In September 1934, a farmer walking near Albury made a discovery that would become one of Australia's most enduring unsolved mysteries.

Hidden inside a roadside culvert was the burned body of a young woman wearing distinctive yellow silk pyjamas decorated with a Chinese dragon. With no identification and few forensic tools available, police launched an investigation that captivated the nation. Newspapers dubbed her "The Pyjama Girl", but despite widespread publicity and countless leads, no one could tell investigators who she was.

In this episode, we examine the original 1934 investigation, the forensic challenges of the era, and the extraordinary lengths police went to in the hope of identifying an unknown victim. We also explore why, after years of unanswered questions, detectives made the decision to reopen the case nearly a decade later.

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of homicide, historical forensic evidence, and graphic injuries. Listener discretion is advised.

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For years, Ivan Milat was just another man living an ordinary life in suburban Sydney.

A neighbour.

A husband.

A father.

A man who went to work, came home, and blended into the community around him.

But in 1992, seven young travellers disappeared — and the discovery of their bodies in Belanglo State Forest would expose one of the darkest chapters in Australian criminal history.

In Part Two of Ivan Milat: The Forest That Changed Everything, we look beyond the headlines and explore the life of the man behind the name.

From his childhood in a large Croatian immigrant family, his early years, his relationships, and the ordinary life he built — to the warning signs, the investigation that brought police to his door, and the evidence that would eventually see him convicted of seven murders.

We explore:

• Who Ivan Milat was before Belanglo

• His family background and upbringing

• The early incidents that later attracted attention

• The disappearances of the young backpackers

• The investigation that led police to Milat

• The evidence presented during his trial

• The conviction that changed Australia forever

• The unanswered questions and ongoing fascination surrounding the case

But at the heart of this story are not just the crimes — they are the lives lost.

Caroline Clarke.

Joanne Walters.

Deborah Everist.

James Gibson.

Simone Schmidl.

Anja Habschied.

Gabor Neugebauer.

Seven people with families, dreams, and futures ahead of them.

This is the story of Ivan Milat — the man behind Belanglo.

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In 1992, a discovery inside Belanglo State Forest changed Australia forever.

What began as a search for missing travellers became one of the largest homicide investigations in Australian history.

Seven young backpackers had disappeared.

Their families had spent years searching for answers.

And hidden among the trees was the evidence that would reveal one of Australia’s most notorious criminal cases.

In Part One, we examine the disappearances, the discovery of the victims, the survival of Paul Onions, and the investigation that eventually led detectives to Ivan Milat.

A man who appeared ordinary.

A man investigators believed was responsible for extraordinary crimes.

But finding a suspect was only the beginning.

The evidence, the trial, and the courtroom battle would come next.

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Bob Chappell stepped onto his yacht on the River Derwent… and was never seen again.

No confirmed witness. No body. No clear explanation of what happened that night.

What followed was one of Australia’s most debated missing person investigations — a case built on circumstance, interpretation, and contested evidence.

In this episode, we break down the disappearance of Bob Chappell, the investigation into the yacht Four Winds, and the trial that followed.

But the questions never fully went away.

What really happened on the water that night?

🎧 Listen now for the full story.

In November 1962, a foul smell drifting through a quiet Sydney street led police to a discovery that would quietly conceal one of Australia’s most disturbing serial killers.

What they found beneath the floorboards of a small delicatessen seemed straightforward at first. A dead man. A closed case. A name on the paperwork: Alan Brennan.

But there was one problem.

Alan Brennan didn’t exist.

He was an alias used by William MacDonald — a man already responsible for a series of brutal murders across Sydney and Brisbane. While police believed the killer was dead and buried under his false identity, MacDonald was still alive… walking free… and planning his next attack.

Nicknamed “The Mutilator”, MacDonald’s crimes would span cities, identities, and multiple victims before an extraordinary mistake exposed the truth: investigators had buried a victim under the killer’s name, allowing him to vanish in plain sight.

This episode traces MacDonald’s life from troubled beginnings to a devastating series of killings, the investigative failures that allowed him to evade capture, and the unlikely encounter that finally brought one of Australia’s most feared killers to justice.

A story of deception, missed connections, and one of the most bizarre errors in Australian criminal history.

In January 1982, Lynette Dawson vanished from Sydney's Northern Beaches.

There was no violent crime scene. No body. No confession. Just a husband who claimed she had walked away and a family who never believed she would abandon her children.

For decades, Lynette's disappearance remained one of Australia's most infamous unsolved mysteries. Behind the image of the perfect suburban family were allegations of control, a failing marriage, and a teenage schoolgirl who became deeply embedded in the Dawson household before Lynette disappeared.

In this episode, we examine the timeline of Lynette's disappearance, the controversial relationship that sat at the centre of the case, the decades-long investigation, the impact of The Teacher's Pet podcast, and the remarkable murder trial that ultimately led to Chris Dawson's conviction despite no body ever being found.

More than forty years later, one question remains unanswered:

Where is Lynette Dawson?

For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, case files and exclusive content, visit Coffee and Crime at www.coffeeandcrimeau.com.au.

In 2015, a suitcase discovered beside a remote South Australian highway revealed one of Australia’s most haunting unsolved mysteries.

Inside were the remains of a small child.

Years earlier, unidentified remains had already been found deep inside Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales. Investigators would eventually discover the two victims were connected — mother and daughter Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce Pearce.

But what made the case even more disturbing was what happened after their deaths.

For years, someone continued using Karlie’s phone, bank accounts and identity to convince family and friends she was still alive.

In this episode, we examine the timeline, the investigation, the discovery scenes at Belanglo and Wynarka, and the horrifying deception behind one of Australia’s most chilling interstate murder cases.

The free episode tells the story.

But the extended investigation examines the years-long deception that convinced Karlie’s family she was still alive

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In 1997, 14-month-old Jaidyn Leskie vanished from a home in regional Victoria while in the care of his mother’s boyfriend, Greg Domaszewicz.

What followed was one of Australia’s most disturbing and divisive investigations — a vandalised house, conflicting timelines, a body discovered months later in Blue Rock Dam, and a murder trial that ended in acquittal.

But the case didn’t end there.

Years later, a coronial inquest would revisit the evidence and reach a finding of homicide — reigniting public debate about what really happened inside that house.

In this episode, we break down the full timeline, the investigation, the courtroom outcome, and the legal gaps that still surround the case today.

A child vanished. A community fractured. And the truth never fully settled.

Listen now for the full case breakdown.

On a quiet winter morning in Epping, five members of the same family were found murdered inside their home.

The Lin family murders shocked Australia — not just for the brutality of the crime, but for how long the truth stayed hidden inside one family.

In this episode, we unpack what happened inside the house that night, the timeline investigators pieced together, and how suspicion turned toward one man: Robert Xie.

A case of family tension, silence, and a crime scene that raised more questions than answers.

🎧 Listener discretion advised.
True crime content may be distressing for some listeners.

What started as a routine warrant in a quiet alpine town turned into one of the most shocking police shootings in Victoria’s recent history.

In August 2025, officers arrived at a property in Porepunkah expecting compliance. Instead, they walked into a situation that would escalate fast—and turn deadly.

This episode breaks down the full timeline, from the initial police approach to the moment everything went wrong, and the tense three-hour standoff that followed.

This is the story of Dezi Freeman.

🎧 Full case breakdown 🧠 Psychology insights ⚖️ What went wrong