True Crime Conversations

We don't often have politicians on True Crime Conversations. But when a domestic violence incident is reported to police every three minutes, the people making the laws and setting policy have a critical role to play.

NSW Police and Counter-Terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley joins Gemma Bath for a rare conversation about the state's response to domestic and family violence. From the results of Operation Emme Rock, which saw almost 1,...

When three adult children vanish or turn up murdered back-to-back in Bakersfield, California, their heartbroken mothers refuse to wait for answers.

Banding together to form a fierce, unstoppable sisterhood, they launch their own rogue investigation, uncovering a dark underworld of ghost guns, addiction, and fraud. But just as their amateur detective work forces a breakthrough, a devastating plot twist blindsides the community: one ...

In 2024, the world learned the name Gisele Pelicot. Between 2011 and 2020, she was drugged and raped in her home in France by her husband, Dominique, and dozens of other men while she was unconscious.

In a landmark trial, the then-72-year-old Gisele waived her right to anonymity as evidence revealed at least 200 rapes, many of them filmed. Dominique recruited men thr...

Just over a week after we covered the murders of Victorian police officers Vadim De Waart-Hottart and Neal Thompson, we've learned more information about the case from the Coronial Inquest Hearing.

Desmond Filby, 'Dezi Freeman', was shot dead following a seven-month manhunt, and this week, the Victorian Coroner’s Court heard the opening of two inquests. 7NEWS reporter Rochelle Brown explains what we learnt.

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If any of th...

In 1991, a fire at an Austin yoghurt shop led firefighters to a scene so horrific it would haunt them forever: four teenage girls murdered in one of Texas’ most shocking crimes.

The Yoghurt Shop Murders became a case that devastated families, traumatised a city, and remained unsolved for more than three decades. Now, thanks to advances in DNA technology, investigators believe they’ve finally identified the killer.

Marga...

In August 2025, two Victoria Police officers were shot and killed while executing a search warrant at a regional Victorian property linked to Desmond Filby, also known as Dezi Freeman. A third officer was injured, and Filby vanished into the bush, triggering a seven-month manhunt that gripped the nation.

The case began with a child abuse investigation and ended in March 2026, when police found Filby hiding in a shipping contai...

What happens after police leave a crime scene? For six years, Donna Nayler was the person called in to deal with what remained.

Wearing full protective gear, she cleaned some of the country’s most confronting scenes, from murders and domestic violence cases to homes where bo...

WA Police have acknowledged that earlier searches in the investigation into the Nannup Four were conducted in the wrong location. Retired detective Barry McIntosh, who has long pushed for answers in the case, believes the corrected coordinates point to a more accurate search area near Northcliffe, where clothing and the reported smell of human remains were allegedly detected after the group disappea...

29-year-old Katie Haley arrived home on a Friday night in March 2018 after a long shift at a Melbourne tavern. Her partner Shane had been messaging throughout the day, calls, accusations, jealousy, and control that had continued for hours...

After reaching her limit, Katie stands up and starts packing a bag. She tells him the relationship is over. She’s leavi...

This is Part 2 of Nina Funnell’s story. You can listen to Part 1 here.

Nina Funnell survived a violent assault as a young woman, fighting off her attacker and escaping to call the police. Although he was never found, the experience became a turning point.

Within weeks, she chose to speak publicly, challenging stigma, victim-bl...

Find Part 2 of this conversation with Nina Funnell here. 

Nina Funnell survived a violent assault as a young woman, fighting off her attacker and escaping to call the police. Although he was never found, the experience became a turning point.

Within weeks, she chose to speak publicly, challenging stigma, victim-blaming, and the...

In January 1993, 20-year-old Tracey Valesini appeared at the Campbelltown Courthouse in Sydney for a legal matter. She was last seen sitting inside the courtroom that day.

After that moment, Tracey was never heard from again.

More than 30 years later, there is still no definitive answer ab...

On March 2, 1998, 10-year-old Austrian girl Natascha Kampusch disappeared on her way to school. 

What followed was 3,096 days in captivity, hidden inside a soundproof cellar, cut off from the outside world and shaped by fear, control, and a deeply complex psychological dynamic with her captor.

On October 1, 2005, terror struck Bali when three suicide bombings ripped through crowded restaurants in Jimbaran Bay and Kuta, killing 20 people and injuring more than 100. Among those caught in the blasts was 20-year-old Newcastle local Joe Frost.

Thrown face-down into the sand, ears ringing and legs burning, Joe survived - but others at his table were killed or le...

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 lo...

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’...

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...

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, suppo...

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 worl...