Seeing Red A True Crime Podcast · Mark Randell & Bethan Trueman

The Murder of Alex Rodda: Cheshire’s Teenage Killing

·1 hr 27 min·5 clips

Matthew googled 'what would happen if you kicked someone down the stairs' and 'everyday poison.'

1. Seeing Red A True Crime Podcast covers the murder of Alex Rodda in Cheshire. 2. Bethan and Mark host the episode and introduce the case with the usual conversational banter. 3. The episode asks how a secret teenage relationship between Alex Rodda and Matthew Mason turned into a murder investigation. 4. Alex Rodda is described as a 15-year-old from Pickmere near Knutsford, with a close family and a supportive home. 5. Alex came out to his family at 13 and attended Holmes Chapel High School. 6. The hosts say Alex was openly gay, friendly, and deeply attached to his father Adam. 7. Matthew Mason is introduced as an 18-year-old from Ollerton, a farmer's son and agricultural engineering student. 8. Matthew had a girlfriend, Caitlin Lancashire, while privately hiding his sexuality. 9. The episode says Alex and Matthew met online in late 2019 and began flirting. 10. The messages between them became sexually explicit, including a photo and a video from Matthew. 11. The hosts say Alex and Matthew met in person several times and became sexually involved. 12. The episode notes the legal age of consent in the UK is 16, while Alex was 15 and Matthew was 18. 13. The judges later described Matthew as having actively encouraged a sexual relationship with Alex. 14. After Alex told Caitlin Lancashire about the relationship, Caitlin confronted Matthew. 15. Caitlin ended the relationship after seeing the messages and evidence. 16. The episode presents two views of the money transfers: blackmail, or payment for sex and silence. 17. Matthew is said to have transferred more than £2,000 to Alex in a few weeks and borrowed money from friends and family. 18. The hosts cite Matthew's December 6, 2019 searches, including 'everyday poison' and 'what would happen if you kicked someone down the stairs.' 19. The episode's tone is conversational, detailed, and reflective, with Bethan and Mark pausing for side comments and legal questions. 20. Listeners interested in British true crime and teenage online relationships would likely engage most; listeners wanting a short, light, spoiler-free story would likely skip it.

As heard by us

A bleak case told with clarity, pressure, and emotional weight.

This episode tracks how a teenage secret hardens into coercion, shame, and murder, and it does so with a steady eye on the human damage. The 18-year-old draining his savings, the 15-year-old treating that money as leverage, and the pressure that keeps ratcheting up are the parts…

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Why you'd press play

You want a teen true-crime case that goes from secrecy and debt to murder fast.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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