True Crime Conversations

On Friday March 9, 2011, a suitcase was found in a canal next to Meadowbank Park, located about 30 minutes from Sydney’s central business district.

Inside it, was the body of Tosha Thakkar, a 24-year-old student, who had been living in a boarding house in Croydon for six months. 

Her boyfriend, Ali Syed had reported her missing two days prior, after she failed to meet him for lunch...

It was May 20, 2005, when a retiree named Jerry Jackson cast his fishing line from a bridge over the Grand Marais Canal, located on the fringe of Jennings, Louisiana.

The temperature was rising when Jackson noticed something below him, floating in the canal. Jackson had discovered the body of a 28-year-old woman named Loretta Lynn Lewis Chaisson. She would be the first of what would come to be known as the Jeff Davis eight...

Anne Hamilton-Byrne is a name that Australians won’t soon forget. What started out as a series of yoga teachings by the woman who believed she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, would end up becoming one of our country’s most sinister cults. 

The Family, as it would come to be known, included a number of children with dyed blonde hair, who believed Anne Hamilton-Byrne was their mother. For all but one of them, she was not...

It was mid-October, 1976, when Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28 moved in to number 147, Easey St. The three-bedroom house was perfect for the two of them, as well as Armstrong’s 16-month-old son, Gregory. 

Then, in early 1977, neighbours would watch emergency workers and police swarm the property, after the bodies of the two women were found three days after they’d been killed...

In late Spring, 1987, 17-year-old Ursula Barwick, stepped off the platform, and boarded a train from Tuggerah on the Central Coast, bound for Sydney.

The journey would take a little more than two hours and land her in Kings Cross. She’d told her parents she had work and accommodation lined up, and would call them as soon as she arrived.

Her father, Peter, planned to come down that weekend to help get her settled in. It would be her first time living properly out of home...

On a winter evening in July, 2018, West Pennant Hills sounded different. Usually quiet, the Thursday evening was polluted by blasting police sirens, all headed towards Hull Rd. When emergency personnel arrived, they came across a scene they wouldn’t ever forget. 

An hour later, 36-year-old Olga Edwards arrived home from work to find her house surrounded by police and paramedics. When she was told what had happened inside, she collapsed from “severe shock”...

It was looking to be a warm, busy day when Tori Johnson arrived at work just after 6am on a Monday morning in December 2014. The 34-year-old was in charge at the Lindt cafe in Martin Place, and the lead up to Christmas was always chaotic, with customers purchasing gifts, like the iconic chocolate Lindt balls, for friends and family.

At 7:30am, the doors opened, with customers flooding in...

15 hostages remain. For some, 10 hours of terror still awaits them. 

On the afternoon of December 15, 2014, offices were evacuated and rumours spread of bombs planted all around Sydney city, while hostages remained trapped inside the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place. 

One of Sydney’s most bustling pedestrian thoroughfares, which sat on the doorstep of the Lindt Cafe, was empty and deathly silent...

This episode of True Crime Conversations is part of our 2019 Holiday series. We've handpicked episodes from throughout the year that we though deserved another listen.

Christopher Wilder is the Australian serial killer responsible for the biggest man hunt in US history. Wilder lured his victims by posing as a talent agent and model scout and beauty pageants across America...

This episode of True Crime Conversations is part of our 2019/2020 Holiday series. We've handpicked episodes from throughout the year that we though deserved another listen

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners should be advised that this episode contains the naming of deceased people, and the recounting of the circumstances leading to their deaths.

Colleen Walker, Evelyn Greenup and Clinton Speedy-Duroux...