DEADLY DIGITAL DECEPTION: The Tragic Case of Renae Marsden – They Killed Her, But Won’t Be Charged
Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, True Crime, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4K Ratings
🗓️ 10 April 2025
⏱️ 75 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Darkness Syndicate members get the ad-free version of #WeirdDarkness: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate
DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
IN THIS EPISODE: After receiving a series of devastating text messages, twenty-year-old Renae Marsden drove to a seaside cliff and was never seen again. What began as a tragic suicide after receiving heartbreaking text messages from the man she loved, soon unraveled into something far more disturbing. *** She thought her past was buried — until a stranger unearthed it and turned her life into a waking nightmare. (Unmasking Giovanni) *** She left her ex to reclaim her life — but he used the internet to haunt her from the shadows. (When Your Ex Becomes Your Digital Shadow) *** In a world where predators hide behind profiles, spotting the red flags of cyberstalking might be the only thing standing between safety and surveillance. We’ll look at some way you can keep yourself from becoming a victim – or perhaps help someone who is getting dangerously close to becoming one! (Digital Predator Red Flags) *** What if the most powerful force shaping your thoughts, choices, and future… isn’t human at all? (Is AI Controlling Us?
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Lead-In
00:02:18.804 = Show Open (Coming Up In This Episode)
00:04:16.908 = The Case of Renae Marsden, Part 1
00:17:36.731 = The Case of Renae Marsden, Part 2
00:29:21.575 = Unmasking Giovanni
00:36:51.330 = The Consultant Who Couldn’t Be Stopped
00:44:02.157 = When Your Ex Becomes Your Digital Shadow
00:53:23.566 = Digital Predator Red Flags
01:01:05.486 = Are AI Systems Secretly In Control Of Us?
01:09:51.512 = Show Close, Verse, and Final Thoughts
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“The Case of Renae Marsden”: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/20/coroner-condemns-catfisher-over-sydney-woman-renae-marsdens-suicide, https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/catfishing-renaes-parents-call-for-new-law-after-daughters-death/8b054266-dcd1-4e87-bb14-ed7896f8092e,https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/catfish-victim-told-mother-she-found-out-the-truth-inquiry-told-20200210-p53z9m.html, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10638977/Renae-Marsden-Grieving-parents-reveal-text-received-daughter-died.html, https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/tragic-final-text-to-mum-from-catfished-woman-renae-marsden/news-story/5019e2c0999a5768971b3b4ae1af6438, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUkDADMJ6o0&rco=1 | Footage of The Gap: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8pe8cm,https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p89dr9c
“Unmasking Giovanni”: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/woman-sentenced-for-cyberstalking,https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/miami-woman-sentenced-for-cyberstalking-on-facebook-and-instagram/1978996/, https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/miami-student-sentenced-cyberstalking-facebook-and-instagram, https://wsvn.com/news/local/woman-sentenced-to-22-months-in-prison-for-cyberstalking
“The Consultant Who Couldn’t Be Stopped”: https://www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/releases/2024/07/pernicious-cyberstalker-sentenced-9-years-prison-unrelenting-harassment
“When Your Ex Becomes Your Digital Shadow”: https://icts.uct.ac.za/services-security-security-resources-general-cyber-security/thandis-story-terror-cyber-stalking-based-true-story
“Are AI Systems Secretly In Control Of Us?”: https://weirddarkness.com/are-ai-systems-secretly-in-control-of-us/
“Digital Predator Red Flags”: https://www.stjohns.edu/news-media/johnnies-blog/cyberstalking-protect-online-identity
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Originally aired: April 10, 2025
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/DeadlyDigitalDeception
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Strange creatures, gruesome murders, oozing organisms, unfathomable abductions, enigmatic expeditions, |
| 0:11.5 | an age-old malevolence, and much more. Author J. C. Moore delivers a collection of dark |
| 0:17.5 | horror tales that are both chilling and poignant. Dark Intrigues, Book |
| 0:22.4 | 1 is filled with horror fiction for fans of short story anthologies, horror collections, |
| 0:28.5 | ghost fiction, suspense, possession, and more. Dark Intrigues Book 1 by J.C. Moore, |
| 0:36.0 | available on Kind of an audiobook narrated by Darren Marler. Find Dark Intrigues Book 1 by J.C. Moore, available on Kindle or as an audiobook narrated by |
| 0:39.1 | Darren Marler. Find Dark Intrigues Book 1 on the audiobooks page at Weirddarkness.com. |
| 0:45.5 | That's Weirddarkness.com slash audiobooks. |
| 1:00.8 | Step into the shadows with tainted, a bone-chilling collection designed to haunt your darkest nights, tales filled with a spectrum of horrors, from evil spirits to bleeding caves, haunted |
| 1:08.0 | sewers, and sinister childhood games. |
| 1:11.8 | In this installment of the Dark Intrigues book series, J.C. Moore delves deep into the |
| 1:17.6 | darkest recesses of the human psyche. |
| 1:20.4 | Brace yourself for a modern journey through the twisted corridors of terror. |
| 1:25.7 | Listen, if you dare. |
| 1:30.1 | In this book, The Ordinary Become Ominous, |
| 1:36.4 | the mundane turns malefic, and they reveal the tainted secrets of the human heart in all their gruesome glory. Dark Intrigues, Tainted, a collection of short horror stories by J.C. Moore. Purchase the audiobook or hear a sample |
| 1:47.5 | on the audiobook's page at weirddarkness.com. |
| 2:13.7 | Thank you. In the eastern suburbs of Sydney, perched high above the crashing waves of the Tasman Sea, |
| 2:16.0 | lies a place called The Gap. |
| 2:22.6 | It's a hauntingly beautiful cliffside, and a site that has sadly become known for tragedy. |
| 2:30.3 | On August 5, 2013, 20-year-old Rename Barsden drove there with her makeup freshly done, |
| 2:35.4 | her hair carefully pinned, and a promise to her mother that she wouldn't be out late. |
... |
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