Surf Coast the destination for North Korean drug ship
The story of the Pong Su could be a Hollywood movie, but the attempt to smuggle 150kg of heroin ashore from a North Korean freighter was all to real — and it happened on the Surf Coast.
Our Criminal History
Secret past of murdered woman
Her neighbours knew her as Sarah Willoughby, but the woman they found brutally beaten to death in Geelong in 1852 had a secret past none could have imagined.
Life and crimes of Jockey Smith
For a time, James Edward ‘Jockey’ Smith was one of Australia’s most wanted criminals. How did a boy from Colac reach such a level of infamy?
The Suicide Bride
Three desperate children run to a neighbour with horrific news: “Mammy and Daddy are dead.” It’s 1904 and an all-too-common case of murder-suicide, but there’s a wider family story, raising stark questions about criminality and the notion of nature versus nurture. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
More Stories
Random TV date that ended in murder
SHE was a young newlywed in the wrong place at the wrong time, visiting an elderly neighbour whose goddaughter’s husband had dropped by unannounced.
Seven bizarre SA crimes of the 1800s
SOUTH Australia has a well-deserved reputation for weird crimes — but you probably haven’t heard of these oddball cases because they date back to the colony’s early decades.
Victorian cops on the beat, ‘70s-style
Great sideburns, groovy cars and the growing role of women made it a decade to remember. Take a look at how Victorian police embraced the ‘70s with gusto.
Why was this charmer driven to kill?
SHE was a well-bred thief with a knack for conning strangers. But when words failed her, the attractive young Melbourne lass pulled a gun …
‘I have your boy. I want £25,000 before 5 o’clock’
FOR five long weeks the public watched and waited aghast for news after Australia’s first ever kidnap for ransom. The terrible end to the case crushed a nation’s innocence, but the breakthrough use of forensic science ensured police got their man.
How ‘Mad Dog’ broke out of Long Bay
OF all the daring prisoner plots in Long Bay Jail’s long history, none was quite so successful as that of Russell ‘Mad Dog’ Cox.
Hanged child killer ‘in pact with the devil’
IVY Mitchell was just 11 when she farewelled a young friend and walked home alone, her bare feet leaving tracks in the dust. But soon another set of prints would appear next to hers. This new set was bigger. Much bigger. A man’s boots. A killer’s boots.
Female serial killer’s decade of death
How often can a person kill those closest to them before they arouse suspicion? In the case of Martha Needle, very often.
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