S1 / E12 Escaping Dirty John: Debra Newell

Strictly Stalking

PodcastOne

True Crime, Talk Radio

4.2 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2020

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Debra Newell was stalked by her ex-husband, a dangerous sociopath named John Meehan a.k.a. "Dirty John." A successful Orange County interior designer and divorced mom of four, Debra Newell meets John Meehan online and is immediately swept off her feet. During their whirlwind courtship, Debra eventually learns that John is a dangerous and violent con-man targeting single wealthy women. After she goes into hiding, John targets her daughter, Terra, leading to a deadly confrontation. If you haven't yet, be sure to listen to the other half of this story in our previous episode "Surviving Dirty John" with Debra's daughter, Terra Newell. You'll hear some of the most shocking details about this case from Terra herself who survived a brutal attack at the hands of John Meehan aka "Dirty John." You won't regret it. If you enjoy Strictly Stalking and the work that we're doing to draw attention to this important issue, please leave us a review in iTunes! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm really in fear. I'm in fear for my life. I think things are going to elevate. He
0:12.2	sent me over a hundred messages today. I'm in fear. I don't know what to do. Please
0:19.2	help. Even when I change bones, you would find me. So I felt like there was no way of
0:27.4	ever having a normal life again. I felt like I was going to be in fear even if he
0:33.5	went to prison. I thought I would be in fear the rest of my life because he would
0:38.8	find me.
0:41.2	Debra Newell is a successful Orange County interior designer and forced mom of four.
0:58.4	In 2014, she met a man online named John Mien who immediately swept her off her feet.
1:03.4	They married soon after and that's where her nightmare began. I'm Jamie Bebe. And I'm
1:08.8	Jake Duptula. On today's episode of Strictly Stalking, we sit down with Debra Newell. Her
1:15.2	life is a basis for the true crime podcast and Bravo TV series, Dirty John. Debra, thank
1:20.3	you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Debra, tell us what your life was like
1:25.4	before 2014. Before 2014, I have a very successful business interior design business. And I think
1:34.7	at the time approximately 30, 40 employees doing work at one point all over the world. And in
1:44.3	the last, during that timeframe, just the Western States, basically, kids were raised. I have four,
1:53.4	a boy and three girls. And they were all either in their 30s or 20s. And I had spent, I've been
2:03.3	single a lot through raising my kids. And I felt like at this point in my life, it was time for me.
2:11.0	When did you start online dating? I started online dating. Let's see. Well, a week before I met
2:18.4	John or before I came in contact with John, yeah. Really? What site did you meet? Our time. Wow.
2:26.9	Yeah. So he's one of the first time. He was the sixth.
2:32.6	So quickly. Yeah. I like that. The sixth one you met in person, or did you, was it the sixth,
2:38.0	like how did you respond? Well, what happened was you get numerous people, you know. And I'd
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