Australian True Crime

Latest Episodes:

The most unlikely drug runners you’ve probably never heard of Jun 12, 2022

Show notes

There’s stories that get under the skin of people, especially journalists. And this story you’re going to hear about is unbelievable. And most of us have probably never heard about it. Enter author Sandi Logan, a former journalist and diplomat who followed the case of two older American women Vera 'Toddie' Hays and Florice 'Beezie' Bessire - who were arrested in Australia in the 1970s for having almost 2 TONNES of hashish concealed in a camper van. He’s written a book called Betrayed: The incredible untold inside story of the two most unlikely drug-running grannies in Australian history that is the definitive story of this case.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Sandi Logan, author of Betrayed: The incredible untold inside story of the two most unlikely drug-running grannies in Australian history published by Hachette

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

Recorded at a Hub Australia Media Studio. Find the workspace that's right for you at https://www.hubaustralia.com/

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

Queensland's Crooked Kings Jun 05, 2022

Show notes

Matthew Condon is an Australian author and journalist who has published multiple books on the history of corruption in the Queensland police force and state government. Our conversation today covers the events that led up to, and following, the Fitzgerald enquiry, which lead to custodial sentences for three former senior QLD ministers, and for the police commissioner, Terry Lewis. Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the longest running QLD premiere, was also sacked and tried for perjury.

Matthew Condon is as fascinated today as he's ever been by Queensland's history of corruption, which really is the kind of thing you would think is over the top if it were in a movie, but it's all very, very true...

Matthew's books on Queensland corruption, collectively known as the Three Crooked Kings trilogy, can be viewed below:

Jacks and Jokers

Three Crooked Kings

All Fall Down

Matthew has a new podcast titled Dig: Sirens Are Coming, and he is also currently assisting on Hedley Thomas' new podcast The Teacher's Trial.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Matthew Condon

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

Additional audio taken from the Four Corners report, the "The Moonlight State".

Recorded at a Hub Australia Media Studio. Find the workspace that's right for you at https://www.hubaustralia.com/

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

The murder of Tiahleigh Palmer with Courier-Mail Crime and Courts Editor Kate Kyriacou May 29, 2022

Show notes

A lot of us will remember the haunting photo of beautiful 12-year-old Tiahleigh Palmer, who was murdered in 2015. However the path to the dark truth of what happened to Tiahleigh was long and shocking and not resolved until several years later.

Tiahleigh was living in foster care in Logan, Queensland with Rick and Julene Thorburn and their sons Trent and Joshua.

Kate Kyriacou, the Courier-Mail newspaper’s Crime and Courts Editor, has reported extensively on Tiahleigh’s death and the tragic full story that emerged. Kate became close with Tiahleigh’s mum Cindy Palmer, who waged her own social media efforts to find her daughter in the days after she disappeared.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Kate Kyriacou, Courier-Mail Crime & Courts Reporter and author of the book The Sting The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe's Killer.

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison - Louise Lynch May 22, 2022

Show notes

A NOTE FOR LISTENERS – This episode discusses the issue of deaths in custody of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Gamilaraay woman, Louise Lynch is the manager of Corrective Services NSW’s Aboriginal Strategy and Policy Unit. Louise first came to work in NSW prisons as a teacher more than 25 years ago and she’s dedicated her career to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in prison and, among many important initiatives, improving and embedding culturally appropriate training for staff in corrective services.

Louise tells us about the complexities of the justice system for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and how, and why, it looks very different for men and women.

Find out more about the work and employment opportunities in Corrective Services NSW here: https://correctiveservices.dcj.nsw.gov.au/ or at the service in your state.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Louise Lynch, Manager Aboriginal strategy and policy unit Corrective Services NSW

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

Thanks for listening, we’ll be back next week.

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

Cindy Gambino's passing with Megan Norris May 15, 2022

Show notes

Megan Norris spent several years with Cindy Gambino in the wake of the murders of her three sons by their father, her ex-husband Robert Farquharson on Father’s Day 2005. They were working together on a book called ‘On father’s Day’.

They remained close and Megan joins Emily Webb to reflect on Cindy’s tragic death and the ultimate form of family violence.

You can pre order Megan Norris's upcoming book 'Messiah's Bride' here.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Megan Norris

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

Archival audio used in this episode is from Channel 10 News

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

Thanks for listening, we’ll be back next week.

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

Vale Cindy Gambino - On Father's Day May 15, 2022

Show notes

It’s 17 years since Cindy Gambino’s ex-husband Robert Farquharson murdered their three sons, ten-year-old Jai, seven-year old Tyler and three-year old Bailey by deliberately driving his car into a dam on the side of the Princes highway, near Winchelsea, West of Geelong on father’s day in 2005.

Cindy Gambino died last week as the result of a medical emergency at her home in country Victoria. She was just 50 years old.

Journalist and author Megan Norris developed a close relationship with Cindy in the years after the boys’ deaths as they worked on a book together. The book is called On Father’s Day, and Megan was one of our first guests on Australian True Crime back in 2017. She joined us to talk about the extraordinary experience of writing that book.

You can pre order Megan Norris's upcoming book 'Messiah's Bride' here.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Megan Norris

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

Archival audio used in this episode is from Channel 10 News

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

Thanks for listening, we’ll be back next week.

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

The 1960 Crime That Shocked Then-Innocent Australia May 08, 2022

Show notes

Best-selling biographer and history author Peter FitzSimons has turned his attention to detailing the history of the Sydney Opera House - drama, scandals and even crimes. For this episode of Australian True Crime, Emily speaks to Peter about a crime linked with the Opera House and how it shocked the nation - the kidnapping and killing of Bondi schoolboy Graeme Thorne in 1960.

Peter’s book The Opera House is published by Hachette Australia.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Peter FitzSimons

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

Archival audio used in this episode is from https://www.nfsa.gov.au/

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

Thanks for listening, we’ll be back next week.

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

An Absolute Bastard May 01, 2022

Show notes

Lindy Cameron, journalist, award-winning author and publisher joins Meshel and Emily to talk about about Danny Deacon, who murdered his former partner Carlie Sinclair in Darwin.

Lindy’s co-written a book with her sister Fin J Ross called Toxic: Cold-blooded Australian murders full of Aussie cases of men, including Deacon (in a chapter called “An Absolute Bastard”) and women who kill.

Lindy's Book isToxic: Cold-blooded Australian murders full of Aussie cases of men and women who kill

NEXT WEEK

Australia’s favourite history author Peter Fitzsimons tells us about the Sydney Opera House’s sinister side and the crime that shocked the nation.

CREDITS:

Host:Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.

Guest: Guest name Lindy Cameron

Lindy is the publisher of Clan Destine Press

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

Thanks for listening, we’ll be back next week.

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

Women of Corrections - The Governor Faith Slatcher Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

Faith Slatcher is the Governor of Goulburn Correctional Complex in New South Wales but you’ll probably be more familiar with the part of this prison known as the Goulburn Supermax which manages high risk inmates including Australia’s “Pablo Escobar” Mostafa Baluch and Bassam Hamzy, boss of the violent crime gang Brothers 4 life. There’s also the never to be released inmates there like Malcolm George Baker who murdered seven people on NSW’s central coast in a spree killing in 1992 and Lindsay Robert Rose, killer of five people over a decade from 1984 to 1994.

So, does a corrections officer, particularly one so high up in the ranks as Faith, have to be as tough as the people she’s responsible for?

If listening to this episode has got you thinking about a career in corrections you can go to the Corrective Services NSW website or the corrections department in your state.

You might want to go back and listen to some of our previous episodes about life in prisons.

The Killing Fields: Inside Australia’s most evil prison

Prison Officer in Danger

Birds Eye View

Pentridge Confidential

Mr Ordinary Goes to Jail

Inside Australia’s Hardest Women’s Jails

Self-mutilator Gary David

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

Thanks for listening, we’ll be back next week.

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram here

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here

Guests: Faith Slatcher, Governor, Goulburn Correctional Complex

Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks

GET IN TOUCH:

Follow the show on Instagram & Facebook @australiantruecrimepodcast

Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au

Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.

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

Women of Corrections - The “Screw” - Angela Feeney Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

For this episode we meet Angela Feeney, a Corrections officer in NSW who's been in the job for 27 years. Angela has worked a lot with women inmates – it’s something she tells us she swore she’d never do.

Angela sheds light on life inside prison including the circumstances she’s seen on the job that break her heart and she also gives her honest opinion on how Meshel and Emily would go if they went to jail.

If listening to this episode has got you thinking about a career in corrections you can go to the Corrective Services NSW website or the corrections department in your state.

We spoke to Angela’s colleague Faith Slatcher, the Governor of Goulburn Correctional Complex in New South Wales which includes Goulburn Supermax - the highest security prison in Australia. LISTEN HERE

You might want to go back and listen to some of our previous episodes about life in prisons.

The Killing Fields: Inside Australia’s most evil prison

Prison Officer in Danger

Birds Eye View

Pentridge Confidential

Mr Ordinary Goes to Jail

Inside Australia’s Hardest Women’s Jails

Self-mutilator Gary David

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

Thanks for listening, we’ll be back next week.