Ep 323 Coercive Control: A Child's Unthinkable Journey with David Challen

About this episode

David Challen shares his harrowing experience of growing up with a coercively controlling father and the impact it had on his life and his mother's trial.

Laura and David Challen, son of Sally Challen and author of The Unthinkable, unravel the insidious and lifelong harm coercive control causes a child. David speaks candidly about his lived experience, the realities of growing up with a coercively controlling father, and his horrifying experience at his mothers’s trial where she was convicted of his fathers’s murder. Listen and find out what David discovered when he went through all the trial transcripts. It angered him so much he started to campaign for his mother’s appeal and eventual successful release. David also recently joined Laura for an exclusive live event and the recording is available now in the Squad for those who want to go deeper on this conversation. This conversation was compelling and eloquently gives language and insight into living with his abusive and coercively controlling father. You can listen to David’s first interview on Crime Analyst here: Ep 261: The Unthinkable: A Story of Control, Violence and My Mother with David Challen #SallyChallen #CoerciveControl #DavidChallen #PowerAndControl #DomesticAbuse #CrimeAnalyst #TrueCrime #Podcast #WarningSigns #Manipulation #UnthinkableBook #DomesticViolence Clip…

People in this episode

Host: Laura Richards

Guest: David Challen

Topics covered

• coercive control
• domestic abuse
• childhood trauma
• legal system
• mother's trial
• personal narrative

Keywords

• coercive control
• domestic violence
• childhood trauma
• Sally Challen
• David Challen
• The Unthinkable
• abuse
• trial transcripts
• appeal
• manipulation

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Unthinkable, Ep 261: The Unthinkable: A Story of Control, Violence and My Mother with David Challen

More episodes of Crime Analyst

• Ep 342: Remastered: The Murder of Gabby Petito, Part 12 · June 4, 2026 · 22 min
• Ep 341: Outsmarting My Psychopath Ex-Husband, Dirty John Meehan with Tonia Bales · June 1, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Ep 340: Remastered: The Murder of Gabby Petito, Part 11 · May 28, 2026 · 50 min
• Ep 339: Breaking the Terror: Bringing a Sadistic Abuser to Justice with Miriam Lake, Part 2 · May 25, 2026 · 51 min
• Ep 338: Remastered: The Murder of Gabby Petito, Part 10 · May 21, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Ep 337: Terror Behind Closed Doors: A Sadistic Coercive Controller with Miriam Lake, Part 1 · May 18, 2026 · 48 min