In Episode 47 we told you about the McMartin Preschool case and the Satanic Panic that overtook an entire nation under the fear that our children are not safe. This week we are joined by Keelan Balderson from WideShut to cover a case that is hauntingly familiar, but occurring in modern-day Europe. When Ella Draper met marijuana-advocate Abraham Christie her life, and the lives of her two young children, spiraled out of control. According to Mrs Justice Pauffley, the presiding judge in the case, Christie was an abusive man who punished the children by hitting them with metal spoons and kicking them in the stomach. According to Pauffley’s ruling, the couple brainwashed the two kids into making up an elaborate story about a satanic cult committing the ritualistic murder of children. Not surprisingly, at the head of the cult, was the children’s father who was in the midst of a bitter custody dispute with Draper at the time. A bizarre cast of characters, including software engineer turned victim’s advocate Sabine McNeill, refuses to believe the judges ruling and instead continue to argue that the whole thing is a grand conspiracy reaching the highest levels of government, despite the total lack of physical evidence in the case. This case demonstrates what happens when personal beliefs and biases take hold over common sense.
