True Crime Conversations

Katherine Knight, Sarah Makin, Caroline Grills, Catherine Birnie, Helen Moore, and Rachel Pfitzner are among the most notorious female killers in Australian history. But what compels a woman to take a life, whether it’s someone close to her or, more rarely, a stranger?

Dr Xanthe Weston, a criminal psychologist, has long been driven by this very question. Drawing on years of research into cases like these, she joins us today to explore what she’s discovered - why women’s motives for killing often differ from men’s, and whether some perpetrators are inherently predisposed to violence...

In 1984, Terry Ferguson was approached in a busy Florida mall by a charming photographer with an Australian accent. He promised her stardom; instead, she became a victim of Christopher Wilder, the notorious "Beauty Queen Killer."

While Wilder’s confirmed body count sits around 11, new evidence suggests a much darker reality: a trail of over 30 victims stretching from Australia to America. 

Today, we explore Wilder’s predatory tactics, his transition from serial to spree killer, and his potential connection to Australia’s infamous, unsolved Wanda Beach murders.

LINKS

Listen to the Catching Evil po...

In 2007, a family of three and their friend vanished from their secluded home in Nannup, Western Australia, leaving only a cryptic note claiming they had moved to Brazil. They never arrived.

As investigators delved into the lives of Chantelle McDougall, her partner Simon Cadwell, their daughter Leela, and friend Tony Popic, they uncovered a web of doomsday prepping and cult-like spiritual beliefs.

Was this a voluntary disappearance to a "higher plane," or something far more sinister?

LINKS

Listen to Expanse: The Nannup Four here. 

If any of the contents i...

Her life changed forever when her five-year-old daughter, Rose, bravely spoke up about a trusted family friend sexually assaulting her. 

That moment led Michelle to discover that both of her daughters had endured abuse for years, and it marked the start of the family’s journey toward justice and healing.

In this episode, Michelle shares how she and her daughters, Pippa and Rose, navigated their challenges together, supported by their older sister Maggie and their father. Now adults, Pippa and Rose are using their voices to drive positive change in the way child victims are tre...

Some women dream of launching a career before 25. Some dream of owning their first home. Jemma Lilley had a different goal: she wanted to kill someone before her 25th birthday, but she knew she couldn't do it alone. 

Obsessed with serial killers and violent fantasy, Lilley set her sights on turning desire into reality. She found an accomplice in Trudi Lenon, an impressionable single mother whom she gradually drew into her world of fixation and planning. Together, they searched for what they chillingly described as the “perfect victim.” They chose 18-year-old Aaron Pajich-Sweetman, a vulnerable teenager who was a...

In June 2016, Karen Ristevski vanished from her home. Her husband, Borce, told their daughter she had gone for a walk and never returned. For months, police and family searched in vain.

Then, in February 2017, hikers stumbled upon her skeletal remains in a quiet nature reserve. Police pieced together CCTV footage and phone records, leading to Borce’s arrest. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2019, after prosecutors were unable to prove intent.

Now, 7NEWS Investigations Editor Alison Sandy is digging deeper, not just into Karen’s case, but into a disturbing pattern: women whose deaths could have...

Darryl Gardiner grew up in a home ruled by unimaginable violence... and it almost destroyed him.

Witnessing and experiencing abuse from a terrifyingly young age, he followed the same path, becoming a violent man himself. But Darryl broke the cycle.

Now a father, clinician, and founder of programs helping men and women escape abuse, Darryl shares a raw, unflinching story of accountability, redemption, and what it truly takes to stop the cycle of violence.

Find out more about Rolling With The Punches at www.rollingwiththepunches.com.au

CREDITS 

Guest: D...

In October 1976, 16-year-old Trenny Gibson boarded a school bus in Knoxville, Tennessee, expecting a routine day. Instead, her horticulture class was taken on a rainy hike into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park without warning.

Unprepared and uneasy, Trenny borrowed a jacket from a fellow student. By mid-afternoon, she was gone. One moment she was on the trail, the next she had vanished. Nearly 50 years later, her disappearance remains unsolved. Questions linger about suspicious behaviour, missing evidence, and why the case quietly faded from view.

In this episode, we speak with podcast hosts Tim Pilleri...

In May 2019, 25-year-old Courtney Herron was murdered after a night out in Melbourne’s CBD. What happened next would ignite national outrage and raise disturbing questions about justice in Australia.

In this episode, Courtney’s father, John Herron, speaks about the daughter he loved deeply, her generosity, humour, and instinctive kindness, and the night she crossed paths with the man who killed her. He lays bare the failures he witnessed inside the justice and mental health systems, and explains why, as both a grieving father and a lawyer, he believes Courtney was denied justice.

You can...

The case of Jodi Arias, the woman who murdered her former lover, Travis Alexander, in 2008, captivated audiences around the world. When the trial began in 2013, media coverage intensified, driven by a disturbing question: what could compel a young, attractive woman to kill so violently? To shoot, stab, and nearly decapitate a man she claimed to have loved?

These are just some of the questions journalist Briana Whitney set out to explore in her True Crime Arizona documentary, Obsessed: Unravelling Jodi Arias.

Whitney has even been in direct contact with Arias herself, who continues to blog...

Two 15-year-olds vanish after heading to a disco in Wollongong.

An 18-year-old Belgian backpacker disappears after a night out in Byron Bay.

A 20-year-old Navy recruit vanishes from a casino lobby in a matter of minutes.

These are just a few of Australia’s missing persons cases you may never have heard of. Each year, more than 56,000 people are reported missing across the country. Most are found. But over 2,500 remain missing long-term, their names and stories slowly fading from public memory.

Nicole Morris, Director of the Australian Missing Persons Register and au...

Who would try to hire a hitman to kill an innocent young girl? 

In early 2021, Riley ended a relationship with a man she had been in a year-long online relationship with after she alleges he assaulted her. Despite the breakup, he continued to message her relentlessly. 

Instead of backing down, Scott escalated his feelings of anger, turning to the dark web. He paid $19,000 AUD to hire a hitman to kill her.

The reality of the plot became clear when police knocked on the door of Riley’s family home. It was her mother, Jami...

On September 7, 1971, at a remote farmhouse 40 kilometres south of Adelaide, Clifford Bartholomew killed 10 people. His wife, his seven children, his sister-in-law and her 19-month-old son. He shot them all dead.

He was sentenced to death, but because of changes to the law, he wasn’t killed. Instead, he was re-sentenced to life in prison and managed to serve just eight years before being released on parole.

He changed his name, his identity and created an entirely new family who knew nothing about his previous life or his crimes… until now.

THE END BITS 

On a summer evening in January 1983, 10-year-old Louise Bell went missing from her bedroom in Adelaide's Hackham West. 

It was a case that horrified Australia, as every parent's worst nightmare became reality for the Bell family. How could a young girl tucked up in her bed in a safe, suburban neighbourhood just go missing in the middle of the night? 

It would take 30 years, and advances in DNA technology, to find out who was responsible for the disappearance of Louise Bell. 

Supporting audio supplied by ABC South Australia.

CREDITS

Gue...

In 1992, career criminal Peter Gibb met prison guard Heather Parker while serving a 12-year sentence at the Melbourne Remand Centre. Heather claimed she didn’t notice Peter at first, but she quickly became smitten, and their relationship developed from flirtatious to physical.

When their affair was exposed, Heather was immediately transferred, with communication between the two forbidden. But they couldn’t be stopped, and with the help of another inmate acting as their middleman, the pair hatched a plan to break Peter out of prison.

Their escape sparked one of Australia's largest criminal pursuits and saw...

Brenden Abbott, known as The Postcard Bandit, is one of Australia’s most notorious bank robbers and prison escapees. He's the guy who developed the “drop-in heist,” hiding in a bank’s ceiling overnight and dropping down as staff opened the vault. 

Abbott continued a crime spree across Western Australia, South Australia, and Queensland, robbing banks and avoiding police. Reports claimed he sent postcards to authorities while on the run, earning his infamous nickname.

Today, he remains in Casuarina Prison, having spent more time in solitary confinement than most inmates and serving longer than many murderers...

On New Year’s Day 1993, Perth woman Michelle Steck, 24, packed her bags and left her abusive four-year relationship with her violent partner’s words ringing in her ears. “You’re going to pay for your actions for a very long time,” spat Kevin East, 34.

Listen to the full story, with writer Megan Norris, at the link here. 

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If you have any details about this case, you can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or on their website.

CREDITS

Guest: Michelle Steck

Host: Claire...

For nearly half a century, Australia was engaged in a shameful and shocking practice that would tear babies from the arms of their mothers, sometimes before they ever even laid eyes on their precious little faces.

Today, Amelia Oberhart shares with us the journey of her discoveries about her mother’s life before she was born in her podcast, Secrets We Keep,  Shame, Lies and Family…and in the process of unveiling her own story, found the buried stories of women whose numbers will shock you. 

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John Killick is one of Australia's most infamous criminals. Why? Because in 1999, he escaped from Sydney’s Silverwater Correctional Complex on a helicopter. 

Killick was on remand for armed robbery, and his girlfriend at the time, Lucy Dudko, hijacked a helicopter, landed it in the prison, and flew him out. 

In this episode, we speak with John Killick himself about his life of crimes, his days of reform now and that fateful day when he was broken out of prison on a helicopter. 

You can read The Last Escape by John Killick, here and M...

On March 17, 2015, 17-year-old Masa Vukotic left her Doncaster home for an evening walk through her local park, a routine she had followed countless times.

That night, her boyfriend, Timothy Draper, did not receive a goodnight text from Masa. By morning, police were at his door with devastating news: Masa had been brutally stabbed 49 times in Koonung Creek Linear Reserve, her screams having been heard by neighbours who called emergency services.

The man responsible, Sean Price—a previous offender out on bail—would go on to continue a spree of violence before eventually surrendering to police.

“Iron Mike” Malloy survived not one, not two, but more than nine attempts on his life before he finally met his end. Malloy became the target of a group of acquaintances later dubbed the “Murder Trust,” who conspired to kill him for insurance money. What followed remains one of the most astonishing strings of failed murder attempts in history.

The conspirators served him cocktails laced with poison, swapped in antifreeze, turpentine, and even rat poison—none of which seemed to affect him at all. When that failed, they tried abandoning him in a snowbank to freeze, and later even...

On July 15, 1976, a school bus carrying 26 children and their beloved driver, Ed Ray, left Chowchilla, California, after a hot day at summer school and never made it home.

Blocked by a mysterious white van, the bus was hijacked by armed, masked men and driven into a hidden slough, where the victims were transferred into dark, soundproofed vans. Over the next 16 hours, they would endure an ordeal that left lasting scars: being buried alive.

In this episode, we speak to Fox News Senior Correspondent Claudia Cowan, host of Nightmare in Chowchilla, to unpack the chilling ransom p...

If two teenage girls went missing today, would police just assume they’d run away from home? That assumption is why two Australian teenagers, Elaine Johnson and Kerry Anne Joel, have never been found.

Elaine was 16, Kerry was 17, living a carefree 80s life in The Shire, south of Sydney. The girls were seen hitchhiking on the Princes Highway, but by the weekend, they were gone. No calls. No sightings. Years later, the families uncovered police oversights, lost documents, and a cold case that never should’ve gone cold.

Journalist and podcast host Kate Kachor is retr...

Sixteen-year-old Timothy “Jack” McCoy spent Christmas 1971 with his relatives in Michigan, leaving on January 2, 1972, to return home to Nebraska. After arriving in Chicago for a bus connection, he met a man who offered him food and a tour of the city. Timothy accepted, but he would never be seen alive again. Fourteen years later, his family learned he had been the first known victim of John Wayne Gacy, the infamous “Killer Clown.”

Through the accounts of survivors and families, The Devil in Disguise series uncovers Gacy’s horrifying legacy and the failures that allowed his killing spree to continue...

On the morning of August 3rd, 1998, Melbourne businessman John Furlan followed his usual routine: coffee, newspaper, and off to work at his Coburg auto salvage yard. But at 8:45 AM, his white Subaru Liberty exploded on Lorenson Street, a blast so powerful it was felt five kilometres away. Windows shattered, cars burned, yet Furlan was the only fatality.

Police soon confirmed it wasn’t a gas explosion... it was a car bomb. But who planted it, and why?

Crime journalist Adam Shand speaks about the unsolved car bombing of John Furlan, its links to Melbourne’s under...

She was once called "Australia’s worst female serial killer." Kathleen Folbigg spent 20 years imprisoned for the deaths of her four children, convicted by a flawed system. In 2023, science proved she was innocent, leading to an immediate pardon and release.

In this deeply personal interview, Kathleen speaks about the trauma of her long ordeal and the bittersweet reality of her freedom. She reveals what it was like to be suddenly released, the pain of seeing her private diaries weaponised, and the enduring grief of belonging to the "unfortunate club of the childless mum."

This is a p...

On September 8, 1960, Psycho shocked cinema audiences with a level of psychological horror never seen before. But Psycho wasn’t pure fiction. It was inspired by the gruesome true story of Ed Gein, the real-life Butcher of Plainfield.

When police raided Gein’s Wisconsin farmhouse in 1957, they uncovered a macabre scene: human remains crafted into lampshades, furniture, and clothing. These discoveries stunned the nation and sparked a media frenzy that would influence generations of horror storytelling.

In this episode of True Crime Conversations, host Claire Murphy speaks with acclaimed true crime author Harold Schechter, whose book rema...

On January 15, 1974, 15-year-old Charlie Otero and his siblings came home in Wichita, Kansas, to find their family murdered - the first known victims of the BTK killer: Bind, Torture, Kill.

Dennis Rader, a father, church leader, and city worker, hid in plain sight while terrorising a community for decades. After years of taunting the police, he was finally caught in 2005. His daughter, Kerri Rawson, later shared her story.

In the new Netflix documentary My Father the BTK Killer, director Skye Borgman explores Kerri’s journey. She also directed Unknown Number, about Kendra Licari — the mother who...

Part criminal, part storyteller, and part myth. Mark “Chopper” Read is one of Australia’s most polarising figures. 

Today, we dive into the life and legacy of the man behind the legend. From a violent childhood and years in Pentridge Prison to bestselling books, stage shows, and the iconic film portrayal by Eric Bana, Chopper’s story is as chaotic as it is captivating. Was he a violent criminal, a folk hero, or just a master manipulator of his own narrative?

Journalist and author Mark Dapin, who once featured in a Chopper tale himself, joins us to expl...

On a summer night in Italy in 2007, the brutal murder of Meredith Kercher shocked the world. Her American flatmate Amanda Knox, and her new boyfriend Raffaele, were instantly thrust into an international legal saga that spanned years.

For the first time ever, True Crime Conversations host Claire Murphy joins The Spill's Laura Brodnik for a can't-miss crossover that dissects the new Disney+ series, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. Whether you're a true-crime devotee or an entertainment junkie, you need to hear this.

In this episode, we bring you the full forensic detail of the...

In October 2022, Samantha Stites was kidnapped and assaulted by a man who had stalked her for over a decade. After breaking into her Michigan home, he restrained her and took her to a soundproof bunker he had built inside a storage unit, where she was held captive for nearly 15 hours. 

Despite a previous protection order, the man’s harassment had only escalated over the years. His stalking included following Samantha, leaving unwanted gifts, and even tracking her movements, creating a terrifying and relentless ordeal that ultimately led to her kidnapping.

Samantha joins us on the pod...

What drives a teenager to become a killer?

In 2001, three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke was put to bed on a hot summer night on the NSW Central Coast. By morning, her bed was empty, the screen door wide open, and her nightie lay on the ground.

Police soon discovered Courtney hadn’t wandered off, she was abducted and murdered by her 13-year-old neighbour, Australia’s youngest convicted killer. He confessed it was practice for more killings.

After serving 22 years in prison, he’s now back in the community. 

So, how can someone so young c...

On a February morning in 2013, guests at the infamous Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles complained of brown, foul-tasting water. What the maintenance team discovered on the rooftop would spark a global internet frenzy - the body of 21-year-old Elisa Lam inside the hotel's water tank.

In the days leading up to her disappearance, Elisa was captured on the hotel’s elevator CCTV behaving erratically. The now-viral footage has since fuelled endless theories, speculation, and conspiracy. But for those who worked inside the walls of the Cecil, Elisa’s case wasn’t unusual. The hotel had a long, dark h...

When police raided the home of 48-year-old Garry Francis Newman in March 2007, they found him sitting in his lounge room, chatting online with a 14-year-old girl. She thought she was speaking to “Brandon,” a teenage American boy. In reality, Brandon was a carefully crafted fake identity Newman had used to lure girls online. Police would later uncover nearly 200 such identities.

One of those girls was Carly Ryan.

Newman lured Carly to a secluded beach, pretending to be Brandon, and brutally murdered her. 

What followed was every parent’s nightmare and one mother’s mission t...

You don’t expect to find two billionaires posed like mannequins by their own pool. 

But on December 15, 2017, realtor Elise Stern did just that when she entered Barry and Honey Sherman’s Toronto mansion. Honey was traveling, and Barry was at work, so Elise knew the couple wouldn’t be home.

As she showed potential buyers through the house, Elise pointed out quirky features, including life-size statues. When they reached the basement pool, she was shocked to see two figures hanging by their necks from the pool railing.

Realizing these were not statues, Elise c...

On October 19, 1997, Sally Leydon called her brother Owen to ask if their mum, Marion Barter—who was on a year-long trip overseas—had phoned for his birthday. When Owen said no, Sally felt uneasy. Marion never missed birthdays.

She’d last heard from her mum in August, calling from the UK. But it was the '90s—no constant contact, no photo trail. Marion had vanished.

Someone suggested checking her bank account. A bank employee paused when Sally mentioned Marion was overseas, saying that they were seeing large withdrawals from her account. 

That moment sp...

In October 2003, newlyweds Gabe and Tina Watson travelled from Alabama to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for their dream honeymoon. Just 11 days after their wedding, the couple prepared to dive the SS Yongala shipwreck, one of the world’s most famous dive sites. But within minutes of entering the water, Tina was pulled to the surface unconscious. Despite desperate attempts to save her, she could not be revived.

What began as a heartbreaking accident soon raised chilling questions. Why were Gabe’s stories inconsistent? And what really happened underwater that day?

In this episode, host Gemma B...

What began as a typical game day celebration for University of Idaho students would end in unimaginable horror on Saturday, November 12, 2022. 

Xana Kernodle, a marketing junior, spent the day with friends, including her boyfriend Ethan Chapin and housemates Dylan, Bethany, Kaylee and Maddie at their shared home on 1122 King Road. After parties and celebrations, the group returned home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

At around 4am, Dylan heard disturbing sounds. When she cracked her door open, Dylan saw a masked man with bushy eyebrows holding what looked like a vacuum cleaner. The next da...

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 prison with lengthy sentences. 

But now, one of these men, the young...

On a scorching summer day in Adelaide, January 26, 1966, the Beaumont children—Jane, Arnna and Grant—left for Glenelg Beach and never came home.

In a crowd of hundreds, they vanished without a trace, no evidence at all. Nearly 60 years on, the mystery still grips Australia, it's the cold case that can't go cold. 

Joining us are author Stuart Mullins and former detective Bill Hayes, who believe a man known as “The Satin Man” is responsible for their disappearance. 

Find out more about Stuart and Bill's book Unmasking the Killer of the Missing Beaumont Children he...