Dear reader, after six weeks and almost one million listens; The Real Carrie Jade podcast has reached its natural endpoint.
But a lot like the series' protagonist, it will make a swift but dramatic exit.
Prepare yourself, as the creators from RTÉ Documentary on One will be unleashing a wave of new tips gathered from listeners, as well as giving victims the last word on Samantha Cookes, now the series has concluded.
There are also some more unusual elements to this story that nobody saw coming... like a link to the hit US medical drama Grey's Anatomy and Samantha’s ties to another serial fraudster, the blood-testing con-woman Elizabeth Holmes.
But while parting is such sweet sorrow, this might not be the last you hear of Samantha Cookes... to find out more read on, or hit play on the sixth and final instalment of The Real Carrie Jade.
The Informant
Since the podcast aired, tips from the public have been pouring in about Samantha Cookes and her various aliases. One such contact worked in a state agency, the source told the series producers about a woman who got in touch with them in 2022. She said she was a disabled and being evicted from her rented accommodation.
That woman went by the name of Carrie Jade Williams.
Samantha Cookes (Carrie Jade) wanted special housing. She said her landlord had given her notice to quit because she had too much equipment for her disability in the house.
To add to her case, she said the property was unsuitable for her needs as she couldn’t climb stairs due to her terminal neurological condition, and so became confined to one room upstairs with a bed and microwave.
When the staff asked questions about her disability or asked for documentation, she became irate that they would question a terminally-ill, disabled person.
The agency provisionally offered her emergency hostel accommodation if she could provide documentation, but she requested they pay for the hotel she was already staying in.
As the office waited for medical reports (that would never come), Samantha continued to bombard them with emails…
This persistence raised eyebrows and red flags, so the staff decided to Google this new applicant.
I don’t need to tell you what they found…
If someone tells you they’ve only a few years to live, you don’t think to disbelieve them as you think no one would be unwell enough to make up such a story
- State Agency Contact, approached by Samantha Cookes
TikTok Revelations
In last week’s instalment, Samantha took to TikTok in search of sympathy after a (fictitious) French couple sued her after staying in her Airbnb. (Her landlord didn’t know that she was subletting rooms in his house.)
The popular TikToker, Maz raced to support this disabled Airbnb host until she got some interesting messages about this 'victim…’
Maz did a deep dive into the world of Samantha Cookes and discovered past businesses, Facebook posts and evidence of different identities. So, naturally, she felt compelled to post a video informing her followers that the woman from her disability videos might not be who she claimed.
But they didn’t believe her, in fact, they turned on her.
Maz began to receive death threats and derogatory comments. Despite the tirade of abuse, she wanted to give Samantha the right to reply.
She left a comment under one of Samantha’s videos asking her to make contact. The comment was instantly deleted. But then something unusual happened. Something Maz was not expecting…
I was trolled to the highest level, they were telling me to go and kill myself they were sending me death threats
- Maz TikToker and victim of Samantha Cookes
Family Ties
As her reputation online was slowly going up in flames; Samantha (Carrie Jade) decided to hit back.
She posted a detailed statement on the advice of her "legal team" on her sensory items webpage.
It explained that the negative press online was not about her but her (fake) sister with mental health problems, and anyone who continued to peddle this false narrative would face legal action.
Samantha alleged it amounted to defamation, and she had already undertaken legal steps to call a halt to this "illegal defamation."
Finally, our protagonist asked for peace as she worked through this matter with her (non-existent) sister.
No legal action was ever taken because all of the above is a complete fabrication.
I am an entirely separate individual and appalled that internet trolls have attempted to discredit my advocacy by bringing my sister's past and suggesting I am she
- Extract, Samantha Cookes’ online statement
Bad Blood
Most people have heard of the name, Elizabeth Holmes, the celebrated, self-made female billionaire with a blood-testing startup who turned out to be a fraudster of epic proportions.
Well, in late 2022, the judge presiding over her case received a letter from an Irish woman with a degenerative neurological condition. Can you guess who this mystery advocate for Ms Holmes was?
Samantha Cookes (Carrie Jade) wrote the note in which she claimed Ms Holmes was an innovator who wanted to help terminally-ill people like her (lies) and should not face criminal charges for "daring to dream".
The letter was so convincing that it was reported on by the Wall Street Journal under the headline: "Sick Woman Who Never Met Elizabeth Holmes Asks Judge to Be Lenient".
If you send Elizabeth to jail, you're sending every young person with a terminal illness like me with her
- Samantha Cookes, letter on Elizabeth Holmes
Housecall
After her TikTok fiasco, Samantha kept a low profile in her rental house in Kenmare, so producer Ronan Kelly decided to visit her.
By this point, Samantha was not responding to the team's calls, emails or WhatsApp messages. But when he reached the house, nobody was home.
Samantha had recently left the house in Kenmare because her neighbour Chloe had informed Samantha’s landlord about what had been happening online.
Apparently, Samantha had told her landlord that she was in hospital and her "sister" would pay the rent.
Once the landlord, Tim, learnt this was all an elaborate lie, he called to the house.
When he went inside, he discovered a scene that dismayed him. The mess Samantha had left in her wake would take days of cleaning, not to mention her antics would cost Tim roughly €10,000 between lost rental income, stolen furniture and damage control.
But that’s not even the worst part… according to Tim, his former tenant had a special room just for her dramatic persona, complete with a bed rail, zimmer frame and everything a chronically-disabled person might need.
Every time Samantha had a new Airbnb user, she would break out this fictional character just for her guests…
Despite this, Samantha decided to (yet again) take a case against her landlord. To find out how this battle plays out, hit ‘play’, but I warn you, it’s anything but straightforward…
Oh, there was a room with a bed rail in it, with a zimmer frame with a microwave and some microwave dinners upstairs in a bedroom, and then there was her real bedroom
- Tim, Samantha’s former landlord and victim
Sadie Harris
After a bit of digging, the team discovered, from Kerry County Council, that Samantha had recently been living there, like 2024 recently.
But what about 2023? Where was this serial fraudster for that missing year?
According to a report by journalist Mark Tighe in the Irish Independent, Samantha returned to Kildare during this time. If you can’t recall this chapter of our protagonist's life give Episode Three another listen.
While back in Kildare, she decided to return to her old habits and weasel her way into another family’s world by acting as an au pair. She also decided to take another stab at religion and involve herself with the local evangelical church.
To complete this tried-and-tested ruse, she slipped into a new identity - Sadie Harris.
If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Samantha apparently ripped it from a Grey’s Anatomy storyline, fittingly about a doctor who was flaky, unreliable and struggled with the truth…
Samantha joined the local church community in Kildare under this new identity until the pastor discovered that something fishy was afoot. But, by then, Samantha had already selected her latest victim…
I was constantly after talking to her questioning the person I am, this is how she made you feel, like so important. But then, like, totally annihilated at the same time
- Victim of Samantha Cookes
(taken during interview with Ronan Kelly, Caherciveen October 2021)
The Last Word
In the final few moments of the episode, the creators ask Samantha’s many victims what they think of her now.
Responses vary from "pure evil" to "common criminal," but overall, victims struggle to blame Samantha's actions on mental health issues.
While this is the end of the podcast, fear not, the story continues with a special RTÉ TV documentary in Autumn 2024, so keep your eyes peeled.
But there is one tragic update from the series. Lynn’s daughter Daisy, who was featured in Episode Three, died last January.
Daisy used a breathing-machine because she had a rare genetic disorder. She was 10 when she died.
Samantha had promised to take Lynn’s older daughter to Lapland.
I think she's obviously very, very uncomfortable with who she really is. But I think the amount of help that has been offered time and time again, she chooses to remain in this state. She chooses to continue doing this
- Lynn McDonald, Victim of Samantha Cookes
Catch up here with previous episodes of The Real Carrie Jade, or via your preferred podcast source.
