Feb 24, 20218 min read

Mini Episode 2. Available Now!!

Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Wives and Knives a true crime podcast with your hosts Dani & Kelly.

Please remember that we mean no disrespect to anyone mentioned in this episode, or across any of the wives and knives platforms.

We have an interest in true crime and related topics and whilst we may offer our own personal views on certain items it is meant to be educational and as light-hearted as possible. The information we present is collated from research gathered from the internet and we reference and credit our sources wherever possible.

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D: Hello everyone, hope you are all doing okay out there.

We are bringing you a treat this week with another mini episode.

K: Yep, this week we are going to update you on a couple of cases we are following. Our side cases and some interesting crime related stories. before we get into it shall we have a quick catch up? You had some exciting news – do you want to share?

D- I got a new job – I am awesome.

K – Congratulations, well done you. Also work related for me as we record this I am now fully back to work after my cancer vacation. So that’s been a mild head fuck to say the least.

D: well, done to you too.

Yeah, we can’t promise this every week but when we can we’ll try to provide updates, reviews, or little mini episodes in between the main episodes.

So, let’s start by telling you if you hadn’t already heard about the passing of Peter Lawrence. Sadly, Peter, who was Claudia Lawrence’s dad died on Thursday 11th February at St Leonards Hospice in York, following a short illness.

Peter Lawrence, who was 74, was in his early 60s when his youngest daughter, 35-year-old Claudia Lawrence, went missing. We covered her disappearance in Episode 5 so if you want to hear more and haven’t listened already, you should.

Peter was instrumental in keeping Claudia’s name alive and in the public’s thoughts, and I think both of us would agree that it is sad that he passed without learning what happened to her and who was responsible.

Born in Lancashire, Peter moved to Darlington in County Durham when he was seven and went to the local grammar school, after which he gained a law degree at the University of Nottingham. He became a solicitor in 1970.

Beyond Claudia’s case, Peter also helped the families of other missing people through the Missing People charity and, through relentless lobbying and campaigning, helped to bring about the Guardianship (Missing Person’s) Act 2017, also known as “Claudia’s Law”.

In 2018 he was appointed OBE in recognition of his work on behalf of missing people and their families.

He is survived by his eldest daughter, Ali.

We will be watching closely to see if Peter’s passing impacts the case at all but for now our thoughts are with Claudia’s remaining family at this particularly sad time.

D: the next thing we are going to discuss is the Britney documentary – we were lucky enough to get an advance view of this, but it is now readily available on Now TV in the Uk.

Who knew that Dani was an OG Britney fan? We obviously need to make the fancy-dress group-watch of crossroads an actual thing for all involved. Which version of Britney would you come as?

But to the documentary.

Considering it’s the New York Times presenting this I was expecting something a bit more interesting maybe something I hadn’t heard or didn’t know before the programme, but it seems it is just a round up of everything we already knew.

The majority of the documentary runs through Britney’s younger life, her rise to fame and the treatment of her and the impact it has had on her. It highlights the work done by the army of Britney fans who raised awareness and made #FreeBritney viral.

The documentary also heavily focusses on the relationship between Britney and the people who have controlled her life and finances for most of her adult life.

I personally found it an awkward watch as it reminded me of how badly she has been treated as well as what she has been through and at the time of recording more than one celebrity has acknowledged and apologised for their treatment of her in the past. Lots more celebrities have spoken out following its release and that’s not all. A few days after it originally aired in America, Britney’s dad lost his recent legal bid to retain sole control of her through a conservatorship (which apparently neither Myself nor Dani can say.)

Even if you aren’t a Britney fan it is still a good documentary and raises some uncomfortable questions around the industry and further.

D: what are we discussing next.

K: I consistently post any updates on news stories on the face book page but there’s one that I keep checking because I’ve been following this case since she went missing on the 22nd of November 2020.

And it is the case of Esther Dingley. So, I’m going to quickly cover the case and tell you a bit about Esther and her partner Dan Colegate.

Esther and Dan both Oxford educated people who lived in Durham England; had a conventional life, with a nice flat and an imminent wedding in sight.

Until Dan became ill, so seriously ill in fact that Esther was told he would likely die. Dan had contracted Necrotising fasciitis the flesh-eating bacteria following surgery for a childhood condition.

Both of them were suffering with Mental Health problems that were impacting on their lives and happiness, so in 2014 Dan and Esther decided to ditch the dreary UK 9-5 and go travelling.

They bought a campervan and called it Homer, rented out their flat and sold their car. They documented their travels in blogs and on Instagram. And also took odd jobs like House sitting, to provide them with a bit of stability and break from van life. Dan wrote some Travel books, and the couple were working on children’s books together inspired by their own adventures.

In November 2020, the BBC interviewed them about their life on the open road. At the time Dan and Esther were hundreds of miles apart.

“they realised that during the coronavirus they hadn’t been apart for a year so had decided to do their own thing for a while.”

This couple have been travelling together for six years, they’ve lived all over Europe. It sounds like an amazing.

But it can’t have been all fun and excitement all the time – the reality to van life especially in lockdown must have been hard! and Esther was a blogger, so it was clearly documented.

“To put it bluntly living in a motorhome together almost broke us up it wasn’t until we made a conscious choice to work on our relationship that we found a way back to loving feelings.

The couple decided to take time apart, and in October experienced hiker Esther began her carefully planned month long solo trek across the Pyrenees from Spain to France.

Dan opted to stay home house sitting in Gascony about 2.5 hrs away and the couple planned to stay in touch through WhatsApp messages which Dan would then upload to the couples’ Socials.

In the days that followed Esther documented her travels with a series of pictures.

On the 17th of November, Esther struggling with deep snow posted a picture of an animal print - possibly made by a bear.

Luckily, Esther made it safely to Cabana Santa Ana a remote refuge shack and stayed there the following night alone.

November 19’ths Facebook post, when she had reached the summit of the almost 9.000ft mountain states she met someone up there.

“It was the first time I’d seen anyone else for almost 2 days and as this kind fellow hiker took some photos the weather blew in and it was time for a sharp descent.”

Esther does not identify the stranger but reveals he joined her on the descent, which would have taken several hours. She then made a potentially fateful decision to accept a lift from the man.

She wrote: “I had the option of staying at a great cabin, even had a mattress, but it was only 2pm, or going down with my fellow hiker and getting a lift. He’d take me up the valley so I could continue my planned tour to another refuge or back to the camper.

Esther appears to have sent pictures taken by her companion at the summit, but it is hard to clarify exact times.

Esther’s selfies from the summit are posted W days later on the couples Instagram and the following day no pictures of the couple only pictures of their dogs back home. The BBC News interview about the pair’s dream life is published on November 22.

On the 25th of November when Esther didn’t return from her solo trip and make the agreed rendezvous with Dan, she’s reported missing.

Dan posted her haunting last mountaintop selfies next to the words: “I’m broken. Shattered to report that my beloved Esther, the person who taught me how to feel, is missing. She was last seen six days ago when she sent me this photo. Search and rescue teams have so far found no trace of her.

A Spanish Olympic skier called Marti viogo del Arco and his girlfriend were hiking down the mountain at approx. 3pm when they met Esther coming the other way. She asked for some fresh fruit, but they didn’t have anything, so she continued on. She sends the selfies to Dan at the top of the mountain at 4pm. So, they’re likely the last to see her.

29th November multiple teams, helicopters, the whole shebang are still working on finding her. Esther is featured prominently in the news, there is an update more or less daily in the media.

Ten days after she disappeared there are reports of a witness seeing someone in Esther’s camper van. It was later reported that this was a police officer conducting a search.

On the 3rd of December, the search is halted due to bad weather.

So, there’s lots of differing theories in the media, some suggestions are that Esther had feared their nomadic life was coming to an end and disappeared voluntarily. That’s where the police are at and it is strongly denied by Dan.

There are suggestions that the couple aren’t as loved up as Dan would have us believe. Again, strongly denied. And backed up in her last texts to him.

In January of this year a woman comes forward to say she gave Esther something to eat after Esther signalled her stomach and asked for leftovers. This sighting is apparently not long before she was last seen, and it puts her going back up the mountain two and a half hours before sunset.

Did she have an accident and fall – glacier never to be found?

so much about that doesn’t make sense. Why couldn’t they find her? Or even a single trace of her equipment?

She was an experienced hiker who unless was instantly killed I feel would have tried to help herself, you know built a shelter?

Bear attack?

Hiking in the area had been banned during the summer after a string of brown bear attacks on livestock. Did she come across a hungry bear? And was dragged back to a cave?

Would the searchers have come across evidence of this?

Did she meet a random hunter/ someone else who did her harm?

Dan, a former business development manager, retraced her steps to map areas where she would have had phone signal to make contact. As he walked the trail, he spotted hunters and fears Esther may have come into contact with an armed stranger.

“A third person being involved is the only other viable alternative.”

Dec 2020 Spanish lawyer Andres Funes, 61, went missing near there.

it emerged four other European hikers have vanished in the glacier-rich region since 2006.

All, like Esther, were on their own solo hiking.

A spokesman for the French police said: “It’s not an easy terrain.”

I read an article that said that Dan had come up with a full manifesto after retracing her steps and working with the charity -

I think that’s what I’d do you know; he’s plotted it all out and he comes up with 3 clear possibilities. Much like the ones I’ve just outlined.

Thoughts?

I’ll link all the articles as usual and no doubt keep you updated on any developments, but I would be interested to hear what you all think too.

K- so we hope you’ve enjoyed this episode and we will be back next week with our main case.

D – we are covering Stuart Lubbock so until then stay safe - Bye.

K – Bye.