In December 1932, a woman named Iris Marriott prepared dinner in a small flat in Sydney’s East.  It was the peak of the Great Depression and the Australian economy had collapsed. The unemployment rate had hit an unbearable 32 per cent. 

While she cooked a lamb shank and vegetables, her partner sat at the kitchen table, looking through job ads.  It was Iris who financially supported them both. And so, she applied her make up with a firm powder puff and after sitting down for dinner, she threw on a forest green dress and pinned back her hair. Just after 9pm, she said goodbye and left for work. 

The 33-year-old walked out her front door on Renny Street in Paddington, and headed towards Oxford Street. That would be the last time her partner would ever see her alive. 

Less than 12 hours later, her body would be found within view of a row of houses, in Queens Park, Sydney. A popular park with families, Iris had somehow been murdered without anyone noticing. 

But Iris wasn’t the first body to be found in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs. And she wouldn’t be the last. Before long, Sydney’s serial killer would be on the front pages of newspapers all over the state. 

We speak to Dr Tanya Bretherton author of The Killing Streets; Uncovering Australia’s First Serial Murderer about a series of crimes that plagued Sydney for decades.

CREDITS

Guest: Tanya Bretherton author of The Killing Streets; Uncovering Australia’s First Serial Murderer

Host: Jessie Stephens

Producer/Editor: Elise Cooper

CONTACT US

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RESEARCH

• The Killing Streets: Uncovering Australia’s First Serial Murderer by Tanya Bretherton https://bit.ly/2HkqhoU 

• Shocking Murder in Sydney, The Recorder, Port Pirie Newspaper, Mon 12th December 1932 https://bit.ly/31OOkFO 
• Eric Craig Third Trial on Murder Charge, The Sydney Morning Herald, Wed 7th June 1933 https://bit.ly/2uwXtXC
• Eric Craig taken to Bathurst Gaol, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sat 20th January 1934 https://bit.ly/2tTEx4X

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