The Murders of Olivia Hope and Ben Smart

True Crime Creepers

Cloud10

True Crime, Comedy

4.8 • 959 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On New Year’s Eve 1997, 17-year-old Olivia Hope and her close friend Ben Smart vanished after a party at the remote Furneaux Lodge in New Zealand’s stunning Marlborough Sounds. They were last seen boarding a water taxi in the early hours of the morning with a man who’s never been conclusively identified. What followed was one of New Zealand’s most high-profile investigations, leading to the arrest and conviction of Scott Watson — a man who still claims he’s innocent. But the deeper you look into this case, the murkier it gets. With wildly conflicting witness statements, contaminated evidence, an allegedly unreliable memory, and new information buried for decades, this case has everything: mystery, obsession, media bias, and a whole lot of reasonable doubt ... or is there? Today, Kristin dives deep into the 40,000-page police file and multiple sources on both sides of this controversial case to try and answer one big question: Did Scott Watson really kill Ben and Olivia… or was he wrongfully convicted? Sponsors Acorns Early Head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠acorns.com/creepers⁠⁠⁠⁠ or download the Acorns app to get started. Homeaglow Head to ⁠⁠https://homeaglow.com/creepers⁠⁠ to get your first 3 hours of cleaning for only $19. Thanks so much to Homeaglow for sponsoring this episode! Mint Mobile Get your summer savings and shop premium wireless plans at ⁠⁠Mintmobile.com/creepers⁠⁠ Sources: The Scott Watson Case: What Really Happened to Ben and Olivia? – IanWishart.com The case against Scott Watson - Newsroom Chasing Ghosts: Murder In The Sounds Hope-Smart murders 25 years on: Memories of the case as Scott Watson awaits court for appeal decision - The Front Page Convicted double murderer Scott Watson’s parole hearing abandoned after running over time - NZ Herald Ben and Olivia: What Really Happened? By Ian Wishart and Jayson Rhodes Elementary: The Explosive File on Scott Watson and the Disappearance of Ben and Olivia by Ian Wishart Elementary 2.0: The Unreleased Police Evidence on the Scott Watson Case by Ian Wishart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	MintMobile has a new take for summer and I kind of love it. Forget the summer bod. They're all
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0:44.6	Get your summer savings and shop premium wireless plans at mintmobile.com slash creepers. That's
0:50.9	mintmobile.com slash creepers. Upfront payment of $45 for a three-month five-gigabyte plan required.
0:57.7	It's equivalent to $15 a month.
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1:02.0	Then full-price plan options are available.
1:04.5	Taxes and fees extra.
1:05.7	See Mintmobile for details.
1:08.1	Hey, everyone.
1:09.3	It's Kristen from True Crime Creepers.
1:11.6	Every week I tell my friend in True Crime Newbie Mogab about a case she's never heard before, but that I've been obsessing over.
1:19.1	We talk about all the real life creeps, from serial killers to con artists.
1:23.4	So if you're into Dark Tales with a touch of humor, tune in wherever you get your podcasts.
1:31.1	Welcome to another episode of true crime creepers, where we talk about all the real-life creeps, from serial killers to con artists.
1:37.9	I'm Kristen, the true crime fanatic who loves to tell these stories.
	...

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