It’s August 16, 2002, when a man named Shane Chartres-Abbott meets a client at South Yarra’s Hotel Saville.

The 27-year-old is a male prostitute, who specialises in sadomasochistic sex. With him, he carries a black bag full of sex toys, including a whip, ropes, condoms and handcuffs.

The woman he is meeting, 30-year-old Penny, is not a stranger. She too works in the sex industry. They’ve met for his services before, but have started to get to know each other, with Penny being one of Shane’s only clients to know his real name. She knows what she wants from him, and so the pair check in to room 307, closing the door behind them.

By 11:20am the following morning, hotel management discovers no one has checked out of room 307. One man goes upstairs to check if anyone was still there.

What took place in that room in the late hours of August 16, and the early hours of August 17, would set off a series of events that would culminate in murder, and the most expensive police investigation in Victoria’s history. 

Did Shane turn into someone else inside room 307?

And how can we explain what happened next?

 

CREDITS

Guest: Adam Shand

Host: Jessie Stephens

Audio Producer: Ian Camilleri

Producer: Gia Moylan

 

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