Radio personality Lauren Phillips has taken to the airwaves to apologise to the mother of a murdered child she had mocked during a disastrous 'on air' chat.
Aspiring dancer Rachel Barber was just 15 when Caroline Reed Robertson strangled her to death with a telephone cord in a plot to steal her identity in 1999.
Last week, Phillips disgusted the family and friends of the murdered dancer when she laughed on Melbourne’s KIIS 101.1 while listening to a podcast describing her brutal murder.
Rachel Barber, a 15-year-old dance student, was murdered by strangulation in Melbourne in 1999
Lauren Phillips used the horrific murder of a Melbourne child as part of an on-air chat
Caroline Reed Robertson was 19 years old when she murdered Rachel Barber, pictured here after her arrest
'Am I a psychopath?' Phillips asked during the conversation with co-host Jason 'Jase' Hawkins, outraging Elizabeth Barber, her friends and family.
Phillips told listeners on Wednesday she had been unaware the audio producers played during her conversation had been taken from the the very real life CASEFILE series of true crime podcasts.
The chat saw Phillips describe how she had used the podcast discussing Rachel's tragic murder to cheer herself up.
Phillips cackled with laughter in the segment, which was later posted on the radio station's own social media platforms.
The 34-year old explained she had just had an argument with her boyfriend when she decided to listen to the podcast.
On Wednesday, Phillips claimed she had become aware over the weekend that the snippet she had laughed at had been ripped from a TikTok video.
Choking back tears, Phillips said she had never intended to use audio of a real life crime to go with her on-air chat.
'All of us here on the show were devastated when we realised what we had done. The show takes full responsibility and our background checks on the source of audio should have been more thorough,' Phillips said.
Hawkins too apologised for his limited role in the conversation and thanked Rachel's mum for taking their calls to apologise in person.
'She didn't have to do that and we both had chats with her and yeah we appreciate her taking the call,' he said.
Lauren Phillips upset the friends and family of murder victim Rachel Barber with an insensitive segment on Melbourne radio
Rachel Barber's murder shocked all of Melbourne in 1999. The beloved child was only 15 when she was cruelly murdered.
Rachel had been a talented dancer in her short life. Her cruel death still haunts Melburnians
Phillips added that the incident had impacted deeply on the entire production crew.
'We really, from the bottom of our hearts, are very sorry that that audio was used, but we are deeply sorry and we will do everything in our power to ensure nothing like that ever happens again on our show,' she said.
Daily Mail Australia revealed on Monday the shocking impact of Phillips' cruel discussion on the friends and family of Rachel Barber.
The story saw Phillips viciously trolled online, with some going so far as to make threats against her life.
On Thursday, Mrs Barber said she had accepted Phillips and Hawkins'
