Woman_39_s_Day_Australia_-_January_04_2021

40 WD

Real life

6-PAGE

CRIME SPECIAL

Meetinga charmingstranger

onlineisn’tuncommonnow

• butforsomeunlucky
  lovers,theydon’tjustlose
  theirheart– buttheirfortune
  too.Eachyear,Australians
  losecloseto$29million
  throughonlinedatingscams.
  ThehitTVseries,Dirty
  Johnstarring Eric Bana, tells

Meetthe menandwomen who pledgetheir

Somewomenhaveknown

himasBrettTurton...or

BradCollins...orSimon

Brenton.He’sclaimedto

bea Canadiangeologist

withluxuryhomesin

Vancouverandthe

Caribbean,a pilotand

anexecutiveforan

internationalcruiseline.

ButTurtonis a former

forkliftoperatorwho’s

donejailtimefor

defraudingatleast 10

women in Victoria between

THE REAL

DIRTY

JOHN

CATCH

HIM IF

YOU CAN!

thereal-lifestoryof

JohnMeehan.The

Americanloverat

earnedhis“DirtyJohn”

namebecauseofthenumber

ofwomenhesleptwithat

lawschool.ButMeehan

foundhimselfonthewrong

sideofthelawafterhe

begantrawlingdatingsites

tofindvictimstoscam.

Between 2005 and2014,

anLATimesinvestigation

foundMeehanposedas

a doctorand“seduced,

swindledandterrorised

multiplewomen”.Inlate

2014,hemetCalifornian

interior designer Debra

Newell.Heradultchildren

weresuspiciousofMeehan,

whosaidhewasan

anaesthetistwho’dbeenin

war-tornIraq.ButDebrawas

totallyinloveandthey

marriedaftertwomonths.

Newell’sfamilyeventually

uncoveredthedarktruth

behindMeehan,andinMarch

2016 themarriageended.

Meehan,57,blamed

Newell’sdaughterTerrafor

ruininghisscamandone

eveningheviciouslyattacked

herina carpark.Shefought

backandkilledMeehanwith

hisownknife.Dirty John’s

reign was over.

Graytrickedher

boyfriendsinto

believingshe

was dying.

EricandConnie

Brittonplay

MeehanandDebra

in the hit TV series.

Meehanwas

handsomeand

charismatic,buthe

wasalsoa violent,

pathological liar.

Dirty LOV E R AT S