He stabbed her 24 times and nearly killed her and her unborn baby now the system is preparing to let him walk free.

In the final part of this harrowing series, Natalie Queiroz reveals the devastating twist she never expected. Nearly a decade after surviving a brutal attempted murder, Natalie discovers that quiet policy changes could allow her attacker to move to an open prison years early, giving him day release and freedom of movement without her knowledge.

Natalie speaks with raw honesty about the fear and trauma this decision reignites for her and her children, and why she believes the criminal justice system continues to fail victims of domestic abuse and stalking. She explains how learning of his Cat D eligibility shattered her sense of safety and forced her back into survival mode.

But this is also a story of extraordinary resilience. Natalie shares how she transformed her pain into purpose, working inside prisons with violent offenders, campaigning against knife crime, supporting young people at risk, and becoming a victims advocate holding police and government to account. Her work earned her an MBE, but the fight is far from over.

Presented by journalists Helen Fospero and Martin Brunt, this episode explores the uncomfortable reality of offender rehabilitation, early release, prison overcrowding and the lifelong sentence carried by victims. It asks urgent questions about public safety, victims rights, and whether the balance has tipped too far away from those who survive extreme violence.

This episode contains distressing discussions of violence, trauma and ongoing fear. Listener discretion is advised.

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Follow True Criminals

Follow us on Instagram at ⁠@true.criminals⁠ and subscribe to our YouTube channel at ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@True-Criminals⁠.

Connect with Martin Brunt

Follow Martin on Twitter at ⁠@skymartinbrunt⁠. Discover more about his career and the cases he’s covered by reading his book, No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter, available here: ⁠https://amzn.eu/d/g1WisSY⁠.

Connect with Helen Fospero

Follow Helen on Instagram at ⁠@helenfospero⁠ and check out her podcast, The Convex Conversation, here: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-convex-conversation/id1510209575⁠.

Credits

True Criminals is produced by Audio Bleach Global.

Visit ⁠www.audiobleachglobal.com/truecriminals⁠ for more information.

Executive Producer: Lee Mann.

Producer: Russell Barnes.

Audio Production: Andrew Chappell.

Music Composition: Chap Mannequin.

Artwork: Bleached

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