A father killed himself and his seven-year-old daughter in a chilling and planned house fire while suffering from mental illness.
It was May 2011 when screams of “for God’s sake help me!” tore through the night air, and neighbours woke to find a tragedy unfolding before them.
As Christine Braithwaite, 51, stood outside of her house, in Hawthorn Street, Redcar, she screamed desperately for help.
The Braithwaite family home was ablaze and despite neighbours best efforts, they couldn’t get inside. The blaze had blocked the entire hallway, trapping father Philip Braithwaite, 49, and his daughters Jessica, 7, and Catriona, 9, in the bedrooms on the first floor.
Neighbours could only stand and wait for emergency services to arrive as they…
When Levi Bellfield was apprehended, a dangerous serial killer was taken off the streets. But are there more victims out there that we don’t know about yet?
In 2004, Amelie DeLagrange, a 22-year-old woman, moved from Paris to London to improve her English language skills. On 19 August 2004, she finished work and went to meet friends at a wine bar in Twickenham, and leaving at 10 pm to get the bus home. Around 10.20 pm a man came across Amelie who was lying on the ground with a huge wound on her head. She was rushed to hospital but died soon after.
The next morning DCI Colin Sutton arrived on the scene to commence the murder investigation.
TRUE CRIME — MASS MURDER
Anders Breivik carried out two terrorist attacks on Norway in one day and the world could only watch on in shock as unfathomable horrors unfolded.
Anders Breivik was born February 13, 1979, in Oslo, Norway to parents Jen and Wenche. Breivik spent the first year of his life in London, with his dad working as an economist at the Norwegian embassy. It wasn’t long after this move to London that his parents split up, and his mother moved back to Oslo, taking a young Breivik with her.
Despite living in Oslo’s affluent West End, and spending summers in Paris to…
Khloe Kardashian caused internet mayhem when she requested that a photo of her be taken down from the internet. I take a look at what caused such a stir, and fundamentally, what the real truth behind that photo is.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last however many years, then you will know who the Kardashian’s are. A power family, seemingly set on taking over the world with their family brand, all managed by self-proclaimed ‘Momager’ Kris.
The Kardashian’s are like marmite and ask anyone, they will be on one side or the other. I don’t have…
PARENTING
Everything a parent wants you to know, but daren’t say out loud.
As a parent to three kids under 11 at the young age of 33, (yes I’m young — don’t argue with me), I am at a time in my life where many of my friends are having babies and asking me for advice.
My advice to them though, isn’t necessarily what they always want to hear.
Them: “So what’s your advice on parenting?”
Me: “Keep them alive.”
They laugh. Oh, how they laugh. They laugh until they see my straight face, and realise that I am serious.
Me…
WRITING
3 things you can do to maximise your output and get that novel finished!
How’s that novel coming along?
If it’s anything like mine, then it is lurking on your computer somewhere, taunting you from the depths. It mocks you for not having it finished, tormenting you every time you open it.
Ok, so I may be a little dramatic about it. It’s not that bad is it? But it can be a daunting task. Hell, it is a daunting task. …
MENTAL HEALTH — ANXIETY
Top tips for coping with an anxious mind.
With the pandemic looming over us for over a year now, it has been a hard time for many people.
Having struggled with anxiety before the lockdowns, I found that as time went on, my ability to cope with my thought pattern became more strained.
Here are some tips for anyone suffering from anxiety — try them, they may help!
1. Take a Time Out
No, I don’t mean put yourself on the naughty step for five minutes to calm down!
When your anxiety is through the roof, it’s very easy to get caught up in the…
TRUE CRIME — PODCASTS
If these aren’t on your playlist they absolutely should be — what are you waiting for?
Podcasting is HUGE, and let’s be honest, who isn’t listening to a podcast about something or other?
Data from January 2021 shows that there are currently around 1,750,000 podcasts totalling over 43 million episodes. It’s a billion-dollar industry as more people move towards the medium as a way to get their fix of everything and anything.
It’s no wonder then that with the rise of true crime TV shows and documentaries, that this obsession would spill over into the podcasting world.
A cursory glance of Apple podcasts shows hundreds of choices in their true crime section — so which then…
TRUE CRIME – SERIAL MURDER
Would you have chosen this killer as your preferred date?
If ever there was a case of how the justice system let the community down, it is the case of Rodney Alcala. Repeated systematic failures undoubtedly contributed to more victims and more women and children being abused by this monster.
Rodney James Alcala was born on August 23, 1943 in San Antonio, Texas, and when he was 8 years old his father moved the family to Mexico before abandoning them three years later.
In 1954, an 11-year-old Rodney and his two sisters moved with his mother to Los Angeles, and when Rodney was 17 years old he joined the army…
TRUE CRIME – SERIAL MURDER
In the space of a few weeks, three men were dead, two were severely injured, and Joanna Dennehy was on the run…
Early Life
Joanna Dennehy was born on 29 August 1982 and grew up in St Albans, Hertfordshire to parents Kathleen and Kevin. Kevin working for BT and Kathleen worked long hours in a supermarket. Dennehy had a younger sister, Maria, and growing up their life was loving and stable.
Dennehy was bright and capable, and did well at school as a young girl, with plans of attending university to become a lawyer — her parents even paid for extra tuition to help her achieve this. She played for both the school hockey and netball teams and fit in well.
As a child…
Tracey Donnelly
MA Creative Writing. BA English. True Crime Geek. Foul mouthed northerner. Mental health advocate. Major Procrastinator. Writer. Reader. Radiohead listener.
