Real Crime with Adam Shand

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand , Adam sits down with retired NSW Detective Sergeant Damian Loone, a relentless investigator whose 35-year career spanned some of Australia’s most haunting cold cases. From the murder of Lynette Dawson, to the disappearance of Cheryl Grimmer and the killing of Rachel Childs - Loone reflects on the victories, the heartbreaks and the cases tha...

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand , Adam sits down with Mark De Bono — a man whose life collided head-on with Melbourne’s criminal justice system during one of its most notorious eras. Mark recounts a chilling firsthand experience inside Russell Street Police Headquarters in the mid-1980s, where he says detectives dangled him out a window to force cooperation. A story whisp...

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand , Adam sits down with Father Peter Norden — the former Catholic chaplain of Melbourne’s notorious Pentridge Prison and one of the most trusted figures inside Australia’s criminal underworld. From the brutality of the infamous H Division, Norden offers a rare, first-hand account of life behind the bluestone walls. He speaks candidly ab...

In this episode, Adam Shand uncovers the chilling legacy of one of Queensland’s most feared and controversial police officers: Superintendent Mervin Henry Stevenson.  Adam speaks with Elliot Hannay, former editor of the Townsville Bulletin , who had multiple disturbing encounters with Stevenson during Queensland’s pre-Fitzgerald era—an age defined by corruption, cover-ups an...

In this episode of  Real Crime with Adam Shand , we revisit Phillip's story. Adam sits down with veteran barrister Philip Dunn KC to unpack the verdict in one of Australia's most shocking criminal trials: the mushroom lunch murders. Erin Patterson has been found guilty of killing her former in-laws and attempting to murder a fourth guest using deadly mushrooms. 🎧 Want the full story? Listen...

In this episode of  Real Crime with Adam Shand , we revisit Louise's story. In this gripping episode, Adam is joined by forensic archaeologist Dr. Louise Steding to revisit the unsolved 1953 murder of 14-year-old Shirley Collins. Shirley disappeared on her way to a birthday party in Melbourne, only to be found brutally murdered days later at Mount Martha. Read Dr Lousie Steding's Book "Inconc...

In this episode of  Real Crime with Adam Shand , we revisit Tina's story. Adam Shand is joined by former detective Tina Kemp to revisit one of Australia's most baffling unsolved murders — the 1998 car bombing of John Furlan. They unpack the cast of shady characters, including a dodgy car dealer with mafia ties, a confessor with a dark past, and a bomb maker who may still be out there.&n...

In this episode of  Real Crime with Adam Shand , we revisit Ed's story. Ed Toller scammed nearly $1.8 million from unsuspecting investors—not to fund a lavish life, but to feed a gambling addiction he couldn’t control. In this raw and revealing episode, Ed sits down with Adam Shand to unpack the real cost of compulsive betting, the lies that spiraled out of control, and the prison...

In 1994, Derrick was shot 14 times in under five seconds during an attempted arrest, sparking a 41-hour siege and a lifelong exploration into human durability. Derrick takes us inside the moment time stood still, the three hours he lay bleeding under constant gunfire, and the mental conditioning that kept him alive.  Adam and Derrick also unpack the hidden psychological toll on police, the fa...

The Beaumont Children. The Adelaide Oval Abductions. The Family. For decades, South Australia has lived under the shadow of unsolved child abductions — cases stained by secrecy, fear and whispered allegations of powerful networks operating with impunity. In this episode, Adam speaks with journalist and Sleepers podcaster Bryan Littlely, who has uncovered new and disturbing information about...

In this powerful episode, Adam reunites with Tom De Souza, a young man he first met a decade ago while documenting Tom’s descent into methamphetamine addiction in the podcast  Meth Destruction . Tom was just 13 when he spiralled from scholarship student to juvenile detention, drug use and violent crime. Now 30, Tom has found sobriety, purpose, and a sense of home within himself. He&rsqu...

When Australia’s most volatile moments unfold — a siege, a suicide attempt, a hostage situation, or a person in deep crisis — there’s one specialist quietly working to bring everyone home alive: the police negotiator. In this gripping episode, Adam sits down with Leading Senior Constable Lee Wolahan, one of Victoria Police’s most experienced and respected negotiators....

In this episode, Adam sits down with Australia’s most recognisable criminal psychologist, Tim Watson-Munro — a man who has spent nearly 50 years staring into the darkest corners of the human mind. From Parramatta Jail in the 1970s to some of the most notorious cases in Australian criminal history, Tim has assessed thousands of offenders, earning the trust of hardened criminals and the...

Former Victoria Police detective Narelle Fraser spent 27 years confronting some of the darkest corners of humanity—homicide, sexual assault, missing persons. But no case has stayed with her more than the disappearance of Lorraine Joy (Yardley) Carter, a vulnerable young woman who vanished in 2002 and was never found. In this episode, Narelle opens up to Adam about the emotional toll of polic...

Illegal tobacco is no longer a back-alley trade — it’s a billion-dollar criminal economy fuelling arson, extortion, murders and a full-blown underworld war across Australia. In this explosive episode of Real Crime , Adam Shand uncovers how half of all tobacco consumed in Australia has slipped into the shadows, and why the government’s own excise regime is driving the demand. Adam...

In this powerful and deeply confronting episode, Adam Shand speaks with survivor and advocate Marita Murphy, who has spent more than 50 years trying to be heard. At just seven years old, Marita was brutally assaulted by two teenage boys—a crime her family discouraged her from reporting and one that would shape every part of her life. Marita opens up about the trauma she carried into adulthoo...

In this episode of  Real Crime , Adam Shand speaks with former Victoria Police officer and intelligence specialist David Bartlett, the founder of the Safer Places Network—an ambitious new system aiming to transform how CCTV is used in Australia. From the Jill Meagher investigation to missing persons, aggravated burglaries and retail crime, Adam and David break down how one camera can ma...

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand , we revisit one of the most violent eras in Victoria’s history through the eyes of former detective and firearms instructor Alex Christich. From the Mad Max manhunt to the Russell Street bombing and the Wall Street police murders, Christich recounts the days when Victoria Police faced armed robbers, escapees and killers who weren’t afraid...

In this episode, investigative journalist Adam Shand revisits the extraordinary criminal career of Bertram Douglas “Bertie” Kidd — safe-breaker, armed robber, race fixer and serial corruptor of police who may also have been a killer. After attending Kidd’s funeral, Adam sits down with former New South Wales detective Phil Short, one of the officers who finally brought the n...

In this episode, Adam Shand speaks with retired Detective Senior Sergeant Peter Kos, one of the original investigators behind Operation Afghan — a daring undercover sting targeting Italian organised crime in Griffith during the 1990s. Peter lifts the lid on the truth behind the famous infiltration of the Griffith Mafia. From the early days of the drug squad and the rise of Antonio Romeo to u...

In this episode, Adam Shand speaks with retired detective Ray Lambie, who joined the NSW Armed Robbery Squad at the height of the so-called “golden era.” Lambie shares stories from the front line — high-stakes takedowns, corrupt cops, close calls and the adrenaline rush of chasing Australia’s most dangerous men. Together, they explore how policing changed, why the banks res...

In 1969, 20-year-old Lucille Butterworth vanished from a bus stop near Hobart, Tasmania. For decades, her disappearance remained one of Australia’s most haunting cold cases. In this episode, Adam Shand speaks with former detective constable Cary Mark Millhouse, who helped reopen the investigation and uncover the truth buried in old police files and forgotten confessions. Through meticulous d...

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand , we explore the case of Gary Lewer — a former Mr. Australia, world bodybuilding champion and long-time Melbourne identity who now finds himself detained in an immigration facility and facing deportation to a country he hasn’t lived in since childhood. Lewer insists he’s no criminal mastermind but the victim of a vendetta — a we...

For decades, families across New South Wales have waited for answers — hundreds of unsolved murders and disappearances, too many to dismiss as coincidence. In this episode, Adam speaks with Jeremy Buckingham, NSW Member of Parliament, who has pushed through a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s cold cases — and the possible serial killers who may have operated undete...

In this confronting episode of Real Crime , Adam Shand sits down with one of Australia’s most reviled offenders — Peter Vaitos, the man once known as The Silver Gun Rap*st . For the first time in more than 40 years, Vaitos speaks publicly, joined by his daughter Stacey, who has chosen to stand by him in the hope of revealing new information about one of Victoria’s most enduring m...