Gone Girls

A young woman murdered in an Australian country town. People too afraid to speak for decades are finally breaking their silence.  What happened in 23-year-old Rachelle Childs' final nine hours?  

Now, 24 years since Rachelle was murdered, an unstoppable cold case team has assembled to drive this live investigation.

Tips from the public are pouring in - could you hold the missing piece that cracks the case?

Dear Rachelle is hosted and investigated by journalist Ashlea Hansen, who teams up with retired detective and renowned cold case specialist Damian Loone.

Listen to this preview episode and search for Dear Rachelle in your podcast app and hit "follow" to have new episodes delivered to your feed. Eligible News Corp Australia subscribers receive new episodes early at dearrachelle.com.au and enjoy access to videos, articles, interactive evidence and more

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A killer is on the loose in an Australian country town.

Excited for the June long weekend, bubbly 23-year-old Rachelle Childs leaves work, calls her sister, and is dead within hours. Her burning, partially naked body is found nine hours later in bushland on a lonely coastal road. Her killer has never been caught.

Now innocent people, once too afraid to speak, are breaking their silence.

If you’re looking for your next true crime podcast obsession, search out Dear Rachelle.

An unstoppable cold case team is reinvestigating and uncovering damning new evidence. Could this finally be the break the family needs?

Dear Rachelle is hosted and investigated by journalist Ashlea Hansen, who teams up with retired detective and renowned cold case specialist Damian Loone.

The first episode of Dear Rachelle is now available on all podcast platforms. If you’re looking for your next true crime podcast binge and you want to be first to hear what’s next, visit dearrachelle.com.au - your News Corp Australia subscription grants you access to podcast episodes three weeks before everyone else, as well as exclusive access to videos, interactive evidence, behind-the-scenes content, and more.

Dear Rachelle is a podcast from True Crime Australia.

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Victoria’s father had a heart attack the day after her memorial service and died. Nancy’s “heartbroken” father died in 2005 never knowing what happened to his daughter. Detective Inspector Kim Steven, who currently has carriage over both cold cases, explains how nothing would make him happier than being able to give both families the closure they’ve waited so long for.

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From a fruit picker who falsely claimed he killed Nancy, to a person who meditated on Beaumaris Beach until “visions” came, and even a red jacket planted as false evidence after Victoria’s murder, these cold cases have led to plenty of dead ends and bizarre false leads. Retired detective Bob Coad, author Melanie Calvert, and current Detective Inspector Kim Steven explain why these cases have led to so much fascination - and so much speculation.

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Detective Inspector Kim Steven is the keeper of reams of documents and huge files of evidence stored over Nancy’s disappearance and Victoria’s murder. He’s been reviewing the two cold cases over the past 18 months, and hopes that on the 25th anniversary of Victoria’s death, someone will finally come forward and provide a vital clue. He also reveals that police might just be able to use science to pinpoint her killer.

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Former detective Bob Coad has been retired for nearly 20 years. But he remains as dedicated as ever to solving the missing persons case of young German tourist Nancy Grunwaldt, who vanished from Tasmania’s East Coast two years before the murder of Victoria Cafasso in the same area. Bob explains the two crucial pieces of evidence that prove Nancy wasn’t murdered.

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A blanketing silence hangs over the town of Beaumaris on Tasmania’s East Coast. Young Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso was murdered on its shores 25 years ago, an event that sent shockwaves through the community. The region’s mayor Mick Tucker speaks about the terrible event reluctantly - he doesn’t want to reopen old wounds.

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Over five days, Gone Girls reveals a series of stories outlining new discoveries, current theories and heartfelt stories emerging from the mysterious cases of young Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso, found murdered on a remote and beautiful Tasmanian beach and German tourist Nancy Grunwaldt, who disappeared from the same area two years earlier. Read the words, listen to the podcasts and watch the videos as this interactive, multimedia experience unfolds.

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