Unravel

Years of investigation have led to this moment … a major breakthrough in the case, a potential answer to thirty years of mystery and pain for the Haines family.

An alleged confession has revealed who might have placed Mark's body on the train tracks on that summer night in 1988.

Now it's time to put the question to him — did he have anything to do with Mark's death? Will Allan Clarke finally have some answers for Uncle Duck?

Blood on the Tracks is the first ever series we made for Unravel, back in 2018.

But we're re-releasing it now with a new episode because the NSW Deputy State Coroner is currently holding a fresh inquest into this case.

Keep listening to the end of this series to find out about the new information that's recently been revealed in the inquest hearings.

This season of Unravel is intended to be listened to as a whole. If you haven't heard all the episodes, you shouldn't draw any conclusions, because you haven't heard all the sides of this story.

To binge more great episodes of Unravel, the ABC's award winning investigative true crime podcast documentary series, search 'Unravel podcast' on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

There you'll find previous series covering various crimes and crime-related topics including solved and unsolved murder cases, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, neo-nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

Allan and the team shift their focus to Tamworth and the truth starts to emerge from a fog of rumours. As Allan builds on the case, he discovers the police aren't far behind.

An eyewitness comes forward. Key witnesses are confronted for the first time. An alleged confession emerges which takes the investigation in a completely new direction.

If it turns out to be true, this new lead could help finally solve the 30-year-old mystery.

Blood on the Tracks is the first ever series we made for Unravel, back in 2018.

But we're re-releasing it now with a new episode because the NSW Deputy State Coroner is currently holding a fresh inquest into this case.

Keep listening to the end of this series to find out about the new information that's recently been revealed in the inquest hearings.

This season of Unravel is intended to be listened to as a whole. If you haven't heard all the episodes, you shouldn't draw any conclusions, because you haven't heard all the sides of this story.

To binge more great episodes of Unravel, the ABC's award winning investigative true crime podcast documentary series, search 'Unravel podcast' on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

There you'll find previous series covering various crimes and crime-related topics including solved and unsolved murder cases, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, neo-nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

More than two decades have passed since the coronial inquest into Mark Haines' death. The family have been forgotten about — until news reporter Allan Clarke arrives in Tamworth on a routine story and becomes convinced this is a major injustice.

Allan's reporting unearths fresh information. A mother comes forward with a story about her son's involvement.

Police aren't quick to follow up. But, after a flurry of protests and phone calls … the case finally starts to gain traction.

Blood on the Tracks is the first ever series we made for Unravel, back in 2018.

But we're re-releasing it now with a new episode because the NSW Deputy State Coroner is currently holding a fresh inquest into this case.

Keep listening to the end of this series to find out about the new information that's recently been revealed in the inquest hearings.

This season of Unravel is intended to be listened to as a whole. If you haven't heard all the episodes, you shouldn't draw any conclusions, because you haven't heard all the sides of this story.

To binge more great episodes of Unravel, the ABC's award winning investigative true crime podcast documentary series, search 'Unravel podcast' on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

There you'll find previous series covering various crimes and crime-related topics including solved and unsolved murder cases, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, neo-nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

Nine months after Mark's death, an inquest is held. The family are hopeful it will give them answers, but the police won't budge from their theory that he put himself on the tracks.

As the hearing unfolds, the family find out just how mediocre the initial investigation was.

One person is in the family's corner though. The railway worker who found Mark on the tracks is adamant the police and the forensic pathologist have it wrong. He's remained silent for the last thirty years but finally comes forward to set the record straight.

Blood on the Tracks is the first ever series we made for Unravel, back in 2018.

But we're re-releasing it now with a new episode because the NSW Deputy State Coroner is currently holding a fresh inquest into this case.

Keep listening to the end of this series to find out about the new information that's recently been revealed in the inquest hearings.

This season of Unravel is intended to be listened to as a whole. If you haven't heard all the episodes, you shouldn't draw any conclusions, because you haven't heard all the sides of this story.

To binge more great episodes of Unravel, the ABC's award winning investigative true crime podcast documentary series, search 'Unravel podcast' on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

There you'll find previous series covering various crimes and crime-related topics including solved and unsolved murder cases, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, neo-nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

On the surface, Tamworth in 1988 is a typical Aussie town with rodeos, farmers and an active Country Women's Association. But beneath the friendly veneer, there's a thriving criminal underbelly. Large marijuana crops grow on the outskirts of town and there are reports of bikie gangs with links to corrupt cops on the take.

The police investigation into Mark's death has stalled, allowing gossip and innuendo to take hold. The family know Mark occasionally smoked marijuana, but now they're hearing whispers that he might've got on the wrong side of some serious criminals.

The family decide to confront a man rumoured to have been involved… with ugly consequences.

Blood on the Tracks is the first ever series we made for Unravel, back in 2018.

But we're re-releasing it now with a new episode because the NSW Deputy State Coroner is currently holding a fresh inquest into this case.

Keep listening to the end of this series to find out about the new information that's recently been revealed in the inquest hearings.

This season of Unravel is intended to be listened to as a whole. If you haven't heard all the episodes, you shouldn't draw any conclusions, because you haven't heard all the sides of this story.

To binge more great episodes of Unravel, the ABC's award winning investigative true crime podcast documentary series, search 'Unravel podcast' on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

There you'll find previous series covering various crimes and crime-related topics including solved and unsolved murder cases, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, neo-nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

When Mark Haines dies, news of the teenager's death spreads quickly through Tamworth and beyond. His family are on summer holidays in different parts of the state and rush home to be together in grief.

While the family mourns and Mark's body is in the morgue, their town is in full party mode. The Tamworth Country Music Festival is on and Australia is celebrating 200 years of colonisation. For Mark's uncles, it feels like the death of a young Aboriginal boy is the last thing on anyone's mind.

The police come up with a theory that Mark might've killed himself … but the family aren't buying it. In the days and weeks ahead, his uncles return repeatedly to the train tracks looking for answers. They're worried the police have missed vital clues and they become convinced Mark met with foul play.

In their quest to disprove the police theory, the family find an unlikely ally. The railway worker who first found Mark's body on tracks is just as convinced the evidence out there on the tracks just doesn't add up.

Blood on the Tracks is the first ever series we made for Unravel, back in 2018.

But we're re-releasing it now with a new episode because the NSW Deputy State Coroner is currently holding a fresh inquest into this case.

Keep listening to the end of this series to find out about the new information that's recently been revealed in the inquest hearings.

This season of Unravel is intended to be listened to as a whole. If you haven't heard all the episodes, you shouldn't draw any conclusions, because you haven't heard all the sides of this story.

To binge more great episodes of Unravel, the ABC's award winning investigative true crime podcast documentary series, search 'Unravel podcast' on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

There you'll find previous series covering various crimes and crime-related topics including solved and unsolved murder cases, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, neo-nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

Just outside Australia's country music capital, a young man's body is found on the train tracks, surrounded by shattered Christmas presents and discarded wrapping paper.

For decades, the mystery has haunted Tamworth. 

After Unravel's first season Blood on the Tracks brought national attention to the case and won a Walkley award, a new inquest was launched.

Now, Muruwari and Gomeroi journalist Allan Clarke returns to where it all began for Unravel, revisiting Tamworth and uncovering what's happened since, as the long-awaited final chapter of the story unfolds, and major new revelations are heard at the inquest.

But before then, let's return to episode one. We trace Mark's movements on the night before his death, as he hit the town on a big night out with a bunch of friends, dancing, drinking and having fun. Mark's friends and girlfriend say they left him in the early hours. Just after, a nearby resident hears voices on the street, what sounds like an argument, and a car driving dangerously.

But the next few hours remain a mystery. How did Mark end up on the tracks?

This season of Unravel is intended to be listened to as a whole. If you haven't heard all the episodes, you shouldn't draw any conclusions, because you haven't heard all the sides of this story.

To binge more great episodes of Unravel, the ABC's award winning investigative true crime podcast documentary series, search 'Unravel podcast' on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

There you'll find previous series covering various crimes and crime-related topics including solved and unsolved murder cases, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, neo-nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

Back in 2018, our first season Blood on the Tracks investigated the suspicious death of 17-year-old Mark Haines, whose body was found on the railway line outside Tamworth in January 1988.

Since Allan Clarke first reported this story, there's been a fresh inquest, with new witnesses and explosive allegations.

Dive back into Blood on the Tracks. We're republishing the original series plus a brand new episode, where we delve into the latest from the new inquest.

It's the trial everyone in Darwin is talking about. In February 2022, a helicopter on a crocodile egg collection mission crashed in remote Arnhem Land, killing the egg collector and paralysing the pilot.

Now, croc wrangler Matt Wright is on trial: not for the crash, but for what he allegedly did after. Charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, prosecutors say he tried to interfere with the investigation, fearing he’d be blamed for the crash. Matt Wright has pleaded not guilty and denies all the allegations.

The Case Of is your eyes and ears inside the courtroom, as host Stephen Stockwell and reporter Olivana Lathouris bring you updates from the trial.

Search for 'The Case Of' now, and hit follow or subscribe to make sure you don't miss any of the twists of turns in the case of the croc wrangler.

The Case Of is the follow-up to the hit podcast Mushroom Case Daily, and all episodes of that show will remain available in the back catalogue of The Case Of.

The long-awaited trial of Erin Patterson has begun. The ABC's Mushroom Case Daily podcast is your eyes and ears in the courtroom. Follow the podcast to make sure you don't miss a second of what's sure to be one of the most famous cases in Australian history.

We're dropping a new episode every day... with the details everyone's talking about.

Nearly two years ago Erin Patterson served up a lunch of beef wellington, laced with poisonous death cap mushrooms.

Now she's facing a triple-murder and attempted murder trial.

Follow Mushroom Case Daily in the Listen app.