A SERIAL con artist spent 4 weeks in an Irish kids’ hospital before her true identity was discovered.
And despite costing authorities €250,000 investigating her background, Samantha Azzopardi returned to Ireland only a 12 months later in a distinct disguise.
A recent documentary on the troubled Australian – dubbed ‘The GPO’ girl – is to be released online today, just two days after Azzopardi appeared in court in Sydney on other fraud charges.
Azzopardi, now 33, first got here to prominence here in 2013 when she was discovered in a distressed state outside the GPO in October 2013.
The documentary also focuses on her time in Temple Street Hospital, the 4 week period by which she remained silent and concerns she had been a victim of human trafficking.
A significant area under discussion also includes the garda investigation which eventually discovered her true identity and the actual fact she was 24-years old.
Also featured within the hour-long programme from the award-winning documentary team is Azzorpardi’s return to Ireland in 2014.
On that occasion, she was employed by a family in Co Leitrim as an au-pair.
Often known as ‘Indie O’Shea’, she claimed she was the daughter of royalty and spent five weeks with the family before vanishing and travelling to Canada.
Although she hasn’t returned to Ireland since 2014, she is back before the courts again in Australia on similar charges.
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The documentary – made by RTE Documentary on One and entitled ‘Girl on the GPO’ – can even feature contributions from Irish Sun Crime Editor Stephen Breen and former Irish Sun journalist Kieran Dineen.
An RTE spokesperson said: “Today, Samantha is 34 years old and is currently facing recent charges against her in Australia. She has spent much of her time out and in of the courts, in prison, and has created over 100 fake aliases and been charged over 100 times.
“It’s estimated that over one million euro has gone into investigations into her activities in at least three continents. But she at all times pleads guilty when finally discovered. She has posed as a talent scout, a Russian gymnast, a nanny, a member of the Swedish royal family, as being in a U.S. Witness Protection Programme – the list goes on and on and on.
“Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about Samantha and her stories is that there appears to be no discernible motive, despite the fact that her victims, including children, have been left betrayed and traumatised.
“And yet at the heart of all these cases is a lady who everyone, including psychiatrists, agrees needs help and who herself appears hugely traumatised.”
During her most up-to-date case in Australia, she claimed to be a baby minder from Poland.
She appeared in court only a 12 months after she was released from one other prison for child stealing and obtaining property by deception.
RTÉ Documentary on One: Girl on the GPO can even air on RTE Radio 1 at 2pm tomorrow.
