3x05: The Bourke Street Killer

[00:00:04] My name is Andrew Tate and this is season 3 episode 5 of Let's Not Meet, A True Horror Podcast. I live in a middle-low class neighborhood in the Caribbean.

[00:00:28] It's a quiet place where nothing happens, the type of place where people go and retire to sip on pina coladas all day. However, a few houses next to mine lived a family that was not like the rest. They had the biggest house on the street and lived luxuriously.

[00:00:47] Their kids would play with me, especially the smallest girl we nicknamed Tiny. Tiny was about 5 when I was maybe 11 and she was always at my house.

[00:01:00] I knew my mom and the neighbors were concerned about a 5 year old being all day outside and not arriving at her house until midnight on school nights, but it was a quiet place where nothing happened, so no one got worried.

[00:01:16] When Tiny turned 6, her parents threw a giant birthday party for her and all the neighborhood kids were invited. I wanted to go. They had bouncy houses, water slides, and everything a kid could want to play with, but my parents didn't allow me to go.

[00:01:34] I never knew why. I suppose it was just because my mom didn't know her mom. I remember feeling very sad because everyone was there and I was playing alone at my house.

[00:01:47] After the birthday, things went back to normal and one day we were all playing and talking about what our parents did for work. We asked Tiny and her siblings but none of them knew what they did except traveled a lot and they were always at meetings.

[00:02:05] I didn't pay much attention and we all continued with our day. One night, we were playing on the street when we started hearing loud pops coming from Tiny's house. I'll never forget that day. The neighbors, including my mom, came out, rushing us inside, yelling that it was gunshots.

[00:02:24] Some of us got into my house and we stayed there as my next door neighbor, who was a cop, ran towards Tiny's house. All we saw after the gunshots was a black van rushing down the street and almost killing a dog.

[00:02:39] Some men entered the house. Tiny and her siblings wanted to go check what was going on but everyone forbade them to go. All I remember was a bunch of cops and an ambulance a few minutes later and in a day, I never saw Tiny or her siblings again.

[00:02:55] For a couple of months, the house sat empty but black vans and strange men kept coming into the neighborhood door to door asking for any information about the man and his children.

[00:03:08] No one in the neighborhood spoke about it. I know the cops asked me about Tiny and the kids and if they ever said something weird about his dad and mom. But I was only 11 and more concerned about playing Mario Kart on Wii than about what happened that night.

[00:03:29] Years passed and the story faded away. Now that I'm grown up, I asked my neighborhood friend, the cop, what went down that night as there were rumors that the guy died.

[00:03:43] He said that night, the man got a gun, emptied it in his skull and his wife was gravely wounded. She survived though.

[00:03:52] He was a drug lord that was going to make a deal with the police to turn his rival gangs in and some other people to the cops.

[00:04:04] The men in the van that were going door to door wanted to know where his kids and wife were to also shut them up. As to the kids, the oldest son was found dead a few hours away in a neighboring town. His car set ablaze.

[00:04:23] His other children are now living in other countries under witness protection programs. I just hope wherever Tiny is, she's doing okay and her family got the help that they needed.

[00:04:35] I'm a female in my mid-20s who originally grew up in a small outback mining community in South Australia.

[00:04:57] When I was in primary school, there was also a boy in my class named Jimmy. He was not the best kid in class, but more of a class clown who played cruel pranks on others to get a laugh.

[00:05:12] I wasn't friends with him, but since we had a small school, everyone pretty much knew each other. One day when I was in class, everything was normal in class, but all of a sudden the school bell starts ringing a strange sound.

[00:05:28] Not one that we normally hear for lunch. The teacher has a panicked look and asks everyone to remain seated. There was another room the teacher used to make a call while we waited.

[00:05:43] She came back and told everyone that the school is in lockdown and we all have to remain calm and stay put while locking the door from the inside.

[00:05:52] I remember being too young to understand what was going on, and I didn't think too much of it as we never had this sort of thing happen before and the school was not particularly high risk.

[00:06:05] We waited for a long time, not really sure of what to do or say, but eventually another teaching staff member came into the classroom to give us the all clear and let us know that everything was alright.

[00:06:22] I went home not really worried, but just curious, wondering what the heck actually happened.

[00:06:29] It wasn't until a few days later that I heard through the grapevine that the kid from school had stolen a stick of gelignite from their dad and planted it beneath the home ec room at the school.

[00:06:42] It turned out this kid was Jimmy, which wasn't really a surprise to me. On the day of the incident, the school had to go into lockdown and the authorities were contacted to safely remove the explosive device.

[00:06:56] Jimmy only got expelled for about a week, but he was allowed to come back to school after the investigation. I didn't really have a lot of interaction with Jimmy after this event as we also were in different friendship circles.

[00:07:11] Eventually, Jimmy moved away to another town and I graduated high school and moved on with my life.

[00:07:17] It wasn't until a decade later while I was at work in a new city, I was sitting in my office and noticed another employee was reading something online and made a big gasping sound.

[00:07:32] I leaned over their shoulder to see what they were reading and what I saw was Jimmy in a red car terrorizing innocent bystanders in the main street of Melbourne. I couldn't believe what I was watching and quickly jumped onto social media to see if it was really him.

[00:07:52] To my horror, numerous friends confirmed my suspicions and it was a shock at first but I remembered what he was like growing up. I knew that something like this was bound to happen. Unfortunately, the system failed and he had somehow slipped through the cracks.

[00:08:11] My heart goes out to all the lives lost in that tragic day where Jimmy ran over and killed six innocent people. All I can hope for is that he is now contained and won't be hurting anyone anymore.

[00:08:27] It still shocks me that I grew up and went to school with James, the Burke Street Killer. To preface this, I have been on a shocking amount of dates and put myself in many foolish situations in the past.

[00:08:54] I am a female and was 25 at the time if it matters. It started on Plenty of Fish. I came across a cute guy. He was my type physically, which was kind of nerdy looking.

[00:09:09] On his profile he had very adventurous photos of him hiking and traveling. He seemed really exciting to get to know.

[00:09:17] Once he saw that I looked at his profile, he sent me a message. We flirted a bit back and forth and exchanged numbers even though he lived about an hour away.

[00:09:29] He said on the app he's never been to my city and didn't plan on it so we probably wouldn't meet. I respected his honesty. I don't like wasting my time.

[00:09:41] One day shortly after meeting him online, he texts me randomly saying that he's in my town on some work thing and invited me to a bar that he was at. I decided to meet up since I was already in the area. He said he could pick me up.

[00:10:01] I was dumb and agreed even though it was just over four blocks away. It took him way longer than it should have to get to me. And I honestly don't think he was actually ever at the bar.

[00:10:16] Once in Plenty of Fish's car, I noticed it was a rental and that it seemed like he had just gotten his license because he was a terrible driver. After driving in circles, he told me to pick a place but not in the area because parking is impossible.

[00:10:38] I picked a place 15 minutes away by car which has lots of parking but also a busy place since I was with a stranger. Once there, he started pressuring me to drink. He insisted. I'm not a huge drinker but I enjoy pub style bars.

[00:10:59] I caved and had a drink and was again pressured to have another one. He was very pushy and seemed really irritated that I wasn't going for it.

[00:11:10] Usually, I would end a date pretty quickly if I was being mistreated but he became charming enough to keep me there at least until we were done with our date. I saw an old acquaintance at the bar and wanted my date to know that I knew him.

[00:11:29] In my head, I think I wanted my date to know that someone could identify me. I'm not a paranoid person but I think my subconscious was on alert.

[00:11:39] After an hour talking in the bar, I tell him I'm ready to head out. He insisted that we go across the road to get coffee.

[00:11:48] At the time, it seemed strange to me. Neither of us had much to drink and didn't need to sober up. Coffee just seemed like an odd choice otherwise. I entertained it though. Once there, we sipped our drinks.

[00:12:05] He told me he rented a beautiful Airbnb in a nearby neighborhood that is more out of the city and in the country. He told me that he had it all to himself and invited me, going on about how nice it was.

[00:12:17] I kept politely saying no and throwing around different excuses which he would counter with a reason for me to come. With no intention of going, I agreed but only if he would drive me home to get my overnight things.

[00:12:33] I felt he wasn't going to let me say no. He seemed happy with that answer so we headed out. While driving in the direction of my place, he said instead that he would stop at a 7-Eleven and grab me travel sized toiletries so I wouldn't need anything.

[00:12:51] I felt panicked because my plan was to not go with him. Something about him was off and I felt stupid for even getting back in his car to begin with. He turned on his car and we were headed towards the more country area.

[00:13:09] Literally, there aren't any 7-Elevens or open stores in the middle of nowhere. Then I mention that I'm actually thinking I'd prefer not to stay with him and ask that he took me home. He then said something that made me completely nervous to be around him for much longer.

[00:13:30] He said he's sharing the Airbnb with the owners and said that they're really fun and sweet and that they drink and play games together. He originally said that he had it all to himself.

[00:13:46] I knew that I didn't want to make it obvious that I was catching on to his lies so I went along with it and said, Oh, I have to wear my cute fluffy overnight PJs instead of my date dress because I'll be way more comfy.

[00:14:03] Then I spewed off a few other things. I mentioned that I need my medication and absolutely can't miss a dose. Surprisingly, he turned around and as we drove back into the city, I felt a bit more calm but at that point, not safe.

[00:14:21] We finally got close to my place. I had no intention of letting him close enough to know where I lived. He was mentioning that he was going to come up to my apartment once we got there and that is just a huge hell no from me.

[00:14:36] I don't know what I would do but I looked for any opportunity to get out of the situation knowing that he could turn around and take me somewhere private in a matter of 15 minutes if he wanted to. We got to a stop sign where people were crossing.

[00:14:54] Thank God. I quickly but calmly got out and said, You know, I think I have a headache. I'll text you. I closed the car door and went through a public park which was beside a building that his car wouldn't be able to drive into.

[00:15:13] I looked back to make sure that he wasn't getting out of his car following and I could see him staring at me. He was so furious. I have chills just thinking about it. Within the hour, he blocked me on plenty of fish.

[00:15:30] Looking back, I think he possibly wanted to get me a coffee or put something in it. I think he told me on plenty of fish that we wouldn't ever meet to maybe cover his ass. And I know he did not have good intentions with me.

[00:15:50] Since then, I have met my fiance on plenty of fish and was super careful about dating up until then making sure the first few dates are very public and to arrange my own transportation. So plenty of fish creep. Let's not meet again.

[00:16:06] This just happened tonight. I'm freaked out and honestly just pissed off. I'm a 23 year old female. I met Jason from an app online last September. We clicked immediately and from then on went out together about once a week, sometimes twice.

[00:16:40] We've spent the last year going on dates. We went out to nice restaurants and had a great time. We established that we had feelings for each other about two months into everything. And though we had our rocky moments, I didn't fully trust him.

[00:16:55] At one point, I wanted to date but he claimed he was too busy with work, which subsequently caused us to separate for a while. Once we eventually came back together, we were able to get back together.

[00:17:10] I told him I didn't want to be exclusive but we could still hang out as I enjoyed his company.

[00:17:16] Now, there was always some sneaking suspicions that there was another partner in his life because he always paid cash wherever we went and he was very secretive about his private life.

[00:17:29] I had voiced these thoughts to him but honestly didn't care too much because after he told me he wasn't interested. I also started seeing another partner and was using protection with both of them.

[00:17:42] Meanwhile, he didn't want to date me but raged whenever he thought there was another man around in my life. He was exhibiting some concerning and possessive behaviors but I let them slide for the most part because I was still doing what I was supposed to do.

[00:18:00] Fast forward to tonight, November 19th, 2019, 14 months after we've met. We went to a very nice restaurant downtown after work and I asked him if he wanted to take the subway back to my place since we had had a few drinks.

[00:18:20] We stopped by his car to grab his bag and off we went to the station. When we got to the station, he said he forgot his card in his car and I figured it was no biggie and swiped for him.

[00:18:33] I said that he didn't need to pay me back because it was like $2 but he insisted that he would Venmo me.

[00:18:41] When we got to my apartment, I told him that I was going to take him to the bathroom and he was going to be there in a minute. I was messing around on my phone and saw CS had sent me $2 for the train.

[00:18:53] This is weird to me because his initials are JN so I clicked on his Venmo friends list. He only had around 20 Venmo friends and I was the only one who had a friend who was a friend of his.

[00:19:07] This is weird to me because his initials are JN so I clicked on his Venmo friends list. He only had around 20 Venmo friends and I was the only one who had a friend who was a friend of his.

[00:19:22] I went down their friends list and would you look at that, a picture of Jason and his brother. Only issue is his name was Chase Smith. The photo did look a little different because he was about 50-60 pounds heavier in the photograph and he's currently very fit.

[00:19:43] But I was 90% sure that was him. Just to confirm, I googled his name and the area around where he lives and I got a hit on white pages. It said he was related to Velma and Shaggy Smith.

[00:20:00] And I remembered him telling me that his siblings were named Velma and Shaggy. So it turned out I didn't even know the name of the guy. I've been boinking for a year.

[00:20:14] He got out of the shower, sat down on my bed and I was quiet and looked at his face asking, Is your real name Chase Smith? This guy looked at me dead in the eye and said, No. You guys, I lost it.

[00:20:35] Like I made the leave Britney alone guy look calm and collected. I started crying and telling him to get the fuck out of my house. He approached me and I told him not to touch me but he grabbed my wrists and insisted that we talk about it.

[00:20:52] I told him again to get the fuck out of my house and never contact me again. He refused to leave for a while but eventually he did.

[00:21:02] Well, afterwards, I looked a little deeper and I found out he has a criminal record, though I can't see what they're for.

[00:21:10] From his past behavior, I'm honestly a little worried for my safety because I immediately blocked him on everything and I know for a fact he's going to go apeshit when he realizes that he can't contact me.

[00:21:24] Everything has been a lie. When you think you know someone, it turns out they're probably crazy. Admittedly, it's a bit funny because what the fuck but also I'm getting some you vibes if you know what I mean and I'm not ready to die yet.

[00:21:43] So I'd be cool if Chase Smith never came around again. This final story contains some graphic content that may be disturbing for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. This happened around 9 years ago, when I was 11. I changed the names, obviously. This is certainly fucked up.

[00:22:09] There was a girl at school called Amy who didn't have many friends and she was a little bit of a bitch. We got to talking and she actually turned out to be very nice and we became best friends rather quickly.

[00:22:23] It got to the point where I spent every weekend at her house and then we would walk to school together. Even at my age, I knew that I was going to be a bad influence on her.

[00:22:34] Even at my age, I knew that I was going to be a bad influence on her. We'll call him Kevin. He was very interested in me, it seems, and always tried to play fight and stuff which is weird in itself.

[00:22:48] Whenever he was around, I felt weird. He was a short, fat, skinny, fat boy. He was a short, fat, skinny, fat boy. Always has a weird smirk on his face and really wide eyes. It started off with stealing bits of my food when I wasn't looking,

[00:23:08] and then laughing and making sure to put his arm around my shoulder. It started off with stealing bits of my food when I wasn't looking, and then laughing and making sure to put his arm around my shoulder.

[00:23:26] He'd always be wherever we were. Upstairs, downstairs, or the garden. He always lurked about. There was one day Amy's Nan was visiting her mother, and Kevin kissed her Nan on the mouth hello which was really, really weird. Anyway, they turned into the creepiest, sloppiest French kisses.

[00:23:51] Everyone except me and Amy found it funny. She put on a smile when her family looked over, but I could tell she was horrified. Maybe I shouldn't have gone back, but I felt like I had to for Amy.

[00:24:08] After that, there was a day we were playing in her room, and Kevin came in and started an argument over nothing. It got heated, and he grabbed the garbage bag saying he was going to throw all of her toys away.

[00:24:25] Of course an 11-year-old is going to get mad if they think their dolls are going to be thrown away, so she was hysterical. We followed him downstairs where he told her if she spoke to him like that again, she would regret it.

[00:24:40] It was then he started to remove his belt. She pushed me towards the front door which is just in front of the stairs so we could run out, but she was sort of laughing as she was trying to convince me that this wasn't serious,

[00:24:56] but I could tell that it was. I got out the door, but when I turned around and waited, Kevin slammed it shut. But not the porch door. And then all I heard was Amy screaming at the top of her lungs.

[00:25:13] I was so scared, but I didn't want to leave her, I just stood there. Eventually, I found the courage to go back in, and I went upstairs to Amy who was brushing her doll's hair. She smiled at me, but she had a tear-stained face.

[00:25:31] There were no visible marks, but all that was shown were her arms so he could have hit her anywhere. I then felt as if I had to protect her so I continued going there and didn't tell my mom a thing.

[00:25:45] One night, I woke up thirsty, and we were close enough for me to get some water. I didn't want to go get myself a drink, so I went downstairs and Kevin was laying there, on the floor in the dark, with nothing but his underwear on.

[00:26:03] And he just stared at me. It was the scariest thing. Just the streetlamp from outside shining through the gap, and the blinds lit up the room just enough to see. I didn't get myself a drink. I just ran back upstairs.

[00:26:22] I wouldn't go there after that until I knew for sure he wouldn't be there, and I didn't sleep over anymore. I'm not sure if I ever told my mom, but I think she would have gone and killed him.

[00:26:37] I was talking to Amy recently, and she opened up to me. She sent me her mental health assessment sheet. When she was 10, she woke up to Kevin raping her 15-year-old sister. Kevin isn't her sister's dad, not that that makes this any better. She was screaming for Amy.

[00:26:58] It also stated that he beat Amy on a regular basis. Most recent was two years ago. He beat her up in front of a friend, and her friend called the police. I told her the things that I had seen, and how I knew something was not right.

[00:27:16] All I know of him now is that he's in the hospital, suffering with COPD. And I just don't give a fuck.

[00:28:01] I sent my best friend's dad a message on Reddit using all those sad times. He wasn't who I thought he was, by Reddit user RunthersZombies. And finally, my best friend's dad, by Reddit user TiggyBoo18.

[00:28:18] Special thanks to all of my Patreon subscribers and sponsors that support Let's Not Meet for helping me to afford studio time at my friend's recording studio in town to do these new episodes.

[00:28:29] I've got a series, as I've spoken about in previous episodes, that goes on in my apartment complex that have really held me back from being able to get good performances.

[00:28:38] I have to stop every 5-10 minutes just to get up and walk around so that I don't rage quit and throw my computer out the window and shit all over it. Also, I'd like to say a happy anniversary to listeners Luke and Yasmin. Thanks for supporting the show.

[00:28:54] If you'd like to send in your story, send it in to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com and if you have any questions, just email me at letsnotmeetpodcast at gmail.com I do my best to get back to everyone.

[00:29:06] I'll see you guys next week for a brand new episode of Let's Not Meet.