Stuck In The Desert With Satan

It's February 2017, years before Coco Berthmann goes public with her story. She's a 23-year-old German au pair, living in Las Vegas. And she travels to Utah for college classes that are a requirement of her visa. There, she meets an instructor we’re calling Emily. The two quickly develop a Facebook friendship. Coco opens up about the abuse she endured back home in Germany. And Emily shares her faith, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Coco tells Emily how Celine Dion’s music helped her survive 15 years of unimaginable abuse. And soon, the story takes a surprising turn. Coco is invited to perform with Celine on stage and join her European tour. Only…was she?

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Coco Berthmann became internet-famous by sharing her story of surviving sex trafficking as a young child growing up in Germany. She was sheltered and supported by families in Utah, where her faith and fame intertwined. But in 2022, Coco was arrested for raising money for a fake cancer diagnosis, and people began to doubt everything that she had ever said. Is her life story truly one big elaborate lie? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sara Ganim and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning showrunner Karen Given investigate in Dear Media’s first true crime podcast.

• No. of episodes: 12
• Latest episode: 2023-09-21
• True Crime

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