Lauren Phillips upsets family of Rachel Barber after laughing at podcast about her murder

Radio star Lauren Phillips has upset the family of a murder victim after laughing on-air at a podcast episode which details the gruesome killing.

Lauren Phillips’ radio joke about a gruesome murder has backfired spectacularly after the family of the victim slammed her for being insensitive.

Speaking on Melbourne’s The Jase and Lauren in the Morning Show on KIIS 101.1 last week, Phillips, 34, was detailing an argument she had with her partner, jet tycoon Paul O’Brien, when she said she stormed out of the house and put on a murder podcast to “clear” her mind.

The podcast she chose was about 15-year-old dancer Rachel Barber, who was murdered in Melbourne by Caroline Reed Robertson, who strangled her with a telephone cord in a bid to steal her identity in 1999.

Phillips played a brief clip of the podcast on-air, “After murdering Rachel with a telephone cord, Caroline hid her body in her bedroom in her cupboard for two days before bundling her up in a bag”, the narrator is heard saying.

Phillips then bursts into fits of laughter as she asks, “Am I a psychopath?”.

The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday afternoon that Lauren Phillips had called Rachel Barber’s mother Elizabeth Barber to ask for an apology.

‘She was genuinely remorseful. She said the whole team was gutted,” Ms Barber told the publication.

Radio star Lauren Phillips has upset the family of a murder victim after laughing during a podcast episode which details the gruesome killing.

Ms Barber previously told the publication she had tried to call the radio station to get an apology from Phillips for the “reprehensible” joke.

“For Rachel’s peers and family, nothing less than an explanation and an apology on air will be sufficient so they can learn from their mistakes,” Ms Barber said.

Ms Barber said she was initially told by an executive producer that Phillips thought the podcast was “fictional”.

“They said they were not aware Rachel was a real person or her murder was a local case. And she explained how dreadful they feel about it and have taken it off TikTok and any other live footage,” Ms Barber added.

“I said Lauren should apologise on air out of respect, so that maybe another occurrence of a similar situation does not arise again.”

Rachel Barber was just 15 when she was brutally murdered.

Caroline Reed Robertson was found guilty of killing Rachel.

A spokeswoman for KISS 101.1 told the Daily Mail they had since been in further contact with the Barber family and have apologised.

“Neither Lauren or Jase were aware that the audio they were discussing related to a real murder,” the spokeswoman said.

“It was never KIIS 101.1’s intention to be disrespectful or cause any distress and as soon as we were made aware that the audio wasn’t a fictional story, we deleted any audio references on our social media platforms.”

Rachel’s boyfriend at the time of her death, Manni Carella, took to social media yesterday to declare he was “FKN ANGRY” about the “insensitive” segment.

“THIS IS NOT OKAY!!!!!!! HOW ON EARTH WOULD YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY??????????,” Carella wrote on Facebook.

“THIS WAS RACHELS LIFE, A 15 YEAR OLD GIRL WHO WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED, WHO DIDNT DESERVE TO DIE!!!!!

“You’ve lost my support amongst everyone who knew my girlfriend Rachel!!!! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!!!!!”.

Rachel’s murder was a high profile case at the time, and eventually became the subject of a 2009 Australian film I Am You, which starred Guy Pearce, Miranda Otto and Sam Neill.

Lauren Phillips hosts The Jase & Lauren Show. Picture: Rebecca Michael

Phillips, who is also the weather reporter on Weekend Today, reportedly called Ms Barber on Tuesday morning and apologised profusely.

Phillips has gained further recognition over the past couple of years thanks to her relationship with O’Brien, which has seen her become close friends with the likes of Chris Hemsworth and Matt Damon.

Damon recently surprised Phillips by calling into her radio show, revealing they had been neighbours in Byron Bay for many months during his stint in Australia and enjoyed weekly family dinner nights together.