let that be the last thing you were saying realizing one stab wound
00:43:30
wasn't going to be enough Market gingerly drew John close and dragged him back up to a standing position
00:43:36
whispering trust me trust me he then plunged the knife into John's torso for a second time piercing his kidney and
00:43:46
liver before lowering his dying friend to the ground mission accomplished Marc sat and waited for British Secret
00:43:56
Intelligence Service super spy Janet Johnson to arrive and tell him what to do next having been ordered and not to
00:44:06
call an ambulance straight away Ngoc patiently waited his blooder pulled around to John's body in a steady stream
00:44:13
as there was no sign of Janet Robinson mark decided to call emergency services alerting her to arrive on scene as a
00:44:21
pseudo detective he walked to the entrance of the alleyway and caught triple nine from his mobile phone
00:44:28
telling the dispatcher me mates been stabbed when police descended on goose green
00:44:36
mark wondered which one of them was Janet Doman s'en he lied to officers stating an unknown man dressed in black
00:44:43
clothing and a baseball cap randomly attacked his friend with no reason to suspect the crime was actually an
00:44:52
assassination ordered by the British Secret Intelligence Service local police released a statement to the media about
00:44:58
the apparent unprovoked discreet attack along with a description of the phony assailant as John was rushed to hospital
00:45:07
where he received a life-saving surgery his distraught mother fronted the press stating he never imagined it will happen
00:45:15
to someone you know and love police reviewed the CCTV footage collected from security cameras located
00:45:24
throughout goose green at the time of the attack footage taken from a camera directly facing the entrance of the
00:45:31
alleyway showed mark and John enter yet nobody else went in before or after them
00:45:38
25 minutes later mark reappeared in frame making the triple 9 call to report the stabbing
00:45:46
there was no indication an unknown man dressed in black had confronted the teens and given mark was the only other
00:45:53
person in the alleyway with John police was certain of his involvement the 16 year old was placed under arrest and
00:46:01
charged with the attempted murder of John although mark denied the allegations he was refused to bail and
00:46:09
placed on remand in a young offenders institution John's life-saving surgery was a success
00:46:17
and he was transferred to Pendlebury Children's Hospital where he remained in a critical but stable condition during
00:46:24
subsequent questioning by police the 14 year old also denied that his best friend was responsible for the crime but
00:46:31
when presented with the footage taken from the alleyway CCTV camera he eventually broke down and admitted Mark
00:46:38
had been the assailant there was during mark second round of police questioning that he confessed
00:46:46
revealing voices had told him to do it he stopped short of revealing his involvement with the Secret Service
00:46:53
amidst fears divulging his highly confidential information to low-level police officers would put him in big
00:47:00
trouble with mi6 he remained confident that Special Agent Janet Dobbin soon would arrive at any moment to have him
00:47:08
released initially mark waited patiently in juvenile detention expecting superspy
00:47:18
Janet Johnson to appear at any moment a month after the stabbing Janet was still
00:47:24
missing in action who whereabouts unknown unable to carry the enormity of his secret any longer
00:47:31
mark finally cracked and told police everything detectives were incredulous of the story of secret agents sunken
00:47:40
treasure borders from the Queen and a license to kill but they soon realized mark genuinely believed his own
00:47:47
extraordinary tale investigators seized the teens computer in the hopes that might contain some clues as to the
00:47:56
identity of his puppet master the mysterious Janet Johnson when they discovered markets and intimate webcam
00:48:04
footage of himself to various contacts detectives hold concerns he may have been a victim of a ring of pedophiles
00:48:10
who groomed and manipulated teens online criminal intelligence analyst Sally Hogg
00:48:18
started the tedious process of investigating the 193 separate email addresses market been in contact with
00:48:25
leading up to the attempted murder she also sifted through 133 gigabytes of data relating to the Manchester teens
00:48:34
chatroom found on his hard drive hugg deciphered the complex and secretive teenager lingo in the
00:48:42
thousands of disjointed and fragmented communications making her way through fifty-seven thousand lines of text to
00:48:49
determine there were six chatroom users central to unravelling the bizarre story
00:48:56
analyzing marks computer data hope struggled to find a clue that could lead to the true identities of his online
00:49:02
companions or provide a direct link between them each chatroom user who interacted with mark had their own
00:49:10
unique persona with distinctly different conversational manners indicating there
00:49:15
were many conspirators involved in the elaborate deception but hog eventually made a breakthrough discovery five of
00:49:24
the six chatroom uses she had been investigating had misspelled the word maybe spelling it as my B why he it was
00:49:34
near impossible that five separate individuals had made the same writing error or had the same unique affection
00:49:40
of speech it became clear that all of the different internet characters Mark had been interacting with were created
00:49:48
and managed by just one person the most important character in the sordid affair
00:49:55
was Janet Doman s'en who at the very least was guilty of incitement to commit murder
00:50:01
adding to the perplexity were claims that Janet Doman s'en had been in touch with a John the very person she had
00:50:08
orchestrated the murder of John's mother gave investigators permission to examine
00:50:14
her son's laptop where they made an alarming discovery someone had a logged on to John's work
00:50:21
to avoid the username and password of Janet Dobbins soon police now suspected their elusive suspect was someone who
00:50:30
had easy access to John's computer and to the Holmes broadband Internet likely a member of his family
00:50:38
following this theory investigators identified which family members were home to access the device at the Times
00:50:44
Janet Davidson was active online on the night of June 28 2003 the person pretending to be Janet Doman son
00:50:55
finalized their murderous plans with Mark for the following day and to the only person home at the time of this
00:51:02
interaction was John when confronted by police John seemed almost relieved to admit to everything after a lonely
00:51:17
childhood marred by relentless bullying John found solace in online chat rooms where he could be anyone other than
00:51:24
himself the 14 year old spent all his available time online to the point of addiction
00:51:31
John barely left his bedroom emerging only to grab a meal before immediately returning to his computer where the food
00:51:38
usually remained uneaten beside the keyboard John's obsession made him Moody and sullen causing tension within the
00:51:48
home in a futile attempt to curb John's online addiction his parents seized his laptop and disabled the home Internet
00:51:56
but whenever he had the house to himself or when everyone else was asleep John would sneak downstairs and enabled the
00:52:04
internet so he could log back on and get his fix one day John entered the Manchester teens chat room under the
00:52:13
username Rachel underscore West taking on the persona of a local teenage girl he caught the attention of 16 year-old
00:52:22
mark who truly believed he was talking to an attractive female who was interested in him romantically posing as
00:52:30
Rachel gave John a strongest sense of emotional connection with others than he'd ever had before all of a sudden
00:52:37
someone was falling in love with him instead of ignoring him or bullying him what's more once Jonny introduced
00:52:45
himself as Rachel's youngest stepbrother market genuinely seemed to want to spend
00:52:49
time with him they're blossoming friendship soon became the most important thing to John
00:52:56
however his immense desire to maintain the only worthwhile friendship in his life caused the John to become trapped
00:53:03
in his own web of lies if he confessed the truth mark would hate him for being deceptive
00:53:10
furthermore mark would be absolutely shattered if he realized he had masturbated on camera for a
00:53:16
fourteen-year-old boy rather than his beautiful girlfriend Rachel as John's shed the few school friends he had and
00:53:25
the arguments with his family became more frequent he retreated even further into his virtual world John felt the
00:53:33
mark was the only person he could confide in and soon found himself falling in love with his best friend who
00:53:41
had completely fallen in love with Rachel John felt himself becoming jealous of his own creation and eventually killed
00:53:49
Rachel off to get her out of the way John used any ruse he could to ensure mark was interested in chatting with
00:53:58
these aliases and with him instead of others whenever seemed to like Mark was losing interest in one alias John would
00:54:06
create another most of these characters would make fleeting appearances in the chatroom and to then disappear forever
00:54:13
but others would stick around to wreak havoc with the gullible kind-hearted teenager John lived in constant fear of
00:54:21
Mark discovering the truth though was often confounded by how easily duped the older boy was even when the things he
00:54:28
said under different aliases had didn't add up the 16 year olds naivety was defended by
00:54:35
forensic computer inspector Sally Hogg who said even she was fooled by all of John's online personas quote age style
00:54:44
of conversation was totally different I really believed it that was the stumbling point for me at no point could
00:54:52
I'll find he made a mistake sometimes it would be a week or a few weeks before that character came back the continuity
00:55:00
and his memory were phenomenal as the tankard web of John's deceit tightened his deep feelings for mark
00:55:09
prevented him from coming clean the emotional and mental burden of his overwhelming secret took its toll
00:55:16
throwing the fourteen-year-old into a downward spiral of depression and suicidal thoughts that's when he
00:55:23
invented a Janet Johnson and concocted the ultimate plan to end his life by now John was savvy with the right tricks to
00:55:34
fool in the manipulate mark he said about convincing his unsuspecting friend to murder him
00:55:40
providing mark with exact details of how it should be done right down to the precise words he should say as he
00:55:47
plunged the knife in John wanted the last words he ever heard to be marked telling him he loved him three months
00:55:59
after the stabbing that almost took his life John was placed under arrest after some initial confusion over
00:56:06
exactly what crime he could be charged with the 14 year old eventually made legal history when he became the first
00:56:13
person in the United Kingdom to be charged with incitement to murder himself he was not remanded in custody
00:56:22
meanwhile mark was preparing for his day in court for the attempted murder of his
00:56:27
best friend when he discovered the enormity of the swindle he had fallen for high ranking mi6 agent Janet Johnson
00:56:35
junior spy killed in action Lindsay aced depraved a rapist and murderer Kevin MacGregor and marks beautiful
00:56:43
girlfriend Rachel West we're all 14-year old John the teen saw each other for the
00:56:52
first time in 11 months when they both arrived at court on May 28 2004 mark arrived to Manchester courthouse dressed
00:57:01
too neatly in a blue-and-white jumper his body fit from working out during his time in custody John setting the dot
00:57:08
wearing attire hunched over and crying the pair were not given the chance to speak to each other standing before
00:57:18
Justice David Madison Marc pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of John John pleaded guilty to perverting the
00:57:26
course of justice and then entered the history books by pleading guilty to incitement to murder himself justice
00:57:35
Madison heard the full convoluted and bizarre tale before handing down his sentence in passing judgment on the two
00:57:43
teenagers Justice Medicine stated quote skilled writers of fiction would struggle to conjure up a plot such as
00:57:52
that which arises here it's staggering to be dealing with a case that arises out of a fourteen year old boy's
00:57:59
invention of false personalities false relationships and events arranged for his own killing at the hands of a 16
00:58:06
year old boy who he had met via an internet chat room Justice Madison had considerable sympathy for Marc whom was
00:58:15
described as gullible for his age while John was regarded as sophisticated beyond his the word genius was thrown
00:58:23
around in the courtroom when discussing John's ability to control and influence other people
00:58:31
Justice Medicine was convinced mark genuinely believed he was working for the British Secret Intelligence Service
00:58:37
and had been subjected to exploitation and manipulation by his own supposed the victim the judge told mark I accept that
00:58:48
fantastica though it seems when looked at now in the cold light of day that such a plot was presented to you so
00:58:57
convincingly whether characters presented that you really did believe you had been recruited by the Secret
00:59:02
Service to kill your co accused and face the consequences if you did not do so [Music]
00:59:09
justice Madison believed both boys had a higher probability of rehabilitation john was now seeing a psychologist with
00:59:17
positive results he had friends and was doing well in school with eventual plans the study at
00:59:23
university during Mark's time in juvenile detention he had been a model prisoner justice Madison acknowledged
00:59:34
that in regular circumstances the charges facing both boys would normally warrant a severe penalty that included
00:59:40
prison time that explained this was not a normal case by any stretch of the imagination the judge accepted that John
00:59:50
had been determined to kill himself and had ensnared mark into his elaborate suicide attempt in handing down non
00:59:59
custodial sentences judge Madison said each of the boys was a victim of the other John was given a 3-year
01:00:08
supervision order and in another legal first was banned from using all online chat rooms for the term of his order he
01:00:16
would only be allowed to use the internet under strict supervision mark was given a two-year supervision order
01:00:24
and was also banned from entering online chat rooms though it was unlikely he would ever want to set foot in one again
01:00:31
the X best friends were forbidden from ever having contact with one another mark and John and not the real names of
01:00:41
the teenage boys involved in this case the core placed an indefinite order prohibiting their true identities of
01:00:47
anyone involved from ever being published the outside caught an investigator told reporters quote it was
01:00:58
tragic that a 14 year old boy for whatever reason would concoct such a story to have someone try to kill him
01:01:05
it has devastated his family it has devastated the life of the person he manipulated in late 2003 MSN the world's
01:01:18
leading Internet chat provider at the time announced it would be terminating service in 28 countries citing rising
01:01:25
levels of inappropriate communication between users MSN acknowledged that open free unmoderated online chat rooms could
01:01:34
never be completely safe for children the only way the company could be certain it wasn't unwittingly providing
01:01:41
a facility for pedophiles to groom new victims was to shut down their service entirely
01:01:48
perhaps taking heed of Justice David Madison's comment that skilled fiction writers would be hard-pressed to craft a
01:01:55
more bizarre tale the story of Mark and John was turned into a theater production named I love you bro an opera
01:02:02
titled two boys and a 2014 movie called you want me to kill him based on a Vanity Fair magazine article at the same
01:02:11
name although the court suppression order with holds the real names of Mark and John some accounts indicate that
01:02:19
John is happy and successful living with a male partner into their pet park what
01:02:26
became of Mark remains unknown [Music] you