Unravel

Lezlie Manukian's stories about her time in Hawaii usually ended with murderous local mobsters running her off the island. So, to track down his brother Greg's ex-wife, Ollie Wards needs to understand her past. What really happened according to "the coconut wireless"?

Ollie and Greg's dad, David Wards, picks through the clues left behind by Greg's American wife, Lezlie. He realises that the entire family may have been victims of an elaborate con job. David is obsessed with finding answers, launching his own investigations and even becoming a 60-something computer hacker.

When Ollie Wards' brother Greg marries his American dream girl in New Zealand and they go into business together, it seems like a perfect start to a new life. But only a few months later, Greg is heartbroken, the family home is gone — and so is Lezlie.

Ollie Wards' family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. As he embarks on a quest to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now, he opens the door on a mystery that spans decades and across continents.

Host Gina McKeon interviews film-maker Helen Barrow about her coverage of Belinda Peisley’s inquest and the behind-the-scenes moments that we can’t hear in the audio. Helen’s one-hour tv documentary WHO KILLED BELINDA PEISLEY? is available on the streaming platform ABC iView. Download the app or visit the website: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/who-killed-belinda-peisley

Some of the most explosive moments in Belinda Peisley’s inquest happen between lawyer Phil Strickland and the man we’re calling Luke. Luke admits to using heroin and to staying on Belinda’s floor from time to time, like a lot of their crowd in Katoomba at the time. He’s got a violent past and a long rap sheet, but denies being a standover man or ever demanding money from Belinda. In the coroner’s...

Jeremy Ward Douglas was going out with Belinda Peisley’s best friend, Heidi Wailes, at the time Belinda disappeared. The inquest into her death heard Jeremy had a reputation around town as a violent and controlling guy with a short temper who would hang around Belinda’s house, often against her wishes. Heidi says that, after Belinda disappeared, she remembers Jeremy behaving like he knew she wasn’...

Heidi Wailes was close to Belinda and says she looked out for Belinda like an older sister would. But a break-in at Belinda’s house just days before she disappeared suggests Heidi might not have always been the friend she claimed to be. Many, including the coroner at Belinda’s inquest, believe Heidi may know more about what happened to Belinda than she is revealing. As pressure mounts in the court...

We go inside the courtroom at Belinda Peisley's inquest to hear firsthand the arguments, phone taps and witness testimony. Jason*, Belinda's boyfriend at the time, says he met up with her on the night she disappeared. They had an argument at her house and he left. It's the last time he ever saw her. Jason is from a footy family in the Mountains and his father John* wasn't impressed his son was goi...

Belinda Peisley's life descended into chaos after her 18th birthday when she received a big inheritance and bought her own place in Katoomba. Her family hoped the house would set her up for life but, instead, her new address became a magnet for a world of drugs and crowd of people who’d turn up at all hours. Six months later, Belinda disappeared. In the months before she vanished, Belinda told her...

19-year-old Belinda Peisley vanished after she left a Blue Mountains hospital, west of Sydney, on the night of September 26, 1998. The single mum-of-two disappeared within a year of inheriting a significant sum of money from a distant relative and buying a house in Katoomba, a small town in the Mountains. Six persons of interest were named in Belinda’s case. By piecing together the stories and evi...

It’s the lead Ruby and Neil have hoped for — a tip-off from an old law enforcement source about a potential burial site for Trudie Adams. Deep in Kur-ing-gai National Park is a place called Christmas Tree Hill and, rumour has it, a guy nicknamed "Chicken Wire Man" is responsible for disposing of Trudie’s body there. It’s time for one last trip to the bush.

Investigating the link between a career criminal, Trudie ... and a corrupt cop. For decades, Neville Tween evaded scrutiny by law enforcement, despite being a well-known career criminal. But what if he was protected? Not long after Trudie’s inquest, Mark Standen — one of Australia’s most powerful law enforcement officers — went down as a corrupt cop. It turns out Tween was one of Standen’s informa...

Neville Tween appeared at the inquest into Trudie’s disappearance in 2011. Unravel has been given access to Tween’s evidence — and for the first time ever, his voice is being aired. This is the man that multiple detectives think is responsible for the assaults on the northern beaches in the '70s, as well as the disappearance of Trudie Adams. As the evidence is presented against Tween — will he dig...

Despite the similarities between the disappearance of Trudie Adams and the assaults on fourteen women on Sydney’s northern beaches, the case goes cold for almost two decades. That is until 1992, when fresh eyes re-examine an old lead and police think they might be close to cracking the case. Is it the breakthrough they think it is? Ruby Jones sits down with a former detective who knows Trudie’s ca...

A chilling visit to bushland where abducted hitch-hikers are taken. In the days and weeks after Trudie’s disappearance, a series of women come forward to the police telling similar, terrible stories about being targeted by two men on the northern beaches. At least 14 women have been abducted while hitchhiking or walking home. They are taken out to bushland, sexually assaulted and warned not to tel...

Trudie Adams was last seen hitching a ride home from a dance in Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches. The last known person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Steve Norris. Or more accurately, her soon to be ex-boyfriend. Police label Steve as a person of interest in the days following Trudie’s disappearance. The couple were in the process of breaking up. There were rumours of an argument. Trudie...

A heart breaking search for the hitch-hike girl. For a free-spirited teenager, growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches in the '70s was as good as it gets. Endless perfect surf breaks, days spent lounging on the beach with mates, parties every weekend. 18-year-old Trudie Adams was typical, hanging out with her girlfriends and looking forward to a trip to Bali. On a Saturday night out at the Newport...

The story of Barrenjoey Road explores the disappearance of Trudie Adams in 1978 from Sydney’s northern beaches in 1978 leaving a family and community devastated.    When 18-year-old Trudie Adams goes missing hitchhiking home on Sydney’s northern beaches in 1978, a family and community are devastated.    The case exposes the dark underbelly of the “insular peninsula”… a world where surfers run drug...

Years of investigation have led to this moment ... a major breakthrough in the case, a potential answer to thirty years of mystery and pain for the Haines family. An alleged confession has revealed who might have placed Mark’s body on the train tracks on that summer night in 1988. Now it’s time to put the question to him — did he have anything to do with Mark’s death? Will Allan finally have some...

Allan and the team shift their focus to Tamworth and the truth starts to emerge from a fog of rumours. As Allan builds on the case, he discovers the police aren’t far behind. An eyewitness comes forward. Key witnesses are confronted for the first time. An alleged confession emerges which takes the investigation in a completely new direction. If it turns out to be true, this new lead could help fin...

More than two decades have passed since the coronial inquest into Mark Haines’ death. The family have been forgotten about — until news reporter Allan Clarke arrives in Tamworth on a routine story and becomes convinced this is a major injustice. Allan’s reporting unearths fresh information. A mother comes forward with a story about her son’s involvement. Police aren’t quick to follow up. But, afte...

The family's hopes for an answer at the inquest fade fast. Nine months after Mark’s death, an inquest is held. The family are hopeful it will give them answers, but the police won’t budge from their theory that he put himself on the tracks. As the hearing unfolds, the family find out just how mediocre the initial investigation was. Lost evidence, an unsecured crime scene ... and a forensic patholo...

Violence erupts as Uncle Duck and the family confront their number one suspect. On the surface, Tamworth in 1988 is a typical Aussie town with rodeos, farmers and an active Country Women’s Association.  But beneath the friendly veneer, there’s a thriving criminal underbelly.  Large marijuana crops grow on the outskirts of town and there are reports of bikie gangs with links to corrupt cops on the...

Mark Haines' family challenge the police investigation.  When Mark Haines dies, news of the teenager's death spreads quickly through Tamworth and beyond. His family are on summer holidays in different parts of the state and rush home to be together in grief. While the family mourns and Mark’s body is in the morgue, their town is in full party mode. The Tamworth Country Music Festival is on and Aus...