Real Crime with Adam Shand

Ivan Milat murdered seven young backpackers in the Belanglo State Forest. But were those his only victims? Investigative journalist Camille Bianchi joins Adam Shand to discuss her gripping new podcast, Back to the Wall, which explores disturbing allegations linking Australia's most notorious serial killer to the dark underworld of Sydney's Kings Cross. In the 1980s and 1990s, vulnerable streetkids gathered at a place known simply as the Wall. Some disappeared. Others survived with stories of predators, powerful men and secrets that have remained buried for decades. As a New South Wales inquiry examines allegations about Milat's activities before his arrest, Bianchi tracks down witnesses whose accounts challenge the accepted history. Were opportunities to investigate serious crimes missed? Who knew what was happening? And how much of the truth can still be uncovered? A confronting conversation about missing children, institutional failures and the survivors who are finally finding their voices. Follow and listen to Back to the Wall hereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Part Two of Kyle Madden's story, he returns to jail to find a darker more brutal environment where the old rules are breaking down. He must form strong bonds with jail gangs and fighting for survival becomes the norm. Once free again, it's only a matter of time before he's back inside, especially as his offending becomes more serious and violent. He comes to place no value on life until the loss of his unborn son and he finally begins to take responsibility for his choices.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christa Pike survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her. Should the state be allowed to try again? From the Desk, Adam Shand examines the legal precedent, the English legend of mercy after a failed hanging, and the moral limits of capital punishment. Even if another execution attempt is lawful, does that make it right?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long before Roberta Williams became one of the most recognisable names in Melbourne’s gangland story, she was Roberta Merciecaa, a rebellious 15-year-old growing up around Frankston.Lee McIntosh knew her then. As a youth worker, Lee worked with young people dealing with broken homes, trauma and uncertain futures. She understood them because she had lived through her own family upheaval. But Lee came to Real Crime with a mystery of her own. She had never met her father and wanted to find the man who had been missing from her life for decades. In this episode, Lee takes us back to the teenage years of the girl who would become Roberta Williams, revealing a fascinating prequel to the Underbelly story. And then we embark on a very different investigation: the search for Lee’s long-lost father. Two stories about family, identity and the strange turns a life can take and one question Lee has waited a lifetime to answer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Victoria, with the support of her new partner, Grant, reports that the father of her children has raped and sexually assaulted her. Victoria summons the courage to go through the three-year process that led to his conviction and a 13-year prison sentence. Another woman is inspired to bring charges against the perpetrator for crimes committed against her. Victoria has waived her right to anonymity to tell this story in the hope of encouraging other women to liberate themselves from abusive partners.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Debbie Fahey’s death in a Melbourne motel room in 1981 was treated as a heroin overdose. But more than four decades later, troubling questions remain.Multiple syringes. Four foils of heroin. No obvious heat source to prepare the drug. And a strange telegram that appeared to explain Debbie’s state of mind.Then there is the man in her life: Alistair Farquhar "Sandy" MacRae — later convicted of four murders — who identified Debbie’s body and described himself as her fiancé.Were these simply the circumstances surrounding a tragic overdose? Or was somebody trying to make Debbie’s death look like one? In this special From the Desk, Adam Shand examines the anomalies in the original investigation and makes a direct appeal to anyone who knew Debbie, MacRae, or Melbourne’s drug scene in 1981.Someone may still know what happened inside that motel room. After 45 years, it’s time to talk. Listen to the full epsidoe with Debbie's daughter, Des  here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was Debbie Fahey's death really a murder? In 1981, Deborah “Debbie” Fahey died from a heroin overdose; her death was apparently another tragedy of Melbourne’s drug scene.But was there more to the story? In an earlier episode, former detective Noel Ashby identified convicted killer Alistair Farquhar MacRae as a possible suspect in a series of heroin deaths during the 1980s—deaths that may have been made to look like suicides or accidental overdoses.After hearing that episode, Debbie’s daughter, Des, contacted us. Together, we uncovered an extraordinary connection: MacRae had been Debbie’s boyfriend. In this episode, Des tells the deeply personal story of the mother she lost and the disturbing questions that have remained unanswered for more than four decades.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Part Two of Real Crime: Live at the Stanley Pub, Adam Shand sits down with Daniel Saunders — the man who discovered a glitch in his bank account that seemingly gave him access to unlimited money. What followed was four months of outrageous spending, new friends, gambling, luxury hotels and a life that spiralled completely out of control. But eventually, Daniel did something almost as extraordinary as finding the glitch: he tried to give the money back. Daniel tells Adam what really happened, why he ultimately turned himself in, what prison was like — and whether, knowing everything he knows now, he'd do it all again.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.