Murder of Carly Ryan

Ryan lived in Stirling, South Australia with her mother, Sonya Ryan. Approximately 18 months before her death, while using MySpace (and Vampirefreaks.com), she befriended "Brandon Kane",[5] a fictitious Texas-born teen living in Melbourne, which eventually grew into an online and telephone romance.[1][6] In an interview with Studio 10, Sonya stated that on one occasion where she looked over Carly's shoulder while the latter was on the computer, she noticed a "looped vision" of a boy typing, although at the time she didn't know it was looped. In January 2007, Garry Newman travelled from Melbourne posing as "Shane", the father of Brandon, in order to give Ryan presents (lingerie and a nurse's outfit) from the non-existent Brandon.[1] After meeting her mother, he was then allowed to attend Ryan's 15th birthday party and stay overnight.[1] After a shopping trip together, Newman's increasingly erratic and possessive behaviour at the party, and inappropriate physical advances (including laying onto Ryan's bed with her), he was told to leave by Sonya Ryan,[2][7] who then began monitoring Ryan's Internet usage more closely.

Later, on 19 February, Ryan left the house for an apparent sleepover with friends, but after not returning the next day, the police were notified. The same morning, at Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot, Ryan's battered and dishevelled body was found floating face-down in the shallow water,[2] and attempts to revive her failed.

Murder of Carly Ryan

Horseshoe Bay, the location of Ryan’s murder
Date	20 February 2007 (2007-02-20)
Location	Lot 850 Basham Parade, Port Elliot, South Australia
Coordinates	35°31′58″S 138°41′10″E
Type	Murder by assault, suffocation, and drowning
Motive	Failed attempt at sexual predation
Deaths	Carly Ryan
Convictions	Garry Francis Newman Guilty of murder Newman's son Not guilty of all charges
Sentence	Garry Newman Life imprisonment with 29-year non-parole period[4][8]

The autopsy revealed 19 separate injuries, with six to eight of them being blows to the head, and the cause of death was a combination of facial trauma, smothering, and drowning.[7] It also revealed cannabinoids in Ryan's bloodstream and beach sand in her oesophagus. Investigators examined security footage, which showed Ryan in and around Port Elliot on 19 February, in the company of two men, and she was last seen alive by witnesses at the beach at 9:30 PM.[2][3]

A pale blue vehicle used by the men led police to Mornington Peninsula, where a raid (11 days after the murder[1]) led to the arrest of Newman, and the detention of Newman's younger son. A search revealed that Newman had kept a notebook detailing some 200 online personas, and other criminal attempts at grooming both in Australia and internationally.[1] At trial, Newman, who was initially not identified to the media, acted erratically and initially denied meeting the teenager.[9] On 21 January 2010, Newman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 29-year non-parole period.[4][10] Newman's adopted son, who was a minor at the time and a witness to the killing, was cleared of all charges and his identity remains suppressed.[2]

After the trial, Sonya Ryan helped to set up The Carly Ryan Foundation, a non-profit charity created to promote internet safety.[11] In 2013, the foundation began lobbying for a legal change to improve the protection of minors online,[12] particularly given that 25% of teenage Australians are being contacted online by people they do not know.[6] The foundation also promoted safety awareness in Australia and New Zealand (such as the use of online contracts[6]), and created a smartphone application, called Thread, as a personal safety app for children.[2][13] Sonya Ryan also received a South Australian of the Year Award in 2013 for services to the community, as well as various other awards in 2017, 2018 and 2021.[14][15][16]

• Internet homicide
• Murder of Kacie Woody
• Alicia Kozakiewicz

• Carly Ryan Foundation