After Newell and Meehan sought out an attorney for legal advice, lawyer John Dzialo echoed the same sentiment. Claiming to be an anesthesiologist with Doctors Without Borders, Meehan transformed into Newell's perfect lover, executing perfect coercive control. John finds a lawyer and plots to unleash a blizzard of lawsuits against his enemies, with the aim of proving to Debra that he is the victim, in case after case. Before burning the bridge with Donna Meehan Stewart, she remembers her brother feeling triggered by the return to California, according to the Los Angeles Times. In the process, Meehan knocked himself unconscious, tumbling to the ground covered in elevator grease. Meehan reportedly earned his nickname Dirty John (also Filthy John or just Filthy) for his notoriously slimy ways with womenand the crude terms he would allegedly use to talk about these women. In an exclusive guest column for PEOPLE, the 27-year-old Newell opens up about her harrowing experience with Meehan, living with PTSD and his abuse of her mother. I started to push him off of me and then I got him right here [shoulder] and I also got the last one in his eye and the last one I kind of did give a second thought. An imitation Adonis with the six-pack to prove it. But agents eventually managed to pull him from the cargo elevator. After the Los Angeles Times shared our story, so did other media, and our story eventually got turned into a TV show. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. John, now living in Nevada, began sending her threatening messages, demanding money and promising to ruin her. I used to think going to therapy meant my healing journey was complete. Consumed by memories, he talked incessantly about past deeds and perceived wrongs against him. But the most dangerous lesson John Meehan's father taught him? John Meehan didn't do personal responsibility. People need to know that bad things can happen and you should never let those things hold you back or get you down. The podcast was downloaded over 10 million times within six weeks of release. John and Debra went to a restaurant in Irvine, California, for their first date. The last piece of the puzzle for his next big con, anonymity, arrived when Meehan followed Stewart to Newport Beach. What happened to John Meehan after his law school disappearance? John "Dirty John" Meehan's deadly encounter with the Newell family sadly wasn't the family's first brush with violence. [5], Meehan was killed by Newell's younger daughter, Terra, who acted in self-defense when he tried to abduct her on the rooftop parking lot of her apartment building on August 20, 2016. John Meehan left many terrified victims in his wake. After hanging up, Sells scoured their Colonial Way home in Springboro, per the Dayton Daily News. People started calling him "Dirty John" or "Filthy John" at the University of Dayton School of Law in Ohio (via The Tab). I came back to California when the Los Angeles Times started sharing our story, a story we shared in hopes that other women would relate and realize they may know a Dirty John. Why? Meehan was killed when he viciously stalked and attacked Debra Newell's daughter, Terra, who stabbed him 13 times with his own knife, leading to his death. Police determined that Meehan was walking in an easterly direction across State Route 26 when he entered the northbound lane and walked directly in front of a vehicle that was traveling northbound, according to Broome County Sheriff's Office Captain Kathleen Newcomb. He wasn't who he claimed to be. As she got out of the car, John approached her from behind and attacked her with a knife. He disappeared into a nearby department store, stolen drugs from the ambulance in hand. His excuse? Coercing her into a relationship, he played the charming suitor role to a tee. He told me that he had lied because he thought hed lose me, that he feels so lucky that Im such a forgiving person, Im the love of this life, that Ive made him a better person. Debra and John moved into a new apartment in Irvine. In fact, the Ted Lasso star says she would absolutely be okay wo, The Power (And Risks) Of Therapy On Reality TV, Zin Moreno Is Ready to Tell Her Side of the Story, Can Someone Please Get A Licensed Therapist On The Set Of, bragged about his (unproven) lineage to a famous mafia boss. Bravos Style & Living is your window to the fabulous lifestyles of Bravolebrities. Debra Newell and John Meehan attend a formal-dress cancer benefit in Orange County. Manzella said Meehan and the woman were not related by blood or romantically involved but had an ongoing troubled relationship., Dirty John: Who you marry might be the most important decision of your life, but it can also be the least rational >>. Tonia Bales was the first wife of John Meehan, the now infamous con man and serial abuser known to millions as "Dirty John." Meehan's life and crimes are the subjects of multiple books . Dr. John Meehan, a longtime Binghamtonophthalmologist, was struck and killed Friday night by a car traveling on State Route 26 near Franks Italian Restaurant in the town of Maine. During the fight, she kicked the knife out of Johns hand, then managed to grab it herself and stab him 13 times, including once through the eye. Billy shot Cindi in the back of the head at close range, then shot himself in the stomach and called emergency services. He weeps and apologizes. Amid poignant scenes . Once. If he gets back up he's gonna kill me, Terra told Fox5. John M Meehan in the California Birth Index, 1905-1995 Name: John M Meehan Birth Date: 3 Feb 1959 Gender: Male Mother's Maiden Name: Boles Birth County: Santa Clara _____ Johnathan M Meehan in the U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 Name: Johnathan M Meehan Birth Date: 3 Feb 1959 Address: 6028 Lakewood Dr, Hamilton, OH, 45011-8170 Debra Newell, whose story inspired Dirty John,shared some shocking images of where ex-husband and con artist John Meehan lived. Daily lessons in deceit included con artistry, from insurance scams to trumped-up lawsuits and other fraud. Though the exact details remain sketchy, it is believed that on July 1 of 1981 a group of men bent on murder would enter the house at 8763 Wonderland with steel pipes and proceed to bash in the heads of everyone in the house. Debra Newell even changed her will, terrified of murder at his hands. Why? Twenty years before the events of Dirty John, Debra Newell's sister Cindi was shot and killed by her husband, Billy Vickers. Remarkably, it landed just inches from her. Unfortunately, the damage didn't stop there. Psychology's "dark triad" exploded to the surface. But, when Jacquelyn tells Debra that John is in town, her mother believes she is mistaken. Hes rotten top to bottom.. It was created, produced, and written by Alexandra Cunningham, and stars Connie Britton and Eric Bana.[35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. At trial, Cindis mother Arlane Hart testified in Billys defense, explaining that she loved him and did not believe he had been in his right mind when he shot and killed her daughter. Beyond the boyish handsomeness, he had the singular ability to make a woman feel listened to, appreciated, and utterly captivated. On Facebook, many have posted their thoughts on Meehan's death and his impact on the community. This content is imported from poll. Police said the altercation began at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday when Meehan approached a woman atop the parking structure of the Coronado at Newport apartment complex in the 1900 block of Sherington Place and assaulted her with the knife. He was a master manipulator who convinced her what the private investigator found was about another John Meehan. Meehan was known for his penchant for colorful revisions of his own life story. I feel like all the other cast members have said something, It has recently dawned on Camila Morrone what an odd and challenging thing it is to be a photographer. I tried to go back into a normal life, but couldn't. Terra incapacitated Meehan with the knife, but she was still in danger. Hannah Fry is a Metro reporter covering Orange County for the Los Angeles Times. The car was later found a block away, soaked in gasoline and with mild fire damageJohn had tried and failed to set it completely alight. "He was trying to push me into the car," Terra told Dateline. ), quite possibly because the off-the-charts-crazy plot actually happened IRL. After four failed marriages, she felt maybe she had found "the real thing.". He died from his wounds a few days later. The podcast deals with themes of abuse and manipulation, as well as the behaviors of those being abused. Other nicknames from this time included "Filthy John" and "Filthy". When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Ever wondered what you've got to do to get a made-for-TV movie about your life? Squeezing into a cargo elevator shaft, he attempted to disappear like a cockroach exposed to the light. At the time, Meehan was estranged from Newell and living in Nevada. Theres a particular moment in Love Is Blind season 4 that indicates that things might be different this time around tha, This story includes spoilers for Hulus UnPrisoned Season 1. Meehan cultivated grandiose dreams, slapping a "MEE 007" license plate on his car. I started to go to therapy, which didn't help until I found a great "EMDR" therapist [Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a form of therapy that addresses trauma] in Austin, Texas, and took the time to heal. She even put a shiny new credit card in his hands. According to Psych Central, "people high in narcissism may see themselves as victims of interpersonal transgressions more often than people not living with the disorder.". This past episode of Dirty John exposed John's past and the forces. My mother, Debra Newell, met him on a dating website. John was released from prison on October 8 after serving time for violating a restraining order. Juno Temple thinks Keeley Jones would make a pretty good boss. JOHN MEEHAN You've probably seen pics of John floating around - we even had him as the lead picture for our original story on the podcast. Meehan was killed by Newell's younger daughter, Terra, who acted in self-defense when he tried to abduct her on the rooftop parking lot of her apartment building on August 20, 2016. Though he injured her, Terra was able to wrangle the knife away, subsequently stabbing Meehan numerous times in the head, arms and chest. There is no crosswalk where the accident occurred and no traffic tickets or charges had been filed as of Monday. He was basically this strange, lone-wolf guy that did all kinds of scandalous-type things, and it wasnt just with women, a former classmate of Johns, Kevin Horan, told The LA Times. John Meehan soaked up his father's lessons in nefariousness like a sponge, making deviants and murderers his role models. There was no imminent threat, they ruled, because John lived in another state and had never physically harmed her. In other words, John Meehan went from "dirty" to dangerous on a dime. He confided in his sister that he'd visited their hometown, and he bragged about making a special trip to the family cemetery in Los Gatos to sullyhis mother's grave. He attended Wright State in Dayton, per theLos Angeles Times. Billy was charged with first degree murder, but unfortunately this story. Goffard describes this incident: Despite the ongoing family tension, Debra and John married in Las Vegas after less than two months of dating, while Debra was there on a business trip. Currently, Terra and Debra are alive and thriving. Luckily, as. The first time she briefly left her father alone with her brother, it proved his last. Per Bustle, to protect her assets from an estranged husband. Fearing their mom had rushed into the relationship, Newells kids begged her to get away from him. Over the next year and a half, authorities stockpiled evidence against John Meehan, including accusations of drug theft from anesthesiologists in Butler County. The reward? Why say bad things about the victim?. After a day and a half of filming (and getting pretend stabbed in the eye), Bana completely understood the mechanics of Terra and Meehan's fight. "She was able to provide some really specific marks of what happened." Debras nephew ShadCindis soncalled her to raise concerns about John, revealing that he had served time in jail and had lied about being an anesthesiologist. Thankfully, it did the trick. Los Angeles Times journalist Christopher Goffard first heard of Meehan when he learned that the police were investigating a possible murder in Newport Beach. She still suffers from PTSD, but her heroic actions stopped a malevolent madman. A narcissistic psychopath, he conned women out of countless thousands by acting the part of the perfect beau, per the Los Angeles Times. Sells remembers their relationship as pleasant with few fights. The couple was in the process of separating, and the murder took place in the kitchen of the home they had just sold in Laguna Niguel, California. The podcast is hosted by Christopher Goffard and was created by Wondery and the Los Angeles Times. My family ended up hiring a private investigator and the information we learned terrified us: He had been arrested several times, had restraining orders from many women, was a hard-core drug user and so much more. The long con is over. Never miss a story by signing up for the newsletter now. The actions of violent con-man John Meehan are dramatised in Netflix's newest true-crime feature, Dirty Joh n. The story tells the real life drama of the convicted Meehan, who met Debra. Tonia tracked down Johns mother, Dolores, though he had always forbidden Tonia from contacting her. John pleaded guilty to felony drug theft, but rather than surrendering to authorities, he fled the state and checked into a hotel in Michigan, where police found him unconscious and surrounded by drug vials. In an interview with Bravo, Richard Suckle, executive producer of the show, stated, "I did ask Debra, and I asked Terra and Chris Goffard what they felt; they felt that he was probably going to kidnap Terra and then use that to bring Debra to wherever Terra was and he was probably going to kill both of them." Grabbing the weapon, she transformed into a zombie killer, stabbing Dirty John 13 times. "I don't think there was a very clearly defined through line in his motivation for a lot of things, other than this is what he does, and hes not capable of being any different. It was the reason she refused to have one around, long after people began warning her that she needed one.". "There was a gash where you could see blood and muscle and tissue. Hopefully people speak up if they feel like somethings wrong with someone's partner. His organs were too ravaged by drug use to be harvested. Laura Richards, a criminal behavioral analyst, notes, "You're talking about a grown adult female that is being almost undone psychologically so that they lose their sense of self, what they love, what they like doing, their very essence of being" (via Oxygen). Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. John has explanations for the accusations against him. William Meehan ran the Diamond Wheel Casino in San Jose, California, as reported by The Famous People. Vulture.com, meanwhile, praised the story as "stunning" but questioned the necessity of using a podcast as a way to share the story. But his long-term objectives appeared far more sinister. [6] The story was covered by Dateline NBC on January 12, 2018 and included interviews with Goffard. The Los Angeles Times reports that when Meehan met his next wife, Debra Newell, three ex-girlfriends had standing restraining orders against him. Per Goffard: Debra found printouts from websites on which women shared information about dangerous men, with scores of warnings about John: Do not let this man into your life, one comment said, while another called him a con artist and a classic psychopath." Dirty John Meehan's height is 5 feet 5 inches tall and his weight is 55 kg. As Dirty John shows in its graphic finale, Terra Newell, then 25, killed Meehan after he deliberately attacked her in a parking lot with a knife. Police did not identify the woman but said she is a Newport Beach resident in her 20s. Dirty John Death: Did The Finale Happen That Way IRL? Meehan, 78, was already being assisted by bystanders when police arrived at the scene at about 9:22 p.m. Friday. John Meehan died in the hospital at 57, four days after his fight with Terra. I also work to promote PTSD awareness and share my knowledge on self-defense. He doted on her until the narcissist's mask slipped. He drove to California with the the intent to attack Newell's youngest daughter. In the case of his first wife, Tonia Sells, his ardent passion for her turned cold after a decade. But after watching H, This story contains spoilers for Prime Videos Swarm. A post shared by Emily Meehan RN, BSN (@ematyourcervix) on Nov 14, 2018 at 4:34pm PST, On August 20, 2016, John Meehan ambushed Terra Newell in the parking lot outside her apartment complex in Irvine, CA. We wanted to spread awareness because these types of situations are so common. He introduced himself as her anesthesiologist, and they dated for a period, until she became uncomfortable with his suggestions that she transfer money into his bank account to hide it from her estranged husband." Based on a tangle with Dirty John, Dzialo describes him as the "scariest man" he's ever met (via the Los Angeles Times). In an August 2021 interview with A&E True Crime Newell says that Meehan used love bombing (manipulation by overwhelming someone with loving words, actions and behavior) and what she later realized was coercive control, or micromanaging someones life in an effort to create dependency and dominate them.

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