WEBVTT 1 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:50.000 Melbourne is located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It's 2 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.719 a big city, humming with activity at all ours in 3 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:55.679 the day and night. On the outer fringe of Melbourne's 4 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:59.880 northern suburbs lies Murnda. It's a quiet, modern neighborhood that's 5 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.399 still holds the imprint of its rural past. It started 6 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.840 out as farmland, known in the eighteen hundreds as Merangue South. 7 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:10.519 It was the land of orchards and sheep stations before 8 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:14.319 it took the name Mirnda in nineteen thirteen. By the 9 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:17.599 two thousands, Murnda had transformed. It was now one of 10 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:21.560 the faster growing areas in Victoria. Farm blocks gave way 11 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:25.799 to neat rows of family homes, school supermarkets, and a 12 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.120 shiny new train line followed, connecting the community to the 13 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:33.280 wider city. One night in November of twenty and twenty, 14 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:36.400 Aggimano was asleep in her bed in a tidy house 15 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:40.040 nestled in one of the new estates of Mirnda. The 16 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.599 home was still in dark until a noise shoulted her awake. 17 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:46.719 She blinked, unsure if it had come from the world 18 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:51.120 outside or from inside her dreams, but then she heard 19 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:56.120 something else. It sounded like somebody gasping for breath. This 20 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:59.920 wasn't a bad dream, It was real. But the nightmare 21 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:17.719 had only just begun. It was in the suburb of 22 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.479 Mirnda that Celeste Mano had built a life. She was 23 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:24.479 born on the twenty second of November nineteen ninety six, 24 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.240 the only daughter of Aggie Tomorrow and Tony Mano. From 25 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.840 the very beginning, she was there light. The name Celeste 26 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:37.599 had been chosen deliberately lovingly for its celestial meaning. Though 27 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:41.520 her parents would eventually separate, their bond with Celeste remained unwavering. 28 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:44.919 She grew up surrounded by love from her parents and 29 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:49.759 her two brothers, Alessandro and Jaden, the man who household 30 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:53.680 life was one of tradition. Evenings often meant floor or 31 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:56.840 dusted aprons and the scent of homemade pizza wafting from 32 00:02:56.840 --> 00:03:00.680 the kitchen. The easy Sunday afternoons were spent lounging by 33 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:04.639 the swimming pool. To Jade and her older brother, Celeste 34 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:07.680 was more than a sister. She was a guiding force. 35 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:11.840 He later recollected. She was the most intelligent one of 36 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:14.639 all of us, the best of all of us. There 37 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:16.879 isn't a soul on this earth, who could ever say 38 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:21.120 a bad thing? When Jane became a father, Celeste embraced 39 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:24.800 the role of ante with joy. Only wasn't just important 40 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.000 to her, it was everything. She radiated a kind of 41 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:31.800 grace that felt rare in her generation. Those who loved 42 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:34.919 her said that she was elegant, thoughtful, even a little 43 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:38.280 old fashioned in a world that often rushes past tenderness. 44 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:41.879 Her friend and colleague, Bertine Rash, who remembered her as 45 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:46.840 a kind, loving, great friend to many. Celeste's bedroom wall 46 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.439 bore a whiteboard filled with motivational quotes and gentle reminders. 47 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:55.000 Each morning, before anything else, she would pause to read them. 48 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.639 At the very top was a single word, smile, and 49 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:02.479 she meant it. To Celeste, a smile wasn't just an expression, 50 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:05.319 It was a way to writeen up somebody else's day. 51 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:10.039 Her godmother, Pinya, described her as the sweetest, kindest person 52 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.400 you could ever meet, and that kindness wasn't surface level, 53 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:16.279 it was deeply ingrained in the way that she moved 54 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:20.160 through the world. For five years, Celeste had volunteered with 55 00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:24.000 Seven Cups of Tea, an online platform that provides emotional 56 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.639 support to people experiencing mental health challenges. The work was 57 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:31.639 hard and it was unpaid, but Celeste never treated it 58 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:35.040 like a burden. She carried that same empathy into her 59 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:40.519 professional life. After completing a criminology and psychology degree at 60 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:44.079 r MIT University, she accepted a job at a call 61 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:49.519 center in mill Park operated by Circo Asia Pacific. For many, 62 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.800 the call center was just a job, a stepping stone, 63 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:57.319 a paycheck. But Celeste was different. She brought a quiet 64 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:00.879 brilliance to the workplace. Her college said that she had 65 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:05.600 a positive energy. She was wise beyond her years, so 66 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:08.079 much so that she was quickly promoted to team leader. 67 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.639 But in that same workplace, Celeste had also caught the 68 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:28.439 attention of someone else, someone who was watching. Among the 69 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:31.959 team members who briefly worked under Celeste's supervision at Circo 70 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:35.879 was a man named Louis Seco. He was thirty five 71 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:38.879 years old, more than a decade older than Celeste, and 72 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:41.759 in many ways his story was won shaped by displacement 73 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:45.800 and disappointment. Seco had been born in Iraq. During the 74 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:49.920 oppressive reign of Saddam Hussein. In nineteen ninety two, he 75 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:53.120 and his family fled to Australia in search of something better. 76 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:56.920 He was the eldest of five children, and with that 77 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:01.680 came pressure, some spoken, some not. His younger brother Lauren, 78 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.839 would later make headlines after being sentenced to six years 79 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.319 in a youth justice center for the manslaughter of twenty 80 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:13.000 two year old Matthew macavoy. Leais on the surface had 81 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:17.279 always appeared to be the opposite. He was studious and quiet. 82 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:20.720 He excelled in maths and earned his way into university. 83 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:26.160 But somewhere along that path something began to fracture. His 84 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:29.399 own family would later describe him as a loner and 85 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:34.399 an introvert. Social cues escaped him, human connection seemed to 86 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:39.240 slip through his fingers. A university, he struggled. He felt 87 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.279 invisible and rejected, and that sense of isolation seemed to 88 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:47.480 harden something inside of him. Work didn't provide the redemption 89 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.439 he may have hoped for. He drifted in and out 90 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:54.000 of retailed jobs, often unemployed, living on the fringe of 91 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:59.399 professional life until April of two thousand and nineteen, when 92 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.839 he joined SO and was assigned to the team led 93 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:06.160 by Celeste Mano. She treated him just like she treated 94 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:11.199 everybody else, with respect, with professionalism with the kind of 95 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:14.879 quiet empathy that came so naturally to her. But Luis 96 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:19.279 Siecho saw something else in her, something that was never there. 97 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:23.160 Just two months into the job, Seko was fired for 98 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:27.920 ongoing performance issues. On his last day, Celeste walked him 99 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.439 to the door, shook his hand, and wished him well. 100 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:33.720 It was a simple, courteous goodbye, the kind of moment 101 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.639 that might be forgotten by most, but for Seku it 102 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:41.839 became something else entirely. He thanked her for her kindness, 103 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:44.439 and then, without warning, he leaned in and kissed her 104 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:49.040 on the cheek. Celeste was startled. The gesture had crossed 105 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:52.680 a line. It made her deeply uncomfortable, but she didn't 106 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:56.240 dwell on it. She moved on, or at least she 107 00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:00.000 tried to. A week later, a message arrived in her Instagram. 108 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:04.560 I'm in box. It was from Louis Seko. He thanked 109 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.639 her again for how she handled his termination, and then, 110 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:12.319 without warning, he declared his love for her. He wrote, 111 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:14.800 to put an end to my suffering. Can you be 112 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:17.319 direct with me and just tell me how you feel 113 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:24.480 towards me. Celeste was gracious, she always was. She responded, Hi, Louis, 114 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:26.959 those are really sweet words, and I appreciate you saying 115 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.800 all of this. I'm surprised to read this as it's 116 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.519 all new to me. As much as I appreciate it, 117 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:35.399 I only feel a professional way towards you, and I 118 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:38.240 wish you all the best towards your new job and journey. 119 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:43.639 But Louie didn't go away. The messages kept coming. At 120 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:46.919 first they were filled with admiration, odd in tone but 121 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:50.559 not yet overly threatening, but it was clear he wasn't 122 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:55.159 letting go. Celeste's comfort grew, and eventually she told him plainly, 123 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:58.639 I would really appreciate if you could stop contacting me, 124 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:03.159 as this is making me very uncomfortable. Seco replied with 125 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:06.879 something cold and cutting. My impression of you has changed. 126 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:09.960 You're no different to the majority of women. I will 127 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.440 remember you in this lesson for all my life and 128 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:15.519 devote every ounce of energy I have to climbing up 129 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:18.360 and proving to the world that I'm somebody. This is 130 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:22.120 my promise to you and final contact to you. But 131 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:25.600 it was in his final contact. The message has continued, 132 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:31.080 and when Celeste blocked him, another account popped up, then another, 133 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:34.840 and another and another. Over the span of roughly a year, 134 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:37.840 Saeco would send more than one hundred and forty messages 135 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:42.120 to Celeste across various fake profiles. Would have begun as 136 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:48.360 an awkward infactuation had spiraled into something far darker, a fixation, 137 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:53.919 an obsession, and Saeco knew it. In one message, he admitted, 138 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.039 this obsession with you is an addictive and destructing feeling, 139 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:02.000 interfering with my ability to concentrate, deal with others, and 140 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:08.200 go about my daily routine. Three out of four US 141 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:11.480 homes have toxic chemicals looking in their tap water. Even 142 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:16.799 crystal clear water can harbor devastating contaminants, causing fatigue, hormone disruption, 143 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:22.360 cognitive decline, even cancer. Standard fridge filters barely scratch the surface, 144 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:27.919 and bottled water it's loaded with microplastics. 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And then in December of twenty to nineteen, 163 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:48.080 the tone of the message is shifted. Leisieko started to 164 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:53.399 send sexually explicit, derogatory, and violent messages to Celeste. So 165 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:57.519 let's confided in those closest to her, her friends, her family, 166 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.600 even her colleagues, and when the anxiety became too much, 167 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:05.200 she went to the police. But what she was told 168 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:09.399 was chilling in its indifference. There was nothing they could do, 169 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.799 Seco hadn't made direct threats, no physical crime had been committed. 170 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:17.759 The advice she was given was to shut down her 171 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:22.600 social media, start afresh, delete and block her mother Agi 172 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.320 would later say the suggestion was to delete and block him, 173 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:28.879 or start a new account, or get off social media, 174 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:34.039 but Celeste resisted, Why should she be the one to disappear, 175 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:38.200 Why should she erase parts of her life because of him? 176 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:43.240 She left the police station shaken and still unprotected. The 177 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:48.279 messages just kept coming. One day, Celeste told Teko both 178 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:51.320 my family and police have been made aware of the situation, 179 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:56.559 but that didn't deter him. He responded, I feel a 180 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:59.240 little bit hurt that you would go to that extent, Celest. 181 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:03.399 I wouldn't hurt a soul, especially you. Why do you 182 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.559 see me as a threat? It's a genuine question that 183 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:09.960 I may learn from by getting your answer. He just 184 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:13.039 kept going, even when Aggie warned him to stop contacting 185 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:17.240 her daughter. She messaged him saying, we will be going 186 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:21.039 to the police again today. I've read very disgusting messages 187 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:26.480 you've sent my daughter out. Dare you Sego replied, I'm sorry. 188 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:29.120 I didn't know what I was doing was disgusting. But 189 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:32.120 I will stop contacting Celeste if that's all she wishes. 190 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:37.720 But he didn't stop. Celeste became hyper aware of her surroundings. 191 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.960 After every shift at Circle, her coworkers would walk her 192 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:46.080 to her car. They checked the parking lot, scanned the shadows. 193 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:50.399 She told her supervisor, he's really going to kill me. 194 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:54.480 Whenever celestrove home, she would always call her mother and 195 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:57.639 stay on the line. She had a plan. If she 196 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:00.559 ever thought that she was being followed, she'd drive straight 197 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:05.000 to the police station. Her mother later recollected Celeste was 198 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.799 always one hundred percent sure he didn't know where we lived, 199 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:12.879 but she checked her rare view mirrors constantly. Eventually Celeste 200 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:16.039 was able to apply for an intervention order. It was 201 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.639 granted an interim one, a piece of paper meant to 202 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:24.759 create distance, but Celeste didn't feel safe. She knew what 203 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:28.200 many victims of stalking knew all too well, that court 204 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:31.639 orders only mattered to those who choose to obey them. 205 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:35.679 After the intervention order was granted, a hush fell over 206 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:39.480 Celeste's inbox. For the first time in months. There was 207 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:44.159 no new messages, no disturbing DMS popping up under fake names, 208 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:48.840 no explicit rants, no threats, wrapped in declarations of obsession. 209 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:53.799 There was finally silence. Her mother, Aggie, recalled the change 210 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:57.840 in her daughter's mood. My daughter felt safer. I thought 211 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:00.480 hopefully it had scared him and maybe he REALI this 212 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:04.799 was serious and he needed to forget about Celeste. For 213 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:07.200 a moment, it felt like they could finally breathe again, 214 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:10.360 like the system had worked the way it was supposed to. 215 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:15.559 But the silence didn't last. Not long after, the messages 216 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:20.639 started again. This time the tone was pleading. Lay Seko 217 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:24.120 message Celeste to beg her to drop the intervention order. 218 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:27.480 He insisted he didn't understand that what he had done 219 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.919 was wrong. He said he was confused that he meant 220 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:34.480 no harm. I would never hurt a soul, he wrote. 221 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:36.840 He asked why she had treated him like a threat, 222 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.519 but Celeste saw through the performance. She didn't respond, She 223 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:45.279 didn't engage. She went straight to the police, and this 224 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:49.480 time Seko was arrested. When confronted with the reality of 225 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:53.159 what he had done, Seko broke down. He threatened to 226 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.960 take his own life. But it wasn't remorse, It was manipulation. 227 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:01.159 It was another tactic, another attempt to claw back control 228 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:04.279 over somebody who had made it clear she wanted nothing 229 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:07.759 to do with him. Sego was charged with breaching the 230 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:13.200 intervention order, but he was then released on summons. Celeste 231 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:15.960 tried not to let it rattle her. She had already 232 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:18.919 given too much of her energy, her sense of security, 233 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:21.799 and her peace of mind to this man. So she 234 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.480 carried all with life. It was November of twenty and twenty, 235 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.960 and Celeste was days away from celebrating her twenty fourth birthday. 236 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:32.200 It was something she had genuinely been looking forward to 237 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:36.559 her family, her friends, the coconut cake her mom promised 238 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.919 to be She was also looking forward to spending more 239 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:44.080 time with her baby niece, Daisy. Because of the COVID restrictions, 240 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:48.120 she hadn't gotten there much. But things were aasing. It 241 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:52.080 felt like the beginning of normalcy of life moving forward, 242 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.639 and Celeste was in love. Her boyfriend, Chris Resdale, had 243 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.279 brought a new light into her life. He was kind, thought, awful, 244 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:03.639 and safe. Celest had already told her friends and family 245 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:07.599 about him, but now she was ready to tell the world. 246 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:10.720 The weekend before her birthday, Celeste and Chris took a 247 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:15.400 photograph together. They were beaming, sitting side by side with 248 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:19.079 arms around one another in a local pub. Chris later 249 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.119 remembered we talked and joked about how this would be 250 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:24.880 the first picture of us together on her social media 251 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.440 and she was so excited to share it with everyone. 252 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:33.319 Celeste filled out her phone, opened Instagram and uploaded the photograph. 253 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.200 It was a simple act that many of us do 254 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:50.279 without thinking, but within ours, celest would be dead. It 255 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:52.519 was just after four a m. On the sixteenth of 256 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:56.200 November twenty and twenty, less than twenty four hours after 257 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.839 Celeste had shared that photograph with her boyfriend Chris. She 258 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.480 had gone to bed that night smiling, unaware that somewhere 259 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:07.880 across the city, a man she barely knew was staring 260 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:12.359 at that same image with something far more dangerous than heartbreak. 261 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:16.720 Lay Seco had seen the post. He had saved the 262 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:20.720 photograph to his phone. Then he'd searched for Chris's name 263 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:25.119 online on Google linked In, even tracing the location of 264 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:28.759 the pub where the photo had been taken. In the 265 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.480 early hours of that morning, under the cover of night, 266 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:35.880 Seco left his home in Roxburgh Park and began half 267 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:40.039 hour drive to Mirnda. The streets were still the world asleep, 268 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:45.279 but Sego wasn't aimless. He was on a mission. Once 269 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:49.000 he arrived at Celeste's quiet suburban street, he didn't park 270 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:53.079 straight away. He circled the block over and over again, 271 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:57.319 like a predator, waiting for the right moment. Then he 272 00:18:57.400 --> 00:19:00.799 stopped the car. He got out. He ran to the 273 00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:04.200 house and scaled the side fence like he had done 274 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:08.759 it before. Peering through her bedroom window, he could see 275 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:14.119 Celeste fast asleep, unaware that danger had already stepped inside 276 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:18.960 her world. Then, without hesitation, he smashed the window with 277 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.839 a hammer. Celeste was jolted awake by the sound of 278 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:28.200 shattering glass. She didn't even have time to scream. Within seconds, 279 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:32.359 Sega was inside her bedroom. He lunged at her, armed 280 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:36.480 with a kitchen knife, and began stabbing her with terrifying force. 281 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:41.720 Celeste fought back with everything she had. Her arms bore 282 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:47.400 defensive wounds, but she was ambush, trapped, and outmatched. Just 283 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:51.319 next door, her mother, Aggie, stirred from sleep. She thought 284 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:55.720 she'd heard something, footsteps, a thud. She sat up in bed, 285 00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:58.359 unsure if it was real or just part of a dream, 286 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:03.400 But then she heard heard it gasping, she raced from 287 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:08.079 her bedroom into Celestes and then froze. Her daughter was 288 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.759 lying on the floor, surrounded by a pull of blood. 289 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:16.160 Her eyes were open but vacant. Her chest was rising 290 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:20.000 and falling with a fragile, strained rhythm. Each breath was 291 00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:25.200 a struggle. Stab wounds covered her body and face. Aggie 292 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:28.480 dropped to the floor beside her, cradled her and called zero, 293 00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:33.240 zero zero. She performed CPR and mouth to mouth, but 294 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:38.680 each breath became weaker, and then there was stillness. While 295 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:41.960 Aggie was desperately trying to see of her daughter, Secu 296 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:45.319 had already fled from the scene. He drove straight to 297 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:49.200 the mourned the police station. There, he approached an officer 298 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:53.839 calmly and just said two words, She's dead. He gave 299 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:57.160 them Celeste's a dress. Then he asked the officer to 300 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:01.039 shoot him. By the time paramedics arrived at the house, 301 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:05.519 celest Mano was already gone. She had been stabbed a 302 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:09.319 total of twenty three times, with a fatal wound through 303 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:20.519 her heart. The family home was enveloped in crime scene 304 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:25.119 tape as detectives and crimescene investigators descended on the scene, 305 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:29.599 police courtoned off the man of residents. Inside, investigators took 306 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:33.960 photographs of the bedroom, of the shattered window, the bloodstained sheets, 307 00:21:34.359 --> 00:21:37.680 and they bagged the kitchen knife in the evidence. It 308 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:40.559 had been left behind by Seko as he made his getaway, 309 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:44.599 and slowly and carefully they carried Celeste's body out of 310 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:49.759 the home. Outside, her mother, Aggie, stood frozen, and then 311 00:21:49.799 --> 00:21:53.960 she broke. She ran towards the tape, screaming, trying to 312 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:57.960 reach her daughter one last time. Detectives held their back, 313 00:21:58.119 --> 00:21:59.960 their arms around her as she sobbed on the law 314 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:04.240 on how did I not protect her? She cried, There 315 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:07.119 are no words for that kind of guilt, no comfort 316 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:10.680 strong enough to reach your mother in that moment. Later, 317 00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:14.000 Aggie would say, I couldn't believe what I walked into. 318 00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:17.480 You were lifeless. I'm never going to forget that image 319 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:20.799 in my head, the look in your eyes, so distant, 320 00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:23.680 so far away. I knew you were gone, but I 321 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:26.960 didn't want to believe what I was saying. The community 322 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.359 didn't need the full story to feel the weight of 323 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:32.720 what had happened. Blood was still visible on the side 324 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:37.519 gate from where Seko had fled. News crews gathered outside 325 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:41.880 and neighbors stared in disbelief and beneath the growing pile 326 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:45.519 of flowers and candles, a makeshift memorial was beginning to 327 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:47.920 take shape. 328 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:51.960 Morbidology listeners, if you're ready for even more evidence driven 329 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:56.240 content with razor sharp storytelling, we'd love to introduce you 330 00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:00.000 to Kill Her Heart to Hearts, a narrative true crime podcast. 331 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:05.200 Asked we center victims and families, build timelines from reputable 332 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:09.680 primary sources, and keep a steady documentary tone with just 333 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:13.720 enough dark edged humor that never cheapens the story. We 334 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:17.400 explore how the evidence fits and how it doesn't, where 335 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:20.240 the leads went and where it all fell into place, 336 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:23.599 and what that all meant for the people involved and 337 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:27.839 the communities left behind. Good introductory episodes to start with 338 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:32.680 include in Cell, In Ditches or The Acid King, three 339 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:36.200 episodes our audience points to as the best entry ramps 340 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:39.519 to our dark little corner of true crime. New episodes 341 00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:42.319 are released every Monday, so search Kill Her Heart to 342 00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:45.720 Hearts and follow Today wherever you get your podcasts. 343 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:51.359 As details emerged about Saiko's long campaign of stalking and harassment, 344 00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:56.480 public horror turned to outrage. He had been reported he'd 345 00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:59.799 been charged, he had an intervene in order against him, 346 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:04.279 and yet he was free. Celeste's father, Tony didn't hold 347 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:07.279 back as he said, it's got to be changed. It 348 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:09.759 won't bring her back, but it's got to be changed. 349 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:13.279 Too many scenarios have already happened. What's it going to 350 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.720 take for the government to listen. It's not right. It's 351 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:21.079 got to stop. Her brother Jaden, echoed that same heartbreak 352 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:24.680 as he said, we need the government to listen. Everyone 353 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:27.720 should have the right to live their lives, in their homes, 354 00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:30.680 in their bedrooms, on the streets. No one should be scared. 355 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:34.359 In the days that followed, a petition was launched calling 356 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:37.640 for tougher laws to protect victims of stalking and violence. 357 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:41.519 It read, in part, although there are laws in place 358 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:44.640 and intervention orders can be granted, it's clear that this 359 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.799 is not sufficient and more needs to be done. Far 360 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:50.240 too many women have lost their lives at the hands 361 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:54.640 of perpetrators. More than eight thousand people signed their names. 362 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:59.720 The petition was tabled in state parliament, but for Celeste's 363 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:04.359 famil that was only the beginning. On the nineteenth of November, 364 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:07.720 just three days after the murderluais Seka was moved from 365 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:11.799 hospital to the police headquarters. He was charged with one 366 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:15.480 kind of murder, and while the legal process was moving 367 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:19.640 slowly forward, Celeste's loved ones had something for more devastating 368 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:23.279 to face saying goodbye. Towards the end of the month, 369 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:27.279 mourners gathered at the Whittlesey Funeral Home for Celeste's service. 370 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:31.279 It was a crisp day and crief clung in the air. 371 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:34.880 Her white casket was carried by her father, her brothers, 372 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:39.160 and her boyfriend Chris. Inside. Loved one stood up one 373 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:43.640 by one to speak about Celeste. Her mother, Aggie, delivered 374 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:47.480 a heartbreaking eulogy. I can't imagine the horror you must 375 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:51.119 have felt to have been awoken by some monster. I 376 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:54.319 didn't get there in time, and I'm so angry at myself. 377 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:57.960 I am so sorry. I am ashamed of myself because 378 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:02.119 you believed your mum would always protect. Aggie said that 379 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:06.200 despite everything Saco had done, Celess still had compassion for him, 380 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:10.359 She'd even felt sorry for him, but that compassion had 381 00:26:10.359 --> 00:26:14.480 been met with violence, and Aggie's voice broke as she said, 382 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:18.839 you forgave everything, and everyone's sweety, but not me. I'm 383 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:22.200 not forgiving I want him to burn in hell. Her 384 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:25.519 younger brother, Alessandro, said he would never again play a 385 00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:31.160 basketball game without imagining her cheering from the stands. He said, 386 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:35.039 you're my sister, my best friend, and most importantly, the 387 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:38.640 most amazing, beautiful person in my life. I can't believe 388 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:41.119 you're gone, and I can't hug and kiss you every 389 00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:45.039 day after you come home from work. Jade and the 390 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:49.160 eldest said that the grief they carried was immeasurable. He said, 391 00:26:49.880 --> 00:26:52.240 we're the luckiest people on earth to have had you 392 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.400 in our lives at all. You were your family's rock, 393 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:59.640 pillar of strength and protector. Tony her father, had his 394 00:26:59.720 --> 00:27:03.240 words read aloud by someone else. He couldn't bring himself 395 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:07.160 to speak. Nothing in this earth will ever be able 396 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:18.200 to replace you, he said. In the months after Celeste's murder, 397 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:22.480 her family's grave transformed into a powerful force for change. 398 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:25.759 Agi became the face of the movement. She demanded for 399 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:29.480 better protection for women like Celeste, women who had done 400 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:33.240 everything right, who had reported their stalkers, who had followed 401 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:36.839