Pregnancy scare: Rachel Antonio’s bid to punish alleged secret lover

MISSING schoolgirl Rachel Antonio’s friends told police she went to extreme lengths to scare a lifeguard she claimed to be dating – the same man who was acquitted in 2001 of her manslaughter.

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MISSING schoolgirl Rachel Antonio’s friends told police she went to extreme lengths to fake a pregnancy to scare a lifeguard she claimed to be dating.

Best friend Nancy Dibben said the teenager was jealous of her alleged boyfriend Robert Hytch getting another girl pregnant.

Rachel also told friends she kept a makeshift diary containing ­details about her alleged relationship with Mr Hytch hidden in her bedroom.

Rachel Antonio’s alleged boyfriend Robert Hytch.

Best friend Nancy Dibben said the Rachel (pictured) was jealous of her alleged boyfriend Robert Hytch getting another girl pregnant.

“Rachel came out with a story that she had written some personal things out and had taped the letters up and hidden it in her room,” Ms Dibben told police. “I asked her what would happen if her mum found it, and Rachel said that her mum wouldn’t find it, and if she did, she would think it was just ­another piece of paper.

SEARCHING FOR RACHEL ANTONIO: The podcast by David Murray

“Rachel told me that the letter had some personal stuff in it about her and Robert Hytch.”

The details can be revealed after a coroner released the brief of evidence from the case to The Courier-Mail as part of a new podcast series, Searching for Rachel ­Antonio.

Mr Hytch, 25 at the time Rachel went missing, was acquitted of her manslaughter at a 2001 ­retrial.

He denies any involvement in her disappearance and says they did not have an intimate relationship.

But Rachel claimed otherwise to friends and in her diary and letters. Ms Dibben told police Rachel discussed her fake pregnancy plan at school.

“She said, ‘Do you think I should scam him and pretend to be pregnant, to get him scared?’ ” Ms Dibben’s statement reads. “I said, ‘Don’t be stupid, don’t do it’.”

At school, Rachel had tried to make some litmus paper turn blue to mimic a positive test.

“I went to the ­toilet, and when I walked out to wash my hands, I could hear this: ‘I’mstuck. Help me, I’m stuck’,” Ms Dibben told police.

“I walked into the toilet that Rachel was in, which is the toilet next to the locked receptacle where the cleaning chemicals are stored.

“She was stuck between the floor and the wall and her legs were stuck out.

“I said, ‘What on Earth are you doing?’. She said, ‘Getting chemicals to make it blue’.”

Episodes of Searching for Rachel Antonio will be released each Monday.

Follow the links to listen:

iPhone or iPad users search for “rachel antonio podcast” on iTunes — by clicking subscribe, each weekly episode will appear on your podcast app.

Android users can listen by following The Courier-Mail on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/couriermail.