In May 1999, police opened the vault of a disused bank in the tiny South Australian town of Snowtown and found barrels — and bodies dissolving in acid inside them. It wasthe end of the worst series of killings in Australian history: at least eleven people murdered over seven years.

But almost nobody died in Snowtown. The town just owned the vault. The real horror happened in the suburbs of Adelaide, carried out by a group of men led by JohnBunting — a charismatic, certain man who believed he was a hero. He kept a wall of names. He told himself and his followers he was ridding the world of pedophiles.

He wasn't. His victims were vulnerable friends, partners, and family — and the group quietly collected their welfare payments after they died. This episode unpackshow one dominant man built a worldview where murder felt righteous, recruited broken and dependent followers into it — including a groomed teenage stepsonwho became both killer and victim — and nearly got away with all of it. Plus where each of the men stands now, including the accomplice released into the community in 2024.

The most dangerous intent in the world isn't the kind that knows it's evil. It's the kind that's certain it's good.

Intent doesn't lie. People do.

#TrueCrime #DeadlyIntent #Snowtown #SnowtownMurders #BodiesInBarrels #JohnBunting #TrueCrimePodcast #CrimePodcast #AustralianTrueCrime #TrueCrimeCommunity#SerialKiller #MurderPodcast #CriminalMinds #TrueCrimeJunkie #PodcastRecommendation

If this episode brought up something heavy for you, please reach out to a trusted person or a local support line. You don't have to be in crisis to deserve support.

🎧 EXPLORE MORE:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent: https://www.carman-carrion.com/Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

💀 SUPPORT THE SHOW: Patreon: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

🔗 CONNECT: Website:https://www.carman-carrion.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrionTwitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🎵 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY 🎵 iTunes:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deadly-intent/id1550361184

🎼 Music: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks,Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, Soundstripe.

Content Warning: Before we begin, a warning that's heavierthan usual. This episode deals with the murder of pregnant women, the death of infants, and the loss of pregnancy. If you are pregnant, recently postpartum, or grieving a pregnancy loss, please take care of yourself. This one can wait. It'll be here when you're ready.

Netflix's MATERNAL INSTINCT made Taylor Parker a namepeople can't stop searching. But the crime it shows isn't a one-off — and one nearly identical case happened 30 minutes from my front door.

In this bonus episode of Deadly Intent, we go past thedocumentary. Fetal abduction is one of the rarest crimes on record — roughly 21 cases in 60 years in the entire United States — and yet the women who commit itfollow a pattern so consistent it's almost a script. The faked pregnancy. The deadline that can't be survived without a baby. The confidence trick. And the same lie, every time: "I just gave birth."

To understand Taylor Parker, we go back to the case theexperts call the template — Lisa Montgomery and Bobbie Jo Stinnett — and then we come home, to Benton County, Arkansas, and the murder of Ashley Bush by Amber Waterman: a Facebook lure, a fake job offer, a public library used as a hunting blind. Three women who killed. Three women who died. One psychology running through all of it.

This isn't a recap. It's the why — narcissism, the"elimination crime," and the warning signs worth knowing. And it's a promise this show always keeps: the victims get their names said out loud, and said with respect. Bobbie Jo Stinnett. Reagan Simmons-Hancock. Ashley Bush.Victoria Jo, who lived. Braxlynn and Valkyrie, who didn't.

Intent doesn't lie. People do.

#MaternalInstinct #TaylorParker #Netflix #TrueCrime#TrueCrimePodcast #FetalAbduction #LisaMontgomery #AmberWaterman #DeadlyIntent #ForensicPsychology #CriminalPsychology #TrueCrimeCommunity #BentonCounty#Arkansas #CrimeDocumentary

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

________________________________________

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

________________________________________

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

________________________________________

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

iTunes:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

________________________________________

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

________________________________________

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: Epidemic Sound,ElevenLabs

She arrived at the emergency room too calmly. A little blood on her arm, a story about a bushy-haired stranger on a dark Oregon road, and three shot children in the back seat. One of them — 7-year-old Cheryl — was already gone. The other twowould survive scarred: 8-year-old Christie fighting back from a stroke, 3-year-old Danny paralyzed for life.

There was no stranger.

Diane Downs shot her own children in May 1983 to clear the path to a man who'd told her he didn't want kids. Her motive wasn't madness or mercy — it was arithmetic. Herchildren were obstacles, and she decided to remove them. This episode traces how her story fell apart, how her own daughter relearned how to speak just to testify against her, and how, forty-two years and four parole denials later,Diane Downs still refuses to admit what she did.

Some killers don't look like killers. That's exactly what they're counting on.

Intent doesn't lie. People do.

Next week, we're heading to Australia — to a quiet country town, an empty bank, and the worst series of killings the country has ever seen. The men who did it believed, all the way down, that they were the good guys.

#TrueCrime #DeadlyIntent #DianeDowns #SmallSacrifices #Filicide #TrueCrimePodcast #CrimePodcast #ColdCase #TrueCrimeCommunity #MurderPodcast #CriminalMinds#TrueCrimeJunkie #PodcastRecommendation #OregonTrueCrime

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453

🎧 EXPLORE MORE:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt: https://www.carman-carrion.com/ Deadly Intent: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

💀 SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

🔗 CONNECT:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrionTwitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY 🎵 iTunes:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deadly-intent/id1550361184

🎼 Music: Epidemic Sound, ElevenLabs