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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Can Hard Cuddles End Family...

04.04.2021

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 ...

Australian True Crime episodes:

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 ...
08.30.2020 Repost: #LetHerSpeak Janelle O’Connor’s sexual assault. WARNING – VIOLENT CONTENT - #159 This episode is a repost of episode #159, originally published on May 21st 2020. Janelle O’Connor was the first person in the State of Tasmania to exercise her right to be named as a rape survivor, on the 24th of ...
08.23.2020 Gary Jubelin on the Matthew Leveson Case - #173 Gary Jubelin didn’t always catch his killer, but he did always give 100% of himself to the job and to the victims. Faye Leveson and her husband Mark joined us in episode 76 to talk about the 10 year search ...
08.16.2020 The Golden Age of Armed Robbery - #172 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 ...
08.09.2020 Patricia Simmons and her baby brother Robert - #171 Patricia Simmons is a child protection worker. Her commitment to helping children find safety is rooted in her own dysfunctional childhood and in her relationship with her baby brother Robert. Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic content. Show ...
08.02.2020 Simon Fenech is Breaking Good - #170 Simon Fenech’s ice addiction transformed him from an athlete, husband and father with a 5 bedroom house and a Harley to a former inmate lining up for food parcels at inner city churches. How did he lose so much and ...
07.26.2020 My Adoption Story is True Crime - #169 Liz Colenso discovered as an adult that she was adopted. Her search for her biological mother uncovered a tragic and frightening story. Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic content. Show notes for Episode 169: Your hosts are Meshel ...
07.19.2020 The Unsolved Murder of Emma Pawelski - #168 There are people in Adelaide who know who murdered Emma Pawelski and why. Her mother and her sister are desperate for them to come forward and tell them. Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic content. Show notes for ...
07.12.2020 The First Time He Hit Her - #167 Canberra mum Tara Costigan was holding her newborn baby when her ex-partner murdered her in front of her other small children. Although he’d been verbally abusive, it was the first time he hit her. Heidi Lemon has written a book ...
07.09.2020 Gemini Rules Breathing - Astrologer Maggie Kerr Old School Nitty Gritty Committee is back! Maggie Kerr is an astrologer of over 30 years’ experience. She says everything that’s happening right now is just down to patterns and it’s all linked to things that’ have happened before. Today, ...
07.05.2020 Undercover Copper Keith Banks - #166 Keith Banks was a clean living country boy when he joined QLD Police in the 70s but it took him to some very dark places. He joins us to talk about it. Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic ...
06.28.2020 The Jaidyn Leskie Murder - #165 The murder of 14-month-old Jaidyn Leskie is officially unsolved. Journalist and author Michael Gleeson explains the prosecution’s theory as to how he died and the many distractions that prevented his killer seeing justice. Warning: please be advised this episode contains ...
06.21.2020 The Childers Backpackers Fire - #164 Journalist Paul Cochrane was learning the ropes in regional news when he found himself covering the biggest story of his life, an arson attack in a remote Queensland fruit-picking town that took the lives of 15 young backpackers. He and ...
06.17.2020 How Lisa Harnum Changed the Conversation - #163 Lisa Harnum’s life and death changed the way we think, talk and report about domestic violence in Australia. Former Daily Telegraph Chief Court Reporter and author of The Fall, Amy Dale joins us to explain. Warning: please be advised this ...
06.10.2020 The Unsolved Disappearance of Revelle Balmain - #162 Stunning young model and dancer Revelle Balmain disappeared in November 1994, just days before realising her dream off moving to Japan to perform. When the police got involved, they discovered her secret life. Warning: please be advised this episode contains ...
06.03.2020 Shark Arm - #161 Two wealthy Sydney-siders get more than they bargain for when they team up with 2 small-time criminals in this extraordinary depression-era story of two unsolved murders and one nauseous shark. Warning: please be advised this episode contains graphic content. Show ...
05.27.2020 A witness finds his courage and a killer is convicted - #160 Paul Bellia was just 16, hanging out with his friend Ricky Balcombe in the local shopping mall on a Friday afternoon when an older man walked up to them and stabbed Ricky to death in 1995. Paul spent the following ...
05.20.2020 #LetHerSpeak Janelle O’Connor’s sexual assault. WARNING – VIOLENT CONTENT - #159 Janelle O’Connor was the first person in the State of Tasmania to exercise her right to be named as a rape survivor, on the 24th of April 2020. Up until then it was illegal for rape survivors to self-identify. Janelle ...
05.13.2020 The Sting – Catching Daniel Morcombe’s Killer - #158 Although Queensland police visited Brett Peter Cowan just days after Daniel Morcombe first disappeared in 2003, it took 8 years, an inquest and an incredibly intricate covert operation for them to find a way to convict him of Daniel’s abduction ...

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