Australian True Crime

By Smart Fella

Society & Culture

What's Australian True Crime about?

Think nothing ever happens in your town? Australia's suburbs are home to some of the most mysterious and disturbing true crime cases in the world.

Meshel Laurie is a true crime obsessive. Emily Webb is a true crime author. And together with expert interviews with writers, victims, investigators and perpetrators, they probe the underbelly of our towns and suburbs, and uncover the darkness at the heart of Australian life.

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LAST EPISODE

The Coffin Confessor spills...

07.25.2021

CONTENT WARNING: this episode discusses suicide, sexual abuse and assault. Private investigator and entrepreneur Bill Edgar had a traumatic childhood. Childhood sexual assault, life on the streets and a stint in Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Jail with some of Australia’s ...

Australian True Crime episodes:

07.25.2021 The Coffin Confessor spills people’s secrets from beyond their graves CONTENT WARNING: this episode discusses suicide, sexual abuse and assault. Private investigator and entrepreneur Bill Edgar had a traumatic childhood. Childhood sexual assault, life on the streets and a stint in Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Jail with some of Australia’s ...
07.19.2021 The Abortion Clinic Murder and the High Court drama that followed CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses pregnancy and abortion so listener discretion is advised if this is a subject that you may find distressing. In this interview, we have used the term ‘women’ but we note that trans-men and gender diverse ...
07.11.2021 Vale Sandra Pankhurst The Trauma Cleaner Show Notes Ep 218 of Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb The legendary Sandra Pankhurst, made famous as The Trauma Cleaner in the brilliant book by Sarah Krasnostein, passed away last week. Although she battled health issues ...
07.04.2021 Online Child Exploitation – Lux’s Destruction Show Notes Ep 217 of Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb Australian journalist Eileen Ormsby literally wrote the book on the Dark Web. In fact, she’s written 7 books about it, but it was her first book, ...
06.27.2021 The good old mental health defence. Show Notes Ep 216 of Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb 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 ...
06.20.2021 The Devil is in the detail. Where is Amber Haigh? Show Notes Ep 215 of Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb Amber Haigh has been on the missing persons list since 2002. At that time, she was 19 years old, the mother of a newborn, residing in ...
06.13.2021 Beenham Valley Update Show Notes Ep 214 of Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb Many things have changed since Jamie Pultz and I last spoke about Kirra McLoughlin’s death and the podcast it inspired, called Beenham Valley Road. Most notably, ...
06.08.2021 On the Trail of the Serpent Show Notes Ep 213 of Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb Julie Clarke and her husband Richard Neville wrote the book On the Trail of the Serpent, The Life and Crimes of Charles Sobhraj upon which the ...
05.30.2021 Troll Hunter Ginger Gorman Show Notes Ep 212 of Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb Ginger Gorman is an award-winning journalist and the author of Troll Hunter. She’s always had great passion for her work, and she’s been driven by equal ...
05.30.2021 Short Cut Troll Hunter Ginger Gorman This is an Australian True Crime short cut. It’s an abridged version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb Ginger Gorman is an award-winning ...
05.23.2021 Short Cut My Father The Murderer This is an Australian True Crime short cut. It’s an abridged version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. Journalist Nina Young made a podcast documenting her search for the truth about her ...
05.23.2021 My Father the Murderer Show Notes Ep 211 Journalist Nina Young made a podcast documenting her search for the truth about her father. It’s called My Father the Murderer. Nina uncovered much more than she could ever have imagined, and more than her mother ...
05.16.2021 Dr Ahona Guha works with stalkers Dr Ahona Guha is a Melbourne-based forensic and clinical psychologist. She works with people who have abnormal behaviours like stalking and arson and try and help them modify these and lead better lives and improve safety for the community. She ...
05.09.2021 With True Crime and Cocktails This is a special mother’s day edition if Australian true crime. Both Emily and Meshel have a favourite TV show they share with their 11-year-old daughters called “Superstore”. All four of them share the same favourite character – assistant manager ...
05.02.2021 Dimity Matters In this episode we hear from Dimity about the night she was sexually assaulted by a stranger in 2019, the investigation from her perspective, why she chooses to speak about her experience and how she feels about it now. Most ...
04.26.2021 Sex Crimes Investigations 2021 Detective Leading Senior Constable Brett Sniegowski takes us through the investigation into the 2019 sexual assault of Dimity, who joins us next week. We discuss the criticisms levelled at police by sexual assault victims and their families in the past ...
04.18.2021 Re Issue - Golden Age of Australian Armed Robbery Bank robbers like Russell ‘Mad Dog’ Cox and Ray Denning were household names in Australia in the 1980s, when they brazenly escaped prison and taunted police for years. Author Mark Dapin joins us to talk about this period in Australian ...
04.18.2021 Inside the Real Animal Kingdom Show notes for Episode 207: Your hosts are MeshelLaurie and EmilyWebb With thanks to Joe Noonan. “Breaking Ranks: An Amazing true Story of a cop on the line.” Former Detective Joe Noonan’s time in Victoria Police happened to coincide with ...
04.04.2021 Can Hard Cuddles End Family Violence? Show notes for Episode 206: Your hosts are Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb With thanks to James Harding and Steve. For one family at least, connecting with James Harding’s Hard Cuddles organisation was the intervention that made the difference. Steve ...
03.29.2021 SOCIT Explainer with Narelle Fraser and her mentor Lorraine Blackwell Narelle Fraser and her mentor Lorraine Blackwell discuss the beginning of Victoria Police’s SOCIT, the Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Teams , among other things. This was originally a Patreon-only episode but we’ve released it as a special companion ...
03.28.2021 The System’s Victims A mother from country Victoria wants us to know what it’s really like, day-by-day, for a family after they report their daughter’s rape by a family friend. You can support us with a one-off contribution here. You can become a ...
03.21.2021 Prison Forensic Psych Ellery Kane’s life is non-stop crime. By day Ellery is a forensic psychologist and she evaluates prison inmates in California, most of whom have committed murder or another serious crime and have been in jail for a very long time, ...
03.14.2021 Man Shot Dead In Stand Off – My Father Travis Winks talks about the chain reaction of events that turned his normal, Queensland family into a tragic, sensational headline. You can support us with a one-off contribution here. You can become a patron here. You can subscribe to Calm ...
03.07.2021 Phia's Brother Corey Was No Angel. Phia Power’s brother Corey wasn’t exactly a model citizen, but should that make us any less interested in seeing justice for his murder? You can support us with a one-off contribution here. You can become a patron here. Show notes ...
02.28.2021 Barrenjoey Road - Update - #193 Neil Mercer and Ruby Jones are still investigating the crimes of Neville Tween, who stalked Sydney’s Northern Beaches without apparent impunity in the 70s and 80s. He trained up dozens of other sex offenders and released them into the community ...
02.21.2021 The Husband Poisoner - #192 After World War II, Sydney experienced a crime wave and it was women who were the perpetrators. The household poison thallium, normally used to kill rats, was the murder weapon to kill husbands and other inconvenient family members. Unlike arsenic ...
02.14.2021 The Unsolved Frankston & Tynong North Murders - #191 Author Brian Willams is back with another deep dive into crime - this time the baffling Tynong and Frankston North Serial Killings that are still unsolved 40 years since the discovery of three female murder victims who were ritualistically concealed ...
02.07.2021 The Vanishing Criminal - #190 There was a time in Australia where crime was hectic - armed robberies, a racket in stolen goods like stereos that could be sold quickly, an explosion in the heroin trade, shocking gun crimes including at Hoddle Street Melbourne, Strathfield ...
01.31.2021 Stalking Claremont - #189 The Claremont Serial Killer. Bret Christian is a journalist from Perth, in fact he's a newspaper owner and he's been following the Claremont serial killer case from the very beginning. Now, after sitting through every day of the trial he's ...
01.27.2021 Lynne McGranger (Yes, it's Irene!) Hi friend. We're back next week with all new Australian True Crime but in the meantime, please give our new show Calm ya Farm a try. It’s a short drop of practical wisdom from unlikely gurus. This one is Home ...
01.26.2021 Spotlight Series: Stalking Australia: She ain't no Mary Poppins Another instalment of our Spotlight series, where we showcase one of our favourite podcasts. Stalking is prevalent in Australia. There are hundreds of cases reported every year. These people’s existence have been besieged by a stalker. Survivors often are voiceless ...
01.18.2021 Spotlight Series: Still Not Asking For it - Episode 2 The 2nd part of the Still Not Asking For It podcast, presented by Rory Banwell. Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic content. The Still Not Asking For It Project was born in July 2014. Rory was pregnant and ...
01.12.2021 Spotlight Series: Still Not Asking For It - Episode 1 Our Spotlight Series continues with the Still Not Asking For It podcast, presented by Rory Banwell. Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic content. The Still Not Asking For It Project was born in July 2014. Rory was pregnant ...
12.28.2020 Spotlight Series: Birds Eye View Introducing Birds Eye View. This is the first episode of the award-winning podcast made by the women inside the Darwin Correctional Centre. For more info, check out their website here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you to ...
12.06.2020 Introducing: Crime Fiction Friday with Emily Webb - #188 It’s not Friday but welcome to Emily Webb’s new podcast Crime Fiction Friday! Every week Emily talks to one of the world’s most successful authors about their work and inspiration Subscribe here. With thanks to Uncle Jack Charles for the ...
11.29.2020 Nicole Lee went back to court so she could speak about her survival after rape - #187 Nicole Lee’s husband raped her virtually every day for years on end and pled guilty to doing so in court. The Judge praised him in his sentencing remarks as a quiet, gentle man. Then the Victorian Government made Nicole fight ...
11.22.2020 Perth’s First Serial Killer - #186 Perth was terrorised in the 1960's by an illusive night stalker. He killed men and women, in different ways and ran the police in circles. And that’s just the beginning of this extraordinary story. Film maker Thomas Meadmore has made ...
11.15.2020 Catching the Kimberley Killer - #185 Bob Brown was part of an elite police team who were flown in to catch a killer stalking the outback in 1987. This man had randomly executed five people at remote camping sites in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. ...
11.08.2020 7 Bones - #184 Former Detective Peter Seymour and his team took a crushing not-guilty verdict and turned it into motivation to keep digging. They solved a cold case and uncovered a truly chilling story. Show notes for Episode 184: Your hosts are Meshel ...
11.01.2020 Amazing Grace found in loss to a serial killer - #183 Kylie Nicholas is mesmerising. Her younger sister Nicole was chosen at random by serial killer Peter Dupas in 1999. It changed Kylie’s life in the most unexpected ways. Show notes for Episode 183: Your hosts are Meshel Laurie and Emily ...
11.01.2020 Re-issue: Peter Dupas: An Australian Serial Killer - #31 Former homicide detective Jeff Maher talks to us about the case that finally exposed Australian serial killer Peter Dupas. Show notes: Your hosts are Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb With thanks to Jeff Maher Like us on the Facebook ...
10.25.2020 Victoria’s Laws are about to get even worse for victim - #182 Journalist Nina Funnell is exposing the Victorian Governments latest bizarre proposed legislative changes. This time they are trying to wipe the names of victims from history. Show notes for Episode 182: Your hosts are Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb With ...
10.18.2020 The Nurse with Camille Bianchi - #181 Jim Griffin was a nurse in the children’s ward of Launceston hospital for 18 years until 2019. He was also a prolific paedophile. Journalist Camille Bianchi’s podcast The Nurse examines who knew, and for how long. You can support the ...
10.04.2020 Stalking and Murder - #180 The inquest into the shocking murders of teenagers Jack and Jennifer Edwards by their father John has revealed his history of family violence and stalking. Journalist and author Megan Norris joins us to talk about her research into the correlation ...
09.27.2020 Giving Lawyer X a Voice - #179 Do “disgraced” lawyer Nicola Gobbo and “disgraced” former drug squad detective Paul Dale deserve to be given a platform to tell their sides of their stories? Show notes for Episode 179: Your hosts are Meshel Laurie and Emily Webb With ...
09.20.2020 Meet the WAGS - #178 The Wives and Girlfriends of some of Australia’s most feared men. Author and journalist Rochelle Jackson tells their stories in her book Partners and Crime, going behind the headlines and hype to reveal what it is really like to live ...
09.13.2020 Can TikTok find Kylee-Anne? - #177 Kaz Schaffer is using TikTok to demand answers from the small group of people she believes know what happened to her little sister Kylee who’s been missing since 2004. Show notes for Episode 177: Your hosts are Meshel Laurie and ...
09.06.2020 Could You Just Accept It? - #176 Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic content and reference to suicide. Listener discretion is advised. Lyn Cecil believes her son Adam was murdered. At what point would you “just accept” he’d died of suicide and stop fighting? Show ...
09.01.2020 Loose Units – Electric Blue - #175 Paul Verhoeven’s second book about his father John’s time in NSW police is another fantastic, action-packed and funny read. This time it’s John’s time in the Forensics Unit under Paul’s microscope. Electric Blue also covers some interesting father-son territory including ...
08.30.2020 Victorian Rape Survivors Silenced - #174 Warning: please be advised this episode contains accounts of sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised. Journalists Nina Funnel and Sherelle Moody discovered a very big problem with a new piece of legislation passed in Victoria in February 2020. They’ve been ...

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