Motive & Method

Her husband died. She wrote a book about grief. Then she was charged with his murder. The Kouri Richins case is one of the most talked about recent criminal trials. While she was giving interviews spruiking the book she wrote to help her children cope with the loss of their father,  investigators were uncovering drug deals, secret debts, an affair and a sinister murder plot. In this episode,...

He was one of Australia's most feared predators - and he was never caught. In this episode, Tim & Xanthe revisit the terrifying crimes of Mr Cruel, the masked offender who stalked Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, targeting young girls, in the late 1980s. Tim worked alongside Victoria Police at the time, profiling the serial rapist as the attacks grew more brazen, escalating from calculated h...

Six deaths, multiple states and a high-IQ cult at the centre of it all. In this episode Xanthe and Tim unravel the bizarre and deeply unsettling case of 'The Zizians', whose alleged victims include a border patrol agent and one member's own parents. So how and why did a group of highly intelligent Silicon Valley overachievers spiral into violence? It's a twisted web authorities are still trying to...

She killed three babies and tried to murder two others. How is Australia's worst female serial killer now living in anonymity within close proximity to young children? An investigation by A Current Affair reporter Erin Ramsay has thrust the case of Helen Patricia Moore, the so-called killer babysitter, back into the spotlight. Despite serving less than fourteen years for murdering babies in her ca...

Is this another case of wrongful conviction like Kathleen Folbigg? In this episode, we revisit the case of Lucy Letby, as fresh legal developments continue to reshape how the evidence is being examined. With new inquests announced and ongoing legal processes underway, questions are being raised about expert testimony, systemic failures and whether earlier conclusions still stand. Tim & Xa...

The disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont has become one of the most troubling and fast-moving investigations in the country. The case that began as a desperate search in remote South Australia has since shifted into a major crime investigation. This episode, Tim & Xanthe discuss the key developments and turning points, and what detectives are saying now about their direction and their sus...

At the time this episode is released, Julian Ingram is one of the most wanted men in Australia.  A major manhunt was launched in regional NSW after Ingram allegedly shot and killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend, her new partner and her aunt before fleeing the scene.  As revelations emerge of his criminal history and recent release on bail, serious questions are being asked about risk assess...

When the remains of an infant were uncovered in a Sydney backyard, it was just the start of a dark and twisted scandal that shocked colonial Australia. As police uncovered over a dozen more infant remains, the secret world of Sarah and John Makin’s baby-farming operation came into view. In this episode we’re joined by author of ‘The Baby Farmers’, Dr Annie Cossens, to disse...

Robert Maudsley has spent more than 40 years in near solitary confinement, caged in a bespoke glass cell. Also branded ‘Britain’s Most Dangerous Criminal’ and labelled ‘Hannibal The Cannibal’, his story has been shaped as much by myth as by fact. In this episode, we unpack Maudsley’s troubled upbringing, his violent criminal history and the extraordinary lengths...

Fifty years after eight-year-old Eloise Worledge vanished from her bedroom, the case is back in the spotlight with a $1 million reward announced for answers. In this episode, we speak with Eloise’s aunt, Margie Thomas, who has spent decades refusing to let her niece be forgotten. She takes us inside the night Eloise disappeared, the investigation that stalled and the toll of living with unan...

In 1951, Jean Lee was the last woman executed in Australia. 75 years after her execution, the case has been thrust back into the spotlight with the release of never-before-seen court documents. Lee was convicted of murder alongside two men - despite ongoing debate about her true role in the crime. In this episode, Tim & Xanthe unpack the crime, the controversial police investigation and the le...

As we step into the new year, this episode turns the spotlight to some of the meaningful progress made in major Australian cold cases in 2025. After decades of unanswered questions, several long-standing cases saw significant breakthroughs, new evidence and even arrests. Tim & Xanthe revisit just some of the many cases that were cracked back open last year, offering long-awaited progress for f...

In this special end-of-year episode,  Xanthe and Tim look back on Australia’s biggest and most unsettling cases of 2025. From the trial that gripped the nation, to some of the lesser publicised but equally disturbing cases, they unpack the investigations that shaped public conversation and debate. Plus, the cases we should keep watching as we head into 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Catch up on one of our most-listened episodes in 2025. Forensic investigator Gordon Drage lifted the lid on Australia’s most horrific serial killings - the infamous Snowtown ‘bodies in the barrels' case. 26 years on, he still remembers every detail of the day they made the gruesome discovery in that bank vault. Now retired, Drage is a passionate advocate for mental health support withi...

In this special holiday episode, Tim & Xanthe step away from the dark and disturbing and turn to some of the more unusual crime stories of the year - the bizarre, brazen and baffling! They’re putting each other to the test, in a series of games, to examine the stranger side of human behaviour. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're a new listener or haven't heard this episode, this is Xanthe's 2025 "must listen" episode from February.  While many think human trafficking it’s a distant issue, it’s happening closer than we realise - in neighborhoods, cities, and countries around the world, including Australia. In this episode, Tim and Xanthe speak to Matt Friedman - a leading, internationally re...

In the wake of the deadly Bondi terror attack, Tim and Xanthe are joined by Forensic Psychologist Dr Nathan Brooks - a leading expert in ‘lone actor’ violence and mass casualty attacks. Together, they explore what we know so far and why grounding public understanding in verified facts matter. Dr Brooks cuts through speculation and shares his expertise around offenders, methods and warn...

A young woman murdered, a suspect who vanished overseas and a seven-year pursuit of justice that spanned continents. This episode revisits the killing of 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley - murdered on a quiet Queensland beach in 2018 - and the extraordinary international effort to track down her killer. Tim & Xanthe are joined by Nine News reporter Lily Greer,  who followed the case from Cair...

In 1920 Alexander Newland Lee murdered his wife and three of his children. His method? Poison. It would later be uncovered he was the nephew of infamous serial killer Martha Needle - AKA ‘The Richmond Poisoner’. Author Dr Samantha Battams - who has written on both cases - sits down with Tim & Xanthe to share her insight into the disturbing threads linking these two generations of k...

Around the world disturbing cases have emerged from behind the walls of hospitals and aged care homes of nurses and healthcare workers using their caregiving role as a cover for murder. This episode explores how these killers manipulate trust, vulnerability and medical authority to hide their crimes in plain sight. Tim and Xanthe delve into the darkest side of professions built on compassion, and...

Have innocent mums and dads been jailed for a crime they never committed? That’s the question at the crux of a major new investigation into Shaken Baby Syndrome. In this episode, investigative journalist and host of the podcast ‘Diagnosing Murder’ , Michael Bachelard joins us to dissect the science, flaws and potential miscarriages of justice he’s uncovered. Listen to Diagn...

It was a crime so merciless it shook even the most seasoned detectives and it all started with one photo. In January 2016, Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru were lured to a unit in south-east Queensland where they were tortured, locked inside a metal toolbox and dumped into a lagoon. In this episode, Tim and Xanthe unpack the motivations behind the so-called 'Toolbox Murders' and how justice finall...

It took one determined journalist to uncover the shocking truth behind this Australian serial killer. In the 1960s, Perth was gripped by fear as a string of random murders and attacks left police and the public baffled - until the arrest of Eric Edgar Cooke, a seemingly ordinary family man hiding a violent double life. But even after Cooke’s capture, two innocent men remained behind bars for...

The world's attention has been gripped by the story of Ed Gein thanks to a confronting and disturbing new Netflix series.  When police entered his Wisconsin farmhouse in 1957, they uncovered a scene so grotesque it redefined horror itself. Gein's crimes inspired cinema's darkest characters, from Psycho's Norman Bates to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's 'Leatherface'. This episode delves into the...

Nanny Doss looked like a sweet and kind grandmother - but behind her smile hid a serial killer. For nearly three decades, Nannie Doss left a trail of death through small-town America. Among her 11 victims - four husbands and her own children and grandchildren. This episode, Tim and Xanthe take us back in time to unravel the twisted life and crimes of Nannie Doss, whose disturbing confessions earne...