Episode 91 - Shellay "Ebony" Ward (Part 1)

Suffer the Little Children

Suffer the Little Children Pod

True Crime, Social Sciences, Science, Society & Culture

4.6 • 937 Ratings

🗓️ 1 December 2021

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On November 3, 2007, first responders to a home in Hawks Nest, New South Wales, Australia were shocked and horrified by what they found. On a mattress in a feces-covered bedroom with a boarded-over window lay the twisted, emaciated form of 7-year-old Shellay Ward, who had been deprived of food, water, sunlight, medical attention, and basic human decency for months, if not years. Shellay’s parents, Blakeley and Sharyn Ward, were charged with her murder.

This is the story of the catastrophic failure of multiple government agencies created to protect Australia’s most vulnerable children. It’s also the story of the long, torturous death of an autistic seven-year-old girl who spent her final months imprisoned in her dark, filthy bedroom and who is largely known across Australia as Ebony, the girl who suffered the country’s worst child neglect death.

This is part one of the tragic story of Shellay “Ebony” Ward.

Photos related to today's episode can be viewed on Facebook and Instagram:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/sufferthelittlechildrenpodcast
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/STLCpod
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sufferthelittlechildrenpod
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@STLCpod

My Linktree is available here: https://linktr.ee/stlcpod

Visit the podcast's web page at https://www.sufferthelittlechildrenpod.com.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you'll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes! Visit www.patreon.com/STLCpod. (www.patreon.com/STLCpod)

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit https://sufferthelittlechildrenblog.com.

Music for this episode is from https://audiojungle.net.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/id1499010711
Google Podcasts: https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/I5mx3lacxpdkhssmk2n22csf32u?t%3DSuffer_the_Little_Children%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/suffer-the-little-children
Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/PC:61848?part=PC:61848&corr=podcast_organic_external_site&TID=Brand:POC:PC61848:podcast_organic_external_site
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0w98Tpd3710BZ0u036T1KE
iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/77891101/
...or on your favorite podcast listening platform.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children--4232884/support.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Oh, he's cute. Mr. I can never sleep when I'm traveling. He's hugging his pillow like a sloth on a branch.
0:10.0	He couldn't sleep before. Now listen to him. Sounds like an elephant with a chest infection.
0:15.0	Well, they call him a dreamer. And now they're right.
0:19.0	All aboard, Mr. I can never sleep when I'm travelling find all the comfort you need in the quiet
0:25.5	lounge Piando ferries that is another way this podcast contains descriptions
0:31.8	of violence against children and adult language and is not suitable for all audiences.
0:37.0	Listen or discretion is advised. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Hi everyone and welcome to suffer the little children the true crime, giving voices back to the victims of child abuse,
1:25.2	and shining a harsh spotlight on the parents, guardians and caretakers who silenced them.
1:30.2	I'm your host, Lane, and this is episode 91, Shele Ebeny Ward, part one.
1:36.7	On November 3rd 2007, first responders to a home in Hawks Nest, New South Wales, Australia
1:42.2	were shocked and horrified by what they found.
1:45.2	On a mattress in a feces-covered bedroom with a boarded-over window lay the twisted, emaciated
1:50.3	form of seven-year-old Shele Ward, who had been deprived of food, water, sunlight,
1:55.0	medical attention, and basic human decency for months, if not years.
2:00.0	Shelly's parents, Blakely and Sharon Ward, were charged with her murder.
2:05.0	This is the story of the catastrophic failure of multiple government agencies created to protect Australia's most vulnerable children.
2:12.0	It's also the story of the long, torturous
2:14.9	death of an autistic seven-year-old girl who spent her final months imprisoned in
2:19.0	her dark filthy bedroom and who is largely known across Australia as Ebony, the girl who suffered the
2:24.4	country's worst child neglect death.
2:27.5	This is part one of the tragic story of Shelly Ebbony Ward.
2:32.4	Before I dig into Shelly's story,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Suffer the Little Children Pod, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Suffer the Little Children Pod and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.