“I’ll Tell Everything” — The Chilling Case of Amber Rose Rush

On the night of February 2nd, 2018, a sixteen-year-old girl typed out a final defiant message: “I’ll tell everything.” Hours later, her lifeless body was discovered in her bedroom, and an entire country would soon learn just how terrifyingly true those words were.

Amber Rose Rush was no ordinary teenager. Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, she was the youngest of three siblings, a beloved daughter, a dedicated student, and an aspiring dancer. She had dreams of turning her passion for movement into a career. Friends described her as bubbly and mature, the kind of girl who lit up every room she entered.

But behind her cheerful Instagram posts and after-school supermarket job, Amber was carrying a heavy secret. One that would soon put her in direct conflict with a man twice her age — a respected physician whose public reputation was flawless but whose private behavior was anything but.

A Small Town, a Dangerous Connection

When Amber and her family moved to Dunedin after her parents’ divorce, it seemed like a fresh start. The city was quieter, safer, a place where a teen girl could grow up surrounded by beaches and hills instead of the chaos of Christchurch. But Dunedin was also home to Venod Scanlon, a thirty-something doctor admired in the community.

On paper, Venod looked like a success story — well-educated, trusted, respected. But behind closed doors, he cultivated relationships with local teens, hosting parties filled with alcohol and drugs, the kind of gatherings no adult should ever have been facilitating. And Amber, through mutual friends, fell into his orbit.

At first, it seemed harmless. He was older, sophisticated, someone who listened. But soon his attention crossed dangerous boundaries. Witnesses later described him providing teens with substances, making inappropriate advances, even offering Amber large sums of money for sex. Amber was just sixteen.

The Breaking Point

By early 2018, Amber had had enough. She confided in friends, saved screenshots of their conversations, and even posted publicly on social media about Venod’s disturbing behavior. Her courage was striking: a teenage girl standing up against a powerful man who thought his status would shield him.

On the evening of February 2nd, she messaged a friend, Christian Clark, venting her anger. She told him she was ready to expose everything. She wasn’t going to be silenced. Hours later, her sister Chantel received a chilling text from Amber: “I’m angry.” It would be the last time anyone heard from her.

At 11:39 p.m., Venod climbed into his BMW and drove straight toward Amber’s home. He had been warned about her posts. He knew his carefully constructed facade was about to shatter.

The Murder

According to GPS data and forensic evidence, Venod entered Amber’s home at 12:15 a.m. He was dressed in black, wearing gloves and a beanie. He knew exactly where to go — directly to Amber’s bedroom. What happened next was brutal.

She was attacked with a knife, the wounds precise, aimed at her neck and spine. Forensic experts would later note the attacker’s knowledge of anatomy — almost as if a doctor had struck with clinical precision. Pillows scattered around her body suggested they were used to muffle her cries. The rest of the family slept just rooms away, completely unaware.

By morning, Amber’s mother, Lisa Anne, entered her daughter’s room. She saw blood on the pillows, assumed at first it was a nosebleed, and then pulled back the covers. The sight was unimaginable: her daughter lifeless, her throat cut.

Evidence of a Cover-Up

Venod thought he could erase everything. He took Amber’s phone and driver’s license, discarding the device at a quarry after smashing it. He burned clothing, scrubbed his shoes, and begged teens to delete their messages with him. But technology doesn’t lie. His car’s GPS tracked his every move, and blood traces in his BMW tied him directly to the crime.

Witnesses came forward. Teens admitted he had tried to buy their silence. Even his roommate revealed his disturbing obsession with younger people. Piece by piece, the facade crumbled.

The Trial

In 2019, the case went to trial. Sixty-nine witnesses testified, including Amber’s grieving family. The prosecution argued this was not a crime of passion — it was a calculated silencing of a young girl who dared to tell the truth.

Venod denied everything, even attempting to shift blame onto Amber’s teenage friend Dany, who had acted as a go-between. But the evidence was overwhelming. The jury found him guilty of murder, sentencing him to life in prison with a minimum of 19 years.

A Tragedy That Multiplied

But the story didn’t end there. A year later, after his appeal was denied, Venod took his own life in prison. And months after that, Amber’s devastated mother, unable to cope with the loss, also ended her life.

In just two years, the Rush family lost Amber, her mother Lisa, and their sense of safety forever. Her brother Jaden, who once described Amber as his best friend, admitted he would never escape the guilt of sleeping just one room away while she was murdered.

The Legacy of Amber Rose Rush

Amber’s death shattered New Zealand. It exposed systemic failures: how a respected professional could prey on teens for so long, how warnings went unheard, and how social media confessions were dismissed until it was too late.

In the aftermath, schools introduced new safety measures, lawmakers pushed for stricter sentencing, and parents began looking more closely at the hidden dangers their kids might face.

Amber Rose Rush never got the chance to pursue her dream of dance. But her courage in speaking out, even in her final hours, forced a nation to confront uncomfortable truths.

She wrote, “I’ll tell everything.”
And though her life was cut short, the story she left behind continues to tell everything she could not.