Crime Insiders

JUDGEMENTS | Pushed to Death (R v Dansie)

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When wheelchair-bound Helen Dansie drowned in an Adelaide pond in 2017, it looked like a tragic accident. But it wasn’t. Her husband had pushed ...

REWIND | The Oklahoma City Bombing

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the 9th of April 1995, a rental truck was unassumingly parked in front of a federal building in Oklahoma City. Seconds later, the truck exploded. 1...

FORENSICS | The Ascot Vale Rapist

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1990s, a serial predator terrorised Melbourne’s inner north, preying on women in their own homes – some elderly, some pregnan...

FORENSICS | Introducing new host, Dr Liz Porter

27 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crime Insiders Forensics has a new host - award-winning journalist and true crime author, Dr Liz Porter! With a PhD on the work of the Victoria Police...

JUDGEMENTS | "How to plan a murder" (R v Kennedy)

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2006, a couple in their young twenties, we’ll call them Gina and Joseph, met at a church dance in New Zealand. But early on, cracks began to ...

REWIND | The psychology of youth crime & radicalisation

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do young people become radicalised? Is it nature or nurture? Or something far more complex? Dr John Kasinathan is a forensic psychiatrist who spec...

DETECTIVES | A US G-man takes on jihadis, cartels and corruption

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kenneth Strange Jr served with three US federal agencies pursuing criminals and bad actors. Those agencies were the FBI, the US Agency for Internation...

JUDGEMENTS | The Vampire Killers

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A council worker, a chance encounter, and a brutal murder that horrified Australia. In 1989, four women prowled Brisbane’s streets in search of ...

REWIND | The Brisbane Jewellery Store Stabbing

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After an attempted murder left a man brutally injured, one cop decided to change the way police in Queensland respond to violent crimes.  Queensl...

FORENSICS | The Somerton Man

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A man found dead on an Adelaide beach in 1948—his identity unknown, his past a riddle, and his pocket containing a cryptic phrase: "Tamam Shud"&...

JUDGEMENTS | The Murder of Jamie Gao (R v Rogerson & McNamara)

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two former high-profile NSW Detectives lured a drug dealer to a storage unit in Sydney's southern suburbs and murdered him in what the just called a "...

REWIND | The Unabomber

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ted Kaczynski terrorised the US for almost 20 years. But, what was it like forensically analysing the letters of a twisted genius? Max Houck is one of...

DETECTIVES | Australia's real life Mindhunter

09 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Behavioural threat assessment is a new area of policing and it's been incredibly successful in helping to solve complex crimes. Former NSW Detective K...

JUDGEMENTS | Why Belle Gibson isn't behind bars (Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria v Gibson)

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Belle Gibson convinced the world she was a wellness warrior—a survivor who beat terminal brain cancer through clean eating and alternative medic...

REWIND | The evolving role of women in the police

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sandra Nicholson was at the heart of chaos. Whilst Melbourne was under siege during the Gangland Wars, and bushfires wreaked havoc across Victoria, th...

FORENSICS | The Keinbah Trial Track

02 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if a prevention of domestic violence was hiding in plain sight – on four legs? Research shows that in homes where abuse happens, pets are o...

JUDGEMENTS | The Covert Confession (R v Brett Cowan)

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Australian Police have used a controversial tactic known as the 'Mr Big' technique to elicit confessions from some of the country's worst killers. Per...

REWIND | The evidence that proves Ivan Milat didn't act alone

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A long standing theory, but one ballistics supports, at least in the mind of some of those who worked the case, is that Ivan Milat didn't act alone an...

DETECTIVES | The Norfolk Island Killer

23 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kris Illingsworth is a former New South Wales detective who later trained with the FBI in behavioral threat assessment. In this episode of Crime Insid...

JUDGEMENTS | Sydney's Milk Crate Murder (R v Ney)

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A knife-wielding attacker, a city in chaos, and a chase imprinted in the minds of Sydneysiders. On August 13, 2019, Mert Ney unleashed a brutal stabbi...

REWIND | Strike Force Raptor

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A group of bikies converged on Sydney airport. Within minutes, one was dead and others injured. It was an incident that set off one of the world's mos...

FORENSICS | The Lin Family Murders

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

DNA has become the gold standard in forensic investigation. As its use is increasing, so is our understanding of its limitations.   Jae Gerh...

REWIND | The Weleetka Murders

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two young girls shot dead in a town of less than 1000 people. With local law enforcement stumped, they turned to the renowned FBI Behavioral Analysis ...

DETECTIVES | Tiger, Tiger, Tiger: the cop who stormed Lindt Cafe

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Lindt Cafe siege is one of Australia’s most infamous crimes.  A terrorist took ten customers and eight employees hostage back in Decemb...

REWIND | How the internet changed sex crime investigations

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Without the internet, police were unable to track offender behaviour, and heavily relied on the testimony of victim-survivors.  These interviews ...

FORENSICS | The secrets of detecting the undetectable

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What secrets do documents hide—and how are they uncovered?   From forged wills to counterfeit passports, the world of document examina...

REWIND | The Speed Street Apartment Fire

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1995, a deliberately lit fire in Sydney left 8 people dead. But how was it lit? How can forensics tell, and what information do they need to build ...

DETECTIVES | The Wodonga Cafe Inferno

26 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Graeme Simpfendorfer was a decorated Victorian police officer. He used good old-fashioned policing to convict an arsonist who deliberately lit a fire ...

REWIND | Sex Crimes

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The psychology of this policing is like no other, and requires a particular set of skills. For Anthony Macklin, it suited his attention to detail and ...

FORENSICS | The Pheasants Nest Bridge

19 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of people cross Pheasants Nest Bridge on the Hume Highway every day, probably unaware of its haunting past. Beneath this towering structure ...

REWIND | Canada's youngest death-row inmate was innocent

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An innocent child was charged with the murder of his classmate - becoming Canada's youngest death row inmate. It wasn't until The Innocence Project be...

DETECTIVES | Exposing the Rochdale child abuse ring

12 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dozens of young girls were subjected to years of sexual abuse and trafficking, only to be consistently let down by every institution that was supposed...

What we've learnt | Staying safe

05 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When victims share their stories, it's often with the hope that no one else will have to endure what they did. It’s about raising awareness...

What we've learnt | The human impact of working in crime

29 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The ripple effects of crime stretch further than we often imagine—touching lives in ways that are raw, profound, and deeply personal. On Crime I...

What we've learnt | The psychology of crime

22 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why? It’s the question that draws so many of us to true crime. Why would someone kill? What drives a person to stalk? Are some people truly...

The Lindt Cafe Siege 10 Years On

14 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

10 years ago, Sydney came to a standstill. A lone gunman took 18 hostages captive inside the Lindt Café, some of whom escaped, others were trap...

REWIND | The Snowtown Serial Killings

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When the bodies in the barrels were found, Australia was rocked. A murder investigation was underway, and forensics was set to play a huge part. But w...

DETECTIVES | The Washington Navy Yard Shooting

08 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over a harrowing 69 minutes on September 2013, 12 people were shot dead and many more wounded in what was Washington DC's deadliest mass shooting. Nav...

REWIND | The hunt for Malcolm Naden

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A man-hunt that lasted more than 7 years. One of Australia's most wanted men finally caught. But by who? And at what cost? Ricky Hennessy was an integ...

FORENSICS | The Piketon Massacre

01 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One night, four crime scenes, 32 gunshot wounds, and eight members of the same family slain in their homes. Two years later, a local family of four wa...

REWIND | The connection between CTE and crime

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CTE is surprisingly common - but, it can only be diagnosed post-mortem, and by a forensic expert. So, how is does an examination work? And why is it s...

DETECTIVES | Infiltrating England's Football Hooligans

24 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A young cop in England realises whilst chasing a suspect with a rifle that his life will never be the same again. It lead to infiltrating football hoo...

REWIND | Taskforce Argos

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taskforce Argos was built to catch the worst of the worst - to infiltrate and stop child exploitation material networks.  Its former head, Jon Rouse ...

FORENSICS | Clues only a death investigator sees

17 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When a human body is discovered in the United States, there is a person who takes on the role of eyes and ears of the dead: the death investigator. Th...

REWIND | What happens during a forensic sexual assualt exam?

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when you report a sexual assault? What are the processes and how do they affect the outcome of a case? In this episode, former GP Kathryn...

DETECTIVES | The Cult of The Family

10 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How did Anne Hamilton-Byrne control her followers? How did the police eventually catch her? And what happened to the dozens of children that were in t...

REWIND | The Sheffield Scythe Murders

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When an off-duty officer made a disturbing discovery off a country road in Sheffield, detectives were immediately notified. They rushed to the scene t...

FORENSICS | A Meatball Murder Plot?

03 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Does your family have a favourite recipe, a meal that feels like home? For Mario, that was his wife’s famous spaghetti and meatballs. But one eveni...

REWIND | The DVD Murder

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The murder of Inge Lotz is one of the most controversial homicide investigations in South Africa's history. A lone fingerprint police claim to have li...

DETECTIVES | The London Bombings

27 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s July 7th 2005, and it’s a typically busy morning on London’s underground. It’s like any other day. But then, simultaneously, three train...

REWIND | The Eastwood Shopping Centre Shooting

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A single incident, can lead police down a path, which if they're not taken off, can lead to horrific consequences. Beth Docksey had an illustrious car...

FORENSICS | Who murdered Billie Jo Jenkins?

20 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a quiet English town, 13-year-old Billie Jo Jenkins was brutally murdered on the porch of her foster home.  Her foster father, Sion Jenkins, was c...

REWIND | Responding to Violent Crimes

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Eurydice Dixon and student Aya Maasarwe were both victims of horrific crimes. The first responding forensic expert to those scenes was Jo Gle...

DETECTIVES | How a cop became a killer

13 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the 3rd of March 2021, 33 year old Sarah Everard was kidnapped and murdered in South London.  A week after her disappearance, police officer Wayne...

FORENSICS: The Maury City Murder

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A shattered glass door, stolen homemade jam, and a fatal encounter... This is the crime scene forensic firearms expert, Dr Eric Warren, was called to ...

DETECTIVES: The Oklahoma City Bombing

06 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the 9th of April 1995, a rental truck was unassumingly parked in front of a federal building in Oklahoma City. Seconds later, the truck exploded. 1...

FORENSICS: Crypto-laundering & Spy Tradecraft

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The internet changed the world forever, connecting us like never before, allowing unprecedented access to information and people worldwide.  For thes...

DETECTIVES: The Toronto Pimp Case | Carol Cooke

29 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1980s in, Canada, unregulated sex work was rampant. Pimps were known to procure young, vulnerable girls in bars and clubs, and offer them ‘wo...

FORENSICS: Erotic asphyxiation & murder

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Behind every DNA sample is a person with a story. But when does DNA evidence reveal the truth? And when does it mislead? And in places like Tennessee,...

DETECTIVES: The Canberra Hospital Demolition

22 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the button was pressed, and the building began to fall, terror spread across the capital. Former detective Greg Ranse was there that day, and ran t...

FORENSICS: Female perpetrators of domestic violence

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For 20 years, Sheree Spencer subjected her husband to horrific physical, emotional, and financial abuse. Similarly, Jordan Worth controlled, beat, st...

DETECTIVES: The Redfern Double Murder | Jeff Garland

15 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1997, police were on high alert, as gang wars were threatening to take over Sydney. Armed bikies were rampaging through the streets, often in stole...

FORENSICS: How plankton unmasked a murderer | Dr Paola Magni

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2012, the body of Federica Mangiapelo was found by a lake in Italy. The coroner declared it a natural death, with the main suspect in the case clai...

DETECTIVES: Investigating sexual predators in the 1990s | Andrew Patterson

08 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Without the internet, police were unable to track offender behaviour, and heavily relied on victim survivor testimony.  These interviews were crucial...

FORENSICS: Inside the $24 billion illegal wildlife trade | Dr Greta Frankham

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The illegal wildlife trade is a multi billion dollar industry, raking in an estimated $24 million globally. And in Australia, our unique reptiles are ...

DETECTIVES: The Christmas Card Confession | Hadyn Green

01 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1980, three friends were travelling on the South Western Highway from Perth to Harvey. They encountered a slight bend in the road and crashed into...

FORENSICS: Fingerprinting the human voice | Dr Phil Rose

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Remember when the internet erupted over whether a viral audio clip was depicting the name ‘Yanny’ or ‘Laurel’? Or did you know over 20% of peo...

DETECTIVES: The Elisabeth Membrey Case | Tim Peck

25 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just before midnight on the 6th of December 1994, Elisabeth Membrey arrived home from her shift at the Manhattan Hotel in Melbourne. Police estimated ...

FORENSICS: The Dozier School for Boys

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

White crosses on unmarked graves, rusted metal bunk beds and ivy-lined concrete halls - that's all that's left of the Dozier School For Boys.  From 1...

DETECTIVES: Bruce Burrell | Paul Grech

18 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 90s - NSW was rocked by the disappearance of Kerry Whelan.  She was last seen on May 6th, after being dropped off at the Park Royal Hotel...

FORENSICS: How children are radicalised

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do young people become radicalised? Is it nature or nurture? Or something far more complex? Dr John Kasinathan is a forensic psychiatrist who spec...

DETECTIVES: The Potential Burial Site of the Beaumont Children | Bill Hayes

11 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A dig was completed, but some are saying they didn't dig far enough. On the 26th of January 1966, three young siblings known as the Beaumont children...

FORENSICS: The San Pablo Skull

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the 6th May, 2006, a 45-year-old woman disappeared from California’s San Pablo. Two years later, her skull was discovered 6 kilometers away. Fore...

DETECTIVES: The Melbourne Tobacco Wars

04 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fire-bombings across suburban Melbourne have been terrorising citizens for the last 18 months. But why are they happening? And what can police do to c...

FORENSICS: How scams work

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever been scammed? Chances are you or someone you know has. From fraudulent texts to crypto cons, this type of crime has permeated every aspe...

DETECTIVES: Infiltrating the Russian Secret Service

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How does an FBI agent convince a Russian spy to defect? What are the tactics that work, and what are the ones that could get you killed? For decades, ...

FORENSICS: False confessions

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine being locked in a police interrogation room for 48 hours straight - you haven't eaten, barely slept, your anxiety levels are at an all-time hi...

DETECTIVES: How the town of Wee Waa solved a cold case

21 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On New Years Eve, 1998, in the small town of Wee Waa, a 91 year old woman was horrifically attacked. Incredibly, she survived, and quickly notified po...

FORENSICS: Sydney's meth house machete murder

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Businessman Paul Nguyen left Sydney’s Hilton Hotel in May 2014 and was never seen alive again. A police investigation uncovered secrets that exposed...

DETECTIVES: The Dante Arthurs Case

14 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On the 26th of June, 2006, police were notified that a young girl had gone missing in Perth. Moments later, her body was found, and an expansive crime...

FORENSICS: Don Hancock & The Gypsy Joker Bikies

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bikies live in a world where loyalty is fierce and silence is golden. So, when a member of the Gypsy Jokers was killed in outback Western Australia, a...

DETECTIVES: The Mildura Mafia

07 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After coercing farmers to plant marijuana crops in their fields, organised crime figures laid the seed for a dominant and violent drug empire across t...

FORENSICS: The Wattle Flower Murder

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The body of 27-year-old mother of two, Samantha Bodsworth, was found in Noosa, surrounded by wattle trees. The killer thinks it’s the perfect crime,...

DETECTIVES: Exposing Jimmy Savile, with Mark Williams-Thomas

30 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For decades he was an adored media personality. But, after an iTV documentary exposed him as a sex offender, Jimmy Savile's story turned sinister, and...

FORENSICS: How language exposes criminals

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every word leaves a trace. A disgruntled employee's late-night Facebook rant, cryptic messages, riddled with emojis, arranging a drug deal, a threaten...

DETECTIVES: Raiding the house of The Claremont Killer, with Todd Bowler

23 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a door was bashed in, and a very ordinary seeming man was put in cuffs, the heinous crimes of the Claremont Serial Killer were finally brought to l...

FORENSICS: The wrongful conviction of Henry Keogh

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For 20 years, Henry Keogh was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. What was a tragic accident turned into a full-blown murder trial, fueled by dub...

DETECTIVES: The Auckland Plumbing Murder

16 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After finding a fragment of a skull several metres within a toilet plumbing system, police knew they were dealing with something sinister.  Mike Bush...

FORENSICS: The small clues that exposed a killer

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A blood-stained cloth was the only evidence police had to work with when Marlene Maria Smith didn't turn up to work in August, 2000. This small clue w...

DETECTIVES: Derek Ernest Percy

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A man described as "pure evil", understand how police investigated his heinous crimes, caught him in and the process of holding him in prison whilst s...

FORENSICS: The 'accidental' drowning that was actually a homicide

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Drowning is the third-highest cause of death around the world, yet underwater recovery and aquatic forensic investigation remain heavily underresource...

DETECTIVES: The Hoddle Street Massacre

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A tragedy that rocked Melbourne in the late 80s, and one that left the nation questioning its own attitude towards guns and violence.  Former Commiss...

FORENSICS: The flawed 'science' putting parents behind bars

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Heartbreaking was the only word that could be used to describe the death of a 10-month-old baby in Perth. What was less clear cut is the question that...

DETECTIVES: The Mallacoota Stand Off

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when back up is three hours away, and you're faced with a violent and desperate situation?  Mark Tregellas is one of Victoria's most exp...

FORENSICS: Semen, drunk flies, and crime scenes

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Semen is the crack cocaine of the fly world, and while maggots love a corpse, flies feast on live human flesh and fluids. So, could a fly frame you fo...

DETECTIVES: How Drugs Are Smuggled into Australia

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The AFP and customs intercept hundreds of tonnes of narcotics every year. But, the techniques of criminals and smugglers are becoming more complex, an...

FORENSICS: The World's End Murders

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It took 37 years, a failed murder trial, and an Australian mathematician to finally prosecute one of Scotland's most infamous serial killers.  Profes...

DETECTIVES: How Undercover Cops Infiltrate Gangs

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The gangs of New Zealand are like nothing else, and as an undercover cop, you're forced to prove yourself, demonstrate you're a criminal and show you'...

FORENSICS: The story of Alice Ruggles

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Victims of stalking are systematically let down. So, how do the police handle reports of stalking? And what does the research tell us about effective ...

DETECTIVES: Cyberbullying

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The consequences of online abuse can be fatal, and in the early 2000s, even experts were naive to the dangers of the online world for us, and our kids...