New Sky News documentary to air into the murder of Mackay woman Shandee Blackburn
A new television documentary on the unsolved murder of Shandee Blackburn has unearthed fresh details.
The Australian’s true-crime podcast on the fatal stabbing of Shandee Blackburn has led to the creation of a new one-hour television documentary to air next month.
Based on the podcast series, Shandee’s Story, created by The Australian’s award-winning investigative journalist Hedley Thomas, the documentary, Shandee’s Story: The Search for Justice, will reveal new information into the unsolved murder.
Thomas spent months working on the documentary, conducting extensive interviews as he retraced Shandee’s final steps before her brutal death in 2013.
“I talked to people who knew Shandee very well and knew her former boyfriend and were concerned about the very volatile relationship,” he said.
“The documentary will feature more revelations from forensic scientist Dr Kirsty Wright, who has been a bloodhound in going after the forensic failures in this case.”
In the early hours of February 9, 2013, the Mackay woman was stabbed more than 20 times on her way home from work and was found dead metres from her family home.
Shandee’s killer remains at large. The prime suspect in the case was her former boyfriend, champion amateur boxer, John Peros.
Peros was charged with murder before the case was acquitted by a Supreme Court jury in 2017. In 2019 a coronial inquest found there was evidence in relation to Shandee’s death that was not presented at the trial.
Thomas said it was vital Shandee and her family found justice.
“I’m a firm believer in the potential for cold cases to be solved as a result of long-form journalism, whether it be in podcasts or documentaries,” he said.
Thomas has also taken part in The Australian’s new podcast, The Teacher’s Trial, which focuses on the murder trial of Chris Dawson, who was accused of murdering his wife Lynette Dawson in 1982.
Shandee’s Story: The Search for Justice, will air on Sky News Australia on Tuesday, June 7 at 8pm, AEST.
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