In one of the strangest criminal cases we’ve heard in some time, a woman suffering from intellectual disabilities has pleaded not guilty to the charge of “using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend” in relation to sending what’s described as an anti-semitic voicemail.
There’s only one problem. Nobody says anything on the voicemail. The woman charged is 26-year-old Sydney, Australia resident Serena Tomuri, who contacted nutritionalist and author Mandy Sacher, 49, on Dec. 20 with an innocuous text message.
At 8.26 pm, Tomuri texted Sacher:
“Hey, how are you? Is this Mandy? I saw somewhere that you helped Katie from Married at First Sight with her nutrition. I was wondering if you could help me as well. Serena.”
Five hours later, at 01:30, an apparently accidental “buttdial” call from Tomuri’s number went to Sacher’s voicemail. Nothing was said, and only some muffled sounds of undetermined origin were heard.
This story is absolutely wild.
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) January 21, 2026
One of the most insane things you will hear for a while. pic.twitter.com/9Ib2mHnf7P
You’re probably wondering how a voicemail message in which nobody actually says anything could possibly be anti-semitic? Well, this came days after the Bondi Beach massacre, and Sacher claims “she believed” the noises on the voicemail were gunshots, interpreting it as a direct threat against her for being Jewish. On hearing this message, she says she felt “immediate fear and nervousness”.
“Charge first, and answer questions later”
me too! Like wtf??
— Mariquita Flamenkita (@Mimita_P0) January 21, 2026
Tomuri’s baffled lawyer says the sounds appear to actually be a bed creaking, or possibly someone snoring. He underlines that Tomuri has a “severe intellectual and cognitive disability”, isn’t remotely anti-semitic, and “doesn’t even understand the conflict [in Gaza]”, concluding that this is a case of “charge first, and answer questions later”.
Tomuri appears to be understandably terrified of what’s happening to her and is unable to understand how an accidental silent voicemail could be construed as menacing or harassing anyone, pleading with the court to consider what this is doing to her: “Especially with my mental health, I wish people could understand,” she said.
The defendant appeared in court last week and is scheduled to return next month, where the criminal proceedings against her will proceed and may go to a full criminal trial. If everything we’ve been told is correct, this appears to be an insane overreach and a charge that diminishes the seriousness of actual anti-semitic hate crimes.
