When 24-year-old Belgian backpacker Davine Arckens reached out to a man on Gumtree about working on his farm, she was excited. The 88 days of labour would mean she could stay in Australia on a tourist visa for an extra year. She couldn’t wait to spend more time in a country she thought was safe and full of nice people.
When Davine met the man, it didn’t take long for her to realise she’d made a terrible mistake. What followed was two harrowing days where she was held against her will and an escape that made national headlines.
Walkley award-winning journalist Richard Guilliatt reported on the story, and he joins Jessie Stephens to walk us through it.
This episode first aired in 2019 and marked one of the earliest major cases on True Crime Conversations. We're re-releasing it today for listeners old and new.
CREDITS
Guest: Richard Guilliatt
Host: Jessie Stephens
Senior Producer/Editor: Elise Cooper
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We acknowledge 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.
