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The Veil

Brevity Studios

The Veil is a chilling true crime podcast that pulls listeners deep into the world’s darkest and most haunting cases. Hosted by Ryan Wolf, each episode is crafted like an immersive thriller - a story told not just through facts, but through atmosphere, tension, and detail that makes you feel as though you’re standing inside the crime scene itself.


These are not urban legends or ghost stories; every case is real, every victim and every clue drawn from documented fact.


From unsolved murders to bizarre disappearances, infamous trials to cold cases that still whisper through history, The Veil strips back the layers of time and rumor to confront the unsettling truths hidden beneath.


With an eye for detail and a voice that guides you through the shadows, Ryan brings both journalistic rigor and cinematic storytelling to each 30-minute episode. What emerges is an experience that is at once gripping and unnerving, reminding us that the scariest stories are not fiction at all.


Pull back The Veil - but beware. Because sometimes, when we lift it, we don’t like what we find.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • S1 · E82
    Today · 37 min

    E80 | Who Killed Fernando Pereira? The Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior - Part One: Fantastic, Awful

    The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, Auckland, New Zealand, 1985 Just before midnight on 10 July 1985, two bombs tore through the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior as she lay at Marsden Wharf in Auckland, days before she was due to sail to protest French nuclear testing at Moruroa. The ship's photographer, Fernando Pereira, went below for his cameras after the first blast and drowned when the second one hit. Within hours, a stolen-gear watch at a boat club, a camper van registration and a hire company's paperwork gave the police a married Swiss couple called Alain and Sophie Turenge. In Part One: the ship, the man, the night, and the first interviews at Auckland Central. IN MEMORY Fernando Pereira, 1950 to 1985, photographer, father of Marelle and Paul. A national environmental award in Portugal, the Prémio Nacional de Ambiente Fernando Pereira, carries his name. A NOTE ON SOURCING This is a closed case. Two French agents, Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and wilful damage in the High Court at Auckland in November 1985 and were sentenced to ten years. They are named for that reason. Nobody else has been tried. Others connected to the operation are described by role unless they have publicly acknowledged their part. The interview exchanges are as recorded in Michael King's account. A French visitor to the ship that day was never charged with anything and is not named. Where witness recollections differ, the better documented version is used. SOURCES NZSIS declassified file (1996, released 2017): greenpeace.org/static/planet4-aotearoa-stateless/2018/05/27dcad40-nzsis-declassified-file.pdf NZ Police, Ten One, "Rainbow Warrior 40 years": police.govt.nz/news/ten-one-magazine/rainbow-warrior-40-years Greenpeace Aotearoa, bombing fact file: greenpeace.org/aotearoa/about/our-history/bombing-of-the-rainbow-warrior/ NZHistory, Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior: nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/nuclear-free-new-zealand/rainbow-warrior NZ Herald, "At the end of the rainbow" (2010): nzherald.co.nz/nz/at-the-end-of-the-rainbow/2DN4XK4BGXQSO4LGBZJS3EZ5FM/ NZ Herald, "Rainbow Warrior 30 years on" (2015): nzherald.co.nz/nz/rainbow-warrior-30-years-on-the-moment-the-bombs-exploded/45GX2OGJ6JLYLVBKJCVN3FMVII/ Northern Advocate, "Rainbow's end: 20 years on" (2005): nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/rainbows-end-20-years-on-anger-and-love-still-linger/L2J4RLE2LGN4IFEIIPB7HUSWWY/ The Press, July 1985, via Papers Past: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz David Robie, Eyes of Fire, crew profile: eyes-of-fire.littleisland.nz/crew/pereira 1News, deckhand recalls the bombing (2024): 1news.co.nz/2024/10/19/newsmakers-rainbow-warrior-deckhand-recalls-french-bombing/ Stuff, survivors reflect: stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350646184/rainbow-warrior-survivors-reflect-on-that-fateful-night THE BOOKS Michael King, Death of the Rainbow Warrior (Penguin, 1986). The first full account of the police investigation, by one of New Zealand's leading historians, written with access to the investigators. Part of it is available as the BWB Texts ebook Bombing the Rainbow Warrior: bwb.co.nz Peter Willcox with Ronald B. Weiss, Greenpeace Captain (2016). The captain's own account of that night and its aftermath. Available on Kindle and in print. Written and hosted by Ryan Wolf. Researched and written with the assistance of AI tools. A Brevity Studios production. brevityplus.com Subscribe for every series, ad free, on launch day: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E81
    Thursday · 41 min

    E79 | The Boy in the Chair: The Confessions of Teina Pora - Part Three - Never Met Him

    A professor of false confessions who said no, then yes. A diagnosis nobody had looked for in twenty years. Five judges in London. In the final part of The Boy in the Chair, Teina Pora's case reaches the Privy Council, a retired judge goes through every piece of evidence ever used against him, and the man who said he'd never met him finally stands trial for Susan Burdett's murder. SUBSCRIBE Hear every series on the day it launches, ad free, plus all my other shows and bonus episodes: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ A NOTE ON SOURCING This series draws on the Privy Council's 2015 judgment, the 2016 reports of Hon Rodney Hansen QC to the Minister of Justice, later court decisions, contemporaneous reporting, and Michael Bennett's book In Dark Places. Where the official record and other accounts differ, we have followed the official record. THE BOOK In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex Cop's Fight for Justice, by Michael Bennett (Paul Little Books, 2016). Winner of the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Award for best non fiction. Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DUTFV38 SOURCES Pora v The Queen [2015] UKPC 9: https://jcpc.uk/uploads/jcpc_2013_0081_judgment_2c64906342.pdf Hon Rodney Hansen QC, innocence report (23 March 2016) and quantum report (31 May 2016), Ministry of Justice R v Rewa [2019] NZHC 577 (sentencing notes, Venning J) Rewa v R [2024] NZSC 28: https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/2024/2024-NZSC-28.pdf NZ Herald (Phil Taylor), "'Innocent man' in jail 20 years", 19 May 2012 NZ Herald (Phil Taylor), "Teina Pora's first interview: 'I forgive you, man'", 24 May 2015: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/teina-poras-first-interview-i-forgive-you-man/7BU7NPU4OYXAMCZQX5MCYS57CU/ RNZ, "Teina Pora freed from jail on parole", 14 April 2014: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/241609/teina-pora-freed-from-jail-on-parole RNZ, "Pora lawyer argues confession false", 5 November 2014: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/258578/pora-lawyer-argues-confession-false RNZ, "Privy Council reserves Pora decision", 6 November 2014: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/258692/privy-council-reserves-pora-decision RNZ, "Teina Pora's convictions quashed", 4 March 2015: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/267664/teina-pora's-convictions-quashed RNZ, "How justice for Susan Burdett took 27 years", 22 February 2019: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/383186/how-justice-for-susan-burdett-took-27-years SUPPORT If this series has raised anything for you, support is available in New Zealand: Safe to Talk (sexual harm helpline): 0800 044 334, text 4334 Need to talk? Call or text 1737 Women's Refuge: 0800 REFUGE (0800 733 843) Family Violence Information Line: 0800 456 450 In an emergency, call 111. If you have information about a crime, contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or Police on 105. The Veil is a Brevity Studios production. theguiltpodcast.com | brevityplus.com While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E80
    Wednesday · 38 min

    E78 | The Boy in the Chair: The Confessions of Teina Pora - Part Two - The House on Pah Road

    In 2000, with a serial rapist already convicted of raping Susan Burdett, a second jury found Teina Pora guilty of her murder. Nine years later, a former detective who'd once heard the case argued over in police circles picked up the phone, and went looking for the evidence that had convicted him. In Part Two of The Boy in the Chair, we follow the witnesses who tied Teina to Malcolm Rewa, the blue leaf earrings, the affidavits that took that case apart, and the long lost police interview tapes, including the night Teina was driven to Pah Road and couldn't find the house. SUBSCRIBE Hear every part of this series on the day it launches, ad free, plus all my other shows and bonus episodes: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ A NOTE ON SOURCING This series draws on the Privy Council's 2015 judgment, the 2016 reports of Hon Rodney Hansen QC to the Minister of Justice, later court decisions, contemporaneous reporting, and Michael Bennett's book In Dark Places. Where the official record and other accounts differ, we have followed the official record. THE BOOK In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex Cop's Fight for Justice, by Michael Bennett (Paul Little Books, 2016). Winner of the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Award for best non fiction. Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DUTFV38 SOURCES Pora v The Queen [2015] UKPC 9: https://jcpc.uk/uploads/jcpc_2013_0081_judgment_2c64906342.pdf Hon Rodney Hansen QC, Report on the compensation claim by Teina Anthony Pora (innocence report, 23 March 2016) and quantum report (31 May 2016), Ministry of Justice: https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/pora-teina-compensation-claim-innocence-report.pdf Rewa v R [2024] NZSC 28: https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/2024/2024-NZSC-28.pdf Court of Appeal of New Zealand, Annual Reports 1999 and 2000 Independent Police Conduct Authority, report on Police handling of investigations into Malcolm Rewa (July 2014) NZ Herald (Phil Taylor), "Susan Burdett: Did the police bungle this murder case?": https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/susan-burdett-did-the-police-bungle-this-murder-case/7NHBZOBDCIPHFUZEC7ENEIS2KA/ NZ Herald (Phil Taylor), "Teina Pora's first interview: 'I forgive you, man'", 24 May 2015: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/teina-poras-first-interview-i-forgive-you-man/7BU7NPU4OYXAMCZQX5MCYS57CU/ Woman's Day, "Whanau heals Teina Pora's heart", March 2016: https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/news/real-life/exclusive-whanau-heals-teina-poras-heart-24371/ SUPPORT If this episode has raised anything for you, support is available in New Zealand: Safe to Talk (sexual harm helpline): 0800 044 334, text 4334 Need to talk? Call or text 1737 Women's Refuge: 0800 REFUGE (0800 733 843) Family Violence Information Line: 0800 456 450 In an emergency, call 111. If you have information about a crime, contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or Police on 105. The Veil is a Brevity Studios production. theguiltpodcast.com | brevityplus.com While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E79
    November 8 · 39 min

    E77 | The Boy in the Chair: The Confessions of Teina Pora Part One - A Year to the Day

    On a Monday night in March 1992, Susan Burdett came home from bowling to her unit on Pah Road in Papatoetoe. About twenty minutes later, her neighbour heard the thuds. A year later to the day, a seventeen year old car thief from Otara was charged with her rape and murder, on the strength of his own confession. In Part One of The Boy in the Chair, our new feature series, we follow the investigation into Susan's death, the family members who pointed police toward Teina Pora, the reward that hung over a police interview room in Otahuhu, and the arrest, three years later, of a serial rapist who said he'd never met him. SUBSCRIBE Hear every part of this series on the day it launches, ad free, plus all my other shows and bonus episodes: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ A NOTE ON SOURCING This series draws on the Privy Council's 2015 judgment, the 2016 reports of Hon Rodney Hansen QC to the Minister of Justice, later court decisions, contemporaneous reporting, and Michael Bennett's book In Dark Places. Where the official record and other accounts differ, we have followed the official record. THE BOOK In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex Cop's Fight for Justice, by Michael Bennett (Paul Little Books, 2016). Winner of the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Award for best non fiction. Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DUTFV38 SOURCES Pora v The Queen [2015] UKPC 9: https://jcpc.uk/uploads/jcpc_2013_0081_judgment_2c64906342.pdf Hon Rodney Hansen QC, Report on the compensation claim by Teina Anthony Pora (innocence report, 23 March 2016) and quantum report (31 May 2016), Ministry of Justice R v Rewa [2019] NZHC 577 (sentencing notes, Venning J): https://www.justice.govt.nz/jdo_documents/workspace___SpacesStore_6f7d3da5_bbf3_4056_abba_eff950e2bf7e.pdf Rewa v R [2024] NZSC 28: https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/2024/2024-NZSC-28.pdf Independent Police Conduct Authority, report on Police handling of investigations into Malcolm Rewa (July 2014) RNZ, "Burdett's son denies lawyer's accusation he killed his mother", 12 February 2019: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/382312/burdett-s-son-denies-lawyer-s-accusation-he-killed-his-mother RNZ, "How justice for Susan Burdett took 27 years", 22 February 2019: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/383186/how-justice-for-susan-burdett-took-27-years NZ Herald (Phil Taylor), "Susan Burdett: Did the police bungle this murder case?": https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/susan-burdett-did-the-police-bungle-this-murder-case/7NHBZOBDCIPHFUZEC7ENEIS2KA/ SUPPORT If this episode has raised anything for you, support is available in New Zealand: Safe to Talk (sexual harm helpline): 0800 044 334, text 4334 Need to talk? Call or text 1737 Women's Refuge: 0800 REFUGE (0800 733 843) Family Violence Information Line: 0800 456 450 In an emergency, call 111. If you have information about a crime, contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or Police on 105. The Veil is a Brevity Studios production. theguiltpodcast.com | brevityplus.com While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E78
    November 5 · 40 min

    E76 | Feature Series | 5 4 3 2 1 - Part Three: The Confession

    On 9 August 2011, in a room at the Hyatt in Perth, the boss of the gang Brett Cowan had worked for all winter asked him a simple question. After nearly eight years of denials, Cowan answered it. Days later he led his new friends to the places where it had happened, police were waiting, and the search for Daniel Morcombe finally had somewhere to look. This final part follows the arrest, the search through the bushland and creek at Glass House Mountains, the trial that asked whether a confession made to undercover police could be trusted, and the family who never gave up until they brought their son home. This is the final part of a three part series. If you’re on the free feed, Parts One and Two are available now. SUBSCRIBE One Brevity Studios subscription unlocks every part of every series on the day it launches, plus all of Guilt: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ FURTHER READING Kate Kyriacou, The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer (Echo Publishing). Many of the words you heard from inside the operation come from this book, which was built on the operation’s own recordings and the people who ran it. Highly recommended: https://booktopia.com.au/the-sting-kate-kyriacou/book/9781760681036.html THE DANIEL MORCOMBE FOUNDATION Bruce and Denise Morcombe founded the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in 2005 to teach children how to keep themselves safe. Every year on the last Friday in October, schools across Australia wear red for Day for Daniel. Learn more about their work: https://danielmorcombe.com.au Support the foundation: https://danielmorcombe.com.au/get-involved/ A NOTE ON SOURCING Brett Peter Cowan was convicted in March 2014 of the murder of Daniel Morcombe, indecent treatment of a child under sixteen and interfering with a corpse. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of twenty years. His appeal, and the Attorney-General’s appeal against sentence, were dismissed by the Queensland Court of Appeal in May 2015, and the High Court refused special leave in March 2016. The State Coroner delivered findings in April 2019. The undercover officers are referred to only by their cover names. The confession and the account of Daniel’s death are given as recorded in the Court of Appeal judgment. The defence case is described as it was put at trial; no alternative suspect is named. Cowan’s relatives, former partners and the couple connected to his alibi are not named. Dialogue from inside the operation is drawn from covert recordings as quoted in the court judgments and in Kate Kyriacou’s The Sting. As of late October 2026, no one else has been charged in connection with Daniel’s death. This episode contains strong language from recorded conversations. SOURCES R v Cowan [2013] QSC 337, 12 Dec 2013 R v Cowan; R v Cowan; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2015] QCA 87, 21 May 2015 Cowan v The Queen [2016] HCATrans 57, 11 Mar 2016 Coroners Court of Queensland, findings of inquest into the death of Daniel James Morcombe, State Coroner Terry Ryan, 5 Apr 2019 Queensland Government ministerial statement on Day for Daniel, 29 Oct 2025 Kate Kyriacou, The Sting (Echo Publishing, 2015) ABC News and AAP, coverage of the arrest, search, committal, trial, verdict and funeral, 2011 to 2014 ABC News, Daniel’s Law public register, 2025 Newcastle Herald, 2023 (interview with Bruce Morcombe) SUPPORT This series deals with the abduction and murder of a child. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand). COMING NEXT The next feature series on The Veil heads home to South Auckland in 1992, to the murder of Susan Burdett, and the teenager who confessed to a crime he didn’t commit. Written and hosted by Ryan Wolf. Researched with AI assistance and fact-checked against the court judgments and coronial findings. A Brevity Studios production. https://theguiltpodcast.com | https://brevityplus.com While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E77
    November 3 · 38 min

    E75 | Feature Series | 5 4 3 2 1 - Part Two: The Gang

    5, 4, 3, 2, 1: The Incredible True Story of How Australian Police Trapped Daniel Morcombe’s Killer, Part Two of Three In April 2011, days after giving evidence at the inquest into Daniel Morcombe’s disappearance, Brett Cowan flew home to Perth and made a new friend on the plane. Within weeks he was out of work, out of a home and running jobs for what he believed was a powerful criminal organisation: debt collections, gun deliveries, brothel takings and a bag of diamonds worth close to a million dollars. The gang paid him, praised him and told him there was nothing in the world it couldn’t fix. He called it the first family he’d ever had. Every member of it was a police officer, and every word he said was being recorded. Then a notice arrived from the Coroners Court in Brisbane, and the man at the top of the gang asked to see him. This is Part Two of a three part series. Subscribers have all three parts now. On the free feed, Part Three, The Confession, is out Friday. SUBSCRIBE One Brevity Studios subscription unlocks every part of every series on the day it launches, plus all of Guilt: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ FURTHER READING Kate Kyriacou, The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer (Echo Publishing). This series relies heavily on Kate’s reporting, and her book is highly recommended: https://booktopia.com.au/the-sting-kate-kyriacou/book/9781760681036.html THE DANIEL MORCOMBE FOUNDATION Bruce and Denise Morcombe founded the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in 2005 to teach children how to keep themselves safe. Learn more about their work: https://danielmorcombe.com.au Support the foundation: https://danielmorcombe.com.au/get-involved/ A NOTE ON SOURCING Brett Peter Cowan was convicted in 2014 of the murder of Daniel Morcombe. His appeal was dismissed by the Queensland Court of Appeal in 2015 and the High Court refused special leave in 2016. The undercover officers in this episode are referred to only by their cover names. Every crime Cowan took part in during the operation was staged, and every debtor, sex worker and official he met was a police officer; no real offences were committed. Dialogue from the operation is drawn from covert recordings as quoted in the court judgments and in Kate Kyriacou’s The Sting. Where those accounts differ, the court record is followed. Cowan’s own claims and stories recorded during the operation are presented as his words, and none of the evidence connects them to anyone else. The Coroners Court notice to attend was genuine; the trial judge found it was not a ploy. Private individuals, including Cowan’s former partners and girlfriend, are not named. This episode contains strong language from recorded conversations. SOURCES R v Cowan [2013] QSC 337, 12 Dec 2013 R v Cowan; R v Cowan; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2015] QCA 87, 21 May 2015 Coroners Court of Queensland, findings of inquest into the death of Daniel James Morcombe, State Coroner Terry Ryan, 5 Apr 2019 Cowan v The Queen [2016] HCATrans 57, 11 Mar 2016 Kate Kyriacou, The Sting (Echo Publishing, 2015) SBS News / AAP, trial coverage, 2014 SUPPORT This series deals with the abduction and murder of a child. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand). Written and hosted by Ryan Wolf. Researched with AI assistance and fact-checked against the court judgments and coronial findings. A Brevity Studios production. https://theguiltpodcast.com | https://brevityplus.com While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E76
    November 1 · 41 min

    E74 | Feature Series | 5 4 3 2 1 - Part One: The Overpass

    5, 4, 3, 2, 1: The Incredible True Story of How Australian Police Trapped Daniel Morcombe’s Killer, Part One of Three On Sunday 7 December 2003, thirteen year old Daniel Morcombe walked from his family’s farm at Palmwoods to wait for a bus under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. He was going to Sunshine Plaza to buy Christmas presents for his family. The bus was running late, and when it finally came it drove straight past him. Minutes later, the next bus found nobody there. What followed became the largest investigation in Queensland’s history: thousands of interviews, a hunt for a blue car, a million dollar reward and a family who never stopped pushing. Seven years on, a coronial inquest put a man in the witness box for two days, and he gave nothing away. But on the flight home, someone sat down beside him. This is Part One of a three part series. Subscribers get all three parts today. On the free feed, Part Two, The Gang, is out Wednesday and Part Three follows on Friday. SUBSCRIBE One Brevity Studios subscription unlocks every part of every series on the day it launches, plus all of Guilt: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ FURTHER READING Kate Kyriacou, The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer (Echo Publishing). This series relies heavily on Kate’s reporting, and her book is highly recommended: https://booktopia.com.au/the-sting-kate-kyriacou/book/9781760681036.html THE DANIEL MORCOMBE FOUNDATION Bruce and Denise Morcombe founded the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in 2005 to teach children how to keep themselves safe. Learn more about their work: https://danielmorcombe.com.au Support the foundation: https://danielmorcombe.com.au/get-involved/ A NOTE ON SOURCING Brett Peter Cowan was convicted in 2014 of the murder of Daniel Morcombe. His appeal was dismissed by the Queensland Court of Appeal in 2015 and the High Court refused special leave in 2016. His earlier offending is described only as recorded by the coroner and the Court of Appeal. Every other person of interest in the investigation is unnamed, and none has been charged with any offence relating to Daniel. Persons of interest at the inquest were identified by code under suppression orders. The account of the bus and roadside witnesses follows the 2019 coronial findings, which note that some accounts conflict. Details of Daniel’s life and family come from Kate Kyriacou’s The Sting and from published interviews with the Morcombe family, and are attributed on air. SOURCES Coroners Court of Queensland, findings of inquest into the death of Daniel James Morcombe, State Coroner Terry Ryan, 5 Apr 2019 R v Cowan [2013] QSC 337, 12 Dec 2013 R v Cowan; R v Cowan; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2015] QCA 87, 21 May 2015 Cowan v The Queen [2016] HCATrans 57, 11 Mar 2016 Kate Kyriacou, The Sting (Echo Publishing, 2015) ABC News, coverage of the inquest, 1 and 6 Apr 2011 ABC News, 2009 (reward appeal) and 3 Dec 2012 (committal) ABC 7.30, interview with former detective Kenneth King Stephanie Wood, Brisbane Times / Sydney Morning Herald, 2014 (trial coverage) Brisbane Times, 2015 (Daniel Morcombe Foundation) Newcastle Herald, 2023 (interview with Bruce Morcombe) SUPPORT This episode deals with the abduction of a child. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand). Written and Researched with AI assistance and fact-checked against the coronial findings and court judgments. A Brevity Studios production. https://theguiltpodcast.com | https://brevityplus.com While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E75
    October 26 · 33 min

    E73 | Listener Cases | Who Killed Allison Newstead?

    Subscribe to The Veil get ad free listening, bonus episodes and early release and listen on any platform via Supporting Cast here: https://guilt.supportingcast.fm/ On Wednesday 6 October 1993, seventeen year old Allison Newstead went into Cessnock, a coal town in the NSW Hunter Valley, and never came home. Her car was found the next morning in the ex-servicemen's club carpark. A week later two men walking a bush track near the disused Pelton colliery found her body under two sheets of corrugated iron. She had no wounds and no fractures, toxicology ruled out an overdose, and the cause of her death has never been established. Her clothes turned up a year later in a plastic bag in other bushland. A man charged with concealing her body was acquitted in 1997. Police now say several people may have been there when Allison died. Who were they, and why has nobody spoken? Thanks to listener Caroline for suggesting this case. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING The NSW Government reward of $750,000 for information into Allison's death still stands. The case is with the State Crime Command's Unsolved Homicide Unit, Strike Force Bain. Police especially want to hear from people who knew Allison in 1993 and have never spoken to them, including anyone who may have been present when she died or who knows the circumstances of her death. Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. Please do not report information via NSW Police social media pages. The NSW Legislative Council inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons cases (1965 to 2010) is taking submissions until 30 October 2026: parliament.nsw.gov.au (search "unsolved murders inquiry"). A NOTE ON SOURCING No one has ever been convicted in connection with Allison's death. The 1994 inquest was terminated and referred to the DPP, so no coronial finding exists. A man charged with concealing her body and perverting the course of justice was acquitted by a jury in 1997; he is not guilty in law and is not named. A second man, per 2013 reporting, pleaded guilty to supplying amphetamines; no court has linked that offence to her death. The account of three people denying they saw Allison that night is her mother's, given to the Daily Telegraph in 2013; police have made no finding against anyone. The 1993 timeline comes from AAP reports in the Canberra Times. The purse detail is from 2018 reporting only. Police say evidence including her clothing is being re-examined; no result has been published. The working theory in Part Three is the host's reading of the public record, not a finding of any court or coroner. As of 26 October 2026 nobody has been charged over how Allison died. SOURCES NSW Police, $750,000 reward, Death of Allison Newstead: police.nsw.gov.au/can_you_help_us/rewards NSW Government Gazette No. 11, 3 Feb 1995, p700 (reward notice, 9 Dec 1994), via Trove Canberra Times (AAP), 10, 11, 15, 16 and 17 Oct 1993, via Trove Janet Fife-Yeomans, Daily Telegraph, 7 Oct 2013 Belinda-Jane Davis, Maitland Mercury / Newcastle Herald, Oct 2013 Matt Carr and Nick Bielby, Newcastle Herald, 5 and 6 Oct 2018 Krystal Sellars, Cessnock Advertiser, 29 Jun 2022; Gabriel Fowler, Newcastle Herald, 23 Jun 2022 (Operation Veritas) Carly Cook, ABC News, 22 Oct 2022 Simon McCarthy and Sam Rigney, Newcastle Herald, 22 and 23 Oct 2022 NSW LC Portfolio Committee No. 1, inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons cases, hearing transcript 11 Jun 2026 and terms of reference Cessnock Advertiser, Pelton colliery history, 2016 SUPPORT This episode discusses the death of a teenager and its effect on her family. If it raises anything for you: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia), 1737 (New Zealand). While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E74
    October 25 · 37 min

    E72 | Listener Cases | The Disappearance of Iraena Asher

    At 9pm on Sunday 10 October 2004, 25 year old Iraena Asher rang 111 from a house on Piha Road. She said she was afraid, that a man was pressuring her for sex, and that she had been given drugs. Police sent a taxi, which went to the wrong side of Auckland. A local family took her in for four hours. Just after 1am she walked out into a stormy night, and she was last seen naked under a streetlight, walking down Seaview Road towards the beach. A coroner found she went into the sea and drowned, and that the police failure to send a car contributed. Her body has never been found, and nobody saw her beyond the second streetlight. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING If you were at Piha on the night of 10 to 11 October 2004, stayed at the Piha camp ground that weekend, or know anything about Iraena's last day or her disappearance, please contact: Police non emergency: 105, or online at police.govt.nz Crime Stoppers (anonymous): 0800 555 111, crimestoppers-nz.org A NOTE ON SOURCING The heart of this episode is the Police Complaints Authority report of 18 January 2006, which includes transcripts of Iraena's calls with police, and the High Court judgment Carroll v Coroner's Court at Auckland [2013] NZHC 906, which reproduces parts of Coroner Peter Ryan's 2012 findings. The full coronial findings were not available online and were not obtained. Nobody has ever been charged in connection with Iraena's disappearance, and the coroner found no evidence of foul play. The people at the Piha Road house are not named in this episode, and some witnesses at the inquest had name suppression. Nothing in this episode suggests wrongdoing by anyone at that house. In 2013 the High Court quashed the coroner's finding that Julia Woodhouse, Bobbie Carroll and Henry Woodhouse contributed to her death, finding it rested on speculation. The findings that Iraena drowned and that the police failure contributed still stand. Some details, including where the taxi went and accounts of the inquest evidence, come from contemporaneous reporting in the NZ Herald, Stuff and RNZ. SOURCES Police Complaints Authority, report on the 111 call made by Iraena Asher, 18 Jan 2006 (ipca.govt.nz) Carroll v Coroner's Court at Auckland [2013] NZHC 906, 29 Apr 2013 (coronerscourt.govt.nz) NZ Police media releases, 12 to 28 Oct and 30 Nov 2004, 28 Feb 2005, 3 Jan 2023 Communications Centres Service Centre Independent External Review, May 2005 NZ Herald, Juliet Rowan, 15 Nov 2004; Anna Leask, 17 and 19 Jul 2012; Phil Taylor, 20 Sep 2019 Stuff, Kirsty Johnston, 18 Jul 2012 RNZ, 17 and 19 Jul 2012; 29 Apr 2013; Sam Olley, 16 Jan 2023 NZ Listener, Sarah Catherall, 22 Jan 2024 SUPPORT This episode discusses mental illness, a disappearance, sexual pressure and drowning. If it has raised anything for you: 1737, free call or text, any time Safe to Talk (sexual harm): 0800 044 334 Alcohol Drug Helpline: 0800 787 797 Youthline: 0800 376 633 While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E73
    October 19 · 33 min

    E71 | Listener Cases | The Mysterious Death of Phoebe Handsjuk

    On 2 December 2010, 24 year old Phoebe Handsjuk was found dying in the ground floor refuse room of her St Kilda Road apartment building, after coming down the rubbish chute from the twelfth floor. Police first treated it as suicide. Her grandfather, a retired detective, did not believe she could have climbed in. In 2014 Coroner Peter White found she entered the chute herself in a sleepwalking-like state brought on by Stilnox and alcohol, and that no one else was involved. The family has never accepted it, and the questions about the chute, the lost CCTV and the missing notes remain. Suggested by listener Angela. IN MEMORY Phoebe Handsjuk, 9 May 1986 to 2 December 2010. Baillee Schneider, 19 February 1993 to 23 June 2018. A NOTE ON SOURCING This episode is built on two published coronial findings: Coroner Peter White's finding into Phoebe's death (COR 2010 4605, 10 December 2014, amended February 2015) and Deputy State Coroner Caitlin English's finding into Baillee's death (COR 2018 3002, 23 April 2020). Coroner White found Phoebe's death was not the result of an assault by, or with the aid of, any other person. Coroner English found Baillee's death was not suspicious. The man both women were in a relationship with is not named. He has never been charged with any offence, he denied any involvement on oath, both coroners found no one else was involved, and nothing in this episode suggests otherwise. The Coroners Court of Victoria made non-publication orders over parts of the inquest material in Phoebe's case; this episode uses only the published finding and open court reporting. Phoebe's family does not accept the finding. SOURCES Coroners Court of Victoria, Finding into death with inquest, Phoebe Handsjuk, COR 2010 4605: coronerscourt.vic.gov.au Coroners Court of Victoria, Finding into death without inquest, Baillee Petra Schneider, COR 2018 3002: coronerscourt.vic.gov.au ABC News, 9 August 2013 and 10 December 2014; 21 June 2018 The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Richard Baker and Michael Bachelard, Phoebe's Fall (2016) and related reporting; Richard Baker, 24 June 2019 and 16 June 2020 Wendy Carlisle, RadioDoc Review, Vol 3(2), 2017 Robin Bowles, Into the Darkness: The Mysterious Death of Phoebe Handsjuk (Scribe, 2016) Premier of Victoria, Coroners Court appeal process to be reviewed, 16 December 2016; Victorian Coronial Council, report on rights to appeal coronial findings, 2017 phoebehandsjuk.com (family site) SUPPORT This episode discusses depression and a death by suicide. If you are struggling, please reach out. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636, Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467. New Zealand: 1737 (call or text), Lifeline 0800 543 354. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E72
    October 18 · 36 min

    E70 | Listener Cases | Who Killed Gordana Kotoveski?

    On a Thursday night in November 1994, sixteen year old Gordana Kotevski left Charlestown Square to walk about 500 metres to her aunt's house on Powell Street. A passing driver saw two young men at a white Toyota Hilux, then a girl walking with a shopping bag. Minutes later her aunt heard screams and men's voices. Gordana's torn bag and her purse were left near the house. A 2003 inquest found she was deceased, most likely as a result of foul play. In 2026 police searched properties at Edgeworth and West Wallsend, excavated an Edgeworth backyard, and appealed for two anonymous callers from 1994 and 1996. Nobody has ever been charged. Suggested by listener Rene. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING A NSW Government reward of $1,000,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons responsible for Gordana's disappearance. Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au (confidential). Strike Force Bambil, Belmont Detectives: 02 4922 8774, SFBambil@police.nsw.gov.au (per NSW Police, June 2026). Police want to hear from the man who rang Newcastle Police Station about 6.50pm on Monday 5 December 1994, and the man who rang KOFM Newcastle about 9.25pm on Wednesday 18 September 1996, and from anyone who saw a light coloured, single cab Toyota Hilux with a silver work tray around Charlestown in late 1994. The NSW Legislative Council inquiry into unsolved murders and long term missing persons cases (1965 to 2010) names Gordana, Robyn Hickie and Amanda Robinson in its terms of reference. Submissions close 30 October 2026. A NOTE ON SOURCING Nobody has ever been charged over Gordana's disappearance and no court has found anyone responsible. Corey Lovett was named as a person of interest at the 2003 inquest; he has never been charged and is presumed innocent. The allegation about him was never tested, and we could not find whether he gave evidence. He is named because the inquest named him and the lost statement is part of the case. The written 2003 finding is not published online; inquest evidence comes from contemporaneous ABC and Sydney Morning Herald court reports. Police have not said what was seized in April 2026 or what the May excavation found. The theory in Part Three is the host's reading of the public record, not a police or coronial finding. The investigation is open. SOURCES NSW Police reward page and releases, 4 May and 26 June 2026: police.nsw.gov.au SMH, Greg Wendt, Witness hypnosis called for in lost girl case, 6 Nov 2002 SMH, Les Kennedy, On the scent without a clue, 9 Jul 2003 ABC News, 5 and 6 Mar 2003; 27 Feb 2009; 25 May 2022; 24 Nov 2023; 18 Jul 2025; 4 May 2026 ABC News, Hickie and Robinson rewards, 16 Aug 2021; Torana lead, 25 Nov 2019 Newcastle Herald, 2009 to 2026 coverage, incl. Dan Proudman (2011) Newcastle Weekly, Rod Thompson, 2024 to 2026 New Idea, 2020 (Peggy Kotevski interview) news.com.au, Nathan Jolly, 2016 NSW Legislative Council, Q&A No. 78 (2023) and inquiry 3148 terms of reference NSW Coroners Court, State Coroner's report on deaths in custody 2006 (Coroners Act 1980 s 19) Crime Commission Act 2012 (NSW), ss 21, 24, 39, 39A AAP, October 2024 (police statement on common offender) Australian Missing Persons Register profile: missingpersons.gov.au SUPPORT This episode discusses the abduction and suspected murder of a teenager. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14, 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732. New Zealand: 1737, Safe to Talk 0800 044 334. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E71
    October 12 · 37 min

    E69 | Auckland Unsolved | Who Killed Katrina Jefferies?

    At about 7.30pm on Sunday 10 July 2005, 22-year-old Katrina Jefferies left the Mt Roskill home she shared with her mother, her younger brother and her 20-month-old son. On the morning of Tuesday 12 July she was found partly undressed on a bank beside Waikowhai Road, wrapped in a red tarpaulin, a yellow raincoat and black rubbish bags, about a kilometre from home. She had been killed somewhere else. The police have never said how she died. They have traced everything found with her to one Mt Roskill address, and believe more than one person knows what happened. As of October 2026, nobody has been charged. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING Police want to hear from anyone who saw Katrina between the evening of Sunday 10 July and Tuesday 12 July 2005, or who knows where she went and who she was with. They also want to hear from anyone who was in Waikowhai Reserve or around Hillsborough Road in the early hours of Tuesday 12 July 2005. And they are asking about the red tarpaulin, the yellow Stormwear raincoat, the black rubbish bags, a framed river and mountain print signed "Haver", and a piece of marine plywood found with her, and about the clothes she left home in, which have never been found: blue tracksuit pants, a black duffle coat, burgundy slip-on shoes (size 10), a peaked cap and a black Walkman cassette player. Call 0800 COLD CASE (0800 2653 2273), use the cold case contact form at police.govt.nz, or call Police on 105. Anonymous information: Crime Stoppers 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-nz.org. A NOTE ON SOURCING Nobody has ever been charged with Katrina's death, and no court has made any finding against any person. In November 2011 Coroner Gordon Matenga found that she died at the hands of another and suppressed the cause of death, which has never been published. We did not obtain the full text of the finding and rely on contemporaneous reporting of it. The man charged in 2014 after Operation Lyra interviews was convicted of offending against other women; police have said those charges were unrelated to Katrina, and nothing in the public record connects him to her death. The 2016 claim reported by One News is untested. The investigation remains open. SOURCES NZ Police, Cold Case: Katrina Jefferies, 2005: police.govt.nz/stolenwanted/coldcase/2019/katrina-jefferies-2005 NZ Police releases, 13, 14 and 21 Jul 2005, 26 Aug 2005, 25 Jun 2007 and 23 Jun 2019 Kirsty Wynn, "Haunted by the death of Katrina", Herald on Sunday, 31 Jul 2005 Martin Johnston, NZ Herald, 26 Aug 2005 NZPA, "Murdered woman died 'highly unusual death'", 26 Jul 2005, and "Mother thinks of her murdered daughter every day", 26 Jun 2007, via nzherald.co.nz NZ Herald, "Jefferies family now have body", 19 Jul 2005; "New murder information 'contradicts earlier statement'", 3 Jul 2007; "Woman claims lead on 2005 cold case", 20 Apr 2016 Elizabeth Binning and Louisa Cleave, "Unsolved: the murder mysteries of 2005", NZ Herald, 2 Jan 2006 "More false confessions in cold case", NZPA via ODT, 21 Nov 2011 Jared Savage, NZ Herald, 24 May 2016 and 23 Jun 2019 RNZ and 1News, 23 Jun 2019 High Court sentencing in the Marie Jamieson case, [2010] NZHC 540 SUPPORT This episode discusses the killing of a young mother. If it raises anything for you: 1737 (call or text), Victim Support 0800 842 846, Alcohol Drug Helpline 0800 787 797. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E70
    October 11 · 34 min

    E68 | Auckland Unsolved | The Murder of Claire Hills

    Before dawn on 28 April 1998, Claire "Lisa" Hills, a 30-year-old McDonald's shift manager, left her Herne Bay flat for a 3.30am start at Auckland Airport and never arrived. About three hours later a woman walking on Māngere Mountain watched a man set a car alight beside the sports clubrooms, then came face to face with him as he ran. Lisa was in the back seat, alive but probably unconscious. A DNA profile believed to be her killer's has excluded the police's original prime suspect and around 300 other men, and it has never matched anyone on the New Zealand or Australian databanks. Police say all they need is a name. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING Call Operation Hills on 0800 OP HILLS (0800 674 4557) or Police on 105. To stay anonymous, call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Police have asked about: anyone who saw a black Mazda Familia hatchback in South Auckland between 3am and 6am on 28 April 1998; the steering wheel lock missing from her car; where the killer got the petrol, which police believe he brought in a container; a slim man in dark clothing, possibly in a hooded sweatshirt, seen running from Māngere Domain towards the motorway and Māngere Bridge shops; and anyone with concerns about a person's behaviour after April 1998. Police say they can assure confidentiality, and that simply offering a name could be the key. A NOTE ON SOURCING No one has ever been charged in connection with Lisa's death, and no court has made any finding against any person. The coroner found that she died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning after being left in a car set on fire by a person or persons unknown. The men described in this episode as suspects, including the man the first inquiry suspected, are not named. Police have said publicly that DNA excluded both her estranged husband and a convicted South Auckland rapist who matches that description. The police reconstruction of the abduction at traffic lights is their best reading, not a proven sequence. Witness accounts come from police statements and the witness's 2018 interview with the Herald on Sunday. Published times for the fire vary between about 5.25am and 5.45am. SOURCES Anna Leask, "Claire Hills murder cold-case: witness tells of coming face-to-face with killer", Herald on Sunday, 22 Apr 2018 Anna Leask, "Cold case: police look to search overseas in hunt for Claire Hills' killer", Herald on Sunday, 22 Apr 2018 "Someone knows Claire Hills' killer", Herald on Sunday editorial, 22 Apr 2018 Tony Wall, "Police: we know who killed Claire Hills" and "Baffling murder mystery", NZ Herald, Jun 2000 Scott Inglis, "New police team to hunt Claire Hills' killer", NZ Herald, Jun 2000 Tony Stickley, "Claire Hills police 'grasping at straws'", NZ Herald, Jun 2000 Scott Inglis, "Police need more evidence in Claire Hills murder case", NZ Herald, 28 Apr 2001 NZPA, "Horror death still haunts investigators", NZ Herald, 10 May 2002 Patrick Gower, "Book remains open on five-year-old murder", NZ Herald, 29 Apr 2003 NZPA, "Killer must be haunted by murder, say police", NZ Herald, 9 Dec 2009 Anna Leask, "A Moment In Crime: Murder at Mangere Mountain", NZ Herald podcast, Jul 2021 SUPPORT This episode discusses sexual violence and a violent death. Safe to Talk 0800 044 334 (24/7, sexual harm), 1737 (call or text). In Australia: 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732, Lifeline 13 11 14. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E69
    October 5 · 37 min

    E67 | Auckland Unsolved | The Murder of Tracey Anne Patient

    On the night of 29 January 1976, thirteen-year-old Tracey Ann Patient left a friend's house in Henderson, West Auckland, and ran for home along Great North Road, late for her 9.30 curfew. She was last seen about five minutes from her front door. The next morning a man walking his dog found her body in bush beside a layby on Scenic Drive in the Waitākere Ranges, strangled with pantyhose tightened with a piece of wood. Nearly two years later an anonymous caller led police to her missing ring, wrapped in tissue in an Avondale rubbish bin, and gave them a six-digit number, 126040. The caller promised to ring back and never did. Nobody has ever been charged. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING Information can be given anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 (crimestoppers-nz.org), or to Police on 105, quoting reference 990810/0373. Over the years police have asked about the meaning of the number 126040, about the identity of the person who rang Henderson police on 22 November 1977, about the driver of a cream or white 1967 Mark II Ford Cortina seen on Great North Road near Edmonton Road that night, and about anyone who has kept quiet about what they know. Tracey's sister Debbie asks people to come forward even if the person they suspect has died. A NOTE ON SOURCING No one has ever been charged in connection with Tracey's death, and no court has made any finding against any person. The coroner recorded a finding of homicide by strangulation with a ligature. Over fifty years police have examined hundreds of persons of interest. None is named in this episode, and anyone who was questioned and cleared is presumed innocent. Accounts from 1976 and 1977 come from New Zealand Press Association reports carried in The Press and accessed through Papers Past. Contemporary police statements say the pantyhose were not Tracey's, while some later reporting describes them as her own. Later police statements date the ring call to 1978, but contemporaneous reports put it at 22 November 1977. Debbie Sheppard's words come from her published interviews. The investigation remains open. SOURCES The Press (NZPA reports), 31 Jan 1976 to 18 Oct 1990, via Papers Past: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz "Police hunt for murderer of strangled girl", The Press, 31 Jan 1976 "Car driver may have lead to girl's murder", The Press, 2 Feb 1976 "Evidence body was moved", The Press, 12 Feb 1976 "Tracey Patient reward of $10,000", The Press, 22 May 1976 "Ring a new clue in death?", The Press, 16 Dec 1977 "Patient inquest closed", The Press, 7 Feb 1978 "Numbers mystery in Tracy Patient case", The Press, 12 Dec 1980 NZ Police media release, Jan 2016: police.govt.nz Lynley Ward, "Tracey Ann Patient killing: the 40-year murder mystery", NZ Herald, 28 Jan 2016 "New witness in Tracey Ann Patient cold case", NZ Herald, 3 Jul 2016 Matthew Gray, "Tracey Ann Patient: the case that shocked a nation", Stuff, 29 Jan 2016 "Mystery remains in cold case murder", Timaru Herald, 26 Oct 2016 RNZ, "Mystery of 40-year-old murder case continues", Oct 2016 Jared Savage, "What happened to Tracey Ann Patient in cold case murder 49 years ago?", NZ Herald, 29 Jan 2025 Debbie Sheppard with Claudia Siron, "Cold case murder: Do you know who killed Tracey Ann Patient?", that's life!, 9 Apr 2025 SUPPORT This episode discusses the murder of a child. If it raises anything for you: 1737 (call or text), Youthline 0800 376 633, Safe to Talk 0800 044 334. In Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E68
    October 4 · 39 min

    E66 | Auckland Unsolved | Who Killed Elsie Walker?

    On the night of 1 October 1928, seventeen-year-old Elsie Walker vanished from her aunt and uncle's farm at Pāpāmoa, near Te Puke, in her apron and sand shoes. The family car vanished with her. By morning it was parked in a Papatoetoe street, with fuel for about 275 kilometres burned and a wheel changed on the road. Four days later a boy found Elsie's body under scrub in a scoria pit at Panmure. Police said she had driven herself. The coroner said she couldn't drive, that a man was at the wheel, and that he could not say who. Two inquiries, a 15,000-signature petition and a change to the law later, the case has never been solved. A NOTE ON SOURCING Elsie's cousin, William Alfred Bayly, was publicly suspected at the time but was never charged with any offence connected to her death. At the 1929 inquest he swore he was in Auckland on 1 October 1928, and the police told the inquest they had found no evidence placing him anywhere near Pāpāmoa. The later claims that he was seen on a train that day came from witnesses whose earlier statements to police contradicted them, and the Minister of Justice rejected them. No court ever made any finding about him in relation to Elsie Walker. In 1934 he was convicted of murdering Samuel and Christobel Lakey at Ruawaro, and he was executed that year. That conviction is not evidence about Elsie's death, and this episode does not treat it as such. He is named because everyone involved is long dead, the suspicion against him is part of the public historical record, and it shaped everything that followed. Courtroom testimony in this episode comes from the New Zealand Herald's day-by-day reporting of the January 1929 inquest. It is close to verbatim but it is press gallery reporting, not a transcript. The coroner's original file (Archives New Zealand, J46 1929/187) has not been digitised and was not consulted. One claim reported only by NZ Truth is not used in the narration. The coroner's open finding still stands: death from concussion following a blow to the head, with nothing to show whether the blow was accidental or deliberate. SOURCES New Zealand Herald, inquest coverage, 8 Oct 1928 to 26 Jan 1929, and follow-up coverage Feb to Nov 1929, via Papers Past: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz Coroner's finding, reported in "The Tamaki Mystery: Open Verdict Given", NZ Herald, 26 Jan 1929: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19290126.2.105 Auckland Star, 6 and 8 Oct 1928, via Papers Past NZ Truth, "New developments in Elsie Walker mystery", 8 Aug 1929: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTR19290808.2.26 "Police Exonerated", report of the Page Commission, NZ Herald, 5 Apr 1929: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19290405.2.114 Statement by the Minister of Justice on the Elsie Walker case, AJHR 1929, H-28: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1929-I.2.3.2.33 Public Petitions Committee reports, AJHR 1929, I-01 (Petition No. 414): paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1929-I.2.3.3.1 Police annual report, AJHR 1929, H-16 "Reopening of Inquests: Legislation Passed", Auckland Star, 30 Sep 1930, via Papers Past "Elsie Walker's Death: Reference in Bayly Case", Pahiatua Herald, 18 Jan 1934, via Papers Past Northcroft clemency memorial, reported in NZ Herald, 14 Jul 1934, via Papers Past Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, "Bayly, William Alfred": teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4b15/bayly-william-alfred Archives New Zealand catalogue, coronial records for the Walker and Lakey cases: collections.archives.govt.nz While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #67
    September 28 · 40 min

    E65 | Special | Sydney Unsolved - The Disappearance of Katrina Bohnenkamp

    She was removed from her parents at two and placed under the parental responsibility of the Minister. Between two and fifteen she went through thirteen different carers and care facilities, and in her last two years she was reported missing thirty three times. Just after midnight on 26 October 2012, police found the fifteen year old inside a Strathfield boarding house, did a risk assessment and left her there. One of the adults present had given them a false name. A sergeant filed a Child at Risk report at two in the morning. Nobody followed it up, and she was not reported missing for another eight days. In 2020 a coroner found she is dead, and that she died in suspicious circumstances. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING A $500,000 NSW Government reward stands for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Katrina's disappearance or death, and for information leading to her recovery. The investigation is Strike Force Delange, run by detectives at Auburn. Following the coroner's recommendation the case was referred to the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Unit. Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000, or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence and you do not have to give your name. In November 2019 police released a photograph taken from Katrina's own Facebook page in the months before she disappeared, showing her with an unidentified man with a shaved head, and asked the public to help identify him. He has not been publicly identified. Police have never established where Katrina was sleeping during the last three months of her life. She told a cousin she had a little flat and was happy there. It has never been found. A NOTE ON SOURCING This episode is built on the findings of Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes, 2 October 2020, delivered after eleven hearing days and read in full. The coroner found Katrina died on or after 26 October 2012, that the evidence does not allow findings as to the place, manner or cause of her death, and that she died in suspicious circumstances. She found the people last with Katrina gave inconsistent and varying versions of when they last saw her, then expressly declined to comment further because the police investigation is ongoing. Nobody has ever been charged. No court has made any adverse finding against any person in connection with Katrina's disappearance. Her father is named because she carries his surname, because he gave evidence at the inquest, and because he candidly accepted there that he was not a good role model for her. Nothing here suggests he had any involvement in her disappearance, and the coroner made no such finding. Other adults associated with the Strathfield address are deliberately not named, for the reason the coroner gave. The coroner made no recommendations against the Department of Communities and Justice, on the basis that without a finding as to manner of death she could not assess how significant its shortcomings were. Katrina's caseworker is not named here. SOURCES Inquest findings, Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes, 2 October 2020: coroners.nsw.gov.au NSW Police, reward and appeal, Strike Force Delange: police.nsw.gov.au ABC News, Patrick Begley, on the delay in naming Katrina publicly, 19 Nov 2019 Yahoo News Australia, on the Facebook photograph, 28 Nov 2019 SUPPORT This episode deals with a missing child, the death of a teenager, children in state care, family violence and drug use. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14. Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800. 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732. New Zealand: Need to talk? 1737. Youthline 0800 376 633. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E66
    September 27 · 38 min

    E64 | Special | Sydney Unsolved - The Acid Murder

    For about three weeks in December 2013, a homeless woman caught the same bus out of Liverpool at eight each night, sat in the same seat, fell asleep, and was woken at her stop by the driver. Each time there were more bandages around her head. She begged in shopping centres, walked into a hospital lobby and declined a doctor. On 4 January 2014 police found Monika Chetty in bushland at West Hoxton with full thickness acid burns to eighty per cent of her body, injuries a surgeon later put at three to four weeks old. She died four weeks after that. In 2024 a coroner found she was killed. Nobody has ever been charged. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING A $500,000 NSW Government reward stands for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Ms Chetty's death. The investigation is Strike Force Lanlo, and following the coroner's recommendation it was referred in June 2024 to the NSW Police Force's Unsolved Homicide Team for further review and evaluation. Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000, or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. Four specific things have never been answered. Who supplied roughly nine litres of acid in Sydney's south west in late 2013. Where she was lying when it was poured on her. Who paid her up to $20,000 for an immigration visa that never came. And who she was speaking to on the telephone in the last days of December, when a bus driver heard her whisper, why are you doing this to me. In 2014 police specifically asked Sydney's Sikh and Hindu communities for information about her final weeks. A NOTE ON SOURCING This episode is built on the coronial finding of Magistrate Elaine Truscott, handed down on 28 March 2024, which was read in full, and on the Commissioner of Police's response of 14 June 2024. The coroner found that Monika Chetty's death was the result of a homicide by a person or persons unknown, and that the cause of death was complications from burns, those burns being from acid doused over 80 per cent of her body. She found the fatal burns were caused by another person or persons, in circumstances other than those Monika described to police. Four people were separately represented at the inquest. All are living, none has ever been charged, and the coroner made no adverse finding against any of them. Non-publication orders were made during the hearing. None of them is named or identified in this episode, and that is deliberate. Monika Chetty is widely described in reporting as a nurse. The coroner's finding does not. It records that she worked in a nursing home between 2001 and 2003 and was otherwise not formally employed. This episode follows the finding. The NSW Police reward page and contemporaneous reporting date the discovery to 3 January 2014. The coronial finding says 4 January. The finding is followed here and the conflict is stated on air. SOURCES Inquest into the death of Monika Chetty, findings of Magistrate Truscott, 28 March 2024: coroners.nsw.gov.au Response of the Commissioner of Police to the coronial recommendation, 14 June 2024: dcj.nsw.gov.au NSW Police, reward and appeal, Strike Force Lanlo: police.nsw.gov.au ABC News, reporting on the case in February 2014, including Superintendent James Johnson and Ronald Chetty ABC News, inquest coverage, November 2020 SUPPORT This episode describes serious burn injuries, homelessness, gambling addiction and the death of a woman. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14. Gambling Help 1800 858 858. 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732. New Zealand: Need to talk? 1737. Gambling Helpline 0800 654 655. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E65
    September 21 · 41 min

    E63 | Special | Sydney Unsolved - The Disappearance of Juanita Nielsen

    She published a local newspaper out of her own front room and used it to fight a developer who wanted to put three forty-five storey towers on her street. On a Friday morning she walked into the Carousel Cabaret in Kings Cross for a meeting about advertising, rang her business partner at half past ten to say she was running late, and was never seen again. Two men were later convicted of conspiring to abduct her four days earlier. Nobody has ever been charged over her disappearance. In 1983 a coroner's jury found police inquiries had been inhibited by an atmosphere of corruption. Eleven years later a federal parliamentary committee found something else. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING A $1 million reward, announced on 21 June 2021, stands for information about the 1975 disappearance and suspected murder of Juanita Nielsen, or for the location of her remains. The case is held by the Unsolved Homicide Team as Strike Force Euclid. Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000, or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. Do not report through police social media. A NOTE ON SOURCING Juanita Nielsen has never been found. There is no body, no scene and no cause of death. The only physical trace ever recovered is her handbag and personal effects, found on a freeway near Penrith on 7 July 1975. Nobody has ever been charged over her disappearance or death. Two men, Eddie Trigg and Shayne Martin-Simmonds, were convicted of conspiring to kidnap her on 30 June 1975, four days before she vanished. A third man charged with that conspiracy, Lloyd Marshall, was acquitted in 1980 and is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Frank Theeman, Abe Saffron, James McCartney Anderson and Fred Krahe are all named in this episode. All four are dead. None was ever charged in connection with Juanita Nielsen. Theeman, Saffron and Anderson each denied involvement on oath at the 1983 inquest. The committee that examined Anderson's dealings with the National Crime Authority recorded that he had apparently never been convicted of any offence. Loretta Crawford's 2004 television account has never been tested in a criminal court and no one has been charged as a result of it. This episode reports that she made the allegation. It does not repeat the names of the individuals she placed at the scene. The 1983 coronial finding of City Coroner Bert Wilson is not published online. Its wording here is taken from the Australian Dictionary of Biography. The 1984 internal police inquiry that cleared three senior officers was not obtained. SOURCES The National Crime Authority and James McCartney Anderson, report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, March 1994, read in full: aph.gov.au NSW Police, reward and appeal, Strike Force Euclid: police.nsw.gov.au Australian Dictionary of Biography, Juanita Joan Nielsen, by Richard Morris, volume 15 Dictionary of Sydney, on the 1983 inquest, by Darrienne Wyndham ABC News, $1 million reward announcement, 21 June 2021 ABC News and Unravel: Juanita, Michael Dulaney, 2021, for Arthur King's account in his own words SUPPORT This episode deals with the abduction and suspected murder of a woman, and with the kidnapping and threatening of a man. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14. 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732. New Zealand: Need to talk? 1737. Safe to Talk 0800 044 334. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E64
    September 20 · 42 min

    E62 | Special | Sydney Unsolved - The Disappearance of Trudie Adams

    Just after midnight, an eighteen year old left a dance at the Newport Surf Life Saving Club and walked out to Barrenjoey Road to hitchhike home to Avalon. Her boyfriend watched her get into a light coloured Holden panel van. Nobody has seen Trudie Adams since. In the weeks that followed, around fifteen young women came forward to say they had been abducted at gunpoint on the same road by two men in disguise, driven into the bush and raped. Detectives had a name within months. Nobody has ever been charged, and the coroner who finally heard the case in 2011 found that the person responsible never came to police attention. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING A $250,000 reward offered by the NSW Government stands for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Trudie's suspected death. The case is held by the Unsolved Homicide Team as Strike Force Keldie, and police say they are still working strong lines of inquiry, with inquiries run in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and New Zealand. Police also want to hear from any woman attacked on the northern beaches who has never reported it. The linked assaults ran from 1971 to 1978 in and around Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, against girls and young women aged 14 to 20. Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000. You can remain anonymous. A NSW parliamentary inquiry into unsolved murders and long-term missing persons cases between 1965 and 2010 is sitting now, before Portfolio Committee No. 1. Submissions close 30 October 2026, through the Parliament of NSW website. A NOTE ON SOURCING Trudie Adams has never been found and no cause of death has ever been established. There is no body, no scene and no forensic material connected to her. Every forensic detail in this episode belongs to the women who survived the linked assaults. Neville Tween, named in this episode, was never charged over Trudie Adams or over any of the assaults, denied all of it, gave evidence at the 2011 inquest and died in custody in 2013. No court has made any finding against him in this case. His associate is not named here, because he has never been charged with anything. Mark Standen has never been charged with anything relating to Trudie Adams or the assaults, and no court or inquiry has found that he protected Neville Tween. The ABC put those allegations to him in 2018 and he denied them at length in writing. His own words are read in the episode. He was released on parole on 1 June 2024. The 2011 coronial finding of Deputy State Coroner Scott Mitchell is not published by the NSW Coroners Court, which does not publish every finding. What he found is reported here from coverage filed the day he delivered it, not from the document itself. Survivor accounts and several investigator quotes come from one body of reporting, the 2018 ABC investigation by Neil Mercer and Ruby Jones. SOURCES NSW Police, reward and appeal, Strike Force Keldie Neil Mercer, Submission 63 to the NSW unsolved murders inquiry, 24 March 2026 Parliament of NSW, Portfolio Committee No. 1, inquiry page and transcripts ABC News, Unravel: Barrenjoey Road, Neil Mercer and Ruby Jones, 2018 ABC News inquest coverage, January to April 2011 NSW State Parole Authority media release, 17 May 2024 Stab Magazine on the surf film Highway One, 1 November 2018 SUPPORT This episode deals with sexual violence and with the murder of a young woman. Australia: 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732. Lifeline 13 11 14. New Zealand: Safe to Talk 0800 044 334. Need to talk? 1737. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E63
    September 14 · 41 min

    E61 | Murder at Sea? Part Two - Fatal Honeymoon (AUS)

    Eleven days after her wedding, 26-year-old Tina Watson died on a honeymoon dive 48 nautical miles off Townsville. She was found on the sea bed in 30 metres of water with her regulator in her mouth and most of her air still in her tank. Her husband, Gabe Watson, was committed for trial for her murder by a Queensland coroner, pleaded guilty instead to manslaughter by criminal negligence, served 18 months, was deported, and was then tried for capital murder in Alabama. That trial collapsed before the defence called a witness. Two countries, eight years, one conviction, one acquittal, and no jury verdict of any kind about how she died. A NOTE ON SOURCING David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson was convicted in Queensland on his own plea of manslaughter on the basis of criminal negligence, for failing in the duty he undertook as his wife's dive buddy. He was sentenced on 5 June 2009 to four and a half years imprisonment suspended after 12 months, increased on the Attorney-General's appeal to suspension after 18 months. He was acquitted of murder in Jefferson County, Alabama, on 23 February 2012, on a judgment of acquittal granted by Circuit Judge Tommy Nail at the close of the state's case. An acquittal cannot be appealed. No court in either country has found that he intended to kill his wife, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence. As at September 2026 there have been no further proceedings against him anywhere. The theory that he interfered with his wife's air supply was advanced publicly by Queensland investigators. It was never tested at trial, never proved and was abandoned. It was also never disproved. The Police Diving Squad's examination of her equipment found no life-threatening fault in any part of it and her cylinder still held 2,200 psi, which rules out a malfunction but is consistent with either an accident or the police theory. Two official records conflict on how she died. The coroner recorded drowning. Chesterman JA, in the Court of Appeal, found she did not drown and that the cause was asphyxiation, "for some reason wholly unexplained in the materials provided". That conflict is left standing in the episode because neither court has resolved it. The coroner's findings date Watson's rescue diver certification to 2001; the agreed statement of facts before the Court of Appeal says April 1999. The episode uses the agreed facts. Mike Ball Expeditions Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Cairns Magistrates Court on 9 May 2007 to a workplace health and safety offence and was fined $6,500 plus $1,500 in costs, for failing to follow its own procedures, which the inquest was told were significantly stricter than Queensland law required. Trial testimony comes from court reporting, reliable as to substance but not exact wording. One witness quotation is paraphrased. SOURCES Inquest into the death of Christina Mae Watson, Findings of Inquest, Coroner David Glasgow, Townsville, delivered 20 June 2008. courts.qld.gov.au R v Watson; ex parte A-G (Qld) [2009] QCA 279, 18 September 2009. Statement of David Gabriel Watson to Det Snr Const K J Gehringer, Townsville CIB, 22 October 2003. QPS Police Diving Squad, evaluation of scuba equipment, Snr Const D M E Netting, 10 September 2004. Victoria Colvin, "Plea Bargaining and Miscarriage of Justice" (2015) 34 University of Queensland Law Journal. Queensland Museum, SS Yongala online exhibition. Contemporaneous court reporting of the Alabama trial, February 2012. SUPPORT This episode deals with a sudden death and with a family's long grief. New Zealand: free call or text 1737. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts. If you would like to suggest a case, you can message us via our website at www.brevityplus.com Subscribers get ad free listening to The Veil and all of our podcasts. Please consider subscribing to support our work. This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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