July 5, 2025 • 34 mins
With Casefile on a short break, we thought this would be a great time to shine a light on some of the shows that may have flown under the radar for many of you. These are shows we've put our hearts into and are really proud of.
Today, we’re showcasing Troubled Waters – a powerful, deeply moving series that brings Louisa Ioannidis’s life and the unanswered questions surrounding her death into full focus. From an international kidnapping, a daring escape and a family’s desperate bid to stay together, it all unravels into a downward spiral exacerbated by a toxic relationship, all the while revealing flaws in a family violence support system that desperately needs fixing.
I hope you enjoy the series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today, we’re showcasing Troubled Waters – a powerful, deeply moving series that brings Louisa Ioannidis’s life and the unanswered questions surrounding her death into full focus. From an international kidnapping, a daring escape and a family’s desperate bid to stay together, it all unravels into a downward spiral exacerbated by a toxic relationship, all the while revealing flaws in a family violence support system that desperately needs fixing.
I hope you enjoy the series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A cast recommends Hello, this is blind By.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Around every two years or so, I'm contractually obligated to
record an advertisement for my own podcast, the blind By Podcast.
I'm a writer and I like to use the podcast
space for writing. I write with my mouth for you
to read with your ears. I write about curiosity, and
I've delivered an episode every week for the past eight years.
(00:25):
I love doing it. If you want to listen to
If you don't, I'm sure we'll be grand, but most importantly,
mind yourself. The blind By podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
A cast is home to the world's best podcast, including
Crime World, The Other Hand, and the one you're listening
to right now.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Hi, it's Casey here. There's not long now until case
Fall returns, with all new episodes dropping from July nineteen onwards.
In the meantime, you might have noticed something a little
different here on the case File feed. We've been releasing
the first episodes of some of the other series we
produce under the Case File Presents banner. The decision to
(01:09):
do this came after something surprising kept cropping up in
conversations I'd had with people at our recent live shows.
Many Case File listeners had no idea that we produce
other shows outside of Case File, and some had never
even heard of Case File Presents. The realization dawned on
me that if someone is a big enough supporter of
(01:30):
our show to come to a live event but hasn't
heard of our production company, then clearly we need to
do a better job of highlighting the other stories we've
put so much care and work into. For those who
don't know, case File Presents is our broader production platform.
While case File is our flagship show, we've also created
(01:51):
a number of other podcasts under the case File Presents banner.
Our level of involvement differs from project to project, but
we've played a direct role in all of them, whether
that's financing, research, editing, music, or production. I even narrate
a few of these shows myself. I first discovered the
(02:12):
work of private investigator Julia Robson when listening to her
hit podcast, Chasing Charlie, which was released in twenty twenty.
We connected some time after that, and during our chat,
Julia mentioned she'd been a longtime Case File listener, but
had no idea we were involved in producing other series
or that case File presence even existed. After listening to
(02:37):
Chasing Charlie. I knew Julia was exactly the type of
person I wanted to collaborate with, so I made sure
to let her know to reach out if she ever
had another story in the works. A few years later,
Julia did indeed reach out with troubled orders. In twenty eleven,
the body of twenty four year old Louisa Euanidas was
(02:59):
found in a suburban Melbourne creek, dressed in a pink
dressing gown. Louisa was a strong swimmer and the water
was shallow enough that she could have stood up even
if she wasn't. Regardless, the police quickly concluded that there
were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, and her story
barely made the news. But Louisa's brother Tass never accepted
(03:25):
that explanation, and more than a decade later, Julia Robson
and producer Claire mc grath embarked on a fresh investigation
into the case. What they uncovered is a gripping narrative
full of intrigue from an international kidnapping, a daring escape,
and a family's desperate bid to stay together. It all
(03:48):
unravels into a downward spiral exacerbated by a toxic relationship,
all the while revealing flaws in a family violent support
system that desperately needs fixing. Troubled Waters is a powerful,
deeply moving series that brings Louisa's life and the unanswered
questions surrounding her death into full focus. We're releasing episode
(04:13):
one here on the case filefeed. If you like what
you hear, you can find the rest of the series
by searching for Troubled Warders wherever you get your podcasts.
Now Here's episode one.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
This podcast contains content that may be upsetting to some listeners.
Before continuing, please prioritize your own well being and mental health.
Please check the show notes for more detailed descriptions of
the episodes. Have you ever heard a story about someone
you've lost touch with, perhaps a friend of a friend,
that just doesn't seem to add up. It's as if
(04:50):
you're only getting pieces of the truth and the rest
seems too exaggerated or too strange to even be true.
It's like that childhood game of telephone with a message
of volves and twists. With each retelling, you say to yourself,
this isn't right. So you do your own digging, maybe
asking around, looking on social media, but there's no reliable
(05:10):
way to confirm the accuracy of any of it. Imagine,
for example, you hear that an old friend was in
a tragic, freak accident, but you haven't been in touch
with them for years. You go online, hoping to find
a news report or something about the accident, but you
find nothing. Eventually, you just convince yourself that wherever whoever
(05:34):
this story originally came from must have been mistaken. But
then years later that same story resurfaces, perhaps in a
slightly altered form, and you find yourself asking did this
really happen? And if it did, what am I meant
to believe? This is one of those stories.
Speaker 6 (06:00):
Emergency services? But hello, where do you need the police?
Speaker 7 (06:04):
I've just I think I've seen what looked like a
dead body in where I just meant to find out?
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Where is the fellows?
Speaker 8 (06:10):
Where's this place?
Speaker 7 (06:13):
We just came for a walk along the Durbin Trail Creek.
Can we pass Northlands?
Speaker 6 (06:20):
And you don't think an ambulance is required?
Speaker 7 (06:23):
No, the Pridon is gone them.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Episode one, Locate and Identify. Chances are unless you've spent
time in the northern suburbs of Melbourne Australia. You've likely
never heard of Durbin Creek. I've lived and worked as
a private investigator in Melbourne for over fifteen years, Yet
it's this case, the mysterious death of a twenty four
(06:52):
year old woman, that first introduced me to this body
of water. I'm Julia Robson and I'm committed to working
on cases that have been otherwise overlooked. Together with my
producer Claire McGraw, we're taking on a challenge that has
all the elements of a Hollywood blockbuster, tragedy, secrets, an
(07:12):
extraordinary international rescue, and a fresh investigation that reveals startling
new evidence.
Speaker 9 (07:20):
Honestly, I don't know a lot about the way she died,
but all I know is it's mystery, absolute mystery, how
she died.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
For those already familiar with this death, it's always been
a topic of speculation and rumor, but over time has
slowly stopped being told.
Speaker 6 (07:36):
There's a reason why you're suspicious about this case, even
though it's been several years now.
Speaker 7 (07:41):
We have every right to be suspicious about this case
because it's suspicious.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
So with this podcast, our goal is to reevaluate certain
aspects that have gone unquestioned for far too long. But
first let's head back to the creek. Daribin Creek, winding
through Melbourne's northern suburbs, is a natural boundary connecting quiet
neighbourhoods before joining the Yarrow River. During daylight hours, the
(08:09):
sheltered trails along the banks of the creek attract families,
fitness enthusiasts, cyclists and dog walkers. With a keen eye,
they may even catch a glimpse of a wedge tailed
eagle or kingfisher among the trees, although the distant hum
of the freeway is never too far away. Despite all
of its beauty, Daribin Creek also has a reputation among
(08:31):
some locals as a place to avoid after sunset. Accessible
via dead end streets, it offers only minimal lighting as
darkness falls, making it a hot spot for late night
activities that raises safety issues when walking alone on the
isolated pathways. And it's at Darrabin Creek, the Preston entrance
of the Parklands to be exact where this case begins.
Speaker 10 (08:55):
It was the.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Eleventh of October twenty eleven and newcomers to the area,
Die and Alice were exploring their local backyard. Diane, originally
from Ireland, and Alice, an ecologist, would often venture into
remote natural areas that many of us might otherwise avoid.
Speaker 7 (09:13):
Yeah, we get a lot of cyclists coming along here
and runners, and I think there's a football pitch up
there where people play games and stuff. So it's pretty
active around you. I guess not a lot of people
go down back where we went there, but we like,
I mean the nature, love as we are. We kind
of went a little bit off track. It's very common
for us to do that.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Nearly twelve years later, Diane and Alice have returned to
Durbin Creek with me to revisit the spot of their
tragic discovery.
Speaker 7 (09:39):
Yeah, it wasn't I say. It's probably a bit of
a similar day to today. We were enjoying the world.
We were worried about snakes, yeah, and that I was.
I'm always worried about them. Yeah, so paranoyed about all
the things in Australia that can kill you.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
As we walk. Diane and Alice shared their vivid recollections
of that evening in twenty and eleven.
Speaker 7 (09:58):
It's the kind of walk we're having, like a lovely calm,
not very breezy day at all, sunny, bryce blue skies,
sounds of birds. Yeah, you've got lori keats and musku
lurrier heats and rainbow lorrier keats around here. Oh, I
think it's up further. I don't think we're in the
right spot. I think it's much further on backban.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
It was while strolling along the waterway around six pm,
dust settling in, they noticed something unusual in the creek.
Speaker 7 (10:26):
I saw big thing in the water, and I kept saying,
is that a teddy bear?
Speaker 11 (10:31):
It just looked wrong.
Speaker 7 (10:33):
I feel like my gut reaction was probably like a person,
but also like my second one was, I can't be persy.
It's got to be like a teddy bear or something
like that. But it was something They had a phe
I suppose that's the best way to describe it, because
I was putting the form to it. It wasn't just
a rock, and it wasn't just a bit of limb
(10:54):
or you know, tree stump or anything. It was a
formed thing, which which alerted us, and Alice probably more alert.
She was the one that probably went over, you know,
that's something more.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
She set it up there, approaching the object. They soon
realized it was definitely not a teddy bear.
Speaker 7 (11:14):
So, as I said, I picked up a stick, thinking, well,
I don't know what I'm going to come up to,
so I'll just, you know, pok it whatever it is
to see if it's a teddy or a person. And
so we made her way to the place, and yeah,
we kind of tried to get in a bit closer,
and we just we didn't need to use the stick,
(11:37):
to be honest, We could kind of observe much closer
up that it was potentially I thought it was a female,
well quite sure initially, but we kind of went in
a bit closer to look, and yeah, we thought, yeah,
that's that's a that's a person.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
At this point, any doubts were dispelled. They had discovered
a fully clothed body among the branches, partially submerged in
the water.
Speaker 7 (12:01):
I could tell it was someone. I could see the
hair at that point and skin, and I knew like
it was a person that one wasn't. There was a
bit of hair like I remember seeing it kind of flowing.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Else like this.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Upon their discovery, they knew they needed to seek emergency assistance.
In a quick thinking move, Diane found a discarded aerosol
paint can nearby. She used it to mark the grass
with pink paint, leaving the can as a guide, and
promptly dial triple zero for help. The following is an
excerpt from the actual emergency call.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
Is it is it moving? Is it in the river
or is it still? So? Is it moving or is
it still?
Speaker 7 (12:41):
It's in the river?
Speaker 6 (12:43):
Is it right up? Is it right up on the
side though and against the side of river or is
it flowing downstream in the river.
Speaker 7 (12:49):
It's still, It's not moving in the river, okay.
Speaker 6 (12:52):
But what I'm saying, is it floating or is it
up against other side?
Speaker 7 (12:56):
Against?
Speaker 6 (12:57):
Okay? Yeah, on the same side.
Speaker 10 (13:00):
As you.
Speaker 7 (13:04):
Correckon with a woman. She's on her side looks like
a woman's me. I don't know imar away from it?
Are you about save me?
Speaker 6 (13:12):
Who?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Then?
Speaker 12 (13:13):
Are you?
Speaker 6 (13:14):
Are you happy to wait for the police? You don't
have to wait right near it? No?
Speaker 7 (13:17):
Fine, Yeah, Because what.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
I'm going to do is I'm going to give them
your phone number. And they have any trouble finding you, Okay,
they're going to call you, but I've let them know.
I do think I know where you are. Okay, if
you've walked about three kilometers from Northlands all Right.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
Just after seven pm, only half an hour before sunset,
two police cars pulled into Blake Street, Preston and made
their way down to the car park at a nearby
sports stadium bordering the Parklands by Darribin Creek. In one
car two Divisional patrol constables and in the other enacting sergeant.
Upon hearing about the discovery of a dead body, Diane
(13:54):
and Ellis might have expected a larger team of police
detectives and specialists. They was her and it was a body,
but it seemed the police needed to verify this themselves
before escalating the situation. With police officers now in tow
Diane took the lead, guiding them through the parklands towards
a footbridge over the creek.
Speaker 7 (14:16):
I can't remember what we saw, to be honest, I
remember that we must have said something to prompt them
to say, no, we have to wait for the dive squad,
which I thought was a bit weird. I was like,
the dive squad, it's three hundred mili the water. Are
you diving after this? What I was thinking, Well, that's
what you said. Oh, they're probably looking for evidence. You'll
check in the water, and I saw that probably makes sense.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
The officers, after thanking Diane and Alice, continued on their own,
banishing into the dense shrubbery. They soon found the pink
aerosol can Diane had left lying in the grass. Looking
over the steep bank into the creek, they were confronted
with a disturbing sight, a body partially submerged in the water,
clad in a pink dressing gown and the branches. Even
(15:03):
for experienced officers, it was an unsettling site, as the
appearance suggested the body had been in the water for
some time. They decided to leave everything untouched, securing the
scene for the detectives from the Criminal Investigation Unit CiU,
as well as calling in the Water police. But what
about the homicide squad? Yes, they were notified, but the
(15:25):
responsibility for the scene rested with detectives from the CiU.
The homicide squad's involvement hinged on whether the CiU detected
any suspicious circumstances. Currently, the detectives were working with few clues.
The body of a young woman in a pink dressing gown,
her slender build and long brown hair, hunting at her
(15:46):
age somewhere in her twenties. One detective's examination led to
an initial assessment of non suspicious circumstances.
Speaker 8 (15:57):
The deceased was placed on a top and I examined
the ceased for any wounds or signs of violence. There
appeared to be no obvious signs of any types of
wounds or trauma caused to the deceased. The deceased appeared
to be female in her early twenties, wearing a sock
on her left foot, no sock on her right foot,
tight fitting dark jeans, dark colored singlet tucked in a
red bra a pink dressing gown, a tiger pattern hair clip,
(16:19):
a blink type ring on her right ring finger, and
an anklet on her left ankle. It was deemed at
this stage that the circumstances were not suspicious. I then
contacted and updated the homicide squad in relation to the incident.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
The homicide squad would not be handling this case and
it would remain with the CiU. But despite the absence
of obvious injuries or suspicious items, you have to admit
it was still pretty odd. So why were the police
so sure it wasn't suspicious? If it was a medical
related matter, then sure, they can happen without warning, and
(16:55):
we've all heard of stories where the fittest people out
running have suddenly dropped dead due to gas hardiac events.
But whoever this was clearly hadn't been out for a
jog or cycle along the beautiful paths in her dressing gown.
Ex homicide detective Charlie Bezina, in his book The Job,
Fighting Crime from the front Line, sheds light on police
(17:16):
decision making in such cases.
Speaker 13 (17:19):
I was very selective about which scenes we attended. We
couldn't afford to waste resources on a whim because it
might have caused another genuine homicide investigation to suffer.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
The decision not to involve the homicide squad also meant
no additional experts were called to the scene.
Speaker 13 (17:35):
The homicide Squad has access to a selection of raft
of forensic specialists, including a crime scene examiner, chemist, biologist, botanist, anthropologist, pathologists, entomologist,
arson examiners, blood spatter experts, ballistics, gunshot residue and Clandenstein
drug labs, along with the police airwing and canine units,
(17:57):
just to name a few.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Will be back. After a show break, a cast recommends, Hello, this.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Is blind by around every two years or so, I'm
contractually obligated to record an advertisement for my own podcast,
The blind By Podcast. I'm a writer and I like
to use the podcast space for writing. I write with
my mouth for you to read with your ears. I
write about curiosity, and I've delivered an episode every week
(18:29):
for the past eight years. I love doing it. If
you want to listen to If you don't, I'm sure
we'll be grand, But most importantly, mind yourself. The blind
By podcast a.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Cast is home to the world's best podcast including Crime World,
The Other Hand, and the one you're listening to right now.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
The detectives now to Debra in the trees, indicating higher
water levels and previous which led them to consider drowning
as a cause of death. However, without knowing her identity,
they couldn't progress further that night. Within the hour, the
woman's body was transported to the moor tree and the
scene was cleared as darkness fell over Darrebin Creek. The
(19:18):
woman in the pink dressing gown, still nameless, remained a mystery.
The next day, a different detective in the CiU took
on the formidable task of identifying the yet unnamed woman.
But where would they begin. Starting with photographs taken at
the creek from the previous day, the officer noted she
(19:41):
was wearing only one sock on her left side, triggering
a return back to the creek in search of the
missing right. Despite an extensive search, it was nowhere to
be found. A label in the dressing gown pointed to
the cotton On brand, but inquiries at a nearby store
and Northland Shopping Center no recent purchases of such an item.
(20:03):
There was also no reports of recent thefts of these either.
Attention then turned to outstanding missing persons reports. For this task,
the detective called in the assistance of a leading senior
constable who will referred to as t L. T L
was the obvious choice to help, as he was one
(20:23):
of the first officers on seene at Durbin Creek the
day before. This is also an officer we will come
back to. According to police statements, and this is important.
TLS spent all of the twelfth and thirteenth of October
searching the Victorian police database for missing persons reports in
(20:45):
and around the metropolitan area in an attempt to locate
any outstanding missing persons Surely there was a report of
a woman missing in the Preston area somewhere in that list,
but all roads led nowhere and it was back to
square one. On the fourteenth of October, just three days
after the body was discovered, a post mortem examination was performed.
(21:09):
While initial investigations by detectives didn't raise suspicions, perhaps the
forensic pathologist could shed more light on the woman's fate.
According to the pathologist, the body was described.
Speaker 8 (21:20):
As that of an adult Caucasian female, measuring approximately one
hundred and seventy centimeters in length and weighing fifty four kilograms.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
Given her youthful appearance, it was not surprising that there
was no evidence of any significant disease. Process A thorough
examination revealed nothing to suggest her death was the result
of a medical episode or health related matter. Focus then
shifted to any signs of injury on the body. It
was noted that, aside from some minor bruising on her
(21:51):
legs and right arm, there was no evidence of trauma,
particularly no injuries to her head or neck. With no
medical or trauma related issues of missing from the post
mortem examination, the forensic pathologist concluded that the cause of
death was consistent with drowning. This now explained the how,
(22:11):
but without identifying who she was, the police was still
no closer to explaining why this happened. The mystery of
her identity continued. It was around this time Diane and Alice,
who made the tragic discovery of the body in the creek,
reached out to police to find out if there had
been any updates.
Speaker 7 (22:33):
And I was very obsessed that the police couldn't find
anyone belonged to her for many reasons. I was like,
for that poor person, they must have people who love
them and worry about them, even if the don't knows
she's missing. When they do find out, they're going to
be upset.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
While still actively monitoring reported missing persons and exploring the
option of a media release, on the eighteenth of October,
one week after the discovery in the creek, range for
a door knock and letter drop within the surrounding residential area.
When a Preston resident living in Ciston Street came home
and checked her letterbox, she discussed the letter with her family.
(23:12):
Their collective concerns were enough to make contact with crime Stoppers,
reporting they believe the unidentified woman was their neighbor.
Speaker 9 (23:20):
So they said that they found a young female in
the creek, not trying to identify her, just based off
descriptions like hair color, and I went, oh no, no,
come on, And when we read it and we knew straightaway,
oh my goodness, that's Louisa.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
Finally a lead. Receiving this information, the detective working this
case entered Louisa's name into the Victorian police database and
identified a record of her fingerprints already in the system.
A request was made to make a manual comparison between
these records and the prince obtained during the post mortem.
At seven fifty five am on the nineteenth of October
(24:04):
twenty eleven, eight days after inquiries began to identify her,
the body in the creek was formally identified as twenty
four year old Louisa.
Speaker 10 (24:15):
You Andiitis, you scrolled Louisa.
Speaker 12 (24:18):
Ubbly, fun to bear around, smart, but very mischievous, you know.
Speaker 10 (24:24):
At the same time.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
This is Louisa's older half brother, Anastasios, better known to
his family, friends and those around him as Tas. Louisa
and Tash share the same beautiful mother, Helen As the
older brother of thirteen years. TAS's relationship with Louisa took
on more of a fatherly role than the typical sibling dynamic.
Speaker 12 (24:49):
So you felt like there was things that she was holding,
things that she wouldn't say, or something once short that's small,
because she she would always smile when we sure, you know,
we never can stay each other. I just held on
to that and made our conversation in most cases great.
Speaker 10 (25:09):
There were times in the.
Speaker 12 (25:10):
Early days that our relationship wasn't great because I had
to step in and then try and give him some guidance,
stay out of trouble, go to school, stop wagging, you know,
because there was a bit of that going on too,
And just to keep away from from from scumbags.
Speaker 10 (25:27):
That's it.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
Those who knew Louisa all shared the same sentiment about her.
She was a glamor.
Speaker 9 (25:34):
Oh she was glamorous. Yeah. They used to do my makeup,
even Luis's sister, she used to do my makeup. Come on,
let's get your dressed and do your hair. So they
were always I'm like, where do you get your clothes?
Speaker 4 (25:45):
You got to teach me.
Speaker 9 (25:46):
So she was always ready for the whole day, like
she was going to conquer the whole world. You never
saw her not dressed at all head to toe, her
beautiful hair. She was just beautiful in and out.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Tesla spoke to his sister on September the twenty sixth,
twenty eleven, just two weeks before her body's discovery. Louisa
had turned up at his house unannounced. She seemed down,
not quite herself, and didn't stay long.
Speaker 12 (26:19):
I do recordious to she was leaving, just turning around
a couple of extra times just to see him in,
just to just to wave goodbye kind of thing. And
then I stayed to the end until I actually got
in their car and zoomed off just to wave.
Speaker 10 (26:36):
And that was it. And oh yeah, I.
Speaker 12 (26:40):
Don't usually wait. I just let people out the door
and that's it. But this time I remember vividly, just
just dow on my porch and I porch that you saw.
Speaker 10 (26:51):
Just waded They're off, was it? I was the last time.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
Soliser Tass was naturally protective over his naive yet courageous youngest.
Since the passing of their mother in two thousand and nine,
two years before Louise's death, he had tried to bring
as much stability as he could to Louisa's life, helping
her to find work and wringing her on a weekly basis.
It was when she stopped answering TAS's calls and wasn't
(27:16):
ringing him back that he really started to worry.
Speaker 10 (27:20):
For a period of time.
Speaker 12 (27:21):
For a week or two, I was trying to get
a hold of her his phone. They just kept just
going straight through her message bank. I also said to
her emails as well.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
He eventually became so concerned that he drove over to
her unit in Preston, hoping to find her out back
playing with her puppy or feeding their mother's beloved parrot, Gina,
who was a bird with an aerie ability to repeat
every word she heard. When he arrived, however, he found
the house locked up in Louisa nowhere to be found.
The bird cage once occupied by Gina the talking parrot,
(27:55):
was empty, with a cage door left wide open. Louisa
cared deeply for her animals, and Test knew in his
heart something just wasn't right about all of this. He
drove directly to Reservoir police station and explained his concerns
about his missing sister. He provided as much information as
he could to the officer, including a description and her
(28:17):
address at Siston Street, Preston. It wasn't long before Task
received the worst possible news.
Speaker 10 (28:27):
A week or a few days later.
Speaker 12 (28:29):
She was I received a phone call from John, which
is my mom's cousin. That was Lease Force that they
located her body, located her in a greek That was
I remember that moment very vivently. I was in my car,
just heading to work with my aunts and.
Speaker 10 (28:48):
Got me to pull over.
Speaker 12 (28:49):
The first I pulled over, and at that point I
had an inkling.
Speaker 10 (28:53):
That was about the year.
Speaker 12 (28:54):
It's going to be extruly terrible because we had earned
anything whatsoever.
Speaker 10 (28:58):
And he goes.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
I found it.
Speaker 10 (29:00):
She's dead in a creek. Still, who wrote grog and
I wanted to shock. I wanted to shock.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
Tas was visited by two CiU detectives who had been
working relentlessly to identify Louisa. They credited a neighbour's crime
stoppers tip for providing the crucial lead. Another officer, who
we've previously referred to as t L and had attended
both the scene and assisted in helping to identify the body,
(29:30):
did not go to TAS's house. If t L had gone,
Tas would have recognized him immediately, So how would Tas
have recognized him two days Two days before Louise's body
was found in the creek, Tas had gone to the
Reservoir police station and reported her as missing. The officer
he spoke with was none other than TL. Somehow, within
(29:55):
two days of taking down Louise's details as a missing
person and then attending a body found at Darrebn Creek,
it seems that no connection was made by TL that
they could be linked. This was despite the creek being
only four hundred and fifty meters away from her home.
It would then be another eight days of searching by police,
(30:19):
part of which was done by TL before It was
a neighbor who ran crime stoppers and gave police the
lead they were looking for. It is truly hard to
comprehend how such a vital link when unnoticed during that
crucial period.
Speaker 10 (30:35):
You're kidding me. It can't be miscommunication.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
It can't be said that the left hand didn't know
what the right hand was doing.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
This is Professor Kereing Carrington, and you can expect to
hear more of her forthright approach and upcoming episodes. Just
a note here we sought comment from Victoria Police well
before recording and the response they provided on the eve
of recording date didn't really clarify this issue. We don't
know exactly what TL or his colleagues would say about
(31:04):
his apparent failure to join the dots. Meanwhile, Taz held
his own reservations regarding how his sister's case had been handled.
Speaker 12 (31:14):
I knew what the police investigation had involved. They had
related it all to just an accident, so of course
I was.
Speaker 10 (31:26):
I was pretty expecting.
Speaker 12 (31:28):
I was expecting the coroner's decision that it was going
to come back as an accidental death.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
While police concluded there was no suspicious circumstances. Concerns continued
to linger for Taz as the months went by and
he worked through the emotions dealing with the passing of
his tenacious sister. He decided he needed answers about how
his sister came to be at the creek. He needed
to know what had happened. A family friend explains.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Tas was not happy with what the coroner came back
with because he did not believe that Louisa drowned or whatever,
and he wanted the case to reopen and no one
case closed and basically said that the finding was that
you drowned.
Speaker 5 (32:14):
In twenty thirteen, a year after Tas had made a
formal request for an inquest into his sister's death, he
received a response from the coroner advising it had been refused.
Tas was advised that, based on the evidence made available
to the coroner at that time, there was.
Speaker 11 (32:32):
No apparent issues that would be likely to be elucidated
by an inquest, and no legitimate coronial purpose which would
be likely to be served by holding an inquest into
Miss Euanitus's death.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
Since her death in twenty eleven, Tas has continued to
search for answers around his sister Louise's tragic passing. Do
you believe she drowned?
Speaker 6 (32:54):
No?
Speaker 10 (32:54):
I don't.
Speaker 12 (32:56):
I mean not on her own accord, Okay, because the
river the creek was not deep as far as I'm concerned,
all right, she knew how to swim, right. I don't
buy that that she's just stround in a little creek.
I just I don't buy it.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
Taz doesn't buy it. But do we share his doubts?
What do other experts in their field think? Now, thirteen
years after her death, we step in to undertake a
fresh investigation. We'll speak to those who knew her story,
re examine the evidence and explore all theories in our
pursuit to find truth behind Louise's fate in the troubled
(33:38):
waters of Durbin Creek. One thing is clear from speaking
to Tasks, It's evident that attempting this on his own
was taking a significant toll on him. How are you
feeling this? You've gone through a lot getting.
Speaker 12 (33:53):
A liver with fatigue, to be honest, Yeah, and that's
been my problemsted this illness as well. I'm getting very
real fort but I do really want to finish, so,
you know, American progress.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
Still to come. On Troubled Waters.
Speaker 10 (34:12):
I kept on telling Mama, listen, I'm be careful going there.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Her brother and a mother supported her at the time,
and so go back, and we will connect you with
a few people we know there that will be able
to help you.
Speaker 10 (34:24):
And yeah, surely enough, it wasn't all right.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
Thanks for listening. If you'd like to hear the rest
of Troubled Waters, just search for it wherever you get
your podcasts. It's a case file presence production created by
the same team behind a case file, with the same
high standards you've come to expect from us, we hope
you find the series as compelling as we do.
A cast recommends Hello, this is blind By.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Around every two years or so, I'm contractually obligated to
record an advertisement for my own podcast, the blind By Podcast.
I'm a writer and I like to use the podcast
space for writing. I write with my mouth for you
to read with your ears. I write about curiosity, and
I've delivered an episode every week for the past eight years.
(00:25):
I love doing it. If you want to listen to
If you don't, I'm sure we'll be grand, but most importantly,
mind yourself. The blind By podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
A cast is home to the world's best podcast, including
Crime World, The Other Hand, and the one you're listening
to right now.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Hi, it's Casey here. There's not long now until case
Fall returns, with all new episodes dropping from July nineteen onwards.
In the meantime, you might have noticed something a little
different here on the case File feed. We've been releasing
the first episodes of some of the other series we
produce under the Case File Presents banner. The decision to
(01:09):
do this came after something surprising kept cropping up in
conversations I'd had with people at our recent live shows.
Many Case File listeners had no idea that we produce
other shows outside of Case File, and some had never
even heard of Case File Presents. The realization dawned on
me that if someone is a big enough supporter of
(01:30):
our show to come to a live event but hasn't
heard of our production company, then clearly we need to
do a better job of highlighting the other stories we've
put so much care and work into. For those who
don't know, case File Presents is our broader production platform.
While case File is our flagship show, we've also created
(01:51):
a number of other podcasts under the case File Presents banner.
Our level of involvement differs from project to project, but
we've played a direct role in all of them, whether
that's financing, research, editing, music, or production. I even narrate
a few of these shows myself. I first discovered the
(02:12):
work of private investigator Julia Robson when listening to her
hit podcast, Chasing Charlie, which was released in twenty twenty.
We connected some time after that, and during our chat,
Julia mentioned she'd been a longtime Case File listener, but
had no idea we were involved in producing other series
or that case File presence even existed. After listening to
(02:37):
Chasing Charlie. I knew Julia was exactly the type of
person I wanted to collaborate with, so I made sure
to let her know to reach out if she ever
had another story in the works. A few years later,
Julia did indeed reach out with troubled orders. In twenty eleven,
the body of twenty four year old Louisa Euanidas was
(02:59):
found in a suburban Melbourne creek, dressed in a pink
dressing gown. Louisa was a strong swimmer and the water
was shallow enough that she could have stood up even
if she wasn't. Regardless, the police quickly concluded that there
were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, and her story
barely made the news. But Louisa's brother Tass never accepted
(03:25):
that explanation, and more than a decade later, Julia Robson
and producer Claire mc grath embarked on a fresh investigation
into the case. What they uncovered is a gripping narrative
full of intrigue from an international kidnapping, a daring escape,
and a family's desperate bid to stay together. It all
(03:48):
unravels into a downward spiral exacerbated by a toxic relationship,
all the while revealing flaws in a family violent support
system that desperately needs fixing. Troubled Waters is a powerful,
deeply moving series that brings Louisa's life and the unanswered
questions surrounding her death into full focus. We're releasing episode
(04:13):
one here on the case filefeed. If you like what
you hear, you can find the rest of the series
by searching for Troubled Warders wherever you get your podcasts.
Now Here's episode one.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
This podcast contains content that may be upsetting to some listeners.
Before continuing, please prioritize your own well being and mental health.
Please check the show notes for more detailed descriptions of
the episodes. Have you ever heard a story about someone
you've lost touch with, perhaps a friend of a friend,
that just doesn't seem to add up. It's as if
(04:50):
you're only getting pieces of the truth and the rest
seems too exaggerated or too strange to even be true.
It's like that childhood game of telephone with a message
of volves and twists. With each retelling, you say to yourself,
this isn't right. So you do your own digging, maybe
asking around, looking on social media, but there's no reliable
(05:10):
way to confirm the accuracy of any of it. Imagine,
for example, you hear that an old friend was in
a tragic, freak accident, but you haven't been in touch
with them for years. You go online, hoping to find
a news report or something about the accident, but you
find nothing. Eventually, you just convince yourself that wherever whoever
(05:34):
this story originally came from must have been mistaken. But
then years later that same story resurfaces, perhaps in a
slightly altered form, and you find yourself asking did this
really happen? And if it did, what am I meant
to believe? This is one of those stories.
Speaker 6 (06:00):
Emergency services? But hello, where do you need the police?
Speaker 7 (06:04):
I've just I think I've seen what looked like a
dead body in where I just meant to find out?
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Where is the fellows?
Speaker 8 (06:10):
Where's this place?
Speaker 7 (06:13):
We just came for a walk along the Durbin Trail Creek.
Can we pass Northlands?
Speaker 6 (06:20):
And you don't think an ambulance is required?
Speaker 7 (06:23):
No, the Pridon is gone them.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Episode one, Locate and Identify. Chances are unless you've spent
time in the northern suburbs of Melbourne Australia. You've likely
never heard of Durbin Creek. I've lived and worked as
a private investigator in Melbourne for over fifteen years, Yet
it's this case, the mysterious death of a twenty four
(06:52):
year old woman, that first introduced me to this body
of water. I'm Julia Robson and I'm committed to working
on cases that have been otherwise overlooked. Together with my
producer Claire McGraw, we're taking on a challenge that has
all the elements of a Hollywood blockbuster, tragedy, secrets, an
(07:12):
extraordinary international rescue, and a fresh investigation that reveals startling
new evidence.
Speaker 9 (07:20):
Honestly, I don't know a lot about the way she died,
but all I know is it's mystery, absolute mystery, how
she died.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
For those already familiar with this death, it's always been
a topic of speculation and rumor, but over time has
slowly stopped being told.
Speaker 6 (07:36):
There's a reason why you're suspicious about this case, even
though it's been several years now.
Speaker 7 (07:41):
We have every right to be suspicious about this case
because it's suspicious.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
So with this podcast, our goal is to reevaluate certain
aspects that have gone unquestioned for far too long. But
first let's head back to the creek. Daribin Creek, winding
through Melbourne's northern suburbs, is a natural boundary connecting quiet
neighbourhoods before joining the Yarrow River. During daylight hours, the
(08:09):
sheltered trails along the banks of the creek attract families,
fitness enthusiasts, cyclists and dog walkers. With a keen eye,
they may even catch a glimpse of a wedge tailed
eagle or kingfisher among the trees, although the distant hum
of the freeway is never too far away. Despite all
of its beauty, Daribin Creek also has a reputation among
(08:31):
some locals as a place to avoid after sunset. Accessible
via dead end streets, it offers only minimal lighting as
darkness falls, making it a hot spot for late night
activities that raises safety issues when walking alone on the
isolated pathways. And it's at Darrabin Creek, the Preston entrance
of the Parklands to be exact where this case begins.
Speaker 10 (08:55):
It was the.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Eleventh of October twenty eleven and newcomers to the area,
Die and Alice were exploring their local backyard. Diane, originally
from Ireland, and Alice, an ecologist, would often venture into
remote natural areas that many of us might otherwise avoid.
Speaker 7 (09:13):
Yeah, we get a lot of cyclists coming along here
and runners, and I think there's a football pitch up
there where people play games and stuff. So it's pretty
active around you. I guess not a lot of people
go down back where we went there, but we like,
I mean the nature, love as we are. We kind
of went a little bit off track. It's very common
for us to do that.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Nearly twelve years later, Diane and Alice have returned to
Durbin Creek with me to revisit the spot of their
tragic discovery.
Speaker 7 (09:39):
Yeah, it wasn't I say. It's probably a bit of
a similar day to today. We were enjoying the world.
We were worried about snakes, yeah, and that I was.
I'm always worried about them. Yeah, so paranoyed about all
the things in Australia that can kill you.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
As we walk. Diane and Alice shared their vivid recollections
of that evening in twenty and eleven.
Speaker 7 (09:58):
It's the kind of walk we're having, like a lovely calm,
not very breezy day at all, sunny, bryce blue skies,
sounds of birds. Yeah, you've got lori keats and musku
lurrier heats and rainbow lorrier keats around here. Oh, I
think it's up further. I don't think we're in the
right spot. I think it's much further on backban.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
It was while strolling along the waterway around six pm,
dust settling in, they noticed something unusual in the creek.
Speaker 7 (10:26):
I saw big thing in the water, and I kept saying,
is that a teddy bear?
Speaker 11 (10:31):
It just looked wrong.
Speaker 7 (10:33):
I feel like my gut reaction was probably like a person,
but also like my second one was, I can't be persy.
It's got to be like a teddy bear or something
like that. But it was something They had a phe
I suppose that's the best way to describe it, because
I was putting the form to it. It wasn't just
a rock, and it wasn't just a bit of limb
(10:54):
or you know, tree stump or anything. It was a
formed thing, which which alerted us, and Alice probably more alert.
She was the one that probably went over, you know,
that's something more.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
She set it up there, approaching the object. They soon
realized it was definitely not a teddy bear.
Speaker 7 (11:14):
So, as I said, I picked up a stick, thinking, well,
I don't know what I'm going to come up to,
so I'll just, you know, pok it whatever it is
to see if it's a teddy or a person. And
so we made her way to the place, and yeah,
we kind of tried to get in a bit closer,
and we just we didn't need to use the stick,
(11:37):
to be honest, We could kind of observe much closer
up that it was potentially I thought it was a female,
well quite sure initially, but we kind of went in
a bit closer to look, and yeah, we thought, yeah,
that's that's a that's a person.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
At this point, any doubts were dispelled. They had discovered
a fully clothed body among the branches, partially submerged in
the water.
Speaker 7 (12:01):
I could tell it was someone. I could see the
hair at that point and skin, and I knew like
it was a person that one wasn't. There was a
bit of hair like I remember seeing it kind of flowing.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Else like this.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Upon their discovery, they knew they needed to seek emergency assistance.
In a quick thinking move, Diane found a discarded aerosol
paint can nearby. She used it to mark the grass
with pink paint, leaving the can as a guide, and
promptly dial triple zero for help. The following is an
excerpt from the actual emergency call.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
Is it is it moving? Is it in the river
or is it still? So? Is it moving or is
it still?
Speaker 7 (12:41):
It's in the river?
Speaker 6 (12:43):
Is it right up? Is it right up on the
side though and against the side of river or is
it flowing downstream in the river.
Speaker 7 (12:49):
It's still, It's not moving in the river, okay.
Speaker 6 (12:52):
But what I'm saying, is it floating or is it
up against other side?
Speaker 7 (12:56):
Against?
Speaker 6 (12:57):
Okay? Yeah, on the same side.
Speaker 10 (13:00):
As you.
Speaker 7 (13:04):
Correckon with a woman. She's on her side looks like
a woman's me. I don't know imar away from it?
Are you about save me?
Speaker 6 (13:12):
Who?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Then?
Speaker 12 (13:13):
Are you?
Speaker 6 (13:14):
Are you happy to wait for the police? You don't
have to wait right near it? No?
Speaker 7 (13:17):
Fine, Yeah, Because what.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
I'm going to do is I'm going to give them
your phone number. And they have any trouble finding you, Okay,
they're going to call you, but I've let them know.
I do think I know where you are. Okay, if
you've walked about three kilometers from Northlands all Right.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
Just after seven pm, only half an hour before sunset,
two police cars pulled into Blake Street, Preston and made
their way down to the car park at a nearby
sports stadium bordering the Parklands by Darribin Creek. In one
car two Divisional patrol constables and in the other enacting sergeant.
Upon hearing about the discovery of a dead body, Diane
(13:54):
and Ellis might have expected a larger team of police
detectives and specialists. They was her and it was a body,
but it seemed the police needed to verify this themselves
before escalating the situation. With police officers now in tow
Diane took the lead, guiding them through the parklands towards
a footbridge over the creek.
Speaker 7 (14:16):
I can't remember what we saw, to be honest, I
remember that we must have said something to prompt them
to say, no, we have to wait for the dive squad,
which I thought was a bit weird. I was like,
the dive squad, it's three hundred mili the water. Are
you diving after this? What I was thinking, Well, that's
what you said. Oh, they're probably looking for evidence. You'll
check in the water, and I saw that probably makes sense.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
The officers, after thanking Diane and Alice, continued on their own,
banishing into the dense shrubbery. They soon found the pink
aerosol can Diane had left lying in the grass. Looking
over the steep bank into the creek, they were confronted
with a disturbing sight, a body partially submerged in the water,
clad in a pink dressing gown and the branches. Even
(15:03):
for experienced officers, it was an unsettling site, as the
appearance suggested the body had been in the water for
some time. They decided to leave everything untouched, securing the
scene for the detectives from the Criminal Investigation Unit CiU,
as well as calling in the Water police. But what
about the homicide squad? Yes, they were notified, but the
(15:25):
responsibility for the scene rested with detectives from the CiU.
The homicide squad's involvement hinged on whether the CiU detected
any suspicious circumstances. Currently, the detectives were working with few clues.
The body of a young woman in a pink dressing gown,
her slender build and long brown hair, hunting at her
(15:46):
age somewhere in her twenties. One detective's examination led to
an initial assessment of non suspicious circumstances.
Speaker 8 (15:57):
The deceased was placed on a top and I examined
the ceased for any wounds or signs of violence. There
appeared to be no obvious signs of any types of
wounds or trauma caused to the deceased. The deceased appeared
to be female in her early twenties, wearing a sock
on her left foot, no sock on her right foot,
tight fitting dark jeans, dark colored singlet tucked in a
red bra a pink dressing gown, a tiger pattern hair clip,
(16:19):
a blink type ring on her right ring finger, and
an anklet on her left ankle. It was deemed at
this stage that the circumstances were not suspicious. I then
contacted and updated the homicide squad in relation to the incident.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
The homicide squad would not be handling this case and
it would remain with the CiU. But despite the absence
of obvious injuries or suspicious items, you have to admit
it was still pretty odd. So why were the police
so sure it wasn't suspicious? If it was a medical
related matter, then sure, they can happen without warning, and
(16:55):
we've all heard of stories where the fittest people out
running have suddenly dropped dead due to gas hardiac events.
But whoever this was clearly hadn't been out for a
jog or cycle along the beautiful paths in her dressing gown.
Ex homicide detective Charlie Bezina, in his book The Job,
Fighting Crime from the front Line, sheds light on police
(17:16):
decision making in such cases.
Speaker 13 (17:19):
I was very selective about which scenes we attended. We
couldn't afford to waste resources on a whim because it
might have caused another genuine homicide investigation to suffer.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
The decision not to involve the homicide squad also meant
no additional experts were called to the scene.
Speaker 13 (17:35):
The homicide Squad has access to a selection of raft
of forensic specialists, including a crime scene examiner, chemist, biologist, botanist, anthropologist, pathologists, entomologist,
arson examiners, blood spatter experts, ballistics, gunshot residue and Clandenstein
drug labs, along with the police airwing and canine units,
(17:57):
just to name a few.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Will be back. After a show break, a cast recommends, Hello, this.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Is blind by around every two years or so, I'm
contractually obligated to record an advertisement for my own podcast,
The blind By Podcast. I'm a writer and I like
to use the podcast space for writing. I write with
my mouth for you to read with your ears. I
write about curiosity, and I've delivered an episode every week
(18:29):
for the past eight years. I love doing it. If
you want to listen to If you don't, I'm sure
we'll be grand, But most importantly, mind yourself. The blind
By podcast a.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Cast is home to the world's best podcast including Crime World,
The Other Hand, and the one you're listening to right now.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
The detectives now to Debra in the trees, indicating higher
water levels and previous which led them to consider drowning
as a cause of death. However, without knowing her identity,
they couldn't progress further that night. Within the hour, the
woman's body was transported to the moor tree and the
scene was cleared as darkness fell over Darrebin Creek. The
(19:18):
woman in the pink dressing gown, still nameless, remained a mystery.
The next day, a different detective in the CiU took
on the formidable task of identifying the yet unnamed woman.
But where would they begin. Starting with photographs taken at
the creek from the previous day, the officer noted she
(19:41):
was wearing only one sock on her left side, triggering
a return back to the creek in search of the
missing right. Despite an extensive search, it was nowhere to
be found. A label in the dressing gown pointed to
the cotton On brand, but inquiries at a nearby store
and Northland Shopping Center no recent purchases of such an item.
(20:03):
There was also no reports of recent thefts of these either.
Attention then turned to outstanding missing persons reports. For this task,
the detective called in the assistance of a leading senior
constable who will referred to as t L. T L
was the obvious choice to help, as he was one
(20:23):
of the first officers on seene at Durbin Creek the
day before. This is also an officer we will come
back to. According to police statements, and this is important.
TLS spent all of the twelfth and thirteenth of October
searching the Victorian police database for missing persons reports in
(20:45):
and around the metropolitan area in an attempt to locate
any outstanding missing persons Surely there was a report of
a woman missing in the Preston area somewhere in that list,
but all roads led nowhere and it was back to
square one. On the fourteenth of October, just three days
after the body was discovered, a post mortem examination was performed.
(21:09):
While initial investigations by detectives didn't raise suspicions, perhaps the
forensic pathologist could shed more light on the woman's fate.
According to the pathologist, the body was described.
Speaker 8 (21:20):
As that of an adult Caucasian female, measuring approximately one
hundred and seventy centimeters in length and weighing fifty four kilograms.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
Given her youthful appearance, it was not surprising that there
was no evidence of any significant disease. Process A thorough
examination revealed nothing to suggest her death was the result
of a medical episode or health related matter. Focus then
shifted to any signs of injury on the body. It
was noted that, aside from some minor bruising on her
(21:51):
legs and right arm, there was no evidence of trauma,
particularly no injuries to her head or neck. With no
medical or trauma related issues of missing from the post
mortem examination, the forensic pathologist concluded that the cause of
death was consistent with drowning. This now explained the how,
(22:11):
but without identifying who she was, the police was still
no closer to explaining why this happened. The mystery of
her identity continued. It was around this time Diane and Alice,
who made the tragic discovery of the body in the creek,
reached out to police to find out if there had
been any updates.
Speaker 7 (22:33):
And I was very obsessed that the police couldn't find
anyone belonged to her for many reasons. I was like,
for that poor person, they must have people who love
them and worry about them, even if the don't knows
she's missing. When they do find out, they're going to
be upset.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
While still actively monitoring reported missing persons and exploring the
option of a media release, on the eighteenth of October,
one week after the discovery in the creek, range for
a door knock and letter drop within the surrounding residential area.
When a Preston resident living in Ciston Street came home
and checked her letterbox, she discussed the letter with her family.
(23:12):
Their collective concerns were enough to make contact with crime Stoppers,
reporting they believe the unidentified woman was their neighbor.
Speaker 9 (23:20):
So they said that they found a young female in
the creek, not trying to identify her, just based off
descriptions like hair color, and I went, oh no, no,
come on, And when we read it and we knew straightaway,
oh my goodness, that's Louisa.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
Finally a lead. Receiving this information, the detective working this
case entered Louisa's name into the Victorian police database and
identified a record of her fingerprints already in the system.
A request was made to make a manual comparison between
these records and the prince obtained during the post mortem.
At seven fifty five am on the nineteenth of October
(24:04):
twenty eleven, eight days after inquiries began to identify her,
the body in the creek was formally identified as twenty
four year old Louisa.
Speaker 10 (24:15):
You Andiitis, you scrolled Louisa.
Speaker 12 (24:18):
Ubbly, fun to bear around, smart, but very mischievous, you know.
Speaker 10 (24:24):
At the same time.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
This is Louisa's older half brother, Anastasios, better known to
his family, friends and those around him as Tas. Louisa
and Tash share the same beautiful mother, Helen As the
older brother of thirteen years. TAS's relationship with Louisa took
on more of a fatherly role than the typical sibling dynamic.
Speaker 12 (24:49):
So you felt like there was things that she was holding,
things that she wouldn't say, or something once short that's small,
because she she would always smile when we sure, you know,
we never can stay each other. I just held on
to that and made our conversation in most cases great.
Speaker 10 (25:09):
There were times in the.
Speaker 12 (25:10):
Early days that our relationship wasn't great because I had
to step in and then try and give him some guidance,
stay out of trouble, go to school, stop wagging, you know,
because there was a bit of that going on too,
And just to keep away from from from scumbags.
Speaker 10 (25:27):
That's it.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
Those who knew Louisa all shared the same sentiment about her.
She was a glamor.
Speaker 9 (25:34):
Oh she was glamorous. Yeah. They used to do my makeup,
even Luis's sister, she used to do my makeup. Come on,
let's get your dressed and do your hair. So they
were always I'm like, where do you get your clothes?
Speaker 4 (25:45):
You got to teach me.
Speaker 9 (25:46):
So she was always ready for the whole day, like
she was going to conquer the whole world. You never
saw her not dressed at all head to toe, her
beautiful hair. She was just beautiful in and out.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Tesla spoke to his sister on September the twenty sixth,
twenty eleven, just two weeks before her body's discovery. Louisa
had turned up at his house unannounced. She seemed down,
not quite herself, and didn't stay long.
Speaker 12 (26:19):
I do recordious to she was leaving, just turning around
a couple of extra times just to see him in,
just to just to wave goodbye kind of thing. And
then I stayed to the end until I actually got
in their car and zoomed off just to wave.
Speaker 10 (26:36):
And that was it. And oh yeah, I.
Speaker 12 (26:40):
Don't usually wait. I just let people out the door
and that's it. But this time I remember vividly, just
just dow on my porch and I porch that you saw.
Speaker 10 (26:51):
Just waded They're off, was it? I was the last time.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
Soliser Tass was naturally protective over his naive yet courageous youngest.
Since the passing of their mother in two thousand and nine,
two years before Louise's death, he had tried to bring
as much stability as he could to Louisa's life, helping
her to find work and wringing her on a weekly basis.
It was when she stopped answering TAS's calls and wasn't
(27:16):
ringing him back that he really started to worry.
Speaker 10 (27:20):
For a period of time.
Speaker 12 (27:21):
For a week or two, I was trying to get
a hold of her his phone. They just kept just
going straight through her message bank. I also said to
her emails as well.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
He eventually became so concerned that he drove over to
her unit in Preston, hoping to find her out back
playing with her puppy or feeding their mother's beloved parrot, Gina,
who was a bird with an aerie ability to repeat
every word she heard. When he arrived, however, he found
the house locked up in Louisa nowhere to be found.
The bird cage once occupied by Gina the talking parrot,
(27:55):
was empty, with a cage door left wide open. Louisa
cared deeply for her animals, and Test knew in his
heart something just wasn't right about all of this. He
drove directly to Reservoir police station and explained his concerns
about his missing sister. He provided as much information as
he could to the officer, including a description and her
(28:17):
address at Siston Street, Preston. It wasn't long before Task
received the worst possible news.
Speaker 10 (28:27):
A week or a few days later.
Speaker 12 (28:29):
She was I received a phone call from John, which
is my mom's cousin. That was Lease Force that they
located her body, located her in a greek That was
I remember that moment very vivently. I was in my car,
just heading to work with my aunts and.
Speaker 10 (28:48):
Got me to pull over.
Speaker 12 (28:49):
The first I pulled over, and at that point I
had an inkling.
Speaker 10 (28:53):
That was about the year.
Speaker 12 (28:54):
It's going to be extruly terrible because we had earned
anything whatsoever.
Speaker 10 (28:58):
And he goes.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
I found it.
Speaker 10 (29:00):
She's dead in a creek. Still, who wrote grog and
I wanted to shock. I wanted to shock.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
Tas was visited by two CiU detectives who had been
working relentlessly to identify Louisa. They credited a neighbour's crime
stoppers tip for providing the crucial lead. Another officer, who
we've previously referred to as t L and had attended
both the scene and assisted in helping to identify the body,
(29:30):
did not go to TAS's house. If t L had gone,
Tas would have recognized him immediately, So how would Tas
have recognized him two days Two days before Louise's body
was found in the creek, Tas had gone to the
Reservoir police station and reported her as missing. The officer
he spoke with was none other than TL. Somehow, within
(29:55):
two days of taking down Louise's details as a missing
person and then attending a body found at Darrebn Creek,
it seems that no connection was made by TL that
they could be linked. This was despite the creek being
only four hundred and fifty meters away from her home.
It would then be another eight days of searching by police,
(30:19):
part of which was done by TL before It was
a neighbor who ran crime stoppers and gave police the
lead they were looking for. It is truly hard to
comprehend how such a vital link when unnoticed during that
crucial period.
Speaker 10 (30:35):
You're kidding me. It can't be miscommunication.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
It can't be said that the left hand didn't know
what the right hand was doing.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
This is Professor Kereing Carrington, and you can expect to
hear more of her forthright approach and upcoming episodes. Just
a note here we sought comment from Victoria Police well
before recording and the response they provided on the eve
of recording date didn't really clarify this issue. We don't
know exactly what TL or his colleagues would say about
(31:04):
his apparent failure to join the dots. Meanwhile, Taz held
his own reservations regarding how his sister's case had been handled.
Speaker 12 (31:14):
I knew what the police investigation had involved. They had
related it all to just an accident, so of course
I was.
Speaker 10 (31:26):
I was pretty expecting.
Speaker 12 (31:28):
I was expecting the coroner's decision that it was going
to come back as an accidental death.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
While police concluded there was no suspicious circumstances. Concerns continued
to linger for Taz as the months went by and
he worked through the emotions dealing with the passing of
his tenacious sister. He decided he needed answers about how
his sister came to be at the creek. He needed
to know what had happened. A family friend explains.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Tas was not happy with what the coroner came back
with because he did not believe that Louisa drowned or whatever,
and he wanted the case to reopen and no one
case closed and basically said that the finding was that
you drowned.
Speaker 5 (32:14):
In twenty thirteen, a year after Tas had made a
formal request for an inquest into his sister's death, he
received a response from the coroner advising it had been refused.
Tas was advised that, based on the evidence made available
to the coroner at that time, there was.
Speaker 11 (32:32):
No apparent issues that would be likely to be elucidated
by an inquest, and no legitimate coronial purpose which would
be likely to be served by holding an inquest into
Miss Euanitus's death.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
Since her death in twenty eleven, Tas has continued to
search for answers around his sister Louise's tragic passing. Do
you believe she drowned?
Speaker 6 (32:54):
No?
Speaker 10 (32:54):
I don't.
Speaker 12 (32:56):
I mean not on her own accord, Okay, because the
river the creek was not deep as far as I'm concerned,
all right, she knew how to swim, right. I don't
buy that that she's just stround in a little creek.
I just I don't buy it.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
Taz doesn't buy it. But do we share his doubts?
What do other experts in their field think? Now, thirteen
years after her death, we step in to undertake a
fresh investigation. We'll speak to those who knew her story,
re examine the evidence and explore all theories in our
pursuit to find truth behind Louise's fate in the troubled
(33:38):
waters of Durbin Creek. One thing is clear from speaking
to Tasks, It's evident that attempting this on his own
was taking a significant toll on him. How are you
feeling this? You've gone through a lot getting.
Speaker 12 (33:53):
A liver with fatigue, to be honest, Yeah, and that's
been my problemsted this illness as well. I'm getting very
real fort but I do really want to finish, so,
you know, American progress.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
Still to come. On Troubled Waters.
Speaker 10 (34:12):
I kept on telling Mama, listen, I'm be careful going there.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Her brother and a mother supported her at the time,
and so go back, and we will connect you with
a few people we know there that will be able
to help you.
Speaker 10 (34:24):
And yeah, surely enough, it wasn't all right.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
Thanks for listening. If you'd like to hear the rest
of Troubled Waters, just search for it wherever you get
your podcasts. It's a case file presence production created by
the same team behind a case file, with the same
high standards you've come to expect from us, we hope
you find the series as compelling as we do.
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