Terra Newell is a survivor, podcaster, life coach, and victim advocate. Best known for her survival story involving John Meehan, as portrayed in the series Dirty John, Terra has turned her traumatic experience into a mission to help others. She focuses on empowering survivors, ethical storytelling in true crime, and mental health advocacy.

Listeners can learn more about Terra Newell on IG @terranewell

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, sits down with Terra Newell to recount the day she was forced to defend her life against her stepfather, John Meehan, in a story that shocked the world and inspired a popular television series, Dirty John. Terra recounts the day of the ambush, the years of manipulation leading up to it, and the aftermath of her self-defense actions that ultimately saved her life.

Show Notes:

• (0:00) Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum
• (0:10) Background of guest, Terra Newell
• (2:30) Terra’s childhood in Orange County
• (7:00) The moment Terra's sister voiced concerns about John Meehan
• (7:45) Early red flags in John
• (11:30) Terra's first major confrontation with John
• (16:45) Hiring a private investigator to uncover Meehan’s past
• (27:00) The terrifying ambush in the parking lot
• (29:00) Terra’s detailed recollection of the fight for her life
• (35:30) Current projects and advocacy work
• (41:30) “The principle of self-defense, even involving weapons and bloodshed has never been condemned. Even by Gandhi.” -MLK
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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award-winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

Social Links:

• Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

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