Katie O'Shea

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2:34Today I'm discussing the disappearance of Katie O'Shea. On December 17, 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.

3:11Four 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.

3:52After 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.

4:30and just know that 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 guess, like she, like with how she acted and stuff, but she was just, she was always there no matter what. There were so many of us and she basically raised us as a single mom, but she always made sure that we had time for each of us. And no matter what, she was always proud of us.

5:11She was always the first to say, oh, don't forget I love you. I think she lived for her kids. That was the one thing that no matter what, 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.

5:59She 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.

6:33She 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.

7:09Also, 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. This episode of Voices for Justice is brought to you by Quince. I love giving gifts, and Quince really does make that so easy.

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9:41Greenlight really does help kids learn how to save, invest, and build confidence with money. This is truly a product that I wish I had growing up. Like I said, I think it would have given me a much better head start in life. Join millions of parents already using Greenlight, the number one family finance and safety app. Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at greenlight.com slash justice. That's greenlight.com slash justice to get started. Greenlight.com slash justice. On December 17th, 2005, John McKenzie, Katie's ex-brother-in-law, drove Katie and her 11-year-old daughter Bridget to the airport.

10:19Lily 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.

10:55She 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 2pm, Katie and her son Tim showed up at Deb's house.

11:33Deb 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.

12:11Before 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 10.30, for some reason, Katie decided to walk into town instead. She said that she was going to get some Cooper's Stout beer.

12:47Around 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.

13:28Then, 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.

14:07So Lily asks if Katie had her phone, and Alan said no, he had it. 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.

14:46Lily 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.

15:26But 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.

16:07Now, 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.

16:44She 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.

17:26They 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 Ravenshu 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.

18:06He 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.

18:42Katie 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. Allen 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, Allen 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.

19:21He 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.

19:57I found out that she had sort of partaken in stuff like that. I don't think that it's 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 mom. Like, if you're that hard into it, there's no chance in how you'd be able to look after children by yourself. Like, she smoked a bit of weed, but, you know, who doesn't? And, like, I know that she probably did partake in other things, but it didn't affect her, you know, her actual, her whole personality. Now, Alan's partner, Briar, did also speak to the police, and she gave a pretty similar story.

20:35On 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. Breyer 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, Alan 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.

21:08Lily told me that years later, she found out through court hearings that Alan had not officially reported Katie missing. Apparently, Alan 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. Allen left the police station without reporting Katie missing. But later that day, that officer reported her missing anyway.

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23:58Every 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 Alan and Breyer's home and arrested Alan for possession of cannabis, and the Department of Child Safety took custody of their child.