In January 2015, Martin and Teresa Van Breda were enjoying having their oldest son, 22 year old Rudi home from university in Australia. The family’s other two children, 20 year old Henri and 16 year old Marli, also lived with their parents in the town of Stellenbosch in the south west of South Africa. Marli was nearing the end of her high school education. Like Rudi, Henri had also been studying in Australia, but dropped out of university and moved back home in 2014, to take a ‘gap year’ to reconsider his plans.Like many upper middle class South Africans, the family lived in a secure, gated, luxury housing estate. For all its beauty and cultural diversity, the risks associated with both visiting and living in South Africa are oftentimes confronting. The country is known for its high rates of violent crime, including murder, rape, carjacking, robbery and home invasions. Violent crimes such as home invasions occur not just at night, but at all hours of the day. Many intruders prefer to break into homes when occupants are home, so they can readily hand over concealed valuables while any alarms are deactivated. For many privileged families, opting to live in a gated community with 24 hour security provides reassurance that the risk of home invasions is minimal. Most of the time, that is.CW: family violence, drug use-Visit us online at obscuracrimepodcast.com-Support Obscura on Patreon and unlock the exclusive Black Label episodes: www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcastEpisode Sponsors: Get key nutrients without the BS. Ritual is offering Obscura listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit Ritual.com/obscura to start your Ritual today.

Obscura: A True Crime Podcast

S3E4 : The Van Breda Murders Part 01

In late 2018, James Gargasoulas was found guilty of six counts of murder, for running down pedestrians almost 2 years earlier in Melbourne’s Bourke Street mall during the busy lunch hour. Questions had been raised as to whether James would be fit to stand trial based on a subsequent mental health diagnosis and his long history of frequent drug use. Thankfully for the victims’ families, justice had been done. Partly, anyway. But they had no way of knowing how James’ mental health and other mitigating factors would affect his sentence. At the same time, the victims’ families had another fight on their hands. Victoria Police were now firmly in the glare of the media spotlight over their questionable judgement and decision making in the 12 hours leading up to the massacre - key decisions which failed to result in James being arrested for earlier stabbing his brother. But it was uncertain whether senior police would be held accountable by the coroner for how their critical incident management protocols did - or didn’t - protect the public when it mattered. US National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (24 hours). -Visit us online at obscuracrimepodcast.com-Support Obscura on Patreon and unlock the exclusive Black Label episodes: www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcastEpisode Sponsors: Go to MyBillie.com/Obscura to get the BEST razor you will ever own while supporting this show!

S3E3: The Bourke Street Massacre, Part 3

Listen to this full Black Label episode by supporting Obscura on Patreon at www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcastWARNING: This episode contains details of child abuse

Preview: Black Label S3E1

On 20 January 2017, during the typically busy lunch hour in the Melbourne CBD, 27 year old James Gargasoulas drove along the footpath of multiple blocks of Bourke Street, killing six unsuspecting people and injuring many more. The aftermath of his rampage left the people of Melbourne stunned and grieving. As details of the lead up to the carnage emerged, the public and victims’ families were outraged. Police had been tailing James for 12 hours before the massacre, as he taunted them and led law enforcement on a wild goose chase around the suburbs after stabbing his brother. The big question was, why hadn’t he been arrested sooner when numerous opportunities were available? Media reports soon revealed that James was a repeat violent offender who was out on bail when he ploughed through the city crowds, and answers were demanded as to why. How could the bail system be so fallible as to allow someone so dangerous back onto the streets? But that wasn’t the only concern. As court proceedings commenced, victims and survivors were anxious at the prospect that the man who had destroyed their lives may not even be found fit to stand trial at all.US National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (24 hours)-Visit us online at obscuracrimepodcast.com-Support Obscura on Patreon and unlock the exclusive Black Label episodes: www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast

S3E2: The Bourke Street Massacre, Part 02

Welcome listener to Season 3, I'm glad you made it. I will have a new episode for you every other week so I hope you're ready to join me by the fire.(Part 1) On 20 January 2017, office workers and tourists were among the throngs of people making their way through Bourke Street Mall amidst the lunch hour hustle and bustle of the Melbourne CBD. But the sunny summer’s day was rudely disrupted by the sound of tires skidding and police sirens blaring. In less than a minute, 27 year old James Gargasoulas had driven along the footpath multiple blocks of Bourke Street, wreaking havoc and creating a terror amongst Melbourne citizens, the fallout of which lingers today. During his rampage, James killed six people, including a three month old baby, and injured many more. But this wasn’t the most shocking aspect of what occurred. James was a repeat violent offender, and was on bail when he ploughed through the city crowds. The cascade of events culminating in what can only be described as utter carnage, led to painful questions. How safe was the Melbourne public in the course of going about their business? And how could they trust that those tasked with keeping them safe - the police - could protect them and their city when it mattered?US National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (24 hours)Support the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast -- This month when you become a Black Label patron you will enter for a chance to win an exclusive hand made tumbler that is full of newspaper clippings of some of the most infamous serial killers being caught!Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comEpisode Sponsors: Go to MyBillie.com/Obscura to get the BEST razor you will ever own while supporting this show!

S3E1: The Bourke Street Massacre, Part 01

From the co-creator of The Ballad of Billy Balls, Crimetown, and the host of Morally Indefensible comes a new podcast, Firebug. In the early 1990s, a manuscript for a novel called “Points of Origin” lands at literary agencies across the country. It tells the story of a fictional serial arsonist who lights up southern California. The thing is… the fires described in the novel may actually be real. Was Points of Origin a work of fiction, or the confessions of a prolific arsonist and murderer? Host Kary Antholis goes on a journey to figure out where fiction meets reality.Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

Introducing: Firebug

Typically Black Label episodes are exclusive to Patreon, if you enjoy this episode check out our other Black Label episodes that are released monthly! (Link Below) (This is S2E11 on Black Label)Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

[Black Label] Marcella Lightner-Thrash - Semper Fi

Black Label episodes are released monthly to Patreon Supporters. Take a listen to one, this is S2E10 on Black Label. (link below)Listener, if anything in today’s episode has raised any issues for you, or if you or someone you know is at risk, please call the 24 hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 in the United States, or your relevant emergency number.For further information about managing postpartum mental health, please contact your treating doctor. You can also visit www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health.gov or www.panda.org.auVisit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

[Black Label] The Devil Made Me Do It

Black Label episodes are typically exclusive to Patreon supporters, to listen to our other episodes find us on Patreon at the link below. Extreme content warning. In two parts, one longer, this episode explores an increasingly desensitized internet and the dark corners of the web that&apos;s ripe for radicalization. Part 01 explores a horrific crime that&apos;s met callous jokes by users that don&apos;t bother to hide their identity. Part 02 is a deep dive into internet radicalization and its effects after nearly two decades.Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

[Black Label] Machete

Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

S2E29: Quick Cuts

Black Label monthly episodes are typically exclusive to Patreon Supporters, but throwing this one out to ya! This is S2E4 on Black Label.Mathew Borges was a teenager entirely different from Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino. While Lee was happy, positive, and able to impart encouraging wisdom to his friends on life and meaning, Mathew was a darker soul. CW: Detailed Descriptions of Extreme Violence.Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

[Black Label] Mathew Borges

Today’s story is something a little different. Our protagonist didn’t set out to hurt somebody else. He didn’t harm innocent people. He didn’t snap in the heat of the moment and do something shocking that can’t be undone. There was no violent crime of passion or cold blooded premeditation.In the United States, over 900,000 people work in the aviation industry, so that’s a considerable amount of people in whom we place a great amount of trust to help keep us safe in the air. What you’ll hear about today baffled and disturbed both the public and the loved ones of the person concerned in equal measure. Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

S1E2 - Richard Russell - The Q400 Incident

Obscura Live: Keri Richardson - Mortician

On October 24, 2017, police received a call from the manager of a U-Haul storage facility located near Kansas City, Missouri The Manager reported that a man had been illegally squatting inside the unit with his two children. The alarm inside the facility had gone off the night before, indicating that someone was present in the unit overnight. That man was Justin Todd Rey.Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

S1E3 - Justin Rey - The Dismemberment

Content Warning: Graphic Audio,  Maternal Filicide Black Label episodes are typically exclusive to Patreon supporters, but here you go! This is Season 2 Episode 2 on Black Label. The maternal instinct of a mother is an all-encompassing level of emotion. To love, nurture, and protect their child is biologically embedded, a bond that can never be broken. That is how it should be. But life is a complex matrix of relationships, emotions, and decision-making, and the human psyche is a powerful fighting force.  Maternal filicide, the murder of a child by their mother, is a murky understudied arena where those natural instincts are replaced with an entirely different kind of drive. A drive that takes away the very life they previously gave so lovingly. Visit us online at ObscuraCrimePodcast.comCheckout our other podcasts at itsArcLightMedia.comSupport the Obscura podcast and access the exclusive Black Label episodes by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast(Sources can be found on our website)

[Black Label] Mother

Obscura: A True Crime Podcast is a podcast about shining a spotlight on the darker things in life. It's a podcast that takes a narrative approach to covering true stories. We cover murders, mysteries, missing persons, and more. We cover terrible acts in unflinching detail. Listener discretion is advised.

hubhopper

Obscura: A True Crime Podcast

hubhopper