Warning: This episode contains descriptions of child sexual assault and murder. 

Mr Cruel has been keeping Melbourne’s North-East suburbs in a tight grip of fear. This is now his third confirmed home invasion and second kidnaping, with no sign of his attacks slowing. His awareness of forensics makes the police investigation near impossible, but with building pressure from the public, Victoria Police will go on to form one of the largest manhunt's in Australia's history.

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Warning: This episode contains descriptions of child sexual assault. 

Between 1987 and the early 1990s, Melbourne’s suburbs experienced a series of highly organised and disturbing home invasions. The intruder would tie up the parents, cut the phone lines, and demand money, but at the centre of each attack was the sexual assault of a young daughter. Police investigations quickly linked the crimes to a single, elusive perpetrator; whose planning, control, and forensic awareness set him apart from typical offenders. The media would refer to him as, Mr Cruel.

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Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence against women.

In 1942, wartime Melbourne lived under the dim, uneasy glow of the brownout; a city cloaked in half-darkness to hide from Japanese bombers. By day it bustled with soldiers, trams, and factory workers, but by night the familiar streets turned dark and silent. Within the shadows, crime escalated with one predator in particular. Three women were found strangled to death within days of each other. What was implemented for safety quickly became the advantage of a killer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence, child murder and domestic violence

In March 2004, Anna Kemp and her toddler daughter, Gracie, vanished from their home in Mornington, Victoria. The case began as a simple missing persons report assigned to Detective Narelle Fraser but would quickly became her most haunting case. Over the weeks that followed, the search revealed a trail of strange messages, hidden evidence, and a mystery that would shock the community.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, drug use, torture and mutilation.

Only meters from his home, 15 year old Richard Kelvin is hastily abducted by several people. Being the son of a local news presenter, the media is quickly overrun by the story, and with it, police are pressured to make serious progress with their investigation. They close in on an ongoing suspect, Bevan von Einem, but will the other members of the sadistic network known as “the Family” be held accountable?

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Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, drug use, torture and mutilation.

The murders in Adelaide didn’t stop with Alan Barnes and Neil Muir. Two more boys - 14 year old Peter Stogneff and 18 year old Mark Langley — would vanish under eerily familiar circumstances. As the investigation unfolds, it starts to become alarmingly clear; these crimes weren’t committed by a sole perpetrator and they aren’t slowing down. Whoever these people were, they held a chilling confidence in committing such heinous crimes.

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Warning: This episode contains themes of pedophilia, sexual assault and mutilation.

In Adelaide, following the notorious murder of criminal lawyer Derrance Stevenson, dubbed “body in the freezer”, a series of even more horrific murders would occur. This time the victims were young boys and men - drugged, abused, killed, mutilated and discarded. A trail left behind by an underground world of sadism, pedophilia, pornography and exploitation on Adelaide’s most vulnerable. Despite the unrelenting efforts to keep this story hidden, it’s one that continues begging to be heard.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.