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PODCAST

Real Crime with Adam Shand

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia"s biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.

true crime news commentary

All Episodes

31:45

On the Beat: Transit Safety | Acting Superintendent...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/04/12

Adam Shand had a front-row seat to exactly the kind of incident his latest guest spends every day managing. After stepping in when a drunk man harassed women on a Melbourne train — only to watch Victoria Police's Protective Services Officers handle it with quiet, professional authority — Adam sat down with Acting Superintendent Sean Halley from the Transit Safety Division to unpack what's really happening on the network. From knife operations in Frankston to gang activity at high-risk

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25:59

Machete at Midnight: They Picked the Wrong House |...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/04/07

When three armed intruders broke into "Michael"'s Melbourne home in the dead of night, they weren't expecting a fight. Armed with machetes and a gun, the men ransacked his home demanding money. What they got instead was a man who refused to back down. Bloodied but unbeaten, "Michael" held his ground using nothing but a decades-old ornamental sword and the muscle memory of martial arts training he hadn't used in 20 years. No one has been arrested. And "Michael" suspects someone he trusted set him up

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43:56

The 44-Gallon Drum: A Friend's Fight for Justice |...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/04/05

In 2008, Melbourne man Fred Boyle was convicted of murdering his wife Edwina in October 1983 — then keeping her body sealed inside a 44-gallon drum for 23 years, moving it with him from house to house as he raised their two daughters. Tracey Franze knew Edwina through a shared love of horses in the late 1970s. She watched Fred's cruelty up close — towards animals, towards the truth and ultimately towards the woman who devoted her life to her family. When Edwina vanished, Tracey and her

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46:41

The Thornbury Bookshop Killer | Phil Cleary

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/31

In June 1980, Maria James was stabbed 68 times in her Thornbury bookstore. Her killer was never charged. For years, investigators and a high-profile podcast pointed the finger at local parish priest Father Anthony Bonjourno — but Phil Cleary has always believed the real killer was someone else entirely. Phil Cleary is no stranger to violent crime. In 1987, his sister Vicki was murdered by her ex-partner Peter Raymond Keogh. And the deeper Phil dug into the Maria James cold case, the more he

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42:10

The Night Kay Didn't Come Home | Kevin Docherty

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/29

Kay Docherty was 15 years old when she vanished on July 1979. She'd told her mum she was going to babysit at a friend's place. Her twin brother Kevin was supposed to pick her up at nine. He never got the chance. Forty-six years later, her twin brother Kevin Docherty, is still searching for answers — and still fighting to be heard. Adam talks to Kevin Docherty about the night Kay disappeared, the letters that were never properly investigated, the toll of 46 years of unanswered questions, and

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30:22

Errol Radan's Jailhouse Confession | "Ted"

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/24

****Content Warning:**** This episode contains discussion of the abduction, sexual assault and murder of children. Listener discretion is strongly advised. In August 1973, two girls vanished from Adelaide Oval at a Saturday afternoon football match. Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, and Kirsty Gordon, 4, walked to the toilet at 3:45pm and were never seen again. For decades, the prime suspect was Errol Radan — a convicted paedophile held under an indefinite detention order in a Queensland prison until his

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46:50

The Dodger: Roger Rogerson's Confessions | Mark Dixon

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/22

Mark "Hammer" Dixon spent years on the road with Roger Rogerson and Mark "Chopper" Reed — working security, collecting debts and sharing hotel rooms in outback Queensland. And in that time, Rogerson said things he probably shouldn't have. He told Dixon the two men convicted of the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing — which killed 15 people — were innocent. That he'd written them up. He hinted that Donald McKay's body was never going to be found in Griffith, because investigators

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43:59

The Monster Next Door: Dieter Pfennig | Michael Madigan

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/17

Adam Shand sits down with author Michael Madigan to discuss his book Father Teacher Child Killer, the chilling account of Dieter Pfennig, the South Australian man now serving life for the murders of 10-year-olds Louise Bell and Michael Black. Louise Bell vanished from her bedroom in Hackham West on the night of January 3rd, 1983 — taken without a sound while her younger sister slept beside her. Six years later, Michael Black disappeared from the Murray Bridge riverbank on what was meant to be

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30:07

Confessions and Consequences: The Grimmer Case Update...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/15

Join host Adam Shand in this episode of Real Crime as he delves into the ongoing quest for justice in the tragic case of Cheryl Grimmer, featuring an update from her brother, Ricky Nash. After years of fighting for recognition, the New South Wales DPP has agreed to review the admissibility of critical confessions made in the 1971 case. In this discussion, Ricky shares the emotional toll of seeking justice for his sister and reflects on the impact of the case on his family, including his estranged

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43:14

The Parole of a Monster: Twenty Years Later | Lauren...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/10

In November 2005, 18-year-old Lauren Huxley was at home alone in Sydney when her life was changed forever. Randomly targeted by violent offender Robert Black Farmer — Lauren was brutally attacked, bound, beaten, doused in petrol and left for dead as her family home was set alight. It was a crime that shocked Australia. Against all odds, Lauren survived.Now, nearly 20 years later, Farmer is eligible for parole. In this powerful and emotional episode of Real Crime, Adam sits down with Lauren and

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40:37

The Corrections Officer and the Prisoner | Peter and...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/08

In this episode ofReal Crime with Adam Shand, Adam sits down with Peter and Belinda Bates — a couple whose love story began behind prison walls and whose shared mission now is to stop the cycle of violence before it destroys more lives. Raised in a home defined by extreme domestic violence, coercion and control, Peter grew up believing brutality was strength and drugs were survival. By 19 his life had spiralled into tragedy. A confrontation ended in a young man’s death. Charged with

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24:51

Kerry Packer's Gold: The Sydney Bullion Mystery

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/03

In April 1995, Australia’s richest man, Kerry Packer, reported that 285 kilograms of gold bullion had been stolen from a safe inside his Sydney office. It was the largest gold theft in Australian history — a brazen break-in that appeared to be the work of a master safecracker who slipped past 24-hour security without a trace. But what if the robbery was never a robbery at all? In this episode of Real Crime, Adam Shand reopens the cold case of “Packer’s Gold.” Three

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49:01

Authority and Humanity: Policing with Heart | Corey...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/03/01

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand, Adam sits down with recently retired Queensland Police Chief Inspector Corey Allen — a cop who never quite fit the mould. As a teenager, Corey dreamed of becoming a writer. Instead, he spent nearly four decades inside the Queensland Police Service — stretching himself (literally and figuratively) to get in the door. What followed was a career that took him from tactical response units and protest lines to becoming one of the strongest

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36:25

The Cleary Legacy: A Sister’s Fight for Justice |...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/02/24

In 1987, Vicki Cleary was murdered by her ex-partner, Peter Keogh. In the first part of this series, Adam spoke with her brother Phil about the legal battle that followed — and the fight to abolish the provocation defence that allowed Keogh to serve just three years and eleven months for her killing. In this second part, Adam sits down with Vicki’s younger sister Lizzy Cleary, who was just 14 years old when her sister was killed. Lizzy takes us back to the day she was pulled from school

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28:20

The Cleary Legacy: A Brother’s Fight for Justice |...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/02/22

In this first episode of a two-part series, Real Crime with Adam Shand examines the deadly risks women face when leaving violent relationships. Adam speaks with former federal MP and long-time advocate Phil Cleary about the 1987 murder of his sister, Vicki Cleary, by her ex-partner — a killing that exposed deep flaws in Australia’s legal system, including the now-abolished provocation defence that reduced her killer’s charge to manslaughter. Cleary reflects on decades of

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55:22

War in the Suburbs: Inside Victoria’s Armed Robbery...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/02/17

In the 1970s and ’80s, Victoria was in the grip of an armed robbery epidemic. Banks, newsagents and small businesses were hit daily. Gunmen didn’t hesitate. Police were targets. And the Armed Robbery Squad was on the front line. In this episode of Real Crime, Adam Shand sits down with former Victoria Police detective Rod Porter, a proud member of the Armed Robbery Squad during its most violent era. Rod takes us inside a time when policing was raw, relentless and often deadly. He recounts

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42:21

The Girl Taken, The Family Left Behind | Melanie Grimmer

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/02/15

The disappearance of three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer from Fairy Meadow Beach in 1970 has haunted Australia for more than five decades. But the impact of that crime didn’t stop on the sand dunes that day — it rippled through generations of one family. In this episode ofReal Crime, Adam Shand speaks with Melanie Grimmer, Cheryl’s niece and the daughter of Cheryl’s brother, Ricky. Melanie shares what it’s like to grow up in the long shadow of an unresolved crime —

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77:25

Inside Australia’s Most Dramatic Airport Robbery |...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/02/10

On July 28, 1992, a meticulously planned armed robbery at Melbourne Airport ended in bloodshed.More than a million dollars was stolen from an Ansett Freight terminal — but the gang never made their escape. In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand, Adam speaks exclusively with Steve Barci, the third member of the crew — a seasoned armed robber who has never spoken publicly about the crime until now.But this conversation goes far deeper than the robbery itself. Barci breaks his

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51:02

From Heroin to Redemption: Making Your Own Luck |...

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/02/08

Between the ages of 13 and 27, Dean King didn’t spend a single full year out of jail. A hardened criminal shaped by violence, addiction and the prison system, he was destined to die behind bars — until one explosive moment in rehab changed everything. Dean recounts the day the floodgates finally opened, forcing him to confront decades of buried pain — a turning point that led him away from crime and into an extraordinary second life. Today, Dean is a successful businessman, author

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42:16

Iboga: Facing Trauma at the Root | Lewis Mbwela

Real Crime with Adam Shand ·

2026/02/03

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand,Adam sits down with Lewis Mbwela, an Iboga practitioner trained in the traditional West African medicine used for centuries by the Bwiti people. Unlike clinical Ibogaine treatments now appearing in the West, this experience involves the full Iboga root — a powerful plant medicine said to confront trauma at its source. What begins as an observational journey becomes personal when Adam decides to undergo the treatment himself. He shares his

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73 results

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