When Rachel Barber failed to return home from dance practice one evening in 1999, her family reported her missing and launched a desperate search. They plastered Melbourne with over 2,000 posters, hoping for any news of her whereabouts. After days of searching, their hopes shattered on day 12 when they learned Rachel had been murdered. Her killer was a 19-year-old former babysitter and family friend who had been consumed by jealousy and obsession with Rachel, stalking her for years. Criminal cou...
Sep 25, 2024•51 min
From solving cold-cases to putting multiple serial-killers behind bars, Matt Murphy is one of America’s top homicide prosecutors. Many of his cases are known as some of America’s biggest crimes that have made headlines worldwide, including the Dirty John case that became a global media phenomenon. In this episode, we dive deep into the cold-case of Cathy Torrez that Matt successfully prosecuted, as well as what makes a serial killer different from a “one-off” murderer, and the dangers of online ...
Sep 18, 2024•39 min
From domestic violence to murder, sexual assaults, and abuse against children, former Australian detective, Luke Taylor, has sadly seen it all. But after struggling with his mental health from the job, one murder was the final catalyst for Luke's retirement: an attack on an unsuspecting nurse, killed by her very own family. Luke Taylor has since founded Crime Story Australia, hosting workshops where school students recreate crime scenes to learn how to problem solve and analyse crimes. THE END B...
Sep 11, 2024•42 min
Brent is a former police officer who has done extensive work investigating sex crimes, which led him to become one of Australia’s top experts on the methods and psychology of rapists. For the last 30 years, he has dedicated his career to sex crime education, teaching over one million people about sex crimes and how to protect yourself from a dangerous situation. When he's not teaching students, Brent hosts his own podcast, Crime Insiders. He's also the author of ‘ How Dangerous Men Think: And Ho...
Sep 04, 2024•58 min
Ever since the mysterious death of Boston Policeman John O’Keefe, during a snowy night in 2022, the small town where he died has been divided. There are two very distinct camps. Was John killed by those at a house party, inside a house full of police and law enforcement, who then proceeded to cover up his murder? Or did his girlfriend Karen Read kill him with her car, before he even made it through the front door? The case has since snowballed into an international debate fueled by both The Free...
Aug 28, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 34
The bodies of Danny, Jayne, Mark and Ruth were found two days after their final shift at Burger Chef in late 1978, 20 miles away in a rural field. They’d been shot, stabbed and bashed - each of their murders telling its own devastating tale of the teenagers' last terrifying moments alive. Their deaths shocked their small tight-knit community and now, 40 years later, two Australian filmmakers are searching for answers. THE END BITS Subscribe to Mamamia Find out more about Mamamia's charity partne...
Aug 21, 2024•31 min•Season 4Ep. 33
In 1984, Margaret Tapp and her nine-year-old daughter Seana were found dead in their beds, still in their nightgowns. The killer surely strangled Margaret first. It's inconceivable she would not have fought to save her little girl. 9-year-old Seana died the same way, except she was raped first. Journalist and author of Life & Crimes, Andrew Rule covered the story when it first broke in the 1980s and now years later, he's adamant that reporters and police sometimes get it wrong - including hi...
Aug 14, 2024•35 min•Season 4Ep. 32
In 1994, the body of 26-year-old Anthea Bradshaw was found on the floor of the apartment her husband Jeff Hall was living in just three months after their wedding day. So why did it take four years after her death for Anthea's family to find out that her husband was not only an official suspect - but the only suspect - in her murder? Nine Senior Reporter Ben Avery is on a mission to uncover what really happened to the Adelaide teacher, in a new podcast called The Anthea Bradshaw mystery. THE END...
Aug 07, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 31
Thomas Crooks managed to send eight bullets flying in 26 seconds, before he was shot dead by secret service agents. He missed his target Donald Trump, but managed to draw blood - grazing the former president’s right ear with a bullet. Now, as more details emerge, Host of ABC podcast If You're Listening? Matt Bevan joins us to delve into the details of the crime, the shooter, and the aftermath that we might have missed. THE END BITS Subscribe to Mamamia For more on Trump, the assassination attemp...
Jul 31, 2024•43 min•Season 4Ep. 30
On December 12, 2022, Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were killed in the line of duty. A neighbour, Alan Dare, also died that day. As did the three people who were firing at them. But there are still many unanswered questions from that night, which will be examined when an inquest gets underway at the end of this month. 9News presenter and host of podcast The Ultimate Sacrifice, Melissa Downes, joins us to discuss the deadliest shooting in Queensland Police history. THE END BITS Subs...
Jul 24, 2024•38 min•Season 4Ep. 29
The Wonnangatta Valley is the perfect place for anyone hiding a secret, or anyone who doesn’t want to be found. The perfect place to have an affair. But also, the perfect place to get away with murder. Over the years, several people have gone missing there, never to be found again, and that very nearly happened to 74-year-old Russell Hill and 73-year-old Carol Clay. But thanks to some careful police work, detectives were able to track down a man named Greg Lynn. And with his trial just concluded...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 28
In March 2021, Sarah Everard’s body was found in a stream in Kent, wrapped in a bag. The 33-year-old had been raped and murdered after being abducted off the street in London’s south. But Sarah wasn’t dragged away kicking and screaming. She went willingly with her captor because - as a serving police officer - he pretended to arrested her. We speak to LBC journalist Henry Riley to revisit this crime, the impact it had on us and the changes that have been made since. THE END BITS Subscribe to Mam...
Jul 10, 2024•44 min•Season 4Ep. 27
When Ida Stutzman perished in a barn fire on a warm summer night in 1977, her husband Eli’s side of the story didn’t add up from the start. But the Stutzmans were part of the Amish community. The very nature of their insular world meant the suspicious nature of Ida’s death went unspoken for many years. They rarely talk to outsiders, which is why author Greg Olsen had his work cut out for him when penning his latest book The Amish Wife. But slowly, with the help of his researcher Robin Lassen, a ...
Jul 03, 2024•49 min•Season 4Ep. 26
The disappearance of Bronwyn Winfield was barely covered by the media in 1993. It took 11 days for her husband Jon Winfield to report her as missing after that Sunday night. Very little was done in the way of a police investigation in those early days, in fact it would be years until her case was actually taken seriously. A coronial inquest nearly a decade later determined that Bronwyn had likely been murdered. It went as far as recommending Jon be prosecuted - but that never happened. Hedley Th...
Jun 26, 2024•57 min•Season 4Ep. 25
What a 15-year-old student unleashed on Oxford High School in 2021, didn’t just land himself in prison, he took his mother and father down with him. Jennifer and James Crumbley became the first parents convicted in a US mass shooting, each receiving at least 10 years in prison. Speaking with Sins of the Child podcast creators Jessica Lowther and Cooper Moll, we aim to unpick some of the most complex questions within this story about community, school responsibility and the role parents have in t...
Jun 19, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 24
It’s been six years today since the rape and murder of 22-year-old comedian Eurydice Dixon as she was walking home in Melbourne. Six years since her boyfriend, Tony, and her family learnt the horrendous details of her death. Six years since Australia erupted with anger at the circumstances surrounding her murder. Our guest Sarah Krasnostein is a criminal law expert and award-winning author of The Trauma Cleaner , The Believer and the Quarterly Essay Not Waving, Drowning: Mental Illness and Vulne...
Jun 12, 2024•45 min•Season 4Ep. 23
As police arrive at an ordinary suburban home to find a mother dead, a father seriously injured, three people on the run and a terrified Jennifer Pan, they soon discover that something doesn't seem right. Was the 24-year-old really the Olympic-caliber figure skater, award-winning pianist and straight-A student she had led her parents to believe? Or was she a high school drop out who had hired hitmen to brutally carry out their murder? Ahead of a controversial retrial, House of Mystery Radio Show...
Jun 05, 2024•40 min•Season 4Ep. 22
When Kirra-Lea McLoughlin died on a property near Gympie, Queensland, law enforcement and medical examiners were baffled. Kirra’s former partner would claim she went to sleep after a fight and simply didn’t wake up. Family said there had been a party at the property the night before, but neighbours disputed that. Kirra’s body had 105 signs of bruising, and there was a 12 hour period where emergency services weren’t contacted about her rapidly declining state. Former police officer Jamie Pultz me...
May 29, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 21
On July 5th, 2018 Jennifer and Jack Edwards were murdered in their home on Hull Street in the Sydney suburb of West Pennant Hills. Their mother Olga Edwards returned from work that day to a wall of lights and sirens in front of her home. Police wouldn't let her inside, but she knew almost instantly who was responsible for whatever evil had happened inside her house. She knew there was only one reason police would be at her doorstep. “It’s my husband,” she told police. “It’s my husband. We have t...
May 22, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Tara Costigan was murdered in 2015, one day after taking out a DVO on her ex-partner Marcus Rappel. The day he laid a finger on her was the day he murdered her. Before that the abuse had been verbal. Emotional. Tara did everything ‘right’. She followed advice and took steps in the system designed to protect her, even though she was nervous about how he might react. And then she died, in the most horrendous of ways, while cradling her one-week-old daughter. Her murder changed the fabric of Canber...
May 15, 2024•35 min•Season 4Ep. 19
In 2014, 11-year-old Luke Batty was murdered by his father at Tyabb cricket ground on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The following year a coroner ruled that no one could have predicted that Luke would be killed by his father, but the inquest did point out several gaps in the family violence system in the lead-up to his death. Ten years on, Luke's mother Rosie remains on the frontline campaigning for change. THE END BITS Subscribe to Mamamia Find out more about Mamamia's charity partner RizeUp ...
May 08, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 18
This month, we’re doing things differently. Over the next few weeks well be revisiting stories from our archives to highlight crimes involving male violence against women in Australia because right now the rate at which we are losing women is alarming and terrifying. But first, we wanted to talk to someone who lives and breathes violence against women every single day. Sherele Moody is a journalist and the founder of The Red Heart Campaign and the Australian Femicide Watch. She has created a mov...
May 01, 2024•43 min•Season 4Ep. 17
In May 1999, two detectives followed a trail of suspicious missing persons cases to an old, red-brick bank in Snowtown, South Australia. As they head inside, they head straight for the bank’s vault where they find six large plastic barrels containing human remains. They also find handcuffs, knives, a saw, boxes of disposable gloves and bottles of hydrochloric acid. They’d come to realise they'd found the dumping grounds of Australia’s worst serial killings, crimes that would see four men sent to...
Apr 24, 2024•53 min•Season 4Ep. 16
In May 2016, police arrived at a farmhouse in Hillier, north of Adelaide. The scene that awaited them was horrifying beyond words. Stephen Graham Peet had just murdered three people. The bodies of his girlfriend, Adeline Yvette Rigney-Wilson, and her two young children were inside. But as his crimes unravelled in court, something became clear. Those two little kids shouldn’t have died. Their deaths, at least, were preventable. It was a series of failures from government agencies designed to prot...
Apr 17, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 15
On September 12, 1996, Keli Lane gave birth to a baby girl at Auburn Hospital in western Sydney. Two days later that baby seemingly disappeared. After years of investigation, Keli was convicted of her daughter's murder in 2010 and sentenced to 18 years behind bars. But did they get it wrong? Keli Lane’s story has been compared to the wrongful conviction of Lindy Chamberlain. It’s been pulled apart and analysed for years. So is she a baby killer? Or is she a woman, misunderstood. THE END BITS Sub...
Apr 10, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 14
To the outside world, Dorothea Puente presented herself as a kind grandmotherly figure who cared for the disabled and vulnerable residents of her boarding house in downtown Sacramento. But behind closed doors, nothing was as it seemed… Not only was she stealing the money of her tenant, but she was also a serial killer. Allegedly murdering up to nine people. In today's episode, we explore the crimes of the ‘Death House landlady’ who even after she was convicted managed to win over people with her...
Apr 03, 2024•47 min•Season 4Ep. 13
John Wayne Gacy is one of the worst serial killers in American history, murdering at least 33 teenage boys and men in the late 1970s. He was executed by lethal injection in 1994, but many are confident he killed even more victims than the ones he admitted to, and took plenty more secrets to the grave. THE END BITS Subscribe to Mamamia Want to try our new exercise app? Click here to start a seven-day free trial of MOVE by Mamamia. CREDITS Guest: Karen Conti. You can find out more about her book K...
Mar 27, 2024•46 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Ruby Franke and her husband Kevin started posting their family online in 2015 under the pseudonym 8 Passengers . Things like birthday parties, grocery hauls, tips on getting toddlers to sleep through the night, and Sunday baking. It was an all-access pass inside their lives, and people loved it. But over the years, the criticism grew about the way Ruby and Kevin were choosing to discipline their kids. Fast forward to 2024, and Ruby and her business partner Jodie Hildebrandt were both charged wit...
Mar 20, 2024•59 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Holly Deane-Johns grew up in a wealthy area of Perth. When her family’s real estate business went bust, her mother started a successful escort agency to keep their lavish lifestyle intact. But her parent’s relationship was abusive, and when they finally split Holly’s mum met someone new that changed everything. Simon was a heroin addict. Pretty soon her mother was too, and the family’s comfortable lifestyle collapsed as addiction took over. It didn’t take long for Holly and her siblings to also ...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 10
In April, 1998, Arlene Fraser disappeared from her home in Elgin, north-east Scotland. On a seemingly normal Tuesday morning, the 33-year-old waved her two children off to school and was never seen again. Arlene’s disappearance sparked the biggest missing person search in Scotland’s history. To this day her body has never been found. THE END BITS Subscribe to Mamamia Want to try our new exercise app? Click here to start a seven-day free trial of MOVE by Mamamia. CREDITS Guest: Dale Haslam host o...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 9
