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.
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.
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.
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
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
It was a brutal murder in an outback town, paid for by the victim’s partner and organised by her son. But it was the jail sentence for a man who wasn’t even at the crime scene that kept the NT’s first contract killing in the news.
A mummified headless corpse found near Stawell led police to Robert Francis Burns. But a shocking confession as the hangman’s noose was placed around his neck begs the question: Was he our first serial killer?
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
The murders of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her toddler Khandalyce haunted the nation. In her book The Lost Girls, The Sunday Telegraph’s crime reporter Ava Benny-Morrison reveals for the first time how police eventually cracked the case.
She was occasionally dubbed ‘Mouse’, due to her tiny frame, but Karlie Pearce-Stevenson never liked it. She may have been little, but she was vivacious and adventurous. With a new baby and new partner life was good. Until she met Daniel Holdom.
The After Dark Bandit terrorised banks and TABs for two years. Except, there wasn’t just one person playing the role. So what would lead a pair of cleanskins like the Morgan twins, both family men and talented builders, to suddenly resort to a life of crime?
In an extract from his new book, exiled Rebel bikie Shane ‘Kiwi’ Martin — the father of AFL superstar Dustin Martin — tells how he became a member of the infamous motorcycle gang in Sydney.
He was an Aussie serial killer on a murderous road-trip across the US. She was a 16-year-old girl abducted from a mall. Against all odds, her bravery and Brownie skills saved her life — and set in train the killer’s final reckoning. WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT
Discover the world of true crime from every perspective — the daughter of a serial killer, the desperate parents digging for their son’s body, the victims and the police, and the journalists who witnessed some of our most shocking cases unfold.
Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/bookextracts/page/3