Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister · Pushkin Industries

Stolen Sister 01: Elizabeth

March 30, 2026·29 min·1 clip

At 10.30pm, Elizabeth walked out of McDaniels alone and into the dark night in British Bay.

1. Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister follows Elizabeth Plunkett, the Ringsend woman whose disappearance and murder shaped her family for nearly 50 years. 2. Ros Purcell narrates, Bernie and Kathleen Plunkett speak as Elizabeth’s younger sisters, and producers Nicolene and Lee help frame the family’s account. 3. The episode asks what Bernie and Kathleen are trying to correct, and the answer is the long silence around Elizabeth’s case and the men who confessed to killing her. 4. Bernie says she and Kathleen tried the DPP, the Garda Commissioner, and the State Solicitor’s Office before they emailed the Documentary on One team. 5. Kathleen’s email names Elizabeth Plunkett and identifies John Shull and Geoffrey Evans as the men connected to the summer 1976 murders. 6. The narration places Elizabeth’s life in Pembroke Cottages in Ringsend, a tight-knit Dublin community on the banks of the Liffey. 7. Elizabeth comes from a family of ten, with four boys and four girls, and the cottage had only two bedrooms and a pull-out bed in the living room. 8. Her siblings describe her as headstrong, bossy, athletic, and confident, and they recall her pushing back when their father said only the girls should wash dishes. 9. Elizabeth works at Thomas Delarue printing foreign currency, where she socializes with Mela Bush and becomes close to Mela’s brother Damien. 10. The episode spends time on Elizabeth’s style and independence, including her trip to Saint-Tropez, her yellow-tinted glasses, and the Saint-Tropez jumper she bought in France. 11. The story then turns to John Shull and Geoffrey Evans, who came from England, had convictions for burglary, assault, heroin possession, and attempted rape, and met in prison. 12. The narration says the men came to Ireland in the mid-1970s and were described as intending to murder one woman a week. 13. By early August 1976, Shull is released from Dublin prison, claims he is not the person named in the extradition warrant, and is freed on bail. 14. Three weeks later, Geoffrey Evans follows the same path, and the programme stresses that both men are back on the streets in Ireland. 15. Bernie remembers that 1976 was one of the hottest summers on record, and the family had a bright, busy season before the night at British Bay. 16. Garda statements later reconstruct the evening at McDaniels, including Damien’s argument with Joe about the car he sold without telling him. 17. Elizabeth tells Damien, “if you do that again, I’ll go home,” and then leaves the pub after saying he was ruining the evening. 18. The episode’s tone is intimate and documentary-led, with family interviews, archival-sounding narration, and read statements from Garda investigations. 19. Listeners interested in Irish true crime, family testimony, and 1970s Dublin history will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting a fast resolution or minimal distressing material may want to skip it.

As heard by us

A quiet, detail-rich portrait of Elizabeth built from memory, family tension, and close witness accounts.

Stolen Sister opens in hesitation rather than spectacle: in July 2024, two sisters are working up the courage to send an email, and the episode slowly turns toward Elizabeth through the people who knew her best. Its strength is patience.

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Why you'd press play

A quiet story built from memory, close friendships, and one hard email.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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