
About this episode
The episode investigates Tammy Shipley's plea for safety and the tragic events that followed her request for police protection.
Tammy Shipley asked to be arrested so she could feel safe. After she was placed under 24-hour surveillance, something terrible took place. A new three-part series by Kirstie Wellauer and Joanna McCarthy investigates how it unfolded. A loving mother of five, Tammy could really make her kids laugh. But she'd started to believe she was in danger — that someone was out to get her. A couple of weeks before Christmas, she walked into a Sydney police station looking for protection. She asked to be arrested and just wanted to feel safe. She was put under 24-hour surveillance. Then, over the course of several hours, something terrible took place. Something no one noticed. Tammy's Story is a three-part investigation into how this could have happened.
Topics covered
- safety
- surveillance
- investigation
- motherhood
- danger
- police
Keywords
- Tammy Shipley
- surveillance
- police
- safety
- investigation
- mother of five
- danger
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Sydney
More episodes of Background Briefing
- 03 Tammy's Story | New Asylums · June 11, 2026 · 33 min
- 02 Tammy's Story | Searching for Safety · June 3, 2026 · 32 min
- 01 Tammy's Story | The Red Cup · May 27, 2026 · 30 min
- 03 In Search of the Missing Artist | The Name · April 24, 2026 · 33 min
- 02 In Search of the Missing Artist | The Plastic · April 17, 2026 · 34 min
- 01 In Search of the Missing Artist | The Sculptor · April 11, 2026 · 40 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Background Briefing podcast page.