‘Shrapnel and faeces’: Shock of Bali bombing victims
A new book has revealed what happened inside the walls of the burns clinic treating Aussies injured in the Bali bombings. Read the extract.
Book Extracts
My coffee date with two gangland killers
In his book extract, Enzo Condello — the brother of slain gangland figure Mario Condello — describes the day he saw the dark side of Carl Williams.
Aging Aussie gangster spills the beans
He’s cracked safes, fixed races and staged bank robberies but insists he was ‘always respectful’. At 88, this notorious gangster is telling all about his “colourful” life of crime.
$6m for six women: Chilling new theory on Tynong serial killer
A new controversial theory about the murders of six Victorian women in bushland more than 40 years ago has emerged in a new book.
‘F**kin break his arm’: Mr Big’s hit on Jim Beam boss
A former underworld gangster has revealed how a whiskey war bashing led to the downfall of one of Australia’s biggest criminal figures.
How Claremont serial killer case was cracked
Some incredible detective work from two unlikely overseas heroes was key to unlocking the mystery of one of Australia’s most notorious crimes.
How Nicola Gobbo became Lawyer X
Nicola Gobbo was a promising young lawyer from a privileged background with a drive to become the manipulating mastermind at the centre of Melbourne’s gangland world. Meet the real Lawyer X.
The bullet that started Melbourne’s gangland war
Lawyer Nicola Gobbo played off police against infamous criminals in Melbourne’s gangland war. This edited extract from Lawyer X, by Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon, reveals the brutality of that killer conflict — and how Gobbo appeared to be a pseudo member of the notorious Carl Williams crew.
Chilling triple-0 call reveals mum’s horror axe murder
Young mother Tara Costigan was breastfeeding her eight-day-old baby when she was bludgeoned to death by her axe-wielding partner. The horror of the young mum’s brutal death is revealed in The First Time He Hit Her.
The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter
In need of a true crime book binge? Get started with Adam Courtenay’s new work on convict William Buckley’s incredible life, then check out a dozen other titles thanks to True Crime Australia.
A town united in grief over teacher’s horrific murder
Teacher Stephanie Scott was about to marry the man of her dreams. But psychopath Vincent Stanford had been hiding in plain sight, waiting to make his move.
How Aussie headmaster turned war code breaker
This is the story of how headmaster turned navy cryptographer Dr Frederick Wheatley become the world’s No. 1 code-cracker. Australian Code Breakers is the latest book written by The Sunday Telegraph’s James Phelps. WIN ONE OF 50 COPIES
Gangland: This Unsporting Life
As gangland figure Squizzy Taylor made (crime)waves in Melbourne, a host of Aussie conmen preferred to swindle and rob gullible Englishmen — and what better way than at the races.
The Audacious Kidd
When notorious safe breaker Bertie Kidd orchestrated a lucrative betting plunge at the races, he didn’t count on a deadly prison escape putting paid to Plan A. Plan B involved stolen diamonds.
The Expert Witness
In his first book, forensic toxicologist William Allender looks back at some of the most remarkable cases of his career including the shocking cruise ship death of mum Dianne Brimble. READ THE EXTRACT
The Lost Boys of Mr Dickens
It was “the most dangerous life” for a person, and at the British Empire’s first juvenile jail in Australia, it ended in murder.
Angel of Death
With movie star looks, Dulcie Markham seduced her way through the underworld of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, but as lover after lover was stabbed or gunned down, “Pretty Dulcie” was renamed the “Angel of Death”.
How clueless jockey took centre stage in Fine Cotton affair
It was a darkly comic criminal conspiracy playing out all too openly against the menacing background of Sydney’s gangland and Queensland corruption. The one person not in on the crazy secret was the one closest to the action.
The Pretty Girl Killer
He tried to convince her she could be a model, but the pretty teen wasn’t falling for the charming stranger’s well-practised lines. Unfortunately for her, the Aussie-born serial killer had planned ahead and there was no way he was leaving without her.
Man’s Best Friend
‘Dog, dog, dog,’ the shout rang out as Luke Warburton set his police dog Chuck on fugitive Malcolm Naden. It was an extraordinary end to a killer’s seven years on the run — but just a small part of an incredible partnership between man and dog.
Jail letters reveal Carl’s invite to Cousins: ‘He can come visit me’
Attempts to seduce women on the outside, heartbreak over the death of his mum, a broken romance and a growing sense of foreboding as the day of his murder edges closer are revealed in astonishing letters penned by underworld killer Carl Williams.
The Good Bloke
He wanted to be Police Commissioner, but when life as a cop fell apart he was a Mr Fix-It in Sydney’s underbelly, a money smuggler and a jailbird. Yet Charles Staunton reckons one title stands throughout — he’s a good bloke.
Unsolved Australia: Lost Boys, Gone Girls
It took a spray of Luminol to show the blood stains on the seemingly spotless couch where Narelle Fraser had sat to question Tony Serrano, but it was what investigators found next that sickened the senior detective.
Police vow to find teen beauty queen’s killer
When parents Stan and Noelle Richardson drove by a car parked by the river they simply thought someone was fishing. It was only after their murdered daughter’s body was found at the spot they realised they’d likely passed her killer.
Murder, Misadventure and Miserable Ends
A young boy found the woman’s head. The torso was nearby, but police found little else to solve the case. The killer could easily have eluded them, but for a bizarre and blatant act involving the rest of the body. WARNING: Graphic content
Gangland The Great Escapes
WHETHER pointing guns at police and Armaguard vans in Melbourne or busting out of prison, Christopher Binse is as brazen as criminals come. Here’s why “Badness” is one of our baddest crooks.
City of Evil
No newspaper editor alive could resist a headline like ‘Lesbian Prostitutes Decapitate and Dismember Transvestite Pro-wrestling Truck Driver’. Beneath it all, however, the tale is even sadder than it is twisted.
The Stoccos
THEY were modern-day bushrangers. But after eight years on the run, father and son fugitives Gino and Mark Stocco were finally captured at a remote property in central NSW. Police soon discovered the body of the property’s caretaker decaying in a shed. Read this chilling extract from Nino Bucci’s new book.
Remembering Anita Cobby
ANITA Cobby had been dead for more than two and half years, yet John was still having nightmares about her, still racked with guilt that he hadn’t been there to protect her.
The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre
NEVER-before-released police files shows Brisbane’s infamous Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing is not a closed case but a cold case.
My Mother, A Serial Killer
HAZEL Baron was just nine when she first suspected her mum was a killer. Here she describes the day her dad disappeared.
Depraved killer’s shocking prison persona
Twenty years ago, Katherine Knight committed the unspeakable crime that would see her dubbed Australia’s Hannibal Lecter and locked up, never to be released. Why then do fellow inmates see her as a kind-hearted “Nanna”? WATCH NOW
Unholy union: The folk hero safe-breaker who wed the sly-grog queen
He was a notorious safe-breaker who committed Australia’s first robbery with a getaway car. She was a brothel keeper and leading figure in the razor gang wars. Their wedding didn’t make the social pages but it certainly made headlines.
‘I’m proud to be a deviant’
IN bringing the man who abducted and murdered Daniel Morcombe to justice, police had to learn all about Brett Peter Cowan’s perverted world.
Motive for share house executions still baffles
THEY were random victims — three young people set on a collision course with a deadly stranger by an innocent ad for a housemate. Just weeks after the chilling killings, the cold-blooded murderer was ready to strike again, only to be thwarted by exceptional acts of bravery.
Noose
SOME believed him innocent, jurors who found him guilty still didn’t think he should hang, but the Premier was determined that Ronald Ryan would go to the gallows. Australia’s last-man hanged faced his fate “like a small child who had composed himself into calm bravery”. “Whatever you do, do it quickly, ” he told the hangman.
- 1
- 2
Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/bookextracts