This episode unpacks the heartbreaking 2018 murder of Latvian national Liga Skromane, who travelled to an Ayurvedic wellness retreat in Kerala, India, seeking treatment for depression. This in‑depth investigation traces her hopeful journey, her mysterious disappearance on 14  March  2018, and the devastating discovery of her body a month later, raped, decapitated, and suspended in a mangrove forest near Kovalam. The episode scrutinizes systemic failures in Kerala’s law‑enforcement response to missing foreign tourists, exposes bureaucratic delays that cost critical rescue hours, and analyses the 2022 life‑imprisonment convictions of perpetrators Umesh and Udayakumar. Criminologists, human‑rights advocates, and travel‑safety experts weigh in on the global surge in wellness tourism, the dangers faced by solo female travelers, and the urgent need for rapid‑response protocols, gender‑sensitivity training, and cross‑border liaison units. Listeners will learn about advocacy initiatives launched by Liga’s sister Ilze Skromane and partner Andrew Jordan, including the Liga Skromane Foundation and Safe Passage travel‑risk platform, both designed to improve international traveller safety and mental‑health patient protections abroad. This episode delivers a gripping true‑crime narrative while demanding policy reform to prevent violence against women and safeguard vulnerable travelers worldwide. 

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In 1988, 16-year-old Junko Furuta was abducted and tortured for 44 days in a Tokyo suburb while neighbors and police turned a blind eye. This inaugural episode of Bearing Witness investigates one of Japan’s most harrowing crimes, exposing how societal apathy, flawed juvenile justice laws, and institutional indifference enabled unimaginable cruelty. Through expert analysis and unflinching storytelling, we dissect the systemic failures that silenced Junko’s cries for help and explore how her legacy spurred incremental reforms—and where gaps still persist. Learn how bystander inaction, victim-blaming norms, and lenient sentencing perpetuate violence against women globally, and discover actionable steps to demand accountability. Join us in confronting the darkness that thrives in plain sight.

Bearing witness is not passive. It is active, relentless, and determined. It demands we recognize the dignity of every victim and insist on accountability from every institution.

In our next episode, we journey from Japan to India to uncover another tragic failure of justice—the devastating story of Liga Skromane, a woman whose search for healing ended in unspeakable tragedy.

Subscribe to Bearing Witness on and join the fight for justice. Visit www.bearingwitness.info for resources, transcripts, and ways to take action.