In June 2003, police in the UK respond to a report of a stabbing in an alleyway. The victim is a 14-year-old boy, the reporting person is his 16-year-old friend, and the perpetrator is described as a man in a hoodie, but video evidence later proves no such man exists.

The events leading up to this true crime are more bizarre than most soap opera story lines – with tales from a teen chatroom that include love, spies, secret codes, kidnapping, murder, and much more. Did anyone escape alive? Find out on this edition of The Escape Pod!

Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:

• Topic #1 1:33 Escaping a fast ... and slow traffic

• Topic #2 9:37 Introduction to a “bonkers” of a story

• Topic #3 19:22 Introduction to best friend “Mark”

• Topic #4 26:30 Red Flag #1: A person claiming to be a spy joins the chatroom

• Topic #5 36:02 Mark gets his first big “assignment,” and it’s a doozy!

• Topic #6 52:26 Escapism, co-host-style

Resources & Links

• https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2005/02/bachrach200502

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/3758209.stm

• https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/boy-planned-own-murder-on-internet-1110229

• Casefile Presents 12/22/2018. Case 104: “Mark and John” https://podscripts.co/podcasts/casefile-true-crime/case-104-mark-john

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