The Veil

On a Monday night in March 1992, Susan Burdett came home from bowling to her unit on Pah Road in Papatoetoe. About twenty minutes later, her neighbour heard the thuds. A year later to the day, a seventeen year old car thief from Otara was charged with her rape and murder, on the strength of his own confession.

In Part One of The Boy in the Chair, our new feature series, we follow the investigation into Susan's death, the family members who pointed police toward Teina Pora, the reward that hung over a police interview room in Otahuhu, and the arrest, three years later, of a serial rapist who said he'd never met him.

SUBSCRIBE

Hear every part of this series on the day it launches, ad free, plus all my other shows and bonus episodes: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/

A NOTE ON SOURCING

This series draws on the Privy Council's 2015 judgment, the 2016 reports of Hon Rodney Hansen QC to the Minister of Justice, later court decisions, contemporaneous reporting, and Michael Bennett's book In Dark Places. Where the official record and other accounts differ, we have followed the official record.

THE BOOK

In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex Cop's Fight for Justice, by Michael Bennett (Paul Little Books, 2016). Winner of the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Award for best non fiction.

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DUTFV38

SOURCES

Pora v The Queen [2015] UKPC 9: https://jcpc.uk/uploads/jcpc_2013_0081_judgment_2c64906342.pdf

Hon Rodney Hansen QC, Report on the compensation claim by Teina Anthony Pora (innocence report, 23 March 2016) and quantum report (31 May 2016), Ministry of Justice

R v Rewa [2019] NZHC 577 (sentencing notes, Venning J): https://www.justice.govt.nz/jdo_documents/workspace___SpacesStore_6f7d3da5_bbf3_4056_abba_eff950e2bf7e.pdf

Rewa v R [2024] NZSC 28: https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/2024/2024-NZSC-28.pdf

Independent Police Conduct Authority, report on Police handling of investigations into Malcolm Rewa (July 2014)

RNZ, "Burdett's son denies lawyer's accusation he killed his mother", 12 February 2019: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/382312/burdett-s-son-denies-lawyer-s-accusation-he-killed-his-mother

RNZ, "How justice for Susan Burdett took 27 years", 22 February 2019: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/383186/how-justice-for-susan-burdett-took-27-years

NZ Herald (Phil Taylor), "Susan Burdett: Did the police bungle this murder case?": https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/susan-burdett-did-the-police-bungle-this-murder-case/7NHBZOBDCIPHFUZEC7ENEIS2KA/

SUPPORT

If this episode has raised anything for you, support is available in New Zealand:

Safe to Talk (sexual harm helpline): 0800 044 334, text 4334

Need to talk? Call or text 1737

Women's Refuge: 0800 REFUGE (0800 733 843)

Family Violence Information Line: 0800 456 450

In an emergency, call 111.

If you have information about a crime, contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or Police on 105.

The Veil is a Brevity Studios production. theguiltpodcast.com | brevityplus.com

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 9 August 2011, in a room at the Hyatt in Perth, the boss of the gang Brett Cowan had worked for all winter asked him a simple question. After nearly eight years of denials, Cowan answered it. Days later he led his new friends to the places where it had happened, police were waiting, and the search for Daniel Morcombe finally had somewhere to look. This final part follows the arrest, the search through the bushland and creek at Glass House Mountains, the trial that asked whether a confession made to undercover police could be trusted, and the family who never gave up until they brought their son home.

This is the final part of a three part series. If you’re on the free feed, Parts One and Two are available now.

SUBSCRIBE

One Brevity Studios subscription unlocks every part of every series on the day it launches, plus all of Guilt: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/

FURTHER READING

Kate Kyriacou, The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer (Echo Publishing). Many of the words you heard from inside the operation come from this book, which was built on the operation’s own recordings and the people who ran it. Highly recommended: https://booktopia.com.au/the-sting-kate-kyriacou/book/9781760681036.html

THE DANIEL MORCOMBE FOUNDATION

Bruce and Denise Morcombe founded the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in 2005 to teach children how to keep themselves safe. Every year on the last Friday in October, schools across Australia wear red for Day for Daniel. Learn more about their work: https://danielmorcombe.com.au

Support the foundation: https://danielmorcombe.com.au/get-involved/

A NOTE ON SOURCING

Brett Peter Cowan was convicted in March 2014 of the murder of Daniel Morcombe, indecent treatment of a child under sixteen and interfering with a corpse. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of twenty years. His appeal, and the Attorney-General’s appeal against sentence, were dismissed by the Queensland Court of Appeal in May 2015, and the High Court refused special leave in March 2016. The State Coroner delivered findings in April 2019. The undercover officers are referred to only by their cover names. The confession and the account of Daniel’s death are given as recorded in the Court of Appeal judgment. The defence case is described as it was put at trial; no alternative suspect is named. Cowan’s relatives, former partners and the couple connected to his alibi are not named. Dialogue from inside the operation is drawn from covert recordings as quoted in the court judgments and in Kate Kyriacou’s The Sting. As of late October 2026, no one else has been charged in connection with Daniel’s death.

This episode contains strong language from recorded conversations.

SOURCES

R v Cowan [2013] QSC 337, 12 Dec 2013

R v Cowan; R v Cowan; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2015] QCA 87, 21 May 2015

Cowan v The Queen [2016] HCATrans 57, 11 Mar 2016

Coroners Court of Queensland, findings of inquest into the death of Daniel James Morcombe, State Coroner Terry Ryan, 5 Apr 2019

Queensland Government ministerial statement on Day for Daniel, 29 Oct 2025

Kate Kyriacou, The Sting (Echo Publishing, 2015)

ABC News and AAP, coverage of the arrest, search, committal, trial, verdict and funeral, 2011 to 2014

ABC News, Daniel’s Law public register, 2025

Newcastle Herald, 2023 (interview with Bruce Morcombe)

SUPPORT

This series deals with the abduction and murder of a child. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand).

COMING NEXT

The next feature series on The Veil heads home to South Auckland in 1992, to the murder of Susan Burdett, and the teenager who confessed to a crime he didn’t commit.

Written and hosted by Ryan Wolf. Researched with AI assistance and fact-checked against the court judgments and coronial findings. A Brevity Studios production. https://theguiltpodcast.com | https://brevityplus.com

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1: The Incredible True Story of How Australian Police Trapped Daniel Morcombe’s Killer, Part Two of Three

In April 2011, days after giving evidence at the inquest into Daniel Morcombe’s disappearance, Brett Cowan flew home to Perth and made a new friend on the plane. Within weeks he was out of work, out of a home and running jobs for what he believed was a powerful criminal organisation: debt collections, gun deliveries, brothel takings and a bag of diamonds worth close to a million dollars. The gang paid him, praised him and told him there was nothing in the world it couldn’t fix. He called it the first family he’d ever had. Every member of it was a police officer, and every word he said was being recorded. Then a notice arrived from the Coroners Court in Brisbane, and the man at the top of the gang asked to see him.

This is Part Two of a three part series. Subscribers have all three parts now. On the free feed, Part Three, The Confession, is out Friday.

SUBSCRIBE

One Brevity Studios subscription unlocks every part of every series on the day it launches, plus all of Guilt: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/

FURTHER READING

Kate Kyriacou, The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer (Echo Publishing). This series relies heavily on Kate’s reporting, and her book is highly recommended: https://booktopia.com.au/the-sting-kate-kyriacou/book/9781760681036.html

THE DANIEL MORCOMBE FOUNDATION

Bruce and Denise Morcombe founded the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in 2005 to teach children how to keep themselves safe. Learn more about their work: https://danielmorcombe.com.au

Support the foundation: https://danielmorcombe.com.au/get-involved/

A NOTE ON SOURCING

Brett Peter Cowan was convicted in 2014 of the murder of Daniel Morcombe. His appeal was dismissed by the Queensland Court of Appeal in 2015 and the High Court refused special leave in 2016. The undercover officers in this episode are referred to only by their cover names. Every crime Cowan took part in during the operation was staged, and every debtor, sex worker and official he met was a police officer; no real offences were committed. Dialogue from the operation is drawn from covert recordings as quoted in the court judgments and in Kate Kyriacou’s The Sting. Where those accounts differ, the court record is followed. Cowan’s own claims and stories recorded during the operation are presented as his words, and none of the evidence connects them to anyone else. The Coroners Court notice to attend was genuine; the trial judge found it was not a ploy. Private individuals, including Cowan’s former partners and girlfriend, are not named.

This episode contains strong language from recorded conversations.

SOURCES

R v Cowan [2013] QSC 337, 12 Dec 2013

R v Cowan; R v Cowan; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2015] QCA 87, 21 May 2015

Coroners Court of Queensland, findings of inquest into the death of Daniel James Morcombe, State Coroner Terry Ryan, 5 Apr 2019

Cowan v The Queen [2016] HCATrans 57, 11 Mar 2016

Kate Kyriacou, The Sting (Echo Publishing, 2015)

SBS News / AAP, trial coverage, 2014

SUPPORT

This series deals with the abduction and murder of a child. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand).

Written and hosted by Ryan Wolf. Researched with AI assistance and fact-checked against the court judgments and coronial findings.

A Brevity Studios production. https://theguiltpodcast.com | https://brevityplus.com

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1: The Incredible True Story of How Australian Police Trapped Daniel Morcombe’s Killer, Part One of Three

On Sunday 7 December 2003, thirteen year old Daniel Morcombe walked from his family’s farm at Palmwoods to wait for a bus under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. He was going to Sunshine Plaza to buy Christmas presents for his family. The bus was running late, and when it finally came it drove straight past him. Minutes later, the next bus found nobody there. What followed became the largest investigation in Queensland’s history: thousands of interviews, a hunt for a blue car, a million dollar reward and a family who never stopped pushing. Seven years on, a coronial inquest put a man in the witness box for two days, and he gave nothing away. But on the flight home, someone sat down beside him.

This is Part One of a three part series. Subscribers get all three parts today. On the free feed, Part Two, The Gang, is out Wednesday and Part Three follows on Friday.

SUBSCRIBE

One Brevity Studios subscription unlocks every part of every series on the day it launches, plus all of Guilt: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/

FURTHER READING

Kate Kyriacou, The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer (Echo Publishing). This series relies heavily on Kate’s reporting, and her book is highly recommended: https://booktopia.com.au/the-sting-kate-kyriacou/book/9781760681036.html

THE DANIEL MORCOMBE FOUNDATION

Bruce and Denise Morcombe founded the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in 2005 to teach children how to keep themselves safe. Learn more about their work: https://danielmorcombe.com.au

Support the foundation: https://danielmorcombe.com.au/get-involved/

A NOTE ON SOURCING

Brett Peter Cowan was convicted in 2014 of the murder of Daniel Morcombe. His appeal was dismissed by the Queensland Court of Appeal in 2015 and the High Court refused special leave in 2016. His earlier offending is described only as recorded by the coroner and the Court of Appeal. Every other person of interest in the investigation is unnamed, and none has been charged with any offence relating to Daniel. Persons of interest at the inquest were identified by code under suppression orders. The account of the bus and roadside witnesses follows the 2019 coronial findings, which note that some accounts conflict. Details of Daniel’s life and family come from Kate Kyriacou’s The Sting and from published interviews with the Morcombe family, and are attributed on air.

SOURCES

Coroners Court of Queensland, findings of inquest into the death of Daniel James Morcombe, State Coroner Terry Ryan, 5 Apr 2019

R v Cowan [2013] QSC 337, 12 Dec 2013

R v Cowan; R v Cowan; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2015] QCA 87, 21 May 2015

Cowan v The Queen [2016] HCATrans 57, 11 Mar 2016

Kate Kyriacou, The Sting (Echo Publishing, 2015)

ABC News, coverage of the inquest, 1 and 6 Apr 2011

ABC News, 2009 (reward appeal) and 3 Dec 2012 (committal)

ABC 7.30, interview with former detective Kenneth King

Stephanie Wood, Brisbane Times / Sydney Morning Herald, 2014 (trial coverage)

Brisbane Times, 2015 (Daniel Morcombe Foundation)

Newcastle Herald, 2023 (interview with Bruce Morcombe)

SUPPORT

This episode deals with the abduction of a child. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand).

Written and Researched with AI assistance and fact-checked against the coronial findings and court judgments.

A Brevity Studios production. https://theguiltpodcast.com | https://brevityplus.com

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe to The Veil get ad free listening, bonus episodes and early release and listen on any platform via Supporting Cast here:

https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/

On Wednesday 6 October 1993, seventeen year old Allison Newstead went into Cessnock, a coal town in the NSW Hunter Valley, and never came home. Her car was found the next morning in the ex-servicemen's club carpark. A week later two men walking a bush track near the disused Pelton colliery found her body under two sheets of corrugated iron. She had no wounds and no fractures, toxicology ruled out an overdose, and the cause of her death has never been established. Her clothes turned up a year later in a plastic bag in other bushland. A man charged with concealing her body was acquitted in 1997. Police now say several people may have been there when Allison died. Who were they, and why has nobody spoken?

Thanks to listener Caroline for suggesting this case.

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

The NSW Government reward of $750,000 for information into Allison's death still stands. The case is with the State Crime Command's Unsolved Homicide Unit, Strike Force Bain. Police especially want to hear from people who knew Allison in 1993 and have never spoken to them, including anyone who may have been present when she died or who knows the circumstances of her death.

Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. Please do not report information via NSW Police social media pages.

The NSW Legislative Council inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons cases (1965 to 2010) is taking submissions until 30 October 2026: parliament.nsw.gov.au (search "unsolved murders inquiry").

A NOTE ON SOURCING

No one has ever been convicted in connection with Allison's death. The 1994 inquest was terminated and referred to the DPP, so no coronial finding exists. A man charged with concealing her body and perverting the course of justice was acquitted by a jury in 1997; he is not guilty in law and is not named. A second man, per 2013 reporting, pleaded guilty to supplying amphetamines; no court has linked that offence to her death. The account of three people denying they saw Allison that night is her mother's, given to the Daily Telegraph in 2013; police have made no finding against anyone. The 1993 timeline comes from AAP reports in the Canberra Times. The purse detail is from 2018 reporting only. Police say evidence including her clothing is being re-examined; no result has been published. The working theory in Part Three is the host's reading of the public record, not a finding of any court or coroner. As of 26 October 2026 nobody has been charged over how Allison died.

SOURCES

NSW Police, $750,000 reward, Death of Allison Newstead: police.nsw.gov.au/can_you_help_us/rewards

NSW Government Gazette No. 11, 3 Feb 1995, p700 (reward notice, 9 Dec 1994), via Trove

Canberra Times (AAP), 10, 11, 15, 16 and 17 Oct 1993, via Trove

Janet Fife-Yeomans, Daily Telegraph, 7 Oct 2013

Belinda-Jane Davis, Maitland Mercury / Newcastle Herald, Oct 2013

Matt Carr and Nick Bielby, Newcastle Herald, 5 and 6 Oct 2018

Krystal Sellars, Cessnock Advertiser, 29 Jun 2022; Gabriel Fowler, Newcastle Herald, 23 Jun 2022 (Operation Veritas)

Carly Cook, ABC News, 22 Oct 2022

Simon McCarthy and Sam Rigney, Newcastle Herald, 22 and 23 Oct 2022

NSW LC Portfolio Committee No. 1, inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons cases, hearing transcript 11 Jun 2026 and terms of reference

Cessnock Advertiser, Pelton colliery history, 2016

SUPPORT

This episode discusses the death of a teenager and its effect on her family. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand).

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 9pm on Sunday 10 October 2004, 25 year old Iraena Asher rang 111 from a house on Piha Road. She said she was afraid, that a man was pressuring her for sex, and that she had been given drugs. Police sent a taxi, which went to the wrong side of Auckland. A local family took her in for four hours. Just after 1am she walked out into a stormy night, and she was last seen naked under a streetlight, walking down Seaview Road towards the beach. A coroner found she went into the sea and drowned, and that the police failure to send a car contributed. Her body has never been found, and nobody saw her beyond the second streetlight.

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

If you were at Piha on the night of 10 to 11 October 2004, stayed at the Piha camp ground that weekend, or know anything about Iraena's last day or her disappearance, please contact:

Police non emergency: 105, or online at police.govt.nz

Crime Stoppers (anonymous): 0800 555 111, crimestoppers-nz.org

A NOTE ON SOURCING

The heart of this episode is the Police Complaints Authority report of 18 January 2006, which includes transcripts of Iraena's calls with police, and the High Court judgment Carroll v Coroner's Court at Auckland [2013] NZHC 906, which reproduces parts of Coroner Peter Ryan's 2012 findings. The full coronial findings were not available online and were not obtained.

Nobody has ever been charged in connection with Iraena's disappearance, and the coroner found no evidence of foul play. The people at the Piha Road house are not named in this episode, and some witnesses at the inquest had name suppression. Nothing in this episode suggests wrongdoing by anyone at that house.

In 2013 the High Court quashed the coroner's finding that Julia Woodhouse, Bobbie Carroll and Henry Woodhouse contributed to her death, finding it rested on speculation. The findings that Iraena drowned and that the police failure contributed still stand.

Some details, including where the taxi went and accounts of the inquest evidence, come from contemporaneous reporting in the NZ Herald, Stuff and RNZ.

SOURCES

Police Complaints Authority, report on the 111 call made by Iraena Asher, 18 Jan 2006 (ipca.govt.nz)

Carroll v Coroner's Court at Auckland [2013] NZHC 906, 29 Apr 2013 (coronerscourt.govt.nz)

NZ Police media releases, 12 to 28 Oct and 30 Nov 2004, 28 Feb 2005, 3 Jan 2023

Communications Centres Service Centre Independent External Review, May 2005

NZ Herald, Juliet Rowan, 15 Nov 2004; Anna Leask, 17 and 19 Jul 2012; Phil Taylor, 20 Sep 2019

Stuff, Kirsty Johnston, 18 Jul 2012

RNZ, 17 and 19 Jul 2012; 29 Apr 2013; Sam Olley, 16 Jan 2023

NZ Listener, Sarah Catherall, 22 Jan 2024

SUPPORT

This episode discusses mental illness, a disappearance, sexual pressure and drowning. If it has raised anything for you:

1737, free call or text, any time

Safe to Talk (sexual harm): 0800 044 334

Alcohol Drug Helpline: 0800 787 797

Youthline: 0800 376 633

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 2 December 2010, 24 year old Phoebe Handsjuk was found dying in the ground floor refuse room of her St Kilda Road apartment building, after coming down the rubbish chute from the twelfth floor. Police first treated it as suicide. Her grandfather, a retired detective, did not believe she could have climbed in. In 2014 Coroner Peter White found she entered the chute herself in a sleepwalking-like state brought on by Stilnox and alcohol, and that no one else was involved. The family has never accepted it, and the questions about the chute, the lost CCTV and the missing notes remain.

Suggested by listener Angela.

IN MEMORY

Phoebe Handsjuk, 9 May 1986 to 2 December 2010. Baillee Schneider, 19 February 1993 to 23 June 2018.

A NOTE ON SOURCING

This episode is built on two published coronial findings: Coroner Peter White's finding into Phoebe's death (COR 2010 4605, 10 December 2014, amended February 2015) and Deputy State Coroner Caitlin English's finding into Baillee's death (COR 2018 3002, 23 April 2020). Coroner White found Phoebe's death was not the result of an assault by, or with the aid of, any other person. Coroner English found Baillee's death was not suspicious. The man both women were in a relationship with is not named. He has never been charged with any offence, he denied any involvement on oath, both coroners found no one else was involved, and nothing in this episode suggests otherwise. The Coroners Court of Victoria made non-publication orders over parts of the inquest material in Phoebe's case; this episode uses only the published finding and open court reporting. Phoebe's family does not accept the finding.

SOURCES

Coroners Court of Victoria, Finding into death with inquest, Phoebe Handsjuk, COR 2010 4605: coronerscourt.vic.gov.au

Coroners Court of Victoria, Finding into death without inquest, Baillee Petra Schneider, COR 2018 3002: coronerscourt.vic.gov.au

ABC News, 9 August 2013 and 10 December 2014; 21 June 2018

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Richard Baker and Michael Bachelard, Phoebe's Fall (2016) and related reporting; Richard Baker, 24 June 2019 and 16 June 2020

Wendy Carlisle, RadioDoc Review, Vol 3(2), 2017

Robin Bowles, Into the Darkness: The Mysterious Death of Phoebe Handsjuk (Scribe, 2016)

Premier of Victoria, Coroners Court appeal process to be reviewed, 16 December 2016; Victorian Coronial Council, report on rights to appeal coronial findings, 2017

phoebehandsjuk.com (family site)

SUPPORT

This episode discusses depression and a death by suicide. If you are struggling, please reach out.

Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636, Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.

New Zealand: 1737 (call or text), Lifeline 0800 543 354.

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a Thursday night in November 1994, sixteen year old Gordana Kotevski left Charlestown Square to walk about 500 metres to her aunt's house on Powell Street. A passing driver saw two young men at a white Toyota Hilux, then a girl walking with a shopping bag. Minutes later her aunt heard screams and men's voices. Gordana's torn bag and her purse were left near the house. A 2003 inquest found she was deceased, most likely as a result of foul play. In 2026 police searched properties at Edgeworth and West Wallsend, excavated an Edgeworth backyard, and appealed for two anonymous callers from 1994 and 1996. Nobody has ever been charged.

Suggested by listener Rene.

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

A NSW Government reward of $1,000,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons responsible for Gordana's disappearance.

Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au (confidential).

Strike Force Bambil, Belmont Detectives: 02 4922 8774, [email protected] (per NSW Police, June 2026).

Police want to hear from the man who rang Newcastle Police Station about 6.50pm on Monday 5 December 1994, and the man who rang KOFM Newcastle about 9.25pm on Wednesday 18 September 1996, and from anyone who saw a light coloured, single cab Toyota Hilux with a silver work tray around Charlestown in late 1994.

The NSW Legislative Council inquiry into unsolved murders and long term missing persons cases (1965 to 2010) names Gordana, Robyn Hickie and Amanda Robinson in its terms of reference. Submissions close 30 October 2026.

A NOTE ON SOURCING

Nobody has ever been charged over Gordana's disappearance and no court has found anyone responsible. Corey Lovett was named as a person of interest at the 2003 inquest; he has never been charged and is presumed innocent. The allegation about him was never tested, and we could not find whether he gave evidence. He is named because the inquest named him and the lost statement is part of the case. The written 2003 finding is not published online; inquest evidence comes from contemporaneous ABC and Sydney Morning Herald court reports. Police have not said what was seized in April 2026 or what the May excavation found. The theory in Part Three is the host's reading of the public record, not a police or coronial finding. The investigation is open.

SOURCES

NSW Police reward page and releases, 4 May and 26 June 2026: police.nsw.gov.au

SMH, Greg Wendt, Witness hypnosis called for in lost girl case, 6 Nov 2002

SMH, Les Kennedy, On the scent without a clue, 9 Jul 2003

ABC News, 5 and 6 Mar 2003; 27 Feb 2009; 25 May 2022; 24 Nov 2023; 18 Jul 2025; 4 May 2026

ABC News, Hickie and Robinson rewards, 16 Aug 2021; Torana lead, 25 Nov 2019

Newcastle Herald, 2009 to 2026 coverage, incl. Dan Proudman (2011)

Newcastle Weekly, Rod Thompson, 2024 to 2026

New Idea, 2020 (Peggy Kotevski interview)

news.com.au, Nathan Jolly, 2016

NSW Legislative Council, Q&A No. 78 (2023) and inquiry 3148 terms of reference

NSW Coroners Court, State Coroner's report on deaths in custody 2006 (Coroners Act 1980 s 19)

Crime Commission Act 2012 (NSW), ss 21, 24, 39, 39A

AAP, October 2024 (police statement on common offender)

Australian Missing Persons Register profile: missingpersons.gov.au

SUPPORT

This episode discusses the abduction and suspected murder of a teenager. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14, 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732. New Zealand: 1737, Safe to Talk 0800 044 334.

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At about 7.30pm on Sunday 10 July 2005, 22-year-old Katrina Jefferies left the Mt Roskill home she shared with her mother, her younger brother and her 20-month-old son. On the morning of Tuesday 12 July she was found partly undressed on a bank beside Waikowhai Road, wrapped in a red tarpaulin, a yellow raincoat and black rubbish bags, about a kilometre from home. She had been killed somewhere else. The police have never said how she died. They have traced everything found with her to one Mt Roskill address, and believe more than one person knows what happened. As of October 2026, nobody has been charged.

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

Police want to hear from anyone who saw Katrina between the evening of Sunday 10 July and Tuesday 12 July 2005, or who knows where she went and who she was with. They also want to hear from anyone who was in Waikowhai Reserve or around Hillsborough Road in the early hours of Tuesday 12 July 2005. And they are asking about the red tarpaulin, the yellow Stormwear raincoat, the black rubbish bags, a framed river and mountain print signed "Haver", and a piece of marine plywood found with her, and about the clothes she left home in, which have never been found: blue tracksuit pants, a black duffle coat, burgundy slip-on shoes (size 10), a peaked cap and a black Walkman cassette player.

Call 0800 COLD CASE (0800 2653 2273), use the cold case contact form at police.govt.nz, or call Police on 105. Anonymous information: Crime Stoppers 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-nz.org.

A NOTE ON SOURCING

Nobody has ever been charged with Katrina's death, and no court has made any finding against any person. In November 2011 Coroner Gordon Matenga found that she died at the hands of another and suppressed the cause of death, which has never been published. We did not obtain the full text of the finding and rely on contemporaneous reporting of it. The man charged in 2014 after Operation Lyra interviews was convicted of offending against other women; police have said those charges were unrelated to Katrina, and nothing in the public record connects him to her death. The 2016 claim reported by One News is untested. The investigation remains open.

SOURCES

NZ Police, Cold Case: Katrina Jefferies, 2005: police.govt.nz/stolenwanted/coldcase/2019/katrina-jefferies-2005

NZ Police releases, 13, 14 and 21 Jul 2005, 26 Aug 2005, 25 Jun 2007 and 23 Jun 2019

Kirsty Wynn, "Haunted by the death of Katrina", Herald on Sunday, 31 Jul 2005

Martin Johnston, NZ Herald, 26 Aug 2005

NZPA, "Murdered woman died 'highly unusual death'", 26 Jul 2005, and "Mother thinks of her murdered daughter every day", 26 Jun 2007, via nzherald.co.nz

NZ Herald, "Jefferies family now have body", 19 Jul 2005; "New murder information 'contradicts earlier statement'", 3 Jul 2007; "Woman claims lead on 2005 cold case", 20 Apr 2016

Elizabeth Binning and Louisa Cleave, "Unsolved: the murder mysteries of 2005", NZ Herald, 2 Jan 2006

"More false confessions in cold case", NZPA via ODT, 21 Nov 2011

Jared Savage, NZ Herald, 24 May 2016 and 23 Jun 2019

RNZ and 1News, 23 Jun 2019

High Court sentencing in the Marie Jamieson case, [2010] NZHC 540

SUPPORT

This episode discusses the killing of a young mother. If it raises anything for you: 1737 (call or text), Victim Support 0800 842 846, Alcohol Drug Helpline 0800 787 797.

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before dawn on 28 April 1998, Claire "Lisa" Hills, a 30-year-old McDonald's shift manager, left her Herne Bay flat for a 3.30am start at Auckland Airport and never arrived. About three hours later a woman walking on Māngere Mountain watched a man set a car alight beside the sports clubrooms, then came face to face with him as he ran. Lisa was in the back seat, alive but probably unconscious. A DNA profile believed to be her killer's has excluded the police's original prime suspect and around 300 other men, and it has never matched anyone on the New Zealand or Australian databanks. Police say all they need is a name.

IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING

Call Operation Hills on 0800 OP HILLS (0800 674 4557) or Police on 105. To stay anonymous, call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Police have asked about: anyone who saw a black Mazda Familia hatchback in South Auckland between 3am and 6am on 28 April 1998; the steering wheel lock missing from her car; where the killer got the petrol, which police believe he brought in a container; a slim man in dark clothing, possibly in a hooded sweatshirt, seen running from Māngere Domain towards the motorway and Māngere Bridge shops; and anyone with concerns about a person's behaviour after April 1998. Police say they can assure confidentiality, and that simply offering a name could be the key.

A NOTE ON SOURCING

No one has ever been charged in connection with Lisa's death, and no court has made any finding against any person. The coroner found that she died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning after being left in a car set on fire by a person or persons unknown. The men described in this episode as suspects, including the man the first inquiry suspected, are not named. Police have said publicly that DNA excluded both her estranged husband and a convicted South Auckland rapist who matches that description. The police reconstruction of the abduction at traffic lights is their best reading, not a proven sequence. Witness accounts come from police statements and the witness's 2018 interview with the Herald on Sunday. Published times for the fire vary between about 5.25am and 5.45am.

SOURCES

Anna Leask, "Claire Hills murder cold-case: witness tells of coming face-to-face with killer", Herald on Sunday, 22 Apr 2018

Anna Leask, "Cold case: police look to search overseas in hunt for Claire Hills' killer", Herald on Sunday, 22 Apr 2018

"Someone knows Claire Hills' killer", Herald on Sunday editorial, 22 Apr 2018

Tony Wall, "Police: we know who killed Claire Hills" and "Baffling murder mystery", NZ Herald, Jun 2000

Scott Inglis, "New police team to hunt Claire Hills' killer", NZ Herald, Jun 2000

Tony Stickley, "Claire Hills police 'grasping at straws'", NZ Herald, Jun 2000

Scott Inglis, "Police need more evidence in Claire Hills murder case", NZ Herald, 28 Apr 2001

NZPA, "Horror death still haunts investigators", NZ Herald, 10 May 2002

Patrick Gower, "Book remains open on five-year-old murder", NZ Herald, 29 Apr 2003

NZPA, "Killer must be haunted by murder, say police", NZ Herald, 9 Dec 2009

Anna Leask, "A Moment In Crime: Murder at Mangere Mountain", NZ Herald podcast, Jul 2021

SUPPORT

This episode discusses sexual violence and a violent death. Safe to Talk 0800 044 334 (24/7, sexual harm), 1737 (call or text). In Australia: 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732, Lifeline 13 11 14.

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com

Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work.

This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.