Real-life Terra Newell from Netflix show Dirty John who killed mums sociopath husband becom

A CALIFORNIAN woman who killed her mother's "sociopathic" husband has become an Instagram sensation.

Terra Newell's story was played out in Neftlix drama Dirty John, which was based on late conman John Meehan.

The 59-year-old posed as a rich doctor to seduce women, before sending their nude photos to their families.

Meehan was stabbed by Terra, now, 27, in an act of self-defence when he held her at knife-point in 2016.

Since the release of Dirty John and a documentary about Meehan called The Dirty Truth in which she appeared, Terra has racked up over 17,000 Instagram followers.

She uses her account to share tips on coping with PTSD, which she suffered from after Meehan's death, as well as glamorous snaps of her outfits and shots of her in bikinis.

INSTA FAMOUS

Posting about PTSD, Terra wrote: "Ever since the attack, I have had to deal with many problems.

"A couple months after the trauma my PTSD had gotten so bad that I really had to find some activities to help calm and settle me.

"These were things I needed to do in addition to my weekly therapy sessions. Some of the activities that I tried were yoga, rock climbing, hiking, massages, warms baths, and photography."

She has also shared photos in which she poses alongside the stars of Dirty John, Connie Britton (her mother Debra), Eric Bana (evil stepfather John) and Juno Temple, who plays her sister.

Terra is also a fashion and lifestyle blogger and often posts pictures of her outfits.

Her bio reads: 2Official Instagram of Terra Newell only positive vibes please Dogs•Zombies•Country•PTSD•Travel•Fashion• and @dirtyjohnbravo."

A couple months after the trauma my PTSD had gotten so bad that I really had to find some activities to help calm

Dirty John follows the life of wealthy mother-of-four Debra, 63, who fell hook, line and sinker for Meehan's con.

He was nicknamed "Dirty John", or "Filthy John", due to his manipulative tendencies by a classmate at the University of Dayton.

Meehan was known for swindling money from people and sleeping with many women, lying about almost every aspect of his life.

Working as a nursing anaesthetist, he was jailed for stealing drugs from a patient he was supposed to be prescribing for.

She had been married four times before but thought she'd finally found the man of her dreams on a dating app.

CONMAN

But he turned out to be a serial offender who preyed on innocent women and used revenge porn as a form of extortion.
After finding out about his shady past, Debra broke up with John.

But she was threatened by her furious ex who promised to "ruin her life" by releasing nude photos of her online.

Terra and her younger sister Jacquelyn started keeping pocket knives on them as they feared for their lives.

Meehan set out to kidnap Terra after grabbing her from behind and holding her a knife-point.

In his possession was a 'kidnap kit’: duct tape, kitchen ties, a vial of injectable drugs and a set of kitchen knives.

He was trying to push me into his car and I tried to get away from him

Speaking out about the horrendous ordeal, Terra said in the documentary: “He was trying to push me into his car and I tried to get away from him.

“I was screaming. As he put his hand over my mouth I bit down as hard as I could.”

The pair tumbled to the ground in the struggle.

Terra then used her heavy boots to kick the knife from her attackers grip and as it fell to the pavement just inches from her right hand she grabbed hold of it tightly.

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“I just started stabbing him,” she continues. “I thought if he got back up he’s going to kill me.”

Meehan was stabbed 13 times and left with severe brain injuries.

His life support was turned off four days later.

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