Stirling, South Australia — 2006–2007
In the early days of social media, the internet was still something many families were learning to understand.
Teenagers were discovering chat rooms, instant messaging and websites like MySpace, while parents were only beginning to realize how easily a stranger could create an entirely false identity online.
There were no smartphones constantly tracking a child’s location. Online grooming was barely understood. And for many parents, the person sitting on the other side of a computer screen remained almost impossible to identify.
For 14-year-old Carly Ryan, the internet introduced her to someone she believed was a teenage boy named Brandon Kane.
He claimed to be 18.
He was supposedly a musician from Melbourne who shared Carly’s interests and understood her in a way that made her feel special.
For roughly 18 months, Carly believed she was building a relationship with him.
But Brandon Kane was not real.
Behind the fictional teenager was a much older man who had carefully constructed the identity, learned what Carly liked and slowly earned her trust.
What happened next would end in Carly’s murder and become one of Australia’s most notorious cases involving an online predator.
WHO WAS CARLY RYAN?
Carly was born on January 31, 1992.
By 2007, she was living in Stirling, South Australia, with her mother, Sonya Ryan, and her younger brother.
Sonya described her relationship with Carly as unusually close. Mother and daughter were comfortable talking openly with each other, and Sonya believed she knew what was happening in Carly’s life.
Carly was interested in alternative music, fashion and the goth and emo subculture.
But the image sometimes presented of her after her death did not necessarily reflect the girl her mother knew.
According to Sonya, Carly was affectionate, accepting and deeply loyal to her friends.
She was also a teenager trying to find her place after a frightening experience.
At one point, Carly had nearly died after suffering alcohol poisoning and spending time in intensive care. After leaving hospital, she decided she would never drink alcohol again.
That choice left her feeling increasingly separated from some of her friends.
The internet became an important source of connection.
And that was where she met Brandon.
THE BOY WHO WASN’T REAL
Carly encountered Brandon Kane through MySpace in 2006.
He presented himself as an 18-year-old boy from Melbourne who loved music and shared many of Carly’s interests.
They began talking regularly.
Messages gradually became phone conversations, and what started as an online friendship developed into what Carly believed was a romantic relationship.
To her, Brandon was real.
Her mother could see how happy Carly seemed whenever she talked about him.
But there was something Sonya did not know.
The person Carly believed was Brandon was actually Garry Francis Newman, a 48-year-old man from Victoria.
Newman had created numerous false identities online.
Brandon Kane was only one of them.
He did not simply pretend to be younger. He built an entire fictional world around the character, tailoring the persona to Carly’s interests and gradually turning himself into someone she trusted.
THE MAN CALLED SHANE
Newman eventually introduced another character into Carly’s life.
He claimed to be Shane, Brandon’s father.
When Carly began communicating with Shane, some of her friends became uncomfortable with the conversations.
There were questions that were inappropriate for an adult to be asking a teenage girl.
Then came a moment that made Sonya’s concerns much more serious.
Carly’s 15th birthday was approaching in January 2007, and she wanted Brandon to attend her party.
Brandon said he could not come because he would supposedly be overseas.
Instead, he suggested that his father, Shane, attend.
Sonya initially refused.
She did not know this man and did not feel comfortable allowing a stranger to stay in her home.
Eventually, however, she agreed.
Shane arrived claiming to be a security guard.
Carly did not find him attractive or appealing. But during his visit, his behavior became increasingly disturbing.
THE VISIT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
While staying with the family, Shane took Carly shopping at Rundle Mall.
He secretly purchased hundreds of dollars worth of corsets, accessories and costumes, telling Carly that they were birthday presents from Brandon.
At one point, he watched her while she changed in a fitting room.
His behavior toward Carly’s friends was also inappropriate.
During one encounter, he tried to persuade Carly and her friend Rhiannon to kiss while he watched.
Later, he became jealous when Carly spoke with other boys at her birthday celebration.
But the most disturbing incident happened inside Carly’s own bedroom.
Sonya entered the room one night and found Shane lying in bed beside her daughter.
Both were fully clothed.
Sonya immediately ordered him out of the house and told him to stay away from Carly.
The following day, she asked her daughter whether Shane had touched her.
Carly eventually disclosed that he had unbuckled his pants, lifted her shirt and touched her sexually.
Sonya confronted Shane by email and warned him that she would contact police if he did not leave Carly alone.
What she did not yet know was that Shane was not simply an inappropriate older man.
He was the person behind Brandon Kane.
And he had been planning far more than a friendship.
THE TRUTH BEHIND BRANDON KANE
Newman’s online activity revealed a pattern.
He had used a large number of false identities to communicate with young girls.
He had previously targeted teenagers in other countries, including a 14-year-old girl in Singapore and another teenager in the United States.
When one girl rejected his attempts to meet her, Newman reportedly made threatening comments about what he would do to her.
His fixation eventually centered on Carly.
After returning to Victoria from his visit to her home, Newman told members of his family that he wanted to return to Adelaide.
He also made comments about needing help to “fix” Carly.
His oldest son became so disturbed by what he was hearing that he moved out and left his father a note urging him to reconsider.
Newman then turned to his younger son, 17-year-old Stephen Newman.
Stephen had spent much of his childhood in foster care and had only recently begun living with his father.
Newman saw an opportunity.
If Carly believed she was finally meeting Brandon Kane, his son could play the part.
THE FINAL MEETING
Newman returned to the internet and continued communicating with Carly as Brandon.
He arranged a meeting.
Carly was told that Brandon would finally be able to meet her in person.
She was also encouraged to keep the meeting secret from her mother.
On February 19, 2007, Carly told Sonya that she was going to spend the night at a friend’s house.
It was something Carly had done before, so her mother did not immediately suspect anything.
Before leaving, Carly hugged her mother several times.
She told Sonya that she loved her.
Then she walked away from the family home.
She would never return.
A BODY BY THE WATER
The following morning, concern began to grow when Carly could not be reached.
A stranger eventually contacted Sonya after finding Carly’s purse some distance from where she was expected to be.
Sonya called police.
She still did not know that officers had already discovered something far worse.
Early that morning, a woman named Kim Griffith had gone for her usual swim at Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot, more than 80 kilometers from Carly’s home.
While walking beside the water, Griffith noticed what she initially thought was seaweed.
It was Carly.
The teenage girl’s body was floating face-down in a shallow area of water.
Griffith ran back toward the parking area and found a fisherman, Ian Slade, who helped contact emergency services.
Carly was pulled from the water.
There was no pulse.
She was dead.
WHAT THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE REVEALED
The examination of Carly’s body revealed that she had suffered a violent attack.
Investigators found numerous injuries to her face, neck and arms, including several concentrated around her head and neck.
There was also sand in her lungs.
That indicated Carly had been alive when she entered the water.
Her cause of death was determined to be drowning.
Investigators also noticed something unusual about her clothing.
Her tracksuit pants were inside out. Her underwear had become tangled with her suspenders, while her bra was only partially fastened at the back.
The condition of the clothing suggested that she may have been undressed and dressed again before her death.
The evidence raised the possibility that Carly had been sexually assaulted.
But investigators still had to determine who had been with her.
THE CAMERAS THAT TOLD THE STORY
Horseshoe Bay was close to Victor Harbor, a popular tourist destination.
That meant there were surveillance cameras throughout the surrounding area.
Investigators began piecing together Carly’s final movements.
The footage showed Carly with two men.
They were seen at several locations, including a hotel, a fish-and-chip shop and a Subway restaurant.
Witnesses remembered seeing the group around Victor Harbor.
Two witnesses later reported seeing two men with a young woman who had a distinctive gothic appearance near Lady Bay.
They also remembered a powder-blue vehicle with Victorian registration plates.
There was a security identification badge visible on the dashboard.
That detail would prove important.
THE CAR LEADS POLICE HOME
Eleven days after Carly’s body was discovered, police located a powder-blue car outside the home Newman shared with his mother on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
The vehicle had Victorian plates.
A security badge was visible on the dashboard.
Police entered the house.
Inside, they found Garry Newman sitting at his computer.
He was logged in as Brandon Kane.
And he was communicating with another teenage girl.
She was 14 years old.
Newman’s supposed teenage identity had not disappeared with Carly.
He was already using it to target someone else.
Investigators now had the man behind the fictional Brandon Kane.
THE EVIDENCE AGAINST NEWMAN
Police discovered extensive evidence showing how much effort Newman had put into creating his false identities.
They found a photograph of Carly at his home with disturbing writing underneath it.
His security credentials were fake.
Even the company he claimed to work for did not exist as he had presented it.
Investigators also discovered that Newman had continued contacting Carly after Sonya had ordered him to stay away.
He would call when he knew Sonya was at work.
Newman’s oldest son later told investigators that his father had returned from Adelaide and shown him his bruised knuckles.
According to his son, Newman admitted that he had punched Carly, killed her and thrown her body into the water.
Both Newman and Stephen were arrested and charged with murder.
But Newman immediately attempted to shift the blame.
He claimed Stephen had created the Brandon identity and was responsible for Carly’s death.
THE TRIAL
The case eventually went to trial in October 2009.
For months, the court heard evidence about Newman’s online identities, his interactions with Carly and the movements of the three people captured on CCTV.
Newman eventually took the witness stand.
His story changed.
He denied murdering Carly.
He even offered to plead guilty to manslaughter while maintaining that his relationship with Carly had been entirely platonic.
He portrayed himself as a friend who had acted almost like a stepfather.
He denied being sexually interested in Carly and attempted to explain his many online identities as part of research for a book about the internet.
But prosecutors challenged his account.
The jury also heard about Carly’s injuries and the condition of her clothing.
Newman’s explanations were weighed against the evidence gathered during the investigation.
Stephen Newman did not testify.
THE VERDICT
After approximately ten and a half hours of deliberation over two days, the jury reached its decision.
Garry Newman was found guilty of Carly Ryan’s murder.
Stephen Newman was acquitted.
Although Stephen had been present with Carly and his father, the prosecution could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had actively participated in the killing.
Stephen was released after spending approximately three years in custody.
On March 13, 2010, Garry Newman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 29-year non-parole period.
The suppression order protecting his identity and image was subsequently lifted.
The man Carly had known as Brandon Kane had finally been exposed.
He had never been the teenage boy she believed she loved.
THE AFTERMATH
Carly’s murder changed Sonya Ryan’s life forever.
But rather than allowing the tragedy to remain only a story of loss, Sonya chose to speak publicly about what had happened.
She began educating young people, parents, teachers and communities about online grooming and the dangers of trusting people whose identities cannot be verified.
In 2010, she established the Carly Ryan Foundation.
The organization focused on internet safety and preventing other children from becoming victims of online predators.
The foundation later helped develop safety technology intended to give children and parents better ways to communicate and respond to emergencies.
Carly’s story also contributed to wider discussion about online safety in Australia.
CARLY’S LAW
In 2017, legislation known as Carly’s Law came into effect.
The law strengthened police powers to intervene in certain situations involving adults who deceive children online and seek to facilitate sexual contact.
It reflected a reality that had become increasingly difficult to ignore:
A stranger no longer needed to approach a child in person to enter their life.
A computer could be enough.
A fake name could be enough.
And patience could turn a complete stranger into someone a child trusted.
THE GIRL BEHIND THE HEADLINES
After Carly’s death, much attention was placed on her online presence.
Her MySpace profile, alternative fashion and photographs became part of the public discussion.
Some commentary focused on how she presented herself online, creating the implication that her behavior had somehow contributed to what happened.
But Carly was 15 years old.
The person responsible for her death was the adult who deliberately deceived her, manipulated her trust and arranged to meet her under a false identity.
Her clothing, music or online interests did not make her responsible for what happened to her.
Carly believed she was meeting someone she had spent 18 months getting to know.
The person she trusted had never been who he claimed to be.
A WARNING THAT STILL MATTERS
Nearly two decades have passed since Carly left her home that February afternoon.
The technology has changed enormously.
MySpace has faded into internet history. Social media now reaches children through smartphones, private messages, gaming platforms and countless other services.
But the basic method of grooming has not disappeared.
A predator does not necessarily appear frightening.
Sometimes, the first step is simply listening.
Learning what a child likes.
Finding out what makes them feel lonely.
Becoming the person they believe understands them.
Then come the secrets.
Then the isolation.
Then the boundaries begin to move.
Carly Ryan believed she was talking to a teenage boy named Brandon Kane.
She was actually being groomed by an adult who had constructed an elaborate identity to gain her trust.
Her story became a painful reminder that danger can enter a child’s life without ever physically approaching the front door.
Sometimes, it begins with a message.
And by the time the child realizes the person on the other side of the screen is not who they claimed to be, the trust has already been built.
This story is based on publicly available information and reported facts. It has been independently written and presented for informational purposes. Images, if any, belong to their respective owners.