Casefile True Crime - Case 300: Tegan Lane (Part 1)

Episode Date: October 12, 2024

*** Content Warning: Child victim *** [Part 1 of 2] After 24-year-old Keli Lane gave birth in 1999, she began the process of placing her newborn son for adoption. It was soon revealed that Keli had also given birth in September 1996, to a baby girl named Tegan Lee Lane who couldn’t be located. Keli claimed Tegan was with her biological father, Andrew Norris, but was she telling the truth or had something sinister happened to baby Tegan? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-300-tegan-lane-part-1

It's been four years since I first learned about the disappearance of Neyam May, an 18-year-old who went missing from the small New South Wales town of Batlow back in 2002. I don't know if it's because Neyam and I finished high school in the same year or we shared a similar taste in music, but I felt instinctively drawn to her story. As I learned more about Neyam's story, the revelations that unfolded left me in shock. The result is Missing Neyem, the latest 12-part series from Casefile Presents. Researched and hosted by me, the series features exclusive interviews with key players who help us dive into the details of Neyem's case as we go back to Batlo to try and make sense of

what really happened. The entire 12-part series is available now. Stay tuned to the end of today's episode to hear the trailer. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all listeners. In the winter of 1996, Stacey Gaylord stood by the water's edge at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. As a member of the Balmain Women's Water Polo team, it was a familiar scene for Stacey as she and her teammates milled around the poolside in their's Water Polo team, it was a familiar scene for Stacey as she and her teammates

milled around the poolside in their swimsuits and bathing caps, waiting for their training session to begin. When it came time to enter the water, Stacey glanced over and noticed that her friend and teammate, 21-year-old Kelly Lane, was sitting on the edge of the pool with a towel wrapped tightly under her arms. She held it there until the very last moment before dropping it to one side and discreetly slipping into the water. Stacey found this unusual. Kelly was an accomplished athlete who'd been competing in water sports all her life. She was no stranger to wearing her swimsuit in public and until relatively recently, she typically walked around confidently in her bathers before diving straight into the pool. Stacey had also noticed that Kelly had taken to wearing tracksuits over her swimsuit, no matter the weather.

Stacey had her suspicions as to why. She put her goggles on and ducked under the water to catch a glimpse of Kelly's body. It was just as she suspected. Kelly Lane was pregnant. This was significant for several reasons. For starters, the two were close friends, and Kelly had never once mentioned that she was expecting a baby. Secondly, water polo is a physically demanding contact sport in which injuries are commonplace, not the type of activity one would expect to see a heavily pregnant woman participating in. Stacey knew Kelly's long-term boyfriend, rugby player Duncan Gillies, and she assumed the couple had decided to keep the pregnancy quiet. Respecting their privacy, she said nothing to Kelly about it. Stacey didn't see Kelly play another game after that.

A few weeks later, she noticed Kelly was no longer pregnant. It occurred to her that Kelly must have given birth, but she didn't stop to think about what had happened to the baby. Just short of three years later, on Wednesday June 2 1999, Ankle Care Adoption Services social worker Virginia Fung arrived at Ryde Hospital in northern Sydney. A young patient had called the agency the previous day with a somewhat unusual case. She had just given birth and wanted to place her baby for adoption. Virginia was a little taken aback. It was incredibly rare for a new mother to make such a request. The adoption process typically began much earlier in the pregnancy,

with appropriate arrangements already in place by the time the baby was born. with appropriate arrangements already in place by the time the baby was born. Virginia was introduced to the patient, 24-year-old Kelly Lane, and her two-day-old son, Jacob, not his real name. Kelly explained that she'd been living in London for the past year with her boyfriend Duncan Gillies, a professional rugby player who was still in the UK. boyfriend Duncan Gillies, a professional rugby player who was still in the UK. The couple had recently broken up and she didn't feel able to care for a child. Not only was she due back in London for work in a few weeks' time, her parents weren't happy about the pregnancy and couldn't offer any help. Duncan wasn't prepared to be a parent either, so they'd agreed their best option was to have the baby adopted.

Virginia was a little concerned. Kelly appeared to be a doting mother to Jacob. Virginia worried she'd made a rash decision and might change her mind in a few days' time. She began making arrangements to place Jacob into short-term foster care while Kelly was discharged from hospital to think about her options. The following day, a midwife arrived at the address Kelly had provided to administer routine postnatal care. A confused man answered the door. He said Kelly Lane hadn't lived at the property for a year and a half. Virginia Fung dialled the landline Kelly had supplied, only to find that it was a wrong number. She called Kelly's mobile, but it went straight to voicemail. When Kelly arrived for a pre-arranged meeting with Virginia a few

days later and was told about the midwife's failed visit, Kelly insisted it was the right address. She was staying there with Franz and the man who answered the door just hadn't been aware of this The foster care agreement Kelly entered into was only valid for one month, during which she was expected to attend access visits with baby Jacob. Once the month was over, she'd have the option of officially signing the adoption papers. But as the weeks passed by, Virginia found it increasingly difficult to get in touch with Kelly. Her mobile was almost always switched off and she only returned Virginia's calls out of hours, typically to cancel meetings at the last minute. Kelly had various explanations for her lack of availability. She said she had to travel to Canberra to sort out some issues with her UK visa, and that her ex-partner Duncan had frozen their joint bank account and she needed to see a

solicitor to sort it out. Virginia was a consummate professional who treated all the mothers she worked with compassionately. But she couldn't help but feel that Kelly Lane wasn't being completely honest. Virginia wondered whether Kelly was purposely stalling the adoption process because she was reluctant about moving forward. During the few visits she'd had with Jacob, she'd been very loving towards him, bringing him presents and shedding tears over the agonising decision she faced. As the one-month deadline approached, Kelly finally agreed to meet with Virginia to sign the adoption papers. But when the day came, she failed to show. Virginia tried the number of a friend Kelly said could offer her support. That

too was false. The foster care agreement expired, leaving Virginia with no choice but to hand the case to the New South Wales Department of Community Services, or DOCS. In the eyes of the law, Kelly had technically abandoned her baby boy. Virginia had also been unsuccessfully trying to make contact with the Jacobs father, Kelly's ex, Duncan Gillies. Kelly kept saying she'd give Virginia Duncan's UK phone number, but she'd failed to do so. Not sure what else to do, Virginia wrote a letter to Duncan's UK phone number, but she'd failed to do so. Not sure what else to do, Virginia wrote a letter to Duncan's former rugby club in Sydney in the hopes they could forward it on to him. Shortly after, Duncan called Virginia in a state of shock.

As far as he was concerned, there was no way he could be Jacob's father. While he and Kelly had been a couple for several years during their early 20s, Duncan said their relationship had ended about 18 months prior and they hadn't had contact since. Duncan had moved to London for a period of time, but as far as he knew, Kelly still lived in Sydney and always had. Virginia confronted Kelly with this information. Kelly broke down, admitting she made the story up because she thought it would be better if Jacob grew up thinking he'd been the result of a loving, long-term relationship. Kelly said that Jacob's father was actually a man named Aaron Williams, an Aussie she'd met while living in London. Kelly told Virginia that Aaron knew about

the pregnancy and had consented to the adoption. She signed an affidavit confirming this, but was unable to provide any contact details for Aaron. All she knew was that he had a university degree and worked at Barclays Bank in London. Virginia contacted the Australian and UK offices of Barclays Bank only to find that no one named Aaron Williams was employed there. This was unsurprising given Virginia already knew that Kelly had never lived in London. She was starting to have some serious concerns about Kelly's mental health and whether she was even fit to give legal consent to Jacob's adoption. In addition to giving evasive answers, being uncontactable and dragging out the adoption process,

Kelly had told another lie that Virginia simply couldn't make sense of. When Kelly presented at Ryde Hospital to give birth to Jacob, their records showed that she'd previously visited three years earlier, in September 1996. Kelly had been heavily pregnant at the time and asked to be induced. Staff declined to do so because she hadn't quite reached full term, but their records showed that she went on to have the child across town at Auburn Hospital. During Jacob's birth in 1999, Ryde hospital staff questioned Kelly about this previous birth. Kelly said she'd had a daughter whom she'd breastfed for six months and who had travelled with her from London to Sydney. But when Virginia Fung asked Kelly if she had any other children, she gave an entirely different

answer. She said Jacob was her first and only child. The Doc's social worker assigned to Kelly's case, John Barovnik, obtained Kelly's medical records. If Jacob had a sister, it was only fair that it went on his records so he could contact her in the future if he so desired. John confirmed that Kelly had indeed given birth to a baby girl named Tegan in September of 1996. But she'd also given birth to another girl in March 1995 called Kayla, not her real name. The hospital records of Jacob, Tegan and Kayla each listed Duncan Gillies as the father. From the records, it was clear that Kayla had been legally adopted to a loving family,

but John could find no record of what happened to Tegan. but John could find no record of what happened to Teagan. John called Kelly and asked her if she'd previously given birth. She admitted that she'd placed Kayla for adoption in 1995 but denied ever being pregnant in 1996 or visiting Ryde Hospital at that time. John knew Kelly was lying. He had her records in front of him and could see it for himself. But if Kelly didn't have Teagan and she hadn't been formally adopted, then where was she? John Barovnik told Kelly that he had no choice but to contact the police and inform them of the matter. Kelly wrote John a letter explaining that she intended to discuss the situation with Virginia Fung. She asked that John refrain from making any inquiries in the meantime, explaining,

any inquiries in the meantime, explaining, Many people have been involved by name who actually have no knowledge of what has occurred and therefore are useless in your inquiries. Please do not contact them before giving me prior notice as they will be completely unaware of what you are talking about. A few days later, a fax from Kelly arrived at Virginia's office, which read, Dear Virginia, Firstly, thank you for all of your time, your patience and your understanding, even though I have not been entirely honest with you. I'm glad now that I can stop telling half truths and lies, and perhaps move on in my life. It must be very hard for you to understand what has been going on and why I have done the things I've done and I'm not

sure I can give you all the answers. Over all of these weeks my main concern was Jacob and making sure that he was safe and happy and that you would find him a loving and secure home. So where do I start? I'm not sure. My life for the last six years has been a nightmare. Many people, including my family, have disowned me and looking at the, I guess it's not hard to figure out why. There were three children. Obviously, I can't lie anymore as the paperwork is there. The middle child lives with a family in Perth, although I have not had contact with them for a long time. They befriended me just before I had her and supported us. I am not able to give you many details as I am not sure of them myself, if my story isn't unusual enough as it already is. I know you probably can't believe it, but I know somehow that you know I am now being honest with you."

Kelly went on to explain that no one in her life knew the full story and she wanted to keep it that way. She said people close to her had dropped her from their lives when they found out she was going to place her babies up for adoption and she was doing her best to settle down and find some sort of stability. Kelly said her parents lived in London and she hoped to rebuild a relationship with them when visiting in a few weeks' time. I hurt mentally, emotionally and physically every day, Kelly wrote. I have to live with this for the rest of my life. I constantly feel sick. I'm always on edge. I guess I knew all along that it would all come out in the open, and in some ways, I'm glad it has. While Kelly asked Virginia to respect her need for discretion, she gave Virginia permission to share this information

with the docks worker John Barovnik. But Kelly's explanation did little to ease John's concerns about the situation. Still perplexed as to why she lied about Teigen's existence and baffled by the explanation that she'd been sent to live with a family in Perth, John passed the information on to the police. When Kelly Lane's file landed at Manly Police Station, the detective assigned to it recognised the name right away. The Lanes were well known and respected around Manly, a bustling seaside suburb in Sydney's Northern Beaches region, an area known colloquially as the Insula Peninsula, due to its close-knit reputation. Not only were the Lanes heavily involved in the local sporting community,

Kelly's father Rob had recently retired as a sergeant from Manly Police Station. Digging into the personal life of his only daughter wasn't exactly a welcome task. By all accounts, the blonde and bubbly Kelly was a popular social butterfly who many regarded as a golden girl. A successful athlete from a young age, she'd gone on to play water polo at an elite level, even representing Australia overseas. As far as police were concerned, Kelly's previous indiscretion wasn't a high priority. Unaware of the various versions of events Kelly had told about her second-born child, the detective looked over her file. Hospital records revealed that on the afternoon of

Wednesday September 11 1996, 21-year-old Kelly had presented at Auburn Hospital in Western Sydney. This was around 35 kilometres from where Kelly lived with her parents in the suburb of Fairlight, and she'd never been a patient there before. Kelly, who was heavily pregnant, told staff that she'd been intending to have a home birth with a private midwife. However, her baby was overdue, so a home birth was no longer possible. Kelly asked to be induced instead. While she didn't bring any of her antenatal records with her, she gave staff the contact number for her midwife. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact Kelly's midwife, the Auburn hospital staff

agreed to induce her the following day. At 8pm on Thursday September 12, baby Teagan Lee Lane entered the world. While Teagan was the image of health, the birth wasn't without complications. It turned out that Teagan wasn't overdue as Kelly had claimed, but actually appeared to be two weeks early. Kelly's placenta was retained during labour and had to be manually removed, which resulted in significant blood loss. She made a quick recovery and records showed she bonded well with her newborn daughter. Regardless, the staff were a little concerned. Kelly had shown up alone at the hospital and hadn't had a single visitor.

This was unusual for a young mother and they were worried about her lack of support. Social worker Alicia Bautra-Vasquez was assigned to pay Kelly a visit on Friday, September 13. Kelly told Alicia that she and Teigen's father, Duncan Gillies, had only recently relocated to Sydney from their hometown of Perth, and that's why she was alone. Duncan had every intention of being present for Teigen's birth, but Kelly being overdue complicated this plan as he had rugby commitments overseas. Kelly asked to be discharged the following day, but Alicia didn't think this was a good idea. While Kelly appeared to be happy with Tegan and was breastfeeding with no issues, she also got a bit teary at times. Although this was normal for any new mother, Alicia was reluctant

to send Kelly home alone in an emotionally fragile state. She also required post-operative care. Alicia voiced her concerns to Kelly, but Kelly assured her there was no reason to worry. She explained that a lady was coming to stay with her until her parents arrived in a few days' time. Duncan was also due back from overseas the following week. In the meantime, her private midwife would take over her postpartum care. Satisfied with this explanation and happy with Kelly's recovery, on Saturday September 14, it was agreed by hospital staff that Kelly and Tegan could be discharged. At around midday,

the attending doctor gave Tegan one final examination before concluding she was fit to go home. Kelly completed the mandatory Medicare form and was given various pieces of paperwork to fill out, including a consent form to have a blood sample taken from Teagan known as a Guthrie test, as well as a registration form to submit to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. At around 2pm, the nurse on duty was doing her rounds when she entered Kelly's room, only to find that the mother and baby had already left. Strange, she thought, when Kelly hadn't submitted the requisite paperwork, nor told any of the nurses she was leaving.

Nonetheless, she was free to do as she pleased. The nurse arranged for a hospital midwife to visit Kelly in a couple of days' time to make sure everything was in order. But on Monday, the midwife program received a phone call. the midwife program received a phone call. It was Kelly calling to say she didn't require their services. Her private midwife had everything under control. Four years later, the detective assigned to look into Teagan Lane's whereabouts typed Teagan's name into the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. There was no one by that name registered as being born in September 1996 and no such birth certificate had ever been issued. While it would have been difficult to do so, it was possible that Teagan could have been registered under a different name or with a

different date of birth. It was mandatory for parents to register the birth of their children, but failure to do so only resulted in a $1,000 fine and no particular authority followed up. It was therefore possible that Teigen's birth was simply never registered. was therefore possible that Teagan's birth was simply never registered. The detective read over Kelly's hospital records and noted that she had listed her private midwife as a woman named Julie Melville. Some around Manly Police Station recognised the name. Julie was Duncan Gilley's mother. The detective called Julie Melville and asked her about the

postnatal care she'd provided to Kelly Lane and baby Teagan. Julie was stunned. Not only had she not been a registered midwife in September 1996, she had no idea that Kelly had ever been pregnant, she had no idea that Kelly had ever been pregnant, let alone with her son's child. Duncan Gillies was still trying to get his head around the debacle involving the adoption of Kelly's son Jacob when he received a phone call from the detective asking about baby Tegan. Like his mother, Duncan was flabbergasted. He told the detective there was no way Kelly could have been pregnant in 1996. The two had been in a committed relationship for around four years between 1994 and 1998. Although they both had busy schedules with various sporting commitments during that time, Kelly spent several nights a week at Duncan's house in 1996. Duncan said if she'd been pregnant, he would have known about it. As for baby Kayla being born in 1995, he claimed to have no idea

about that pregnancy either. Although the detective was confused by these reactions, it took three months before he reached out to Kelly Lane directly. By this point, 15 months had passed since Doc's social worker John Barovnik first alerted the police to the unknown whereabouts of Teagan Lane. Kelly's life had changed significantly during that time. Jacob's adoption had been finalised and Kelly commenced a new relationship with a family friend. By the time she was brought into the police station on Wednesday February 14,

2001 for her first formal interview, she was seven months pregnant with baby number four. When asked to describe the circumstances of Teigen's birth and the subsequent events, Kelly's discomfort was obvious. She admitted that in late 1995, during her relationship with Duncan Gillies, she'd met an older man named Andrew Morris. The two had a brief affair and in March 1996, Kelly discovered she was pregnant with Andrew's baby. This wasn't welcome news. Kelly was a student at the time and she didn't feel financially or mentally

prepared to raise a child. Kelly told the detective that she and Andrew came to an agreement. She would carry the baby to full term and Andrew and his girlfriend Mel would then take custody of Tegan. As Kelly explained, Kelly said that she was discharged from hospital around midday on Saturday September 14 1996, at which point Andrew, Mel and Andrew's mother came to take custody of Tegan. Kelly recalled that Andrew dropped her at Duncan's house where she was living part time and then took Tegan with him into his care. She claimed she saw Tegan a number of times after that, but the visit stopped in early 1997 when Tegan would have been about four months old. Kelly said she'd had no contact with Andrew Melo Tegan after that and she no longer knew where they were. Kelly said that at the time of their affair, Andrew had lived in Balmain, an affluent inner

city suburb about 18 kilometres south-west of Manly. While she didn't think she'd be able to identify his apartment after four years, she agreed to look for his old mobile number to see if it was still active. Although Kelly's story sounded a bit odd, the interviewing detective still didn't think too much of it. Besides, Manly Police Station had bigger fish to fry. Two of their senior officers had recently been busted as part of a crackdown on corruption, and the whole station was in a state of turmoil. Kelly's case languished for the rest of the year as the corruption scandal went before the court. It was only after a major restructure of personnel that Kelly's case finally appeared on the desk of

a new detective senior constable. Having no connection to Kelly's father, he wasted little time in looking into what he believed would turn out to be a relatively minor incident. All they had to do was locate Teagan and they could get the missing persons case off their desks for good. By the time Kelly Lane was called in for questioning a second time, 19 months had passed since she'd last spoken to the police, and it was now October 2002. 27-year-old Kelly now had a healthy baby girl called Emily, not her real name, who was 17 months old. Kelly was in a loving relationship with Emily's father and the two were doting devoted parents who were preparing to travel to the UK to spend Christmas with Kelly's partner's family. Although Kelly no longer competed in any sport at an elite level, she'd

made good use of her athletic skills by becoming a much-loved physical education teacher at Ravenswood School for Girls, an esteemed private Christian school. There certainly wasn't anything about Kelly that raised any suspicions for the detective. But when she started talking, that all changed. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Renters, do you ever feel like you're trapped in a cycle of payments watching your money disappear? It's time to change the rent gang and start earning real rewards. That's where built rewards can help. Built is breaking ground as a neighbourhood rewards program that hooks you up with points on your rent. Every month, pay your rent and watch the built points roll in. Use points to jet off on a

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HomeChef.com slash Casefile. Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. While Kelly Lane repeated her story about giving Teagan to the child's biological father, there was a significant discrepancy. When interviewed in early 2001, she said the father's name was Andrew Morris. This time, she said his name was Andrew Norris, with an N. But that wasn't the only difference. Her previous account made it sound like a relatively amicable agreement, but she now

claimed Andrew had actually been furious with her for getting pregnant. He hated me, Kelly said. I felt like a slut. In contrast to her previous story in which she claimed Andrew had dropped her at Duncan's house after she was discharged from the hospital, this time Kelly said she took a taxi home alone. The detective pointed out this was a markedly different story to the one she'd given previously. Kelly explained that she'd lied during the last police interview because she was embarrassed and wanted to make the situation sound better. But she was resolute about one thing the name of Tegan's father was definitely Andrew Norris, not Morris.

The detective was starting to have some serious doubts. Not only had some of Kelly's details changed, there were certain elements that didn't quite make sense. For starters, if Andrew was so furious with Kelly for getting pregnant, why would he agree to take custody of their baby without so much as a DNA test to confirm the baby was indeed his? Even more perplexing, why would his partner Mel agree to raise Tegan knowing she was a result of her partner's infidelity? And if Tegan really did go to live with her biological father, why wasn't Kelly forthright about that from the get-go instead of telling hospital staff and social workers otherwise? If Kelly's story was true, investigators just had to locate Andrew Norris and the whole mess could

be cleared up. The problem was, Kelly said she no longer had a contact number for Andrew, nor could she remember exactly where he'd lived back in 1996. Kelly didn't know much about Andrew at all, save for the fact that he worked in finance and had studied at the University of Sydney. At the time Teagan was born, he was 30 years old, well built and tanned with bleached blonde hair. Kelly said she no longer hung around the same crowd that she did back then, but there was one friend who knew about the affair and could verify her story, a woman named Lisa Andriada. Unfortunately, Lisa had relocated to Brisbane and they had lost touch. Kelly told the detective that there were some

diaries of hers in storage at Duncan Gilley's previous home in Gladesville. She promised to go collect them in the coming days. They might contain Andrew's old mobile number or the numbers of their mutual friends. Over the following weeks, the detective made multiple attempts to contact Kelly, but she seemed to be avoiding his calls. Increasingly convinced that Kelly was lying, the detective reached out to Medicare to see if any claims had ever been made for Teagan Lee Lane. Medicare is Australia's publicly funded health insurance scheme. Individuals are required to provide their details when visiting a doctor, dentist or hospital or when receiving a vaccination. Kelly's Medicare card still had Teigen's name listed on it. She had shown this

to the police herself, explaining that she'd registered Teigen on her card just in case Teigen was ever in her care in the future. But Medicare records proved that there hadn't been a single claim for Teagan in six years. While it was implausible to believe that a six-year-old could have gone their whole life without needing publicly funded health care, it wasn't enough to prove Teagan was deceased. Police send a memo to all New South Wales primary schools asking if any had a student named Teagan was deceased. Police send a memo to all New South Wales primary schools asking if any had a student named Teagan who was born on September 12 1996. They also began conducting searches for Andrew Norris. In Kelly's first police interview, she recalled that Andrew celebrated his 30th birthday a couple of months before Tegum was born. This meant he would have been born around mid-1966. A search of the New South Wales

electoral roll didn't bring up any men by that name who lived in Balmain around 1996. Contact was made with the University of Sydney to see if anyone named Andrew Norris or Morris had attended classes there in the 1980s. There were no former students enrolled under either of those names. By early December, Kelly still seemed to be avoiding the police and hadn't provided any of the information she'd promised to look for. Fed up with her lack of cooperation, two detectives went to Duncan Gilley's former address in Gladesville to see if they could track down the information for themselves.

When they knocked on the door, they were surprised to discover that three female police officers lived there. The detectives asked if anyone had come by asking to look through old boxes of paperwork. Nobody had. It became clear to the investigators that if Kelly was telling the truth about anything, it was that people in her life seemingly had no knowledge that she'd ever been pregnant during her early twenties. Discrete inquiries were made with some of Kelly's close friends to see if they could shed light on the Teagan Lane Andrew Norris situation. The Kelly they knew had spent her early twenties playing water polo

and drinking at the pub with friends. As far as they were all concerned, the only child Kelly had ever given birth to was Emily in 2001. She was a terrific mother and an adored teacher who loved children. There was no way she would have done anything to harm a newborn baby. Police managed to track down some of Kelly Lane's former water polo teammates. Stacey Gaylord, who'd played alongside Kelly in 1996, said she'd never heard of Kelly being involved with someone named Andrew Norris. However, she did recall being suspicious at the time that Kelly might have been pregnant.

Stacey and another teammate, Taryn, both admitted they'd noticed Kelly becoming self-conscious of her body. They'd snuck a glimpse of her torso underwater to confirm their suspicions. But Kelly never spoke to either of them about it, nor did they ever broach the subject, assuming it was a private matter between Kelly and Duncan Gillies. They also knew that weight gain was a sensitive subject among young women, and they were mindful that their suspicions might be incorrect. The more the police learned, the stranger the whole scenario became. Kelly had given birth three times in the four years between 1995 and 1999. During each of those pregnancies, she'd been a dedicated water polo player who lived a very active social life and was intimate with her

long-term boyfriend. While women's fashion at the time consisted of baggy, loose-fitting clothing, it was staggering to believe that she could have concealed three full-term pregnancies, especially while playing water polo in a swimsuit multiple times a week. Duncan claimed that in 1996 both he and Kelly were busy with their respective training schedules and therefore they didn't see much of each other. On the occasions they did have sex, it was in a spoon position and Kelly hadn't let him touch her belly, saying she was self-conscious because she'd gained weight. Kelly said the one person who could vouch for her story was her old friend, Lisa Andriada, whom she'd lost touch with after Lisa moved to Brisbane. Police managed to track

down Lisa's email address and they sent her a message asking if she could verify a few details about Kelly Lane's relationship with Andrew Norris and the subsequent birth of their baby, Tegan. Lisa was completely taken aback. She had met Kelly while the two were completing tertiary studies at the Australian College of Physical Education and they became good friends. Lisa had never heard of Andrew Norris nor about his alleged affair with Kelly. As far as Lisa knew, Kelly was never pregnant in 1996. Lisa lived in the UK, not Brisbane,

and she'd never lost contact with Kelly. In fact, the two friends had recently caught up over Christmas during Kelly's trip to England. At no point had Kelly said anything to Lisa about a missing child or a police investigation. Failing to find any record of Teagan Lane or Andrew Norris, the police had no doubt that Kelly was lying. They just couldn't figure out why. It didn't make sense that she'd gone through the official adoption process with babies Kayla and Jacob, but not with Tegan. Was she trying to protect herself or someone else? Investigators considered the possibility that Kelly could have sold Teigen in a private surrogacy arrangement, which is illegal in Australia. They checked Kelly's bank accounts, but she hadn't

received any large sums of money in 1996. She'd been a student at the time, living at home with her parents, and her bank accounts were barely touched. None of Kelly's friends recalled any changes in her spending habits. Police obtained a record of all the other babies born in Auburn Hospital on September 12, 1996. Tegan was one of only two girls born that day. The other baby girl had been stillborn. This prompted the theory, what if Kelly, in a moment of desperation, had broken a deal with the bereaved mother? The mother of the stillborn child was tracked down. She now had two children, but neither was Teagan Lane, and she hadn't ever crossed paths with Kelly.

In each version of events Kelly had given, she claimed that after Teagan's birth, she went back to Duncan's house in Gladesville. Working on the theory that Teagan could have been killed or died by accident, officers visited the property with a cadaver dog and conducted a cursory search. While it yielded no results, they were no longer prepared to give Kelly the benefit of the doubt. In May 2003, Kelly was summoned back to Manly Police Station for a formal recorded interview. Kelly was summoned back to Manly Police Station for a formal recorded interview. Confronted with the inconsistencies in her accounts, Kelly maintained the crux of her story, that Andrew Norris and his partner Mel had taken custody of baby Tegan. The detective asked if this was the case, why did Kelly tell Virginia Fung that Teagan had gone to live with a couple in Perth?

Kelly responded, I'm not sure where they are. I wasn't sure what Andrew was going to do. Confused by this explanation, the detective asked Kelly if she was suggesting that Andrew had relocated to Perth. Kelly replied, I'm not sure what his plans were. He wasn't going to tell me. Some of the conversations I had with Andrew indicated perhaps he wasn't going to stay in Sydney because of the embarrassment that I'd caused him. Unaware that investigators had already conducted their own inquiries, Kelly was caught in multiple lies. She claimed that she'd retrieved her paperwork from Duncan's old house but couldn't find any contact numbers for people who could verify Andrew's existence.

She also maintained that she no longer had contact with the one person who could, Lisa Andriada. The detective told her, Kelly, it's obvious that you're not telling us the truth. This matter is not going to go away. He urged Kelly to come clean. All they had to do was establish where Teagan was, and Kelly could move on with her life. The detective pressed on, you've been telling us lies for whatever reason. If you know where the child is or what happened to the child, it's your opportunity to tell us now. Kelly Lane sat in silence. She looked down

at her hands which were resting on the table in front of her as though she was deep in thought. The seconds ticked by until almost a minute passed. The detective asked her again if there was anything she wanted to say. After 14 more seconds of silence, Kelly responded quietly, no. The detective then asked Kelly outright if she had killed Tegan. Kelly's demeanour immediately changed, her eyes widening as she firmly exclaimed, no I did not. Kelly said that no one else knew about the situation and she didn't want her family and friends being pulled into it. She warned the detectives that if they went poking around, no one would have any idea what they were talking about.

This is between me and Andrew, she said. Nothing has happened to Tegan. He said he would contact me if there was an emergency. I haven't heard koo-ee from them. Not one word. I don't have anything else to say. Despite previously telling the police that she wouldn't be able to locate Andrew's former unit, Kelly agreed to accompany Manly Detectives to Balmain to see if something might trigger her memory. It had been many years since she'd frequented that side of town and Kelly couldn't remember any details that could help

her identify the building. All she remembered was that Andrew's place was about a five to ten minute walk from the Town Hall hotel. Kelly said that over the six months they'd been seeing each other, she'd only gone back there about six times, always in the early morning hours after a night out. The police wove through various neighbourhoods until they made their way down Whisbeach Street, a residential tree-lined street dotted mostly with free-standing houses. As they passed by one of the only apartment buildings on the street, Kelly pointed it out. She thought that might be it. It was a non-descript, three-storey block of units with an undercover car park and two sets of windows overlooking the street. They got out of the car and went into the foyer. It was just as Kelly remembered.

Kelly said that Andrew's unit had been on the first floor, facing the street. Although she couldn't remember which one or much else about it, a tenant on the ground floor let them in and Kelly confirmed the layout was exactly the same. This was a major breakthrough for detectives. There were only two first floor units overlooking the street, units 10 and 11. For the first time since their inquiries began, they had a possible solid lead to track Andrew Norris down. It turned out that the entire building was managed by a single real estate agency. Detectives contacted the agent, who went through their records to see if an Andrew Norris had lived there in 1996. They had no records of a tenant by that name.

At the time Kelly claimed to have visited the property, Unit 10 was occupied by a man named Sean Greaves. Although he was of similar age to Andrew Norris, Sean didn't fit the description Kelly had provided. When questioned, Sean said he'd never lived with a woman named Mel, nor did he know a woman named Kelly Lane. He'd never had housemates or sublet his apartment either. In 1996, Unit 11 had been leased by two brothers, Peter and Stephen Clark. Neither of them recalled ever seeing Kelly Lane in the building. One of the brothers did know a man named Andrew Morris, but he was of Asian appearance and had never visited their unit. Neither they, nor any of the other former tenants recalled ever having seen mail

addressed to an Andrew Norris or Morris. Kelly had told the detectives that on a couple of occasions after visiting Andrew, she went straight to her early morning water polo training sessions at the Dawn Fraser Pool, which was only a short walk away. Further investigation revealed that these training sessions weren't even held at the Dawn Fraser Pool, but at another location, a 20 minute drive across town. With Kelly's lies piling up, the hunt for Andrew Norris intensified. Investigators ran a search for anyone with that name born between 1960 and 1976 in the registry of each state and territory in Australia. They ran checks with the Australian Taxation Office, the Electoral Commission, the Department of Immigration, the Roads and Traffic Authority and Centrelink. Utility and telecommunication providers who serviced the Balmain area were contacted,

as was Australia Post. Police records were checked to see if Andrew Norris had been listed anywhere as a missing person. Eventually, they had a list of 41 men named Andrew Norris who were born in Australia between 1960 and 1976. Contact was made with most of them, but none had been in Balmain at the time Tegan Lane was conceived, nor did they know a Kelly or Tegan Lane. They decided not to extend the search to include the name Andrew Morris. Morris was a much more common surname and searching for anyone with that name born over the same 16 year period would have yielded thousands of possibilities around the country. Besides, Kelly remained adamant that Norris was the correct name, though this did little to sway detectives. They were more convinced than ever that Andrew Norris was a fictional character created

by Kelly. But if Andrew wasn't real, then who was Teigen's father? Some suspected it was Duncan Gillies, just as Kelly initially claimed. Because Kelly never had a Guthrie test done for Teigen, there were no medical records to check anyone's DNA against. Police tracked down a man named Juan Ramirez who had lived with Duncan Gillies in 1996. According to Juan, Duncan had confided in him back then that Kelly was pregnant and that they had to keep it a secret from Kelly's family. Juan recalled Duncan saying that Kelly was going away to have the child which she would then place for adoption. Duncan Gillies firmly denied this. He didn't consider Juan a

close friend, let alone a confidant. As far as Duncan was concerned, it was just as possible that Juan could be Teagan's father. Police considered this possibility too, but checks with immigration revealed that Juan hadn't even been in Australia at the time of Teigen's conception. It was calculated that Teigen would have been conceived around November or December of 1995. Duncan Gillies said he wasn't even in Sydney at that time. He'd been out of town for three weeks with some friends and had bank statements to prove it. He insisted he had no idea Kelly was pregnant twice during the course of their relationship, even though they were intimate throughout. As far as Duncan knew,

Kelly had been taking the contraceptive pill the whole time they were together. By the start of 2004, it had been several months since police had any contact with Kelly. They'd been busy behind the scenes, cross-checking her stories, making discreet inquiries with her friends and searching for the elusive Andrew Norris. The more they discovered, the more convinced they became that Kelly was covering up something major. On Thursday January 8 2004, Kelly was summoned back to Manly Police Station for her third formal interview regarding Teegans' whereabouts. By this time, she was busy planning her wedding, which was set to take place the following month. Kelly grew visibly upset upon learning that the police had contacted her friends, despite her insistence that none knew anything about the matter.

Her fiancé knew nothing about it either, and she was worried about what might happen if he found out. Exasperated, Kelly said her biggest fear was that if the issue went to court, her young daughter would be taken away from her and if her parents found out, they'd never speak to her again. Kelly again insisted Duncan Gillies was not Teagan's father. She said she'd only listed him as such on the hospital paperwork so that he'd be there if something bad happened to her. She was adamant. The father was Andrew Norris.

Kelly claimed that she'd only found out about the pregnancy at around the 12-week mark and she didn't tell Andrew about it until a couple of weeks later. Kelly explained, He was very rude and aggressive. He said that I'd trapped him and that I was a slut. She said she didn't have any contact with Andrew again until Tegan was born, at which point he, Mel and his mother came to visit them in hospital. Prior to that, they hadn't discussed anything about what would happen with Tegan. It was only then that Andrew and Mel offered to take her. Police wondered what Kelly had intended to do with Tegan if Andrew hadn't shown up and made such an offer. She'd told no one else in her life that she was pregnant and hadn't made any

alternative arrangements for Tegan, such as adoption or foster care. She hadn't bought any supplies indicating she intended to bring a baby home either, such as a cot, car seat, clothes, or nappies. In her first police interview, Kelly said that after handing Tegan over to Andrew, he drove her to Duncan's place. In her second, she said she caught a taxi. This time, Kelly told the detectives that she drove herself home in her own car. Years earlier, she'd told police she'd celebrated Andrew's 30th birthday at the Town Hall Hotel in August 1996. She now claimed she had no contact with him during that time. contact with him during that time. Kelly was warned that if Teigen couldn't be located, a cranial inquest would be necessary, at which point the story would no doubt leak out.

After more than two hours of questioning, the detective told Kelly, I find it hard to believe the story you've given me. If there's anything that you wish to tell me now before we stop the interview, if there's something you've been holding back from me, I urge you now to tell me." Kelly replied, Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. This episode of Casefile is sponsored by BetterHelp. Think about a time when you felt like you couldn't be your authentic self, like you were hiding behind a mask. While October is the season for costumes and disguises, many of us feel like we're wearing a mask too often, whether at work, in social situations, or with family. Therapy can help you embrace all

parts of yourself, allowing you to take off the veil. After all, masks are meant for Halloween fun, not for hiding our emotions. The team at Casefile are firm believers in the benefits of therapy. It's not just for those who have experienced major trauma. Therapy can teach you coping skills, help you set boundaries, and give you the space to explore your thoughts and feelings without judgement. If you've been thinking about starting therapy, consider giving BetterHelp a try. It's an online platform designed to be convenient, flexible, and tailored to your schedule. You simply fill out a brief questionnaire and BetterHelp will match you with a licensed therapist.

Plus, if you feel the need to switch therapists, you can do so at any time with no extra cost. Take off the mask with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash casefile today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, h-e-L-P dot com slash case file. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. Kelly Lane stuck to her story about giving Teagan to Andrew Norris, hired a solicitor, and refused to speak to the police again.

A tap was placed on her phone. In one call to a friend, Kelly shared her fear of having her secret pregnancies become public knowledge. It's gonna blow wide open, Kelly said. My parents are gonna be so embarrassed and ashamed. An audibly upset Kelly confided that she was terrified of losing her daughter Emily as a consequence, stating, I used to worry so much about wanting to be a sports star and achieving these wonderful things, but the only thing I'm really good at is being a mum. Kelly's parents and fiancé were finally made aware of the situation, but they stuck by Kelly, refusing to provide formal police statements. Although the covert recordings failed to capture anything incriminating,

investigators felt it was time for the case to go before the coroner. The purpose of holding a coronial inquest wasn't necessarily to find out if Kelly had done something to harm Teigen. It was to determine whether Teigen was still alive. By putting Kelly and those closest to her on the stand, they hoped that something might be revealed that exposed the truth. The inquest commenced before a closed court in mid 2004. Due to the sensitive subject matter, a media suppression order was put in place, preventing journalists from reporting on the story. As the proceedings got underway, the hunt for Teagan Lane continued.

Birth and death registries for every Australian state and territory were checked for anyone who could possibly be the missing child. Working on the possibility that the wrong date of birth could have been entered, investigators widened their search to any girls born between April 1996 and September 1997. They eventually came up with a list of 12,000 individuals, but investigations into each ruled them out as being Teagan Lane. Casting a wider net, memos were sent to every public and private school across the country, as well as all homeschooling bodies. Authorities were seeking any female child born on September 12, 1996, with a father named Andrew Norris, Andrew Morris, or a father whose name wasn't listed. Checks were made with the Department of Immigration to see if anyone had applied for a passport for a baby girl between September and December 1996 who could possibly be Teagan Lane.

No such child was identified. Checks with government authorities confirmed that no babies had been anonymously abandoned in New South Wales in 1996. Neither did any morgues have any remains that could be a potential match to Teigen. By October 2004, it had been eight years since Teigen's birth and five years since the issue of her whereabouts first came to the attention of the police. Given how much time had passed, the coroner felt they no longer had any choice. While he wanted to respect Kelly's privacy, he also felt it was time to turn to the general public for information. As later revealed by the ABC, the coroner offered Kelly a deal. If she came clean and told them where Tegan was, he'd give her immunity. Otherwise, he had no choice but to make a public appeal.

While it hasn't been confirmed what exactly he promised to give her immunity from, the coroner clarified that the offer didn't extend to potential murder charges. Kelly and her lawyers were given 10 minutes to discuss their options. They rejected the offer. Kelly's lawyer told the court, There is nothing further Kelly can add at this point in time. Both she and her family are very keen to find Teigen, to find her safe and well. are very keen to find Teigen, to find her safe and well. The media suppression order was subsequently lifted and the case was propelled into the headlines.

An anonymous tip star soon came forward with a vital detail. It turned out that just hours after leaving the hospital on Saturday September 14, 1996, Kelly attended a wedding with the Duncan Gillies. The couple getting married were old friends of Duncan's family. Video footage of the ceremony captured Kelly as she took her seat in the church dressed in a creamy white suit despite giving birth less than 48 hours prior. At no point did she mention Teagan or what she'd just been through. When Duncan was questioned about this, he later recalled that he'd been out of town prior to the wedding but returned to Sydney specifically for the event. He'd met Kelly at her parents' house in Fairlight at around 3pm and they'd travelled to the wedding together. If this was true, with Kelly and Tegan leaving the hospital at around midday, it meant there was roughly a three-hour window of time

unaccounted for. Auburn Hospital was about an hour's drive from the Lanes house, maybe more depending on traffic. Investigators wondered what Kelly was doing for those other two hours between leaving the hospital and arriving at her parents' place, babyless, and ready to attend the wedding. While the investigation continued, the public hearing for the inquest commenced in June 2005. The most intimate details of Kelly Lane's private life became daily fodder for reporters, with readers enthralled by the prospect of an accomplished young woman with a close-knit family, a wide circle of friends, a long-term boyfriend, and various sporting coaches,

successfully concealing three pregnancies without anyone asking a single question. The public was gripped by the possibility that this seemingly loving mother could have done something to harm her newborn baby, and equally fascinated by the salacious details of Kelly's personal life. Tongues wagged about how she could have become pregnant so many times and who the fathers might be. People wondered why Kelly had gone through with each pregnancy when the secrecy of it all would have been such a heavy burden for a young woman to carry alone. been such a heavy burden for a young woman to carry alone. Reporters gathered outside the courthouse each day of the hearing, snapping photos of those involved as they arrived to reluctantly provide their testimony. On the stand, Duncan Gilley said

that to describe the whole situation as a hell of a shock would be an understatement. Throughout his relationship with Kelly, he'd never once suspected she was cheating on him. Duncan was forced to reveal details about his and Kelly's sex life, while Kelly's friends maintained they had no idea about her alleged affair with Andrew Norris. Those who socialised with Kelly in their early twenties testified that she was not the type of person to have a one-night stand or go off with someone else when she was in a committed relationship. Little did Kelly's friends know, Duncan had already consented to a DNA test to check against

Kelly's first daughter, Kayla. Kayla had been conceived at a time when Duncan and Kelly were in a relationship, and her adoption papers listed him as the biological father. According to the paperwork completed by Kelly, Duncan fully consented to the adoption. The DNA results came back. Duncan was not Kayla's father. Some of Kelly's friends testified to having heard gossip that Kelly was pregnant back in 1996, but Manley's rumour mill could be toxic and they didn't think there was any truth to it. could be toxic and they didn't think there was any truth to it. Yes, Kelly's weight could fluctuate, but she was also a strongly built, athletic girl who always wore loose-fitting

clothing. Therefore, they never asked her about it. Even now, with the police investigation in full swing, Kelly's friends said that they hadn't discussed the issue with her. Her husband also testified that he hadn't questioned Kelly about Tegan at any great length. Kelly's loved ones had two explanations for their lack of probing. One, it was clear to them that Kelly didn't want to discuss it. Two, she was an excellent mother and a loving, caring person. There was no way she would ever harm a child. As far as they were all concerned, if Kelly said she gave Teagan to her biological father, then that's exactly what happened. The social workers, adoption agents, and medical staff who had been involved with Kelly over the years also testified. One confirmed that if Teigen had simply been illegally adopted, the whole issue could be rectified by Kelly signing an adoption consent form.

The coroner therefore made a public appeal asking anyone who may have adopted Teagan to come forward. When this failed to generate a response, the coroner issued a second appeal, asking people to come forward if they knew a childless couple in 1996 who'd suddenly had a baby. Meanwhile, staff at a Queensland primary school roughly 900 kilometres away received the memo about Teegan Lane and searched through their database. It turned out they had a female student enrolled who was born on September 12 1996. Her name was Teegan Chapman. Although her first name was spelt differently to Teagan Lane's, the similarity couldn't be ignored once staff realised her father's name. Alan Norris. The inquest was put on hold while investigators from New South Wales immediately travelled to Queensland to chase one of the only promising leads in the case to date.

When Teagan Chapman's mother, Debbie, found out, she insisted police were making a mistake. Debbie's mother also gave a statement saying she'd been present for her granddaughter's birth and there was no way Debbie wasn't the mother. But the police weren't willing to take any chances. They obtained Teagan Chapman's medical records and ran a DNA test against Kelly Lane. It wasn't a match. Up until this point, Kelly's parents had been tight-lipped about the whole situation. Up until this point, Kelly's parents had been tight-lipped about the whole situation. Robert Lane accompanied his daughter to court each day, making it clear to the surrounding press that he intended to stand by Kelly no matter what. But hearing the witness testimony in court

was the first time he'd heard the full story about Kelly's three secret pregnancies. heard the full story about Kelly's three secret pregnancies. On the stand, Robert explained that Kelly's weight had always fluctuated depending on what sport she was playing at the time. In hindsight, I feel a bit foolish that I didn't notice anything, he said, but I had no reason to believe she was pregnant at all. The Lanes weren't particularly religious, and both of Kelly's parents were aware that she was sexually active. The only reason Robert could think of for Kelly concealing the pregnancies was that she didn't want to disappoint her family.

"...She was held in very, very high esteem in the family," Robert said. She was very, very well known in the community. I believe she was trying to hide this episode in her life from everyone because of those pressures. Like Kelly's friends and husband, Robert said that after finding out about the investigation he didn't feel the need to ask Kelly any questions about Teagan's whereabouts. While he agreed that Kelly's story about Andrew Norris was unusual, he accepted it unequivocally. If anything, he thought the man Kelly had an affair with had likely used a fake name. The only time Kelly's mother, Sandra Lane, attended court was when it was her turn to provide testimony. Sandra described her relationship with Kelly as very good. She didn't think she'd

been strict with Kelly while she was growing up and believed that they had an open and honest relationship. Sandra firmly denied having any knowledge of Kelly's three secret pregnancies. She said if she had known, she would have supported her. Sandra couldn't think of any reason why Kelly hadn't told her about them. Like the others, she admitted she hadn't asked Kelly much about it since the truth came to light. Sandra described the whole situation as incredibly distressing and said it didn't feel appropriate to have an in-depth conversation with Kelly about it. Sandra had a clear memory of Saturday, September 14, 1996, the day Kelly was discharged from hospital after giving birth to Teigen.

She recalled that at around 3pm Kelly had arrived home alone to get ready for the wedding. Duncan was already dressed and waiting for her. Kelly showered and dressed, then Sandra dropped them at the wedding. At no point did she recall anything unusual about Kelly's behaviour. Anticipation was high on Monday June 27, 2005 as Kelly was expected to take the stand. But just before she was about to do so, the coroner made an announcement. He ordered that the inquest be put on hold while further investigations be conducted into Teigen's possible whereabouts. Requests were made for any CCTV footage from Auburn Hospital during Kelly and Teigen's

stay there to be tracked down. Knowing that Kelly had likely driven herself home after being discharged from hospital, he also wanted more time for the car to be forensically examined. By the time the inquest resumed in February 2006, it had been officially running for 15 months. Nothing further had been uncovered, and the search for CCTV footage yielded no results. The now 32-year-old Kelly finally took the stand. The council assisting the coroner presented her with their first question. Can you tell this court what happened to Teagan Lane around 2pm on September 14 1996 when you left the hospital with her? At the advice of her lawyer, Kelly responded firmly, I do not wish to answer that question. With that, she was free to go. In summing up the case, the council assisting said

there could only be three possible options. Tegan was either with her natural father she had been given to a person unknown, or she'd met with foul play. This case can be described using a number of adjectives, she said. Bizarre, fascinating, unusual, unbelievable. However, at the end of the day, what happened to Tegan Lane is a question that still has no definite answer. Kelly's lawyer acknowledged the many lies his client had told, but explained this was because she was embarrassed about her sexual conduct and her failure to prevent unwanted pregnancies. He claimed her lies only proved she was trying to keep the pregnancy secret from everyone in her life.

Kelly's lawyer stated, There is no evidence capable of establishing beyond reasonable doubt that Tegan is dead, and therefore no evidence capable of establishing any form of homicide. The coroner handed down his findings on Wednesday February 15 2006. He agreed that there were several factors supporting the possibility that Teagan Lane was still alive. Firstly, there was no forensic evidence to suggest otherwise. Secondly, the fact that Kelly placed her first and third children for adoption supported the possibility that she'd also done so with Tegan. Thirdly, it was possible that Tegan's birth was registered under a fake name and she was living under an assumed identity. However, the coroner did not accept Kelly's story about giving Tegan to a man named Andrew Norris, and he said that without Kelly testifying, he was completely unable to accept her final version of events.

The coroner stated, I find it inherently unlikely that a man with whom she was having an affair already had a partner, who initially at least was incredibly angry on learning she was pregnant, nevertheless was happy to take the child. He therefore concluded, I am comfortably satisfied that Teagan Lane is in fact deceased. While he couldn't say how or where she had died, he was confident it had happened in the days immediately following her birth and stated, I am disturbed at the possibility that Teagan may have met with foul play.

His final recommendation was that the case be handed to the New South Wales Homicide Squad for a full review and further investigation. Kelly Lane sobbed uncontrollably in her father's arms as the courtroom erupted in a state of frenzy. While the inquest's purpose had been to find answers, it only raised more questions. For those in attendance, it was clear that the matter was far from over. If anything, it was just the beginning. To be continued. When 18-year-old Nea May went missing in 2002, her family did everything they could to help the police find her.

But, like so many missing persons cases, there comes a time when the leads dry up and there's nowhere left to look. At no point have we just got on with our lives. I heard something recently that really resonated. It was a woman from America who said that you never get over grief, you learn to move forward with it. And I was like, that's the best anyone's ever described it. Niamh's sister, Fionnuala, realised that a podcast might help find the answers the family was looking for. So for the past four years,

I've been working with Niamh's family to take a closer look at the case. And what we found took us to places we never anticipated. Here's everything we've done. We've obviously got serious concerns about her welfare. I've just spoken to the last person to see her alive that we knew about and he's given me a bullshit story. When I first started looking into this case in 2020, it was originally intended to be a single case file episode. But the more I looked, the more I found. So Steve, he is adamant that she never made it to Go Cup Road. Stan is adamant that there's a credible sighting there.

Nehems set out for a gap year after finishing high school to test her independence, but she never made it home. What happened in those final days? And when the Blackhurst arrived, these two men got out and as soon as I saw them and I saw that Blackhurst, I thought their baddies stay away from them. Mum called me and she said, look the police are investigating now and somebody claims that they dropped her off and she was hitchhiking. What started out as a potential Casefile episode turned into a 12-part series

that took over four years to research. He didn't smile or anything. He just kind of looked empty and just like get in the car. It was just kind of like aggressively like get in the car. Join me as we uncover what happened in Missing Neham, the new 12-part podcast series from Casefile Presents. Something had obviously woken me suddenly because I was disorientated. That's when I realised that there was just a cold, rough hand holding my hand because I had my hand over the edge of the bed. And I could see the outline of somebody leaning over the bed. Evil, I guess, has to be somewhat attractive, doesn't it?

Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to sneak into every corner. So I whispered to my sister, asked her if she was awake, and she said yes. I said, there's someone in the room, and she said, I know. Missing Nehiem is available now. Be sure to download and follow Missing Nehiem wherever you get your podcasts.