Karen Bell Escaped Her Husband, But She Couldn’t Save Her Children

Karen Bell met Gary Poxon in 1993. She was 17, he was 29.  By 2008, the pair were living in an isolated farmhouse in Pericoe with their three children - Maddie, Jack and Bon. Their 15 year long relationship was filled with emotional and physical abuse, with multiple AVOs taken out against Gary to protect Karen. He faced charges more than once for assaulting her, but he'd never once hurt their kids.  They were his trump card. Every time Karen tried to leave Gary he would withhold them. 'You can go,' he would tell her, 'but the kids stay with me.' It was an impossible position. Eventually Karen fled, fearing for her life if she stayed. It would be the last time she ever saw her children alive. THE END BITS Subscribe to Mamamia CREDITS Guest: Megan Norris You can find out more details about her book Look What You Made Me Do here. Host: Claire Murphy Executive Producer: Gia Moylan Assistant Producer: Tahli Blackman Audio Producer: Scott Stronach GET IN TOUCH: Check out our TikTok here. Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]   Join our closed Facebook community to discuss this episode. Just search True Crime Conversations on Facebook or follow this link https://bit.ly/tcc-group  If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.