Case 128: Joan Vollmer

DESCRIPTION
On Sunday, January 10 1993, 54-year-old pig farmer Ralph Vollmer and his 49-year-old wife Joan returned home from a week-long interstate trip...
CREDITS
Narration - Anonymous Host
Research and writing - Erin Munro
Creative direction - Milly Raso
Production, scoring - Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
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[@cjam145]

I can't bring myself to watch any of these KZbin videos.. I knew Joan as her and Ralph lived in my street for several months.. Joan was a beautiful, friendly, loving, gentle soul who had the mind of a child (I believe she had a mental disability, not schizophrenia).. Even though I was child at the time I made the effort to ignore others who lived in our street (including my own Nanna) when they advised me to stay away from her.. I could think for myself and always made my own opinions about people and Joan was lovely.. She was misunderstood because of her mental disability people avoided and ignored her.. It was a very ignorant time in society.. but I didn't join the bandwagon instead I was happy to talk to Joan and I once comforted her after she was left locked out after going to the supermarket to get a couple of things and coming home to find the house had been locked up (Ralph had came home on his work break to check up on her and to make sure she was at home as he didn't approve of her leaving the house and when discovering she wasn't there he locked all the doors and then went back to work leaving her locked out).. He was obsessive, controlling, mentally and emotionally abusive (which now as an adult I understand that's the way religious extremists behalf).. Sadly, Joan had been an easy target and despite everyone in our street witnessing the way he treated her.. Not one of them did anything to help Joan or even would give her the time of day.. as a 10 year old it angered me, that wasn't ok and I once spoke and told my Nanna off for ignoring Joan one day when she had said hello to my Nanna.. (She was one of the people in my life who taught me not to be rude and to treat people kindly).. Well I was a kind child and I was nice to everyone regardless of who they were.. And Joan was nice too.. She was a gentle soul.. and that's exactly how she should be remembered.. I can tell you a few things about what happened during that time they lived in our street (directly across the street from my Nana and Pop).. What went on and what Joan had told could certainly show a new light on how Ralph treated his wife.. When my Nanna told me that he and 3 others claimed she had been possessed and had violently tortured Joan in her last days my Nanna and I both said "He murdered her".. I was devastated! My Nanna and I were not surprised at all.. We saw what Ralph was like and how he treated Joan.. It was only a matter of time.. and it happened! 😥 💔 I can't tell you how much this whole case has angered me over the last 29 years.. It makes me sick to the stomach.. No one deserved to be tortured to death like that.. but Joan was the last person that deserved it.. She was one of the most gentle people I've ever met even to this day.. I honestly don't think with her mental disability she could have ever hurt anyone, she wouldn't have even known how or even thought about harming anyone.. She just didn't have it in her.. it's not who she was.. It's so unfair.. Joan shouldn't be remembered this way she deserves to be remembered for who she really was.. for the beautiful, loving, gentle soul I knew her as... That's how I will always remember her and I wish I could shine some light for people so they could get a better idea of the person Joan really was.. I couldn't help her when she was murdered.. I was 14 years old.. I desperately wanted to though but I didn't know how.. I had no idea what was happening with her court case.. until it was over.. and I have so angry and heartbroken ever since.. My Nanna informed me that they basically got away with murdering Joan.. it's something that I've never got over and I doubt I ever will.. it just wasn't right.. But.. it's never too late.. I would love to give people my story of Joan, what kind of person she was, her marriage to Ralph and the mental and emotionally abuse she'd suffered at Ralph's hands during their entire relationship.. My first meeting with Ralph certainly wasn't a nice one.. but definitely one I'll never forget! ..This is my legacy to Joan!

[@kellybee1935]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful experiences with Joan. This story made me sick to my stomach, sad and really mad at those claiming to be helping her in the name of God. I did get that she was a gentile soul and the name of her so called demon was called mental illness. I suffer from some of the same things Joan did and I thank God I am not being told I’m demon possessed and tortured. I am praying for peace and healing for you.

[@patedwards8844]

Thank you for telling Joan's story. I knew when I heard she went off her meds that it was downhill from there 😢.

[@MM-uv6kb]

Thank you

[@IKARIMONSTER]

Poor poor poor Joan... what horrors she went through. She didn't deserve any of this. Absolutely horrible.

[@loritracy1385]

Thank you. Excellent job telling it from Joan's point of view. This was so horrific & left me with such anger at what was done to this woman. They had no right to hurt her like this. They made her last days a living hell.

[@AudsVids]

While this would have been awful for anyone to go through, I think Joan must have been terrified especially if she was having episodes of seeing things and having everything she did be perceived as evidence of being possessed. They killed someone, no matter their sincere belief or not, and to drag it out over days is sickening.

[@melmazing3993]

Who was really the one with mental health issues?? Religious obsession is a real mental health issue that seems socially acceptable 🤷

[@Trund27]

Completely agree.

[@barbaralamson7450]

Very well said. Thank you.

[@danmac73]

This is so hard to listen to, horrific.

[@TomTheOwl68]

How anyone can even believe they have some godgiven right to do this to someone is beyond me. I hope in the aftermath they suffer and take onboard that they did something horrific to someone with no justification whatsoever and they carry that guilt for the rest of their lives.

[@Balrog-tf3bg]

“Do unto others”

[@dimitritallnova6509]

And this is why religion in this form scares the hell out of me. She didn't deserve this and it's sad that she didn't get the proper help she needed and that her husband led her to her death.

[@bausy2196]

It's a terrible idea in any form.

[@ilkkarautio2449]

Thats why all of the religions must be torn down. That ancient superstition is slowing us from reaching our true destiny.

[@tammyallen3813]

@@ilkkarautio2449 huh??

[@ajithfernando1702]

@@ilkkarautio2449 well said 😁🤗🤗

[@Jolenesmart1980]

@@ilkkarautio2449 agreed

[@tjmulligan3086]

Joan was not the only mentally ill person here, clearly.

[@martinwarner1178]

Such a sombre and haunting telling of an unfortunate story. A lesson for all, in that recital. Thank you. Peace be unto you.

[@karen81986]

Omg. These people were insane

[@johnirish2969]

God cannot intervene in mental health

[@baseballworldwide9439]

F L lies

[@johnirish2969]

@@baseballworldwide9439 no its truth. This casefile is evidence

[@ilkkarautio2449]

Sensible people know that there is no help coming from "god". Even if he exists, which i dont believe, he isnt benevolent, he's nothing but a psychopath.

[@tammyallen3813]

@@ilkkarautio2449 you seem to talk bullshit today

[@YAS-dn6xn]

Yes. I have been waiting for this. Thanks alot

[@steff.7028]

Thank you!

[@OOoKarmaoOO]

They're batshit crazy

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

They might not have been able to prove that the pressure on her neck caused her cardiac arrest, but I absolutely believe this ordeal killed her. They were depriving her of food and water - she was dehydrated. That could have caused an acute kidney injury, causing her blood potassium level to spike and a subsequent fatal arrhythmia…. Her potassium and/or magnesium levels could have been abnormally LOW from starvation, causing a fatal arrhythmia…. All of the physical and psychological stress they placed on her body (in addition to the psychological stress of the untreated schizophrenia itself), could have led to a fatal arrhythmia…. I didn’t catch how many days this ordeal was, but could she have simply died of dehydration? This wouldn’t be the time a prolonged exorcism killed someone…. Look at Anneliese Michel, Janet Moses, Joanna Lee….

[@britth5333]

Yes they beat and starved and tortured her plus put her through extreme distress. Any one of those things could have led to her death. Horrible.

[@bbjjbb61]

Joan sounds like she had a dissociative disorder on top of other issues. When you said she spoke in a child like voice and her saying she had experienced sexual abuse as a child it made me think that. That requires intensive and long-term counseling and was frequently mistaken for possession and hysterics. I have struggles with dissociative issues and have done years of study and research on the topic. I'm not a doctor but it fits.

[@BabyToxicElixir]

Based on the description, I think she had disassociative identity disorder as well. Her history of sexual abuse makes it seem very likely. Victims disassociate to cope with the trauma.

[@gabriellahedarv1782]

The symptoms also fit her diagnosis of schizophrenia.

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

I was thinking that too…. I’m not an expert but my understanding of DID is it develops as a coping mechanism for trauma, and she was sexually abused as a child. My heart breaks for this poor woman 😢

[@profnkb]

I had the same thought. She was likely misdiagnosed and not treated appropriately. So sad.

[@ah-sh9dw]

DID is so rare that we don't even know if it's a thing. There's no reason to think the professionals were wrong because the people who tortured her said she talked like a little girl while they were torturing her

[@morganosborne9258]

I live in the Bible Belt and could totally see some people here engaging in this practice. Excesses, even in religion, are nearly always dangerous to everyone associated with them. A soul lost needlessly instead of being given real help. RIP Joan.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

really? What has one to do to end up in prison in Australia?!? Very interessting case, though, thanks!

[@Noodlepunk]

That's why I can't listen to crimes or court cases from Australia.

[@ilkkarautio2449]

Murder and terrorism always get that job done. Wonder no more. 🤔

[@naomiledger1374]

don't despair, you're likely to get a stint in prison if you're innocent!

[@mam7069]

Well, my day just got a whole lot better!! Time to do all those chores I loathe :D

[@marktrezise7312]

Poor Joan.

[@karen81986]

Best podcast is casefile

[@gerimarkham9606]

Soo sad and crazy poor Joan my heart with u .xxx so sad 😞

[@RED-cy7ig]

I feel so much sympathy for this woman. She had a condition that made her a victim again. Can you imagine how terrified she was during this event? How much worse with her condition?

[@Genevathistime]

Such an unnecessary tragedy.

[@anagvalia871]

All this ppl were insane they killed her

[@Trund27]

Gross abuse masking as religion.

[@Jolenesmart1980]

Then sentences are pathetic for holding someone prisoner and torturing them

[@Clay64]

Lakeside, the asylum that Joan had visited in Ballarat has since been torn down too.

[@tammyallen3813]

Good

[@whyohwhy9679]

And they thought Joan was crazy? My goodness, such deluded cruelty.

[@leslievasquez2645]

This is horrific! I’m a Christian and I can tell you that those people were not!!! God would never condone such behavior! Poor poor Joan, she should have been kept on her medication. My heart is broken for her. No wonder people think all Christians are nutbags!!

[@davidmayhew8083]

As Shaw said, "beware of the man whose god is in the sky".

[@OOoKarmaoOO]

*When I realized it was in Australia* 🙃 *:* "Oh Lord...again,a-fuckin'-gain. Nothing new.Nothing changed. Same old shit,same-old-fucking-shit."

[@naomiledger1374]

This sounds like a really bad horror movie! Far out. There's nothing good about religion. It may not be unlawful to perform an exorcism, but it's still against the law to kill ppl! I don't understand what was tricky about finding them all guilty!? And Ralph's defense was that they had Joan's consent to do what they were doing to her, which is highly doubtful under any circumstances, but how could he have had her consent when he'd already said that it wasn't Joan, it was demons. He'd already said that he'd not do that to his wife, but it wasn't his wife anymore. So how did he get her consent? Pack of lunatics and they all should be in prison, not for 4 months but for life. They're actually dangerous!! And yet, another woman unbelievably decides to tie herself to Ralph through marriage. Ppl never cease to amaze!

[@jennklein1917]

❤❤😢😢

[@kellybee1935]

My heart is broken as these people tortured this woman for at least a week in the name of God. This is not in any way Gods will. He took Joan so her suffering would stop, she is now at peace.

[@thecatatemyhomework]

If they weren't charged with manslaughter, they should have been charged with assault. There was enough evidence on her body to charge them with assault.

[@thecatatemyhomework]

Exorcism should be illegal.

[@jennklein1917]

❤❤❤

[@jennklein1917]

All religions are mythology! Thousands of years old mythology. 😂

[@niterida380]

@Casefile True Crime Podcast Do you think you can cover Becky Kraemer Marzo's case?

[@ilkkarautio2449]

This is why im a proud atheist. "God" doest help anyone because he doesnt exist. And even if he did, he isnt benevolent, he is a psychopath.

[@ilkkarautio2449]

And if this had happened in my country they would be in a mental asylum for the criminally insane.

[@DeclanBurger]

Yep 100% agree. Religion is for easily brainwashed idiots, the churches are always doing shady shit and don't have to pay taxes for some dumb fuck reason..

[@ilkkarautio2449]

@@DeclanBurger Well, in my country the church TAXES people. We have a state religion, in all but name. The grip they have is beyond anything thats sensible in the current era.

[@kristinhenderson9063]

T

[@ilkkarautio2449]

@@kristinhenderson9063 Here you are just T-posing away without a care in the world when the truth is exposed to you. Lets tear down every religion! 🇦🇫✊💣

[@SlimSlashie]

I... Wow. I guess that's one way to deliver a person.

[@KathleenCalhoun-em6ys]

Bizarre case all right. Those people participating Joan's exorcism, although well-intentioned, should all be convicted of manslaughter with extenuating conditions, and the laws should be changed to prohibit outlandish exorcism tactics. I don't understand why Joan's family did not get themselves more involved. The assertion that Joan consented to the exorcism should be disregarded too since Joan was possessed, according to all those exorcists, and was therefore not in control of her mental faculties, rendering her unable to make this decision for herself. I am a solid believer in the spirit realm myself and do believe Joan's case to have been an actual demonstration of demonic possession even though she was also diagnosed with schizophrenia, making her both. Not all schizophrenics end up in a state like Joan's, and my opinion is that her newfound charismatic religion opened her up for it. I also believe the demons specifically chose Joan to target to make a mockery of people's foolishness and of the Bible itself. All I heard in this video was a lot of mumbo jumbo foolishness from religious people who said they heard God and who tried to simulate the powers of Jesus and the apostles because they really believed they could, believing they had the same command over the demons. The Bible states that God-given powers to resurrect the dead and heal the sick would wane and be done away with in later times since the purpose of miraculous healings was to prove that God was behind or backing the newly-formed religion called The Way or as it later became known, Christianity, and no longer was backing Judaism. This woman would have been better off to distance herself from the religion that got herself into that position as well as everybody associated with it. She needed to take her medications too.

[@mahmoodlebanon]

Bit of a complex mess this one

[@steffilar6817]

Imagine needing professional help and just getting a bunch of religious nuts instead

[@nicak89]

Poor Joan, She needed proper help... Not a bunch of delusional idiots starving, beating or forcing demons out of her. I'm Christian 🙏🏾 but these people are too much. I promise we are not all Lunatics and Fanatics

[@sa1ntluke]

Just watched Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism which is based on this story, scary stuff

[@garybohdanowicz2699]

is it just me or does the narrator sometimes say 'the joan' and "the ralph"?

[@Clay64]

Gary Bohdanowicz I thought I was going crazy but yes I hear it too!

[@bigdog38au]

It's kind of the way he pronounces things sometimes, he runs words into each other....so for example 'the end of joan' comes out as 'the end of-er joan' and it always sounds like 'the'.

[@Clay64]

Brett Rosenberg doesn’t take away anything from the podcast though just to clarify, I love his narration haha

[@ulalaFrugilega]

His pronounciation overall is somehow very soothing, I find. No way I could stand theses cases with anyone else narrating.

[@Clay64]

A. DUBITANTE I’ve tried so hard to find replacement podcasts for when I’ve run out of Casefile and I just find myself annoyed listening to anybody but this guy, I can’t find a single crime podcast that draws me in as much as this one. His voice has secret powers haha

[@thechloechronicles9688]

I thought this was the American Joan Vollmer who was also killed.

[@jesusfreak996]

A born again christian can never be possesed by an evil spirit, their owned by the Holy Spirit

[@SlimSlashie]

Look I'm a spiritual guy, mainly be cause you can't see some of the sht I've seen and not conclude that there's some powerful evil force at work in this world. To me, that means there must be a good version of that, which we call God. Through all my studies, and I've studied 'em all, Jesus is that God. So yes I'm a Christian. I do believe in evil spirits as well. Most of the middle east is engulfed in them, don't take my word for it, GO THERE, you'll see. All that being said, this is horrific, and wrong, and you don't "exorcism" someone to death. The president can't fight wars, he hends us. You can't cast out demons, you get someone that can. ffs this is terrible. God bless this whole situation, because I imagine it's ruined many, many lives.

[@SHurd-rc2go]

....in God's care. Sure.

[@modemarose4497]

I thought that was a very interesting "Legal" Case . The Jury Verdict was Spot On & the Sentences were very reasonable considering ... 🖤🤙

[@TheGreekCatholic]

This is what happens when u consult self-confessed experts in such matters. They were rightly excommunicated from the Lutheran church, who never would have allowed such buffoonery.

[@dr.calebrobbins.3177]

THES

[@dr.calebrobbins.3177]

THESE DELUDED MANIACS GOT AWAY WITH MURDER. BLINDED JUSTICE !!!! CR

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

the woman sounds like a real fruit loop.

[@tonysansom]

That's pretty disdainful from someone claiming to be disabled.

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

@@tonysansom like you or anybody else , i am entitled to my opinion. if you dont like it fine.

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

oh and by the way. i am actually disabled.