It was 2018 when Saxon Mullins, now 23, came out and said the four words: “I am that girl.” People had heard what had happened to a young woman in a laneway behind the Soho nightclub in Sydney’s King’s Cross. They heard what a man, Luke Lazarus, son of the nightclub owner, said to her. The public was also aware of what happened next. But it took five years for Saxon to say those words, “I am that girl”, and she said them to ABC journalist Louise Milligan. Saxon did what she was meant to do. She ...
Dec 02, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 73
This is the second part of a two part episode. If you haven't listened to part one, listen here now. Launceston is one of Australia’s oldest cities. Just south of the city centre stands Launceston General Hospital, one of the main public hospitals in the state of Tasmania. The hospital treats a quarter of a million patients every year, and over 150 years has built trust within the local community. The children’s ward is known as Ward 4K - filled with doctors and nurses doing their best to make a...
Nov 25, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Launceston is one of Australia’s oldest cities. Just south of the city centre stands Launceston General Hospital, one of the main public hospitals in the state of Tasmania. The hospital treats a quarter of a million patients every year, and over 150 years has built trust within the local community. The children’s ward is known as Ward 4K - filled with doctors and nurses doing their best to make a child’s stay as comfortable as possible. But for more than 20 years, one nurse - a grandfatherly fig...
Nov 18, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 71
This is the second half of a two-parter. If you haven't heard part one yet, listen here and then come back to listen to part two. Chris Regan, a 53-year-old war veteran and father of two sons, hadn’t been seen since October 14, 2014. Weeks turned into months, and as the lakes of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula turned to ice, there was still no sign of him. Inside Chris’ car, police had found one item of interest; a handwritten note that appeared to be directions. At first, it hadn’t made any sense. B...
Nov 11, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Iron River, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is known for its scenic lakes, hiking trails, exceptionally cold winters and dense forest. It’s sparsely populated, and many who do live there are blue collar workers. Laura Frizzo was the first female Police Chief in Upper Michigan and worked for the city of Iron River for almost 22 years. She knew what sorts of crimes to expect. And then came a woman named Terri O’Donnell. Towards the end of October, 2014, 50 year old Terri arrived at the police stati...
Nov 04, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 69
It was mid 2016, when 28-year-old Angela Jay downloaded Tinder. Angela had come out of a long term relationship and had decided it was time to start dating again. That’s when she came across the profile of a man named Paul Lambert. He had used the ‘Super Like’ feature on her, which meant he was especially interested in striking up a conversation. He was conventionally attractive with dark hair, friendly eyes, and a wide, warm smile with dimples on either side. Angela decided to reply to the 36-y...
Oct 28, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 68
It’s August, 2005, and Nicola Gobbo’s life is about to go in a direction she never anticipated. Nicola is a successful defence barrister, best known for defending Melbourne’s most prolific organised crime figures, from Carl Williams to Tony Mokbel. But things have become very messy. She wants to get what she calls the ‘Mokbel monkey’ off her back. She’s become too involved in ways she says she never intended. She’ll later say she’s tired of being stood over by criminals who are manipulating the ...
Oct 21, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 67
It was a Thursday night in December, 2001, when a woman named Janine Vaughan attended a nightclub in Bathurst called the Metro Tavern. Janine had lived in the small town, with a population of about 27,000 for the last three years, working as a manager at a local menswear shop. Hers was a face many in the community knew, considered conventionally beautiful with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a big smile. In the early hours of that Friday morning, 31-year-old Janine walked out onto George Street, a f...
Oct 14, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Matthieu Heimel grew up knowing nothing about his biological parents. His life in Perth had been enough for him until his two children began asking unanswerable questions about where he came from. So in late 2018, Mattieu embarked on a DNA search for his mother and father. He found his father Jerry relatively easily. He was a US serviceman who had been stationed in the Philippines in 1978 when Matthieu had been conceived. Finding his mother proved far more difficult. Using social media, he conne...
Oct 07, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 65
It was a tropical night in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and 45-year-old Luis Navia’s 25-year stint as a narco (a drug trafficker) was coming to an end. Ever since he’d first tried the stuff as a young man, Luis had dealt large quantities of cocaine. It was the era of Pablo Escobar, of the Netflix series Narcos, of Miami Vice , Scar Face and American Made . So much has been written and explored about the cocaine market of the late 20th Century but until now, none of those stories properly i...
Sep 30, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 64
It was a summer night in 1986 when 26-year-old Anita Cobby met friends for dinner in Redfern. Afterwards, the registered nurse caught the train from Central Station at 8:48pm, and arrived at Blacktown station just before 10pm. Usually, Anita would call her father at the station and he would pick her up, but this night all the surrounding pay phones happened to be out of order. There were also no taxis available at the taxi rank. It was a beautiful, clear night and Anita decided to walk home. It ...
Sep 23, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 63
It’s early 2016 when a description of American woman Amy Allwine is posted to the Dark Web: “She’s about five foot six, she looks about 200 pounds. She should be driving a dark green Toyota Sienna Minivan.This bitch has torn my family apart by sleeping with my husband (who then left me), and is stealing clients from my business. I want her dead.” This post was in fact a call-out for someone to murder Amy Allwine, and be paid 13 Bitcoin (approximately $190,000) in return. But Amy hadn’t slept wit...
Sep 16, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 62
It’s 1974 in the suburb of Hamilton, which is about four kilometres from the heart of Newcastle. The area is an idyllic backdrop for an Australian childhood, surrounded by incredible natural beauty, with lush bushland and sprawling beaches. Many of the working class families in the suburbs of Newcastle are Catholic. Catholics belong to a parish, which has a church and a local priest. The Catholic schools in the area promise to propel students into the professional classes. Maybe they’d grow up a...
Sep 09, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 61
It’s 1978 in the Californian city of Stockton. Bob and Gay Hardwick, a couple in their twenties, are asleep in the early hours of the morning. Suddenly, they’re awoken by a bright light shining in their faces. A man is standing at the edge of their bed holding a gun, with a black ski mask covering his face. Over several hours, Gay Hardwick is sexually assaulted by the armed intruder, while Bob is tied up, unable to move. The man behind the mask would come to be known as the East Area Rapist, or ...
Sep 02, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 60
It’s July 2018 when Detective Gary Jubelin stands in front of microphones and news cameras and says the words: “I suggest you come to us before we come to you.” He is addressing the person who knows what happened to three-year-old William Tyrrell on September 12, 2014. Little did Gary know that this case would be the one to cost him his job, but as he tells host Jessie Stephens on the latest episode of True Crime Conversations, he has no regrets. Gary Jubelin is one of Australia’s most notable h...
Aug 26, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 59
When it comes to violent crime, can what happened to someone as a child, ever justify their actions as an adult? In today’s episode, Jessie is speaking with a journalist, screenwriter, and author Mark Dapin. In his book, Public Enemies Mark explores the lives of armed robbers Russell 'Mad Dog' Cox and Ray Denning. In the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, armed robbers were the top of the criminal food chain. And Russell ‘Mad Dog’ Cox and Ray Denning were the best. Cox and Denning were once Australian Public ...
Aug 19, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 58
It was Saturday morning, when a routine police patrol drove past a mostly empty car park in the remote Queensland town of Mount Isa. When police edged closer, they saw that it was the body of a young woman, who they’d later discovered was named Patricia Carlton. She’d been brutally beaten and sexually assaulted. The woman was rushed to hospital, but later that night Patricia would die of her injuries. Following Patricia’s murder, the police made an arrest almost immediately. But what happens whe...
Aug 12, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 61
In today’s episode of True Crime Conversations Jessie speaks with Julia Robson. Julia is a private investigator, who spent 7 years on the trail of a New Zealand con man, who goes by the name of ‘Charlie’, who was scamming women online, promising them a better life, coercing them into relationships and even having children with them. In her seven-part podcast ‘Chasing Charlie’ Julia speaks with the women who have been psychologically and financially abused by this man, and explains the trap she m...
Aug 05, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 60
When Jose Martinez’s sister was murdered, he got revenge by murdering her killers. This sparked what would end up being three dozen murders, he completed over more than three decades, many of them on behalf of drug cartels, as a hitman. Despite being a ruthless killer, Jose is described as a soft-spoken doting grandfather and complete family man. In today’s episode, Jessie speaks with Jessica Garrison. Jessica is a senior investigative editor for Buzzfeed News and spent more than a decade as a r...
Jul 29, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 59
In December 2017, Larrimah local Paddy Moriarty left his favourite pub and embarked on the two minute ride home, with his kelpie Kellie sitting beside him on his quad bike. And then, he disappeared into thin air. Along with Kellie. Larrimah is a small town in the Northern Territory located 431 kilometers from Darwin and the nearest grocery store is 90 kilometres away. This tiny town only has a population of 10 people, so when Paddy disappeared it was big news. In this episode Jessie speaks with ...
Jul 22, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 58
In this episode, Jessie speaks with one of Queensland’s most highly regarded police officers, Keith Banks, about his experiences as an undercover operative in the 1980’s. At 16 years old Keith traveled from Townsville to study at Brisbane’s Police Academy and by the time he was 21, the young, straight-laced country boy was risking his life to infiltrate some of Australia’s most dangerous drug syndicates. To hide his identity Keith often became involved in the exact crimes he was hired to uncover...
Jul 15, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Peter Foster is one of Australia's most prolific career criminals. From diet products to sports betting companies, this con man stops at nothing. His crimes have found him with links to Muhammad Ali and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. And he also appeared on Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope. In this episode Jessie speaks with Justin Armsden, an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of experience in print and broadcast. He has worked as an anchor for CNN and an investigative reporter for A Current...
Jul 08, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Tara Costigan was a hard working mum, friend, close with her family and liked by those who she met. She was also killed by her partner one week after giving birth to their daughter. In this episode we speak with Heidi Lemon, that author of The First Time He Hit Her: the shocking true story of the murder of Tara Costigan, the woman next door. Heidi spent the past few years devoted to writing the book, and worked closely with the Costigan family during the project. Tara’s story is devastating. It ...
Jul 01, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Kathleen Folbigg is thought to be one of the most infamous serial killing women in Australia. She was found guilty of the murder of her three infant children, Patrick aged eight months, Sarah aged 10 months and Laura aged 19 months, between 1989 and 1999. She was also convicted of the manslaughter of her first child Caleb in 1989. The main evidence used against Kathleen were her personal diary entries, however there was very little physical forensic evidence to support the prosecution's case aga...
Jun 24, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 54
In the 1980s, a brochure was printed across the world, for an idyllic holiday resort called Arous. It was a diving resort on the Red Sea, in the Sudanese desert. The brochure featured pictures of chalets on a bright beach, the sea almost the same colour as the sky But what guests of the resort didn’t know was that Arous wasn’t really a holiday resort. At least not primarily. And the staff weren’t really managers, or diving instructors, or waitresses. Once the sun went down, those who worked at t...
Jun 17, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this episode contains the names of people who have passed away. In 1988 the death of Mark Haines just outside of Tamworth in regional NSW was barely investigated by local police. The 17-year-old’s body was found on train tracks outside of town, but law enforcement treated his death as less than suspicious. You have only to pull on the threads of the case to find that the truth could be very far from that. Allan Clarke is a Muruwa...
Jun 10, 2020•47 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Jeffrey Epstein was a financier of global influence and moved in powerful social circles. He was also an alleged child sex trafficker, a convicted criminal who served time for soliciting a prostitute; an underage child in 2008. Epstein was arrested again in July of 2019 on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking. While he awaited trial he was found dead in his jail cell on August 10th 2019. Diane Dimond is an award winning investigative journalist, author and syndi...
Jun 03, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Jim Jones was a charismatic pastor, preaching of salvation and a bountiful life for all those who followed him. He also was the man responsible for one of the largest incidences of loss of human life in modern American history. Author and podcaster Jo Thornely has researched Jim Jones and his cult of followers for her book Zealot. She joins us for this episode to explain Jones’ psychology, the power of his charisma, and the terrible chain of events that lead to the deaths of more than 900 people...
May 27, 2020•38 min•Season 1Ep. 50
In the second episode of our two part series on the life and crimes of serial killers David and Catherine Birnie, we examine the crimes the pair carried out. Journalist and author Andrew Byrne explores further the motivations and machinations of the Birnie’s utterly maniacal and evil crimes. As Andrew is still working on his book he asks that if you or anyone you know has any information on the Birnies to contact him via his LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkbyrne/ You can hear...
May 20, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 49
In November 1986, police visited a quiet residence on a suburban Perth street. The occupants of that house, lifelong lovers David and Catherine Birnie were arrested soon after. That house will be forever synonymous with five unimaginable crimes, known to history as the Moorhouse Murders. Catherine will never be released from jail. She is only the third woman in Australian history to be given this sentence Andrew Byrne is an acclaimed journalist and author. He reported on the Birnies for a televi...
May 13, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 48
