A 'gutted' Lauren Phillips has made a tearful apology to the mother of a murdered Melbourne teenager after cracking a sick on-air joke about the brutal slaying.
Daily Mail Australia understands that Phillips called Elizabeth Barber on Tuesday morning - rather than taking to the air-waves as usual.
During the emotional call, Phillips revealed she came close to quitting her job of just six weeks after drawing outrage with a flippant comment about how she listened to a podcast about 15-year-old Rachel Barber's murder in 1999 to cheer herself up.
Rachel was strangled to death with a telephone cord by her family's babysitter Caroline Reed Robertson as part of a plot to steal the teenager's identity.
Angry listeners on Monday night bombarded Phillips with criticism after the presenter said she listened to the podcast to 'try and fix (her) mood' and cackled with laughter.
Elizabeth Barber told Daily Mail Australia the radio star had apologised in an emotional call this morning and was 'genuinely remorseful'.
Lauren Phillips offended the family of slain Melbourne teen Rachel Barber by revealing she used a podcast about her murder to cheer herself up
Phillips told Ms Barber the show's producers were 'gutted' after not realising the murder case she was referring to was real.
Daily Mail Australia understands Phillips was tearful during the call and said she thought about resigning.
'She was genuinely remorseful. She said the whole team was gutted,' Ms Barber said.
'I’ve asked her if she could apologise on air for all of Rachel’s friends.'
Ms Barber said the KIIS FM co-host told her she had only been in the job for six weeks and that she wants her to 'learn from the experience' - but stay on air.
The apology can be revealed after Phillips and her co-host Jason 'Jase' Hawkins vanished from the airwaves during their normal KIIS FM 101.1 breakfast slot on Tuesday.
Rachel Barber was a beloved daughter and just starting out in life when she was murdered
However, KIIS executives said there was a simple explanation for the no-show with both her and Jason 'Jase' Hawkins taking the day off for the Melbourne Cup public holiday.
The 34-year old explained to listeners last week she had just had an argument with her boyfriend when she decided to listen to the true crime podcast.
'Meet with the mother of this poor child - see her face to face and apologise,' one critic said.
'Really? No apology yet,' one wrote on Monday underneath a post she shared last month marketing her partnership with a soap company.
The show's executive producer has claimed bosses gave the discussion the go-ahead believing the podcast's contents were entirely fictional.
But commenters questioned how Phillips and station bosses could have had no clue the podcast was about a real murder case.
'If you were listening to a true crime podcast - how on earth could you not know it was a real case? Or any of the details of it? This statement is quite confusing.'
An Instagram post by radio star Lauren Phillips about soap cleanser was hijacked by furious listeners
Phillips copped furious criticism on social media, with listeners calling for her to apologise personally for the offence she caused to the Barber family
The podcast, which was not named but is part of the CASEFILE series, clearly states the episode is about a murdered teenager from Melbourne’s inner-city suburb of Richmond.
Phillips was seen laughing as a section of the podcast was played describing how Reed Robertson cruelly slaughtered Rachel before placing her body in a bag.
Her co-host Jase could be seen smiling uncomfortably as Phillips continued in hysterics.
Lauren Phillips used the horrific murder of a Melbourne child as part of an on-air skit
Rachel Barber, a 15-year-old dance student, was murdered by strangulation in Melbourne in 1999
Caroline Reed Robertson was 19 years old when she murdered Rachel Barber, pictured here after her arrest
'Am I a psychopath?' Phillips chuckled to Hawkins, who suggested she needed a welfare check.
In response, Channel 9 newsman Clint Stanaway - who walked the beat as a crime reporter for years before moving onto sport - told the show Phillips was indeed in need of help.
Rachel's mother told Daily Mail Australia she had been alerted to the vile discussion by her daughter's then boyfriend, who was left distraught after hearing it.
'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.
Lauren Phillips upset the friends and family of murder victim Rachel Barber with an insensitive segment on Melbourne radio
Clint Stanaway (left) was once a Melbourne crime reporter before moving onto the news desk
