
Australian True Crime
Think nothing ever happens in your town? Australia's suburbs are home to some of the most mysterious and disturbing true crime cases in the world. Meshel Laurie is a true crime obsessive, and with the help of expert interviews with writers, victims, investigators and perpetrators, she probes the underbelly of our towns and suburbs, and uncovers the darkness at the heart of Australian life.We choose to stay @ Ovolo HotelsJoin our ATC EMAIL LIST Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes

Oct 18, 2023 • 17min
Shortcut: The Brutal Upbringing that Prepared Susan Norman to be a Prison Guard
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. Susan grew up in the UK, enduring years of highly abusive relationships at the hands of her mother and her pimp husband. In her thirties, she moved to Australia and begun working at Brisbane's infamous Boggo Road prison. At the prison, she handled everything from breaking up fights to initiating new prisoners, drug busts and suicide attempts.In 1990 she was witness to the murder of Debra Dick committed by the infamous murderer Storm Brooke. This is Australia’s only murder in a women’s prison.Diagnosed with PTSD, Susan left Boggo Road in 1993.You can read more about the twists and turns in Susan's life by reading her recent memoir, "The Pimp and The Pork Sausage"For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Susan NormanExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Chanel 9 News and Channel 7 NewsGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 18, 2023 • 43min
The Brutal Upbringing that Prepared Susan Norman to be a Prison Guard
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. Susan grew up in the UK, enduring years of highly abusive relationships at the hands of her mother and her pimp husband. In her thirties, she moved to Australia and begun working at Brisbane's infamous Boggo Road prison. At the prison, she handled everything from breaking up fights to initiating new prisoners, drug busts and suicide attempts.In 1990 she was witness to the murder of Debra Dick committed by the infamous murderer Storm Brooke. This is Australia’s only murder in a women’s prison.Diagnosed with PTSD, Susan left Boggo Road in 1993.You can read more about the twists and turns in Susan's life by reading her recent memoir, "The Pimp and The Pork Sausage"For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Susan NormanExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Chanel 9 News and Channel 7 NewsGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 15, 2023 • 16min
Shortcut: Lynn's Law: The Murder of Lynn Cannon and the Call for Reform
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. Lynn Cannon, an adored Perth mother of two, was brutally murdered by her ex husband Paul Cannon in late 2022.The day before she was murdered, Paul learned she was in a new relationship.Under false pretences, he convinced her to come to his house the next day. An argument escalated, prompting neighbours to call the police.Despite multiple calls to 000, police took an hour and 15 minutes to arrive.Lynn was an adored mother, daughter, sister and friend. Her loved ones are now taking action to ensure police response times for domestic violence calls never take that long again, with their proposed law: Lynn's Law.WA Police's statement regarding this episode can be viewed here: https://publuu.com/flip-book/268249/629734For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Jacqui DarleyExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Chanel 9 News and Channel 7 NewsGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 15, 2023 • 49min
Lynn's Law: The Murder of Lynn Cannon and the Call for Reform
Lynn Cannon, an adored Perth mother of two, was brutally murdered by her ex husband Paul Cannon in late 2022.The day before she was murdered, Paul learned she was in a new relationship.Under false pretences, he convinced her to come to his house the next day. An argument escalated, prompting neighbours to call the police.Despite multiple calls to 000, police took an hour and 15 minutes to arrive.Lynn was an adored mother, daughter, sister and friend. Her loved ones are now taking action to ensure police response times for domestic violence calls never take that long again, with their proposed law: Lynn's Law.WA Police's statement regarding this episode can be viewed here: https://publuu.com/flip-book/268249/629734For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Jacqui DarleyExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Chanel 9 News and Channel 7 NewsGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 8, 2023 • 13min
Shortcut: Being the head police officer during the Cabramatta heroin crisis
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. Alan Leek is a retired member of the New South Wales Police Service, in which he served for 34 years. In the early 1990s, Alan was rewarded for his excellence in management. When he was made the head police officer in Cabramatta, it was at the time the largest heroin distribution point in the country, a growing political flashpoint and spiraling ever faster, out of control.The unique set of challenges that beset Cabramatta from the late 1980s created a criminal and cultural misery unlike anything else Australia had seen at the time. And it was up to Alan to rally his troops and to pull the divided and traumatized community together behind them. Alan is now the author of several books, with his latest being "Rendezvous with Death". All of his titles can be found at Big Sky Publishing.For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Alan Leek. His books can be found at Big Sky Publishing Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from ABC Four Corners and Once Upon a Time in CabramattaGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 8, 2023 • 38min
Being the head police officer during the Cabramatta heroin crisis
Alan Leek is a retired member of the New South Wales Police Service, in which he served for 34 years. In the early 1990s, Alan was rewarded for his excellence in management. When he was made the head police officer in Cabramatta, it was at the time the largest heroin distribution point in the country, a growing political flashpoint and spiraling ever faster, out of control.The unique set of challenges that beset Cabramatta from the late 1980s created a criminal and cultural misery unlike anything else Australia had seen at the time. And it was up to Alan to rally his troops and to pull the divided and traumatized community together behind them. Alan is now the author of several books, with his latest being "Rendezvous with Death". All of his titles can be found at Big Sky Publishing.For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Alan Leek. His books can be found at Big Sky Publishing Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from ABC Four Corners and Once Upon a Time in CabramattaGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 4, 2023 • 16min
Shortcut: My father murdered my baby and he’s not in jail
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. In October 2019, Natalie Sands, her children and her mother suffered an unthinkably brutal attack at the hands of her father. Natalie was doused in petrol and set alight by her father. Despite being able to escape her burning house with burns to 75 percent of her body, she watched helplessly as her five year old son, Orlando, and mother Antoinette, perished.After leaving the scene, her father drove to the local Tamworth police station and handed himself in.It was decided in 2021 that Natalie's father wouldn’t face trial over the crime due to the Judge accepting that he was likely suffering a neurodegenerative disease resulting is psychotic symptoms.Natalie has been campaigning online to get a lawyer to reopen the case and hold her father “properly accountable”.You can keep up to date with Natalie's campaign on TikTok. Her account is @natz_armyofficialWe reached out to the NSW ODPP for comment regarding this case. You can read their response on our social media pages.For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Natalie SandsExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 4, 2023 • 45min
My father murdered my baby and he’s not in jail
In October 2019, Natalie Sands, her children and her mother suffered an unthinkably brutal attack at the hands of her father. Natalie was doused in petrol and set alight by her father. Despite being able to escape her burning house with burns to 75 percent of her body, she watched helplessly as her five year old son, Orlando, and mother Antoinette, perished.After leaving the scene, her father drove to the local Tamworth police station and handed himself in.It was decided in 2021 that Natalie's father wouldn’t face trial over the crime due to the Judge accepting that he was likely suffering a neurodegenerative disease resulting is psychotic symptoms.Natalie has been campaigning online to get a lawyer to reopen the case and hold her father “properly accountable”.You can keep up to date with Natalie's campaign on TikTok. Her account is @natz_armyofficialWe reached out to the NSW ODPP for comment regarding this case. You can read their response on our social media pages.For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Natalie SandsExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardThis episode contains extra content from Channel 7 News.GET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 1, 2023 • 16min
Shortcut: How did this Australian die in South African police custody?
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. In 1995, Adrian Pendergast accepted an exciting job opportunity in South Africa. Less than a week after he got there, he was found dead in a jail cell.For almost 30 years, his family have been trying to understand what happened and how he died. But it seems that everything new that they learn, it only leads to more questions.Our guest today is Adrian's younger sister, Courtney. Courtney only got to know her older brother until she was 15. She has asked for our listener's to reach out if anyone knows anything about Adrian. If that's you, please contact us at team@smartfella.com.auFor Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Courtney PendergastExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 1, 2023 • 42min
How did this Australian die in South African police custody?
In 1995, Adrian Pendergast accepted an exciting job opportunity in South Africa. Less than a week after he got there, he was found dead in a jail cell.For almost 30 years, his family have been trying to understand what happened and how he died. But it seems that everything new that they learn, it only leads to more questions.Our guest today is Adrian's younger sister, Courtney. Courtney only got to know her older brother until she was 15. She has asked for our listener's to reach out if anyone knows anything about Adrian. If that's you, please contact us at team@smartfella.com.auFor Support: Lifeline on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guest: Courtney PendergastExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardGET IN TOUCH:Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.