Australian True Crime

We're taking a little break over Summer and using this time to spotlight some of our favourite true-crime podcasts. This week we're showcasing Jack Laurence's podcast, One Minute Remaining. Show notes: Welcome to episode one of 'One minute remaining' - Today we start the story of Dorice Moore and Abraham Lee Shakespeare, a story that has layer after layer but that is nothing short of mind blowing....

We're taking a little break over Summer and using this time to spotlight some of our favourite true-crime podcasts. This week we're showcasing Michael Adam's Forgotten Australia, with his three part Cairns Grenade Murders series. Part 3: With the accused murderer of Holly Murphy and Kathleen Brown set to go to trial in April 1946, there's a series of shocking secret developments, including a bombs...

We're taking a little break over Summer and using this time to spotlight some of our favourite true-crime podcasts. This week we're showcasing Michael Adam's Forgotten Australia, with his three part Cairns Grenade Murders series. Part 2: With Detective Senior-Sergeant Frank Bischof in Cairns, Bob Davis soon identifies the murderer. But how far can Bob be trusted? And what is Bischof offering? To r...

We're taking a little break over Summer and using this time to spotlight some of our favourite true-crime podcasts. This week we're showcasing Michael Adam's Forgotten Australia, with his three part Cairns Grenade Murders series. On a hot night in January 1946, two women were cold-bloodedly murdered with a grenade in the centre of Cairns. In this three-part special episode - based on the original...

In 2017, 21 year old Zac Jones was drunk, on drugs, and driving recklessly in a car with four other passengers. Unable to control the vehicle, they horrifically crashed, but all remarkably survived. This is part two of a two part series hosted by our dear friend, Narelle Fraser about the lives of Zac and his mother Jane. We will hear a side-by-side account from both Zac and Jane about how an educa...

In 2017, 21 year old Zac Jones was drunk, on drugs, and driving recklessly in a car with four other passengers. Unable to control the vehicle, they horrifically crashed, but all remarkably survived. This is part one of a two part series hosted by our dear friend, Narelle Fraser about the lives of Zac and his mother Jane. We will hear a side-by-side account from both Zac and Jane about how an educa...

Marjorie Norval was a mould breaker. In the 1930s, she was a single, gregarious career woman, living in a hotel in the Brisbane CBD. She worked for the Premiere William Forgan Smith and his wife, which afforded her to live a lifestyle that was out of reach for most women in conservative Brisbane at the time. That lifestyle came to an abrupt end when she disappeared without a trace, one sunny day i...

The word most commonly used to describe Rolf Harris at the conclusion of his trial and his spectacular fall from grace was remorseless. He still seemed utterly shameless as revelation after revelation rolled out in front of the world and his real character was exposed. We all got an inkling of the sheer entitlement felt by the man and of his expectation that he should be allowed to go on separatin...

In 1990, social worker Wendy Davis had her dream job at what was then known as Hollywood Private Hospital in Perth. She was the senior grief counsellor in the palliative care unit. It was intense but rewarding work, and at 40 years of age, life was right on track for Wendy Davis. But It was cruelly taken away from her on her youngest daughter's 11th birthday, when she was violently assaulted by a...

"Shotgun" Shannon O'Connell is Australia's pre-eminent female boxer. One thing that is absolutely true, is that her toughest opponent is her childhood. She fights it everyday, as do her two brothers, with varying degrees of success. We were introduced to Shannon by a previous guest, Russell Manser from The Voice of a Survivor. He likes to say that boxing has saved more lives than church, and Shann...

Our guest this week, Russell Manser, has an incredible podcast of his own called The Stick Up. Please enjoy this rare interview with Mick Gatto, and check out other episodes of The Stick Up wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes: In this rare interview with ex-underworld figure Mick Gatto, you'll hear about his love for his family, passion for charity and the life altering moments that saw him...

Russell Manser is an extraordinary man. He's been in and out of prison since we was literally a child, and when he wasn't inside, he was robbing banks to support a raging heroin habit. As we know, lifestyle habits like that don't come out of nowhere. When Russell decided to face the truth of what had happened to him, it changed his life. Since then, he's changed many lives too. This is a very upse...

In 1993, Paul Denyer murdered Natalie Russell, Elizabeth Stevens and Deborah Fream in the Frankston area. Denyer had also stalked and terrified women - that’s one of the lesser known aspects of his horrendous offending. Now 50, Denyer was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but the sentence was later appealed and reduced to a non-parole period of 30 years, meaning Denyer is eligible for re...

Our guests for this episode are Therese Fox and Megan Norris. In 2002 friends Therese Fox and Bronwyn Cartwright travelled to Bali – it was a dream trip that the two Geelong nurses had saved hard for. It was Therese’s first trip overseas and away from her young children. On October 12th Therese and Bronwyn decided to go out to Paddy’s Irish Bar for their last night in Bali. Deadly terrorist attack...

Our guest for this episode is Michael Adams, host of the fascinating podcast Forgotten Australia.  Michael is a master of deep diving into the archives to tell incredible stories most people have never heard of - many of them about crime and society. From historic news articles - even the smallest of briefs and the mere mention of a name, Michael brings old stories, scandals, oddities and the...

In celebration of the release of the brand new season of The Handmaid's Tale, we've invited a couple of friends over to chat about the series with. We're joined today by mega fan Joanna Fleming from Adore Beauty, and from the brilliant Eyes On Gilead podcast, Fiona Williams. So, why a special episode about The Handmaid's Tale on our true crime podcast feed? Well, Margaret Atwood, the author of The...

Lucy Wessell contacted Australian True Crime to tell her family’s story about the unforeseeable and tragic loss of her brother Andrew - who is remembered by them as a kind and gentle man who loved his family, animals, and nature. He was a seasoned traveller who had friends all over the world.   Andrew Drake was stabbed to death in 2019. Andrew, 29, died on the lawn of a house in Batemans Bay...

This is a re-issue of episode 76 from November 2018 In November of 2016, a decade after his death, Michael Atkins finally agreed to tell police where he'd buried the remains of his young lover Matthew Leveson. Matt's tormented parents tell us the twisted tale as to why Atkins will never be convicted in connection with their son's death. Show notes: Your hosts are Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb With...

This is a re-issue of episode 216 of Australian True Crime. Some of Australia’s most dangerous offenders aren’t housed in prisons because they were judged mentally unfit to stand trial. Dr Danny Sullivan is the Executive Director of Clinical Services at Thomas Embling hospital. It’s been home to some of Victoria's most dangerous people, including Masa Vuktotic’s killer Sean Price, Henry Hammond wh...

David Cammarata’s childhood best friend is currently a forensic patient in a secure psychiatric facility. He was found not guilty of the machete murder of his own brother at a suburban shopping centre and of stalking and attempting to murder David, because the judge believed he was suffering from severe mental illness when he committed the offences. David and his family were terrorised for ye...

A repost of episode #103 In loving memory of Uncle Jack Charles. We send our deepest condolences to the people of the Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta nations on the loss of Uncle Jack Charles. Stolen from his loving family as a child, he embraced all with love and kindness and was a vital artist until the end. --- Jack Charles, known respectfully and affectionately as Unc...

Geoff Plunkett's book "Death Row At Truro" investigates the mythology around a case that is often bizarrely overlooking in Australian crime reporting. Geoff joins us today to discuss the seven week serial killing spree committed by Christopher Worrell and James Miller in 1970s Adelaide.  For ad-free listening, early access and exclusive content, join Australian True Crime Plus on Apple Podcas...

This is part 2 of our exploration into Marea Yann’s case and our guests are  Esther Yann and close family friend of Marea and her family, lawyer Frank Chen.   You know when someone says they’ll do anything they can to right a wrong…Frank Chen really meant it. And you’ll hear the extraordinary lengths he’s gone to so he can fulfil  the promise he made to Marea at her funeral that he...

As we know, behind every cold case is a family, and 19 years after her shocking murder, Marea Yann’s family remains divided. Tensions that were developing in the lead up to her death, were cast in stone during the murder trial in 2008 that resulted in an acquittal. Some family members still believe the acquittal was appropriate and police never fully investigated alternative theories, while o...

If you haven't listened to the first part of this story, you might want to go back and listen before diving into this episode. It contains a lot of background you need to know about Vanessa's own story, but it's also a unique insight into how one human being's life can be completely derailed by the intervention of another, particularly during childhood. Vanessa's story provides a perfect case stud...