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Episode 523: Serial con-artist Samantha Cooke duped Kildare family
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A serial fraudster was employed by a family in Kildare as a live in au pair after being outed on a hit podcast and in a series of newspaper articles as a conwoman.
Samantha Cooke managed to reinvent herself as child care worker Sadie Harris and lived for six months with the family while her real identity faced the eye of a publicity storm about a series of cons across Ireland.
Nicola speaks to journalist Mark Tighe of the Sunday Independent about the extraordinary story of a woman who keeps changing her name, look and background and who is currently gone dark somewhere in Ireland.
He tells her about her latest scam which terrified a young mother returning to work and about her colourful background as an artist, a writer and even a psychotherapist.
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Episode 1358: Killer dad Wayne O’Reilly hunted for son Oisin hours before murder
20:03|Killed by his dad who then took his own life, little Oisin O’Reilly was known as the kid who always shared with others.As the murder-suicide of Oisin and dad Wayne is investigated for a Coroners Court, Patrick O’Connell has been speaking to neighbours and friends of a family devastated by death.
Episode 1357: The unprovoked Dublin attack that left an Italian teenager paralysed for life
11:08|Italian man Guido Nasi was only 17 and a student in Ireland to learn English when his life changed forever.Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about the terrible assault in a Dublin park which left Guido, who died in recent weeks, with lifelong physical and mental injuries.
Episode 1356: How €42m of cocaine travelled from Brazil to the Shannon Estuary
36:22|A plot to import 42 million euro worth of cocaine into Ireland through the Shannon Estuary was undone when Gardai arrested seven men - but not before the drugs were landed successfully and disappeared into the criminal underworld.Nicola talks to Eamon Dillon about the daring journey from Brazil’s Amazon to Ireland’s biggest river and those who were nabbed in the process.
Episode 1355: Tinder for Nazis
12:18|A dating site for white supremacists is hacked in Germany and the details posted online.Nicola speaks with Steven Moore about the Irish racists caught up in the far right romance scandal that has rocked Europe.
Episode 1354: Drogheda feud victim Richie Carberry's brother blames Robbie Lawlor for his death
28:47|The brother of murdered Richie Carberry, shot dead as part of the Drogheda feud, has blamed the actions of notorious gangland killer Robbie Lawlor on his death.Stephen Carberry pleaded guilty this week to his role in disposing of the body parts of Keane Mulready-Woods - the teenager abducted and dismembered by Lawlor in 2020 in revenge for the murder of his brother-in-law Carberry.Nicola speaks with Eamon Dillon about his appearance at the Special Criminal Court and what Stephen Carberry had to say about his brother's death.
Episode 1353: Kinahan cartel murder accused Sean McGovern to face two separate trials
13:21|Cartel murder accused Sean McGovern will face two separate trials for the charges that have been levelled against him since his extradition from the United Arab Emirates.McGovern stands accused of five different offences including the murder of Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan and directing an attempt to kill James ‘Mago’ Gately.Nicola talks with Eimear Rabbitt about an appearance from Portlaoise at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court.
Episode 1352: Ex-GSOC officer cleared over Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch links after attending Regency trial party
10:48|A former officer from the Garda Ombudsman who attended a welcome home party for Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch after his acquittal on murder charges will not face prosecution after a lengthy investigation.The man who has now left the country maintained he only went to the Clontarf knees-up to collect his landlady, who was a neighbour of Hutch.
Episode 1351: How Mason O'Connell-Conway suffered chronic neglect and violence before his murder
26:08|'Evil' stepmother Tegan McGhee was jailed for life this week for the brutal murder of four-year-old boy Mason O'Connell-Conway.The case heard harrowing details of Mason's final days and how his father failed to protect him from McGhee's brutal campaign of abuse.Niall speaks to Eimear Rabbit about how Mason was failed and the questions Tusla have to answer.
Episode 1350: Man investigated over AI deepfake child abuse images of schoolgirls
19:00|Abusive AI images on the X platform have dominated the headlines. Belfast Telegraph journalist Allison Morris has uncovered another sinister development in technology that saw two teenagers shocked by a police investigation.