True Crime Conversations

On March 15, 2019, New Zealand was shattered by a terrorist attack unlike any in its history. Fifty-one worshippers were murdered and dozens more wounded when a gunman opened fire inside two mosques in Christchurch, livestreaming his rampage to the world.

We speak with journalist Joey Watson, creator of Secrets We Keep: Lone Actor, who traces the radicalisation of the attacker, from online echo chambers to a global network of extre...

Dulcie Markham has been called Australia’s most beautiful bad woman.

Underworld figures describe her as "Black Widow," like the spider known for sometimes killing its mate. A key figure in the underworld gangs of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, Dulcie used her Hollywood good looks, rosy pink lips and whip-smart mind to manipulate the most evil of mobsters.

Author and historian Leigh Straw joins Jessie for this episode where s...

When Heather let “Jace” into her Toronto condo to fix a kitchen cabinet, she had no idea she was opening the door to one of Canada’s most prolific romance scammers.

Charming, confident, and seemingly genuine, Jason Porter, using yet another alias, had already conned dozens of women across the country. But this time, he picked the wrong target. 

In this episode, Claire Murphy speaks with Heather, the woman who...

When 24-year-old Belgian backpacker Davine Arckens reached out to a man on Gumtree about working on his farm, she was excited. The 88 days of labour would mean she could stay in Australia on a tourist visa for an extra year. She couldn’t wait to spend more time in a country she thought was safe and full of nice people.

When Davine met the man, it didn’t take long for her to realise she’d made a terrible mistake.&n...

At just 20 years old, Sef Gonzales murdered his entire family, his father Teodoro, mother Mary Loiva, and 18-year-old sister Clodine, in their Sydney home in 2001.

Struggling with an identity crisis, failing his medical exams, and facing rejection from his parents, who planned to disown him and cut off his inheritance, Sef devised a chilling plan. He brutally kille...

Felicia Djamirze has lived many lives—counsellor, women’s justice advocate, three-time Miss Australia titleholder, and convicted drug dealer. Raised in a tough Sydney neighbourhood where crime and addiction were part of daily life, Felicia grew up believing survival was the best she could hope for. When her looks opened doors, she stepped through, even when they led into dangerous terr...

Ever since the mysterious death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe on a snowy night in 2022, the town where he died has been deeply divided. Was he killed in a house full of law enforcement and the crime covered up, or did his girlfriend, Karen Read, strike him with her car and leave him to die?

The high-profile case gripped true crime fans worldwide, es...

In 2015, Lauren Trevan’s husband was interviewed by police about messages he had sent to a teenage girl. He claimed they were harmless. They weren’t.

As the investigation unfolded, Lauren learned the full extent of his actions — and how much had been hidden. At the same time, she was navigating a controlling and emotionally abusive relationship herself.

In this episode, Claire Murphy speaks with Lauren about the i...

Nearly 30 years have passed since the Port Arthur massacre — one of the darkest and most devastating events in Australia's history.

On April 28, 1996, a lone gunman, Martin Bryant, carried out the country’s deadliest mass shooting, killing 35 people and injuring 23 others in and around the historic Port Arthur site in Tasmania.

Kaitlyn Braun spun an elaborate web of lies, convincing over 50 doulas she was pregnant after a traumatic assault. Her deception confused and shattered trust in the doula community, leaving many unsure if they could continue their work.

Journalist Sarah Treleaven spent over eighteen months investigating Kaitlyn’s unusual story and the motives behind it. She ...

After 20 years in prison, Kathleen Folbig, once labelled Australia’s worst female serial killer, was released in just 56 minutes. New genetic evidence cleared her of killing her four children, flipping one of the country’s most infamous cases on its head. 

Kathleen’s story is one of loss and a justice system that got it badly wrong. But her ...

She was young, poor, and alone in a harsh, unforgiving Icelandic landscape — and then she was sentenced to die. In 1830, Agnes Magnúsdóttir became the last person executed in Iceland, beheaded by axe for the murder of a powerful man.

Nearly 200 years later, her story still lingers. Was she a cold-blooded killer, or a woman trapped by circumsta...

He was three years old, dressed in a Spider-Man suit, playing in his foster grandmother’s yard — and then he was gone. Nearly a decade later, the disappearance of William Tyrrell remains one of Australia’s most haunting mysteries.

For years, this case has been clouded in secrecy. With a high number of registered sex offenders living in the area ...

Kat Torres had it all—famous friends, a jet-setting modelling career and a social media feed that painted the picture of a woman who had truly made it. 

But behind the flawless photos and inspirational captions lurked a far darker reality. Torres wasn’t just living the influencer dream; she was building something far more dangerous. What began...

At just 18 months old, Ben Shenton was handed over to a woman who claimed she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

That woman was Anne Hamilton-Byrne, the leader of a secretive doomsday cult called The Family. For 14 years, Ben lived cut off from the outside world—beaten, starved, drugged, and taught to stay “unseen, unheard, unknown.” The cult twisted Christianity into a tool of fear and control.

Ben was finall...

"Dirty John" Meehan, a serial con artist and violent criminal, was Terra Newell's stepfather. He had married her mother and spent years manipulating and abusing her until she finally left him. Enraged by her departure, he sought revenge.

One day, after finishing her shift at work, Terra was walking to her car when John suddenly grabbed her from behind, wrapping his...

Heston Russell has lived a life most of us couldn’t imagine. A former special forces commander, he’s been shot at, dropped out of helicopters, and led troops through the chaos of Afghanistan and Iraq.

But it wasn’t until he came home that he faced his toughest fight yet — not against an enemy overseas, but against his own country. Heston and his men were accused of war crimes, and suddenly, he was battling t...

Laura McConnell grew up in a fundamentalist sect with no name.

Along with no official title, the group also claims to have no registration around the world, no formal hierarchy, and no official places of worship.

According to Laura, it's this secrecy and denial that has allowed abuse to flourish within the community. She joins us today to expose what she witnessed and experienced inside the group she calls The Truth.

CREDITS

Guest:...

In 1993, a teenage girl vanished on her way to school in a quiet town in Ontario, Canada. That morning, she’d argued with her mother, Mary Ann—nothing serious, just one of those everyday fights about going to school. It would be the last time they ever spoke.

Her name was Christine Harron. She never made it to class.

The case went cold for years—until filmmaker and podcast host David Ridgen started asking question...