Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister

Stolen Sister Bonus: Petition and Witness Accounts 18.05.2026 37dk

Over the last seven weeks we have heard from many people who have had interactions with John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. Up to twenty people have provided us with accounts of attempted abductions, sightings and various interactions with Shaw and Evans. In this episode, we bring you these accounts in full. An Garda Síochána have now appealed to anybody with information to report it to any station in the Wexford/Wicklow Garda divisions. And the Plunkett family start a petition with an appeal for people to sign to keep the pressure on for a cold case review into the case of Elizabeth Plunkett. If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stolen Sister 07: A Chance for Justice 11.05.2026 31dk

As this series has been publishing, we’ve been contacted by many listeners, including about a dozen contacts from people who are new witnesses to events around Ireland in September 1976—and who it appears could have been potential victims of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. Even after all these years, new information is still out there on Elizabeth’s story - and with new witnesses stepping forward, the pressure now increases on the authorities to hold a cold case review, maybe even finally put John Shaw on trial for Elizabeth’s murder… If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stolen Sister 06: Irrelevant Victims 04.05.2026 26dk

Having lived over 40 years with the loss of Elizabeth, the Plunkett family are taken aback when in 2023, they’re approached by the Parole Board. John Shaw is looking to get out of prison. Elizabeth’s family are invited to submit their views on his potential release. Can they stop him from getting freedom? This process unlocks a series of events where Elizabeth's siblings begin to realise that nothing is as it seems - and that their sister is still awaiting dignity and justice… Binge all episodes of Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up at pushkin.fm/plus or on the Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister show page on Apple Podcasts. If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stolen Sister 05: The Trials 27.04.2026 27dk

With the heartbreaking recovery of both Elizabeth and Mary’s remains, the investigation’s focus sharpens. The men, isolated in solitary confinement for months, are finally brought before the courts. But things take a strange twist when Shaw and Evans, once united in their actions, now turn on each other—each blaming the other for the murders. This results in a judge deciding there’ll be four separate trials, ensuring each man faces justice for his actions individually. Shaw is the first to stand trial, accused of the murder of Mary Duffy. As the courtroom waits with bated breath, one question hangs in the air: will justice begin to be served? Binge all episodes of Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up at pushkin.fm/plus or on the Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister show page on Apple Podcasts. If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stolen Sister 04: Confessions 20.04.2026 28dk

With the nation on high alert, two Gardaí in Galway spot and arrest Ireland’s two most wanted men. Quickly brought in for questioning, Shaw and Evans find themselves at the center of a desperate investigation. Gardaí believe Mary Duffy could still be alive, and now they need the suspects to tell them where Mary and Elizabeth are. As the interrogation unfolds, the entire country waits for news, none more so than the Plunkett and Duffy families, as they cling to hope… Binge all episodes of Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up at pushkin.fm/plus or on the Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister show page on Apple Podcasts. If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stolen Sister 03: On the Hunt 13.04.2026 27dk

As suspicions grow around two Englishmen roaming freely around Ireland, Gardaí issue a nationwide alert for their capture. But no one knows these men have already hatched a chilling plan: to abduct, rape, and murder one woman every week. The only question now is can they be stopped before they kill again? Binge all episodes of Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up at pushkin.fm/plus or on the Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister show page on Apple Podcasts. If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stolen Sister 02: Missing 06.04.2026 27dk

On Saturday, August 28th, 1976, Elizabeth Plunkett walked out of a pub in Brittas Bay - and vanished without a trace. Over the following week, her distraught family and friends launched a frantic search, desperate for any sign of her. Though they didn’t find Elizabeth, a series of puzzling clues began to emerge. And at the same time, two suspicious men were seen lurking in the area, but within days, they too had disappeared. Binge all episodes of Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up at pushkin.fm/plus or on the Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister show page on Apple Podcasts. If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stolen Sister 01: Elizabeth 30.03.2026 28dk

The summer of 1976 brought an extraordinary three-month heatwave to Ireland. 23yr old Elizabeth Plunkett had just fallen in love and been on holiday to France. On the last weekend in August, Elizabeth headed for an overnight getaway with friends to the beach resort of Brittas Bay to mark the end of that summer. No one could have imagined what happened next… Binge all episodes of Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up at pushkin.fm/plus or on the Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister show page on Apple Podcasts. If you have any information or knowledge about the actions of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans please email us documentaries@rte.ie Credits: Stolen Sister is written and produced by Nicoline Greer with production assistance from Shauna McGreevy. Roz Purcell is the host. Original music soundtrack performed and composed by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Sound design and orchestra recording by Ciarán Dunne. The executive producer is Liam O’Brien. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Maria Buckley and Christopher Hayes. Design and creatives by Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Sarah Neville. Sales by Graeme Bailey and additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister 23.03.2026 3dk

On the last weekend of the summer of 1976, a young woman named Elizabeth Plunkett went away for a night with friends to Brittas Bay in county Wicklow. Nobody knew it then, but that was the last time she would leave home. Elizabeth was brutally murdered by two men who would go on to continue to rape and kill until they were stopped. Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister is a special limited series from RTÉ. Episodes begin March 30, 2026. Binge all episodes of Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up at pushkin.fm/plus or on the Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister show page on Apple Podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing: The Chinatown Sting 08.09.2025 3dk

Here's a preview of a new Pushkin podcast, The Chinatown Sting. Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing the series right here for Bad Women listeners to enjoy. In the late 1980s, federal authorities laid a trap. They’d gotten a tip that huge amounts of heroin were being mailed to New York City inside boxes filled with tea. The investigation would uncover a network of drug smugglers who used women recruited at mahjong parlors in Chinatown. Host Lidia Jean Kott and co-reporter Shuyu Wang interview sources who’ve never spoken on record before, including federal prosecutors, to reconstruct a years-long effort to bring down one of the most powerful gangsters in Chinatown. The Chinatown Sting drops weekly on Tuesdays starting September 16. Get early, ad-free access to the entire season of The Chinatown Sting by subscribing to Pushkin+. Subscribers also get bonus episodes, exclusive binges, full audiobooks, and early ad-free listening for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.com/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Serial Killers & Misogyny: Hallie Rubenhold on Betwixt the Sheets 04.04.2023 39dk

Hallie Rubenhold joins Betwixt the Sheets host Kate Lister to discuss our culture’s fascination with serial killers. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Peter Sutcliffe, Jack the Ripper…. these violent people are famous, but we only know them for their horrific crimes. What role does misogyny play in how these serial killers are portrayed on our screens and in our newspapers? And how does it affect court cases? Hear more from Betwixt the Sheets, from our friends at History Hit, wherever you get podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Raising the Dead - Behind the Scenes of Bad Women 22.12.2022 44dk

The rich and famous leave many traces in the historical records, but how can you reconstruct the lives of ordinary people who lived decades and decades ago? That was the challenge facing the team behind the Bad Women podcast. Hosts Hallie Rubenhold and Alice Fiennes sit down with genealogist Kate Healy to discuss the detective work involved in scouring the archives for the scraps of information which - when gathered together - created a richer picture of the women chronicled in seasons one and two. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2 E11: The Killers and The Hangman 20.12.2022 55dk

Season Finale: Marjorie Cummins is certain that her husband is innocent - he's not the violent Blackout Ripper and he shouldn't hang for murder. She loyally supports him in court - refusing to believe the compelling evidence against him. Will the jury agree with her? In wartime London, it seems, men could murder some women and still escape the hangman. Some juries defied the directions of judges to reach 'not guilty' verdicts if the female murder victims were painted as being promiscuous, immoral or unfaithful. One heavily-pregnant mother - Kathleen Patmore - was fatally stabbed by her soldier husband. Seemingly an open-and-shut case of murder, many instead felt that Kathleen deserved her fate and that her husband was the innocent party. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BONUS: Hallie Rubenhold and Julia Laite on We Have Ways... 15.12.2022 44dk

The murders of The Blackout Ripper - indeed many of the crimes committed against women in World War Two - aren't often spoken about by historians of the conflict. That's changing. The co-host of Bad Women Hallie Rubenhold and regular guest Dr Julia Laite recently appeared on the WW2 podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk to talk to James Holland about the wartime experiences of women. Here's chance to hear the conversation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2 E10: Olga Hangs Up Her Whip 13.12.2022 39dk

Doris had made her living as "Olga" - a dominatrix alter ego charging men handsomely for sex involving corsets, whips and "unusual methods". But when she married aged businessman (and former client) Henri Jouannet, she'd promised to give it all up. The coming of war put a strain on the couple's finances and their relationship - and Doris secretly returned to selling sex. But the trade had changed - instead of seeing her regular clients, "Olga" now meets strangers on the street... including The Blackout Ripper. Further reading: Billock, Jennifer. ‘Five Hotels That Were Occupied by the Military During World War II’, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 October 2019 Laite, Julia. Common Prostitutes and Ordinary Citizens: Commercial Sex in London, 1885 - 1960 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BONUS: The Music from 'The Blackout Ripper' 08.12.2022 59dk

The story of the Blackout Ripper partly takes place in the wartime bars and clubs of West End London. To recreate their sound, Bad Women's composer and sound designer Pascal Wyse put together a quartet to play jazz tunes of the time. Here Pascal and guitarist Ed Gaughan talk about the history of that music and play some of the numbers in full on this episode on Pushkin Industries' Broken Record show, hosted by Justin Richmond. The band included Ed Gaughan, Ross Hughes, Christian Miller and Marcus Penrose. They were recorded by Nick Taylor at Porcupine Studios, under the direction of Pascal Wyse. Pushkin’s Ben Tolliday mixed the tracks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2 E9: The Blackout Ripper on the Run 06.12.2022 40dk

Greta Heywood is being strangled in a Piccadilly doorway when a passerby interrupts the Blackout Ripper, who disappears into the night. Greta survives the attack and the killer leaves vital clues as to his identity. The police are now closing in on their man - but can they catch him before he can claim more victims? Further reading: Andrews, Maggie and Lomas, Janis. The Home Front in Britain: Images, Myths and Forgotten Experiences since 1914 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) Laite, Julia. Common Prostitutes And Ordinary Citizens: Commercial Sex in London 1885 - 1960 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) Lewis, Jane. ‘The problem of lone mother families in twentieth century Britain’, The Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, Vol. 20 No. 3 (1998), pp. 251-283 Reeves, Josephine. ‘The Deviant Mother and Child: The Development of Adoption as an Instrument of Social Control’, Journal of Law and Society, Winter, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 412—426) Roberts, Elizabeth. A Woman’s Place: An Oral History of Working Class Women, 1890 – 1940 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1984) Slater, Stefan. ‘Prostitutes and Popular History: Notes on the ‘Underworld’ 1918 - 1939’, Crime, History and Society, Vol. 13, No. 1 (2009), pp. 25 - 48 Sweet, Matthew. ‘The West End Front' (Faber 2012)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2 E8: Madam Nerva Sees Death 29.11.2022 50dk

Rachel Dobkin has come to see her psychic advisor, Madam Nerva. After years of bitter disagreements and financial wranglings with her estranged and violent husband, Rachel wants to know what the spirits think she should do next. Through Madam Nerva the spirts tell Rachel not to go near her husband again... but will she heed their warnings? The case of Rachel Dobkin is another face of wartime crime and not the work of the Blackout Ripper - but it reveals a common thread. It shows how some men thought the disruption and chaos of war would help them get away with murder. Further reading: Carroll, Niamh. ‘The History of the Boundary Estate’, Bethnal Green London, 14 May 2021, Cole, Mike. ‘The Battle of Cable Street’, Historic UK. Cowan, Colin. ‘Mental observation wards: an alternative provision for emergency psychiatric care in England in the first half of the twentieth century’, History of Psychiatry, Eilers, Nicole Kvale. ‘Emigrant Trains: Jewish Migration through Prussia and American Remote Control, 1880 - 1914’, in Brinkmann, T. (ed), Points of Passage: Jewish Migrants from Eastern Europe in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain 1880 - 1914 (New York: Berghahn Books, 2013). Lefebure, Molly. Murder on the Home Front (London: Sphere, 2013). Marks, Lara V, Model Mothers: Jewish Mothers and Maternity Provision in East London 1870 - 1939 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).. Odell, Robin. Medical Detectives: The Lives and Cases of Britain’s Forensic Five (Cheltenham: The History Press, 2013). Roberts, Elizabeth. A Woman’s Place: An Oral History of Working Class Women 1890 - 1940 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1995). Summerscale, Kate. The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story (London: Bloomsbury, 2020).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BONUS: Black GIs and their "Brown Babies" 22.11.2022 33dk

Unlike white GIs, it was made virtually impossible for African-American servicemen to marry the women they met and fell in love with in the UK during World War Two. If these couples had children, those so-called "Brown Babies" were stigmatized and scorned - with many ending up in grim children's homes. Pausing the story of the Blackout Ripper - this episode examines the experiences of those Black GIs, their white partners and two "Brown Babies" - Leon Lomax and Terry Harrison - who have both spent decades trying to piece together their family histories. Professor Lucy Bland's work can be seen here: http://www.mixedmuseum.org.uk/brown-babies Further reading: Bland, Lucy. Britain's 'Brown Babies': The stories of children born to black GIs and white women in the Second World War. (Manchester University Press), 2019 Osur, Alan. Blacks in the Army Air Forces During World War II. (Office of Air Force History), 1977 Schindler, David and Westcott, Mark ‘Shocking Racial Attitudes: Black G.I.s in Europe’, The Review of Economic Studies. (University of Oxford), 2021See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2 E7: Shootout at the Dress Shop 15.11.2022 44dk

Seamstress Doris Staples doesn't want to see Private John Waters any more... but the American soldier has other ideas. He goes to her workplace to make sure she doesn't "step out" with any other man... and carries with him a pistol. Men were expected to seek an outlet for their sexual appetites, but any women who saw multiple partners or wanted to exit a relationship faced stigma, hostility and deadly violence. Further reading: Ashton, John R; Machin, David; Osmond, Clive; Balajaran, Rasaratnam; Adam, Sheila A and Donnan, Stuart P B. ‘Trends in Induced Abortion in England and Wales’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, vol. 37, 1983, pp. 105 - 110. Dryden, Steven. ‘A Short History of LGBT Rights in the UK’. Ellwood, David. ‘The American Challenge in Uniform: The Arrival of America’s Armies in World War II and European Women’, European Journal of American Studies vol. 7, no. 2, 2012. Laite, Julia. Common Prostitutes and Ordinary Citizens: Commercial Sex in London, 1885 - 1960 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). Monckton Smith, Jane. In Control: Dangerous Relationships and How They End in Murder. (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022). Vickers, Emma. Queen and Country: Same-sex desire in the British Armed Forces, 1939-45. (Manchester University Press, 2013). Wagner, Paul. The Youngest Crew (Cheyenne, WY: Lagumo Press, 1997).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.