The lie that cost underworld figure his life
When Carl Williams lied about Michael Marshall’s involvement in a contract killing, he as good as signed the hotdog salesman’s death warrant.
Our Criminal History
Lunchtime jewel heist which rocked Sydney’s CBD
In what was considered the biggest jewellery heist of the first half of the 20th century, in 1947 a thief managed to steal jewels worth about $600k today. But his glory was short-lived.
Guyra Ghost of 1921 still remains a mystery
As Sherlock Holmes and spiritualism became popular, a ghostly case in the NSW town of Guyra led to hysteria spreading throughout Australia.
Sydney’s forgotten ‘Cocaine Queen’
A witness to one of Sydney’s oldest cold cases, madam May Smith, was later arrested by our first female detective. She was jailed and then disappeared from public records — and from memory.
More Stories
Last man executed in NSW
John Kelly was sent to the gallows in 1939 for murder, a decision his father labelled as “class justice”, claiming his son would have lived if the murder victim wasn’t from a prominent family.
How Sydney model was acquitted of lover’s murder
It had sex and crime … little wonder 1950s Sydney was fascinated by the trial of model Shirley Beiger, accused of shooting dead her lover outside a popular Sydney nightclub.
Traumatised kids left ‘to rot’
Almost five-years on from the Royal Commission, Don Dale Youth Detention Centre is locking-up kids for 23 hours a day.
Sisters murdered in Dulwich Hill lolly shop
A much-loved confectionary store was the scene of one of the most sensational murder mysteries of 1920s Sydney.
Police killer betrayed by his own tattoo
A hero police officer shot in cold blood by a drunk man he had arrested a day earlier is being remembered by a new and improved Glenelg memorial.
Baby-faced bushranger who went to the gallows
A 22-year-old on death row believed he would be spared the death sentence — but found himself on the end of the hangman’s noose.
Real story behind Claremont murders
Before the Claremont serial killings, the seemingly peaceful Perth suburb was hit by a spate of attacks on women, a new book examines. Read extract.
The sad tale of Colac’s missing shepherd
A skull found in a remote paddock near Colac was the beginning of the end to one of Victoria’s strangest mysteries.
Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/ourcriminalhistory