It’s a love story that begins with an autopsy report, a description of a corpse mangled by 13 stab-wounds. Before we learn whose body it is, or how their death came about, we are guided through a harrowing tale of manipulation, deceit and abuse.
Dirty John, a new collaboration between the Los Angeles Times and audio producer Wondery, has become one of the most talked-about true crime stories of the year.
Across six instalments, Pulitzer-nominated journalist Christopher Goffard tells the story of Debra Newell, a successful Californian interior designer seduced by John Meehan, a violent con-artist described by one lawyer as “evil incarnate”.
Newell, a four-time divorcee, met Meehan through an online dating site. He claimed to be a devout Christian, attending the same church as her. Just days after they met, he told her he loved her; they married in secret two months later. But Newell’s children knew something was wrong with him, from his bodybuilder’s physique (maintained…
