Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - How did John Meehan die?

"Dirty" John Meehan was a con artist, a convicted felon, and a "classic psychopath," as described by multiple women he terrorized over the decades before he was fatally stabbed by Terra Newell, the youngest daughter of Debra Newell, the last woman to fall for his con scheme and become his wife.

The incident occurred in August 2016 when John ambushed Terra in the parking lot outside her Newport Beach apartment building. The latter stabbed him at least 13 times - once through the eye - using a knife in self-defense. Both were admitted to the hospital, where John succumbed to his wounds about four days later.

Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered is slated to revisit the crimes and ultimate death of con man John Meehan, dubbed "Dirty John." The upcoming episode, The Women & Dirty John, airs on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at 7 pm ET.

The synopsis of the episode states:

"Debra Newell thought she found Mr. Right but her daughters sensed something wrong about John Meehan; they started digging into his past and their search for answers exposed a dangerous con man."

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John Meehan "seduced, swindled, and terrorized multiple women," including interior designer Debra Newell

John Meehan weaseled his way into many women's lives starting in the 1990s after allegedly lying about his past, age, true identity, and drug addiction. He "seduced, swindled, and terrorized" women, most of whom he met on dating sites. He also had multiple restraining orders against him, was a hard-core drug abuser, and was a convicted felon, along with numerous arrests under his belt.

In February 2014, Meehan, who had served more than a year in prison on drug-related charges over a decade ago, reportedly pleaded guilty to stalking a Brazilian writer. He met her in a hospital while she was recovering from a brain injury. He then got out of prison that summer but was again jailed after violating a restraining order against a different woman.

"Dirty John" was released from prison just two days before he met a successful interior designer in her late 50s, Debra Newell, on a dating website in October 2014. In two months, the two got married. Debra is a single mother of four who, back then, failed to see the red flags behind their rushed marriage.

The truth about John finally came to light when Debra Newell and her children did some digging. They not only learned that he had an extensive criminal record but also that he lied about his work and had a pretty suspicious history with women. After Debra left John in March 2016, he harassed her and, on one occasion, even stole her Tesla and set it on fire.

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Debra Newell's daughter stabbed John Meehan 13 times in an act of self-defense

On August 20, 2016, John Meehan, who had started getting violent with the Newells, ambushed Debra's youngest daughter Terra Newell in a parking lot outside her Newport Beach apartment, attacking her with a knife. Terra, who was wounded in the fight, kicked the knife out of his hand and used it to stab him 13 times, once through the eye, in self-defense.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the 25-year-old "didn't think" and began flailing, looking for targets," stabbing him repeatedly in his upper body. John died at a hospital four days later while Terra recovered.

According to Fox News, Terra Newell, who has had PTSD ever since, said:

"My life has drastically changed since that day. After being diagnosed with PTSD, I had to learn what happened to me. I tried to get back into a normal life, but couldn’t."

She added:

"I started to go to therapy, which didn’t help until I found a great ‘EMDR’ therapist [Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a form of therapy that addresses trauma] in Austin, Texas, and took the time to heal."

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Learn more about the life and death of John Meehan on Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered this Tuesday, January 24, 2023.