Elite squad to track elusive murderer and cold case fugitive
It’s been almost a year since a confirmed sighting of one of Queensland’s most wanted men, cold case fugitive and convicted murderer Keith Lees, and police are stepping up the hunt.
Cold Cases
‘Last ray of hope’ snuffed out with no charges over crayfish farm shooting
The family of a young scientist shot dead while working at a crayfish farm say they lost their “last ray of hope” after an inquest failed to result in charges against two people named by a coroner.
Disappearance, taxi driver, deathbed confession: 40-year mystery set to end
For four decades it has been one of Queensland’s most enduring cold case murder mysteries but today the state coroner hands down the findings into the 1986 disappearance of Sharron Phillips.
‘Other secrets’: Bombshell Ivan Milat theory
It’s one of Australia’s most infamous cases but serial killer Ivan Milat still has more skeletons yet to emerge.
Fake train ticket, abandoned car: $500k reward in cold case murder
Police have announced a $500,000 reward for information which could help them crack a 30-year cold case, where a father disappeared without a trace in North Queensland.
Man vanished without a trace hours after pub fight
An altercation at a North Queensland pub before a 20-year-old man vanished will form part of investigations into one of the nation’s most baffling cold cases.
Human remains raise hope cold case may yet be cracked
It’s the missing person mystery that’s gripped a small Central Queensland town for almost 15 years. But the cold case puzzle of what happened to Francis “Frank” Foley is finally being pieced together.
‘What’s changed?’ Family stunned as cold case triple murder charges dropped
The family of a victim of the infamous 45-year-old Spear Creek murders has called for an inquest after murder charges against the former suspect were dropped at the last minute.
Underbelly Cape York: 20 years of bad blood but no answers after father, son disappear
It is one of the most intriguing ‘missing persons’ cases in Queensland’s history and 20 years since a Cape York father and son disappeared, questions remain about their fate.
Eloise Worledge mystery still haunts family
The vanishing of little Eloise Worledge is still shrouded in mystery – and the white lie told by her parents wasn’t the family’s only untruth.
New hope in one of USA’s biggest mysteries
US police have reignited one of the country’s longest missing kid mysteries, with images of what she might look like now.
Twisted tale of elusive family annihilator
Elmer Crawford eerily asked his father-in-law if he believed in the afterlife a week before he annihilated his family – and got away with it.
Slain in hail of bullets: Inside the downfall of bikie boss Shane Bowden
Shane Bowden was a powerful bikie until he was executed in a hail of 21 bullets - allegedly at the hands of his gang mates. Now an exclusive new doco lifts the lid on the crime. WATCH
Face of a murder suspect: Hi-tech breakthrough in 40-year cold case
Groundbreaking new technology never before used in Australia could be the key to solving the murder mystery of a Brisbane father and bringing closure to his family.
15 Qld cold cases: Chilling list of unsolved crimes
Murders, kidnappings, arsons, and assaults. We take a look at the cold cases haunting investigators — and the rewards on offer to help solve the crimes — some even decades on.
Screams, bloody body but no killer: New suspect in oldest cold case
Betty Shanks was brutally murdered, with her bloodied body found in a Brisbane garden three blocks from her home. Now, cold case investigator Mike King has a new theory about what happened.
Convicted NCA bomber still in hospital after collapsing
NCA bomber Domenic Perre remains at the RAH after he fainted following his conviction on Thursday. See how the victims reacted to the stunning verdict.
From lotto jackpot to murder: inside Sydney horror story
Winning the lotto is every blue collar family’s dream but for Bazil Thorne it quickly turned into a nightmare when his son Graeme was snatched off the streets of Bondi.
Murder in paradise: Execution that exposed Whitsundays’ seedy underbelly
A brutal execution-style murder has exposed Airlie Beach’s seedy underworld but it took 15 years before the shocking details could be publicly laid bare.
Fresh twist in mystery disapperances
Police have launched a new appeal for information into separate disappearances of two men in NSW, with one of the cases being treated as suspicious.
Cop ‘had it in’ for Tyrrell person of interest: court
A former person of interest in William Tyrrell’s disappearance will argue in court ex-Detective Gary Jubelin “had it in for him”.
How psychic led to ‘killer bikie’ in murder mystery
Lynette Mullane’s murder has taken a new twist, with a psychic leading to a new theory after the grandmother was found dead in her home with blood dripping from her mouth.
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.
Commodore key to solving petrol bomb killing of teen
A white Commodore could be the missing piece in the tragic puzzle of a 13-year-old’s firebombing death, which has left devastated mum Julie Szabo still waiting for justice 24 years later.
Details of footballer’s cold case execution revealed
Police are one step closer to solving the 1984 murder of a casanova footy player, but are still on the hunt for another suspect.
Untangling fact from fiction in Mafia’s brutal past
Al Capone didn’t wake up one day with a machine gun and barrels full of prohibition whisky. So where does the story of the Mafia begin?
But what really happened to Mario?
The mystery of Mario Della Torre’s final resting place has been solved. But his case continues to baffle.
Secrets in mafia hit buried with cunning gun dealer
Like a doctor or priest, George Joseph knew a lot of secrets. And to the end, he feared that one of them might get him killed.
‘30 theories’: FBI reveals why man ‘betrayed’ Anne Frank
The prime suspect in Anne Frank’s betrayal may have been driven by one tragic reason, a new book reveals. READ EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT
The story behind Patricia Galea’s grotesquely brutal murder
Like the police file on her LA murder, Patricia Galea’s memory was wiped clean from her husband’s funeral in Queensland last week, but the former escort was done away with long before that.
Were druggie thugs trying to hide their murders?
Hundreds of fatal drug overdoses in Adelaide are being reviewed by detectives to check if they were actually murders by drug dealers over unpaid debts.
Do you know this man?: 142 unidentified Vic bodies a mystery
Victoria has 142 unidentified human remains. One of them is an infant. They are just some of the bodies and bones piling up at police, mortuary and forensic facilities.
Do you know this man?: Tatts, shoes hold Qld DNA clue
Qld police have released images of tattoos and other evidence to identify a man whose body was found in Nambour. It’s one of many remains piling up at police, mortuary and forensic facilities.
Do you know him?: Man’s chilling new note holds DNA clue
A chilling note from a man found at Echo Point may be the clue police need to identify his body, which is one of hundreds of remains piling up at police, mortuary and forensic facilities.
Jury discharged in cold case murder trial
The jury in the Suzanne Poll cold-case murder trial has been discharged on the second day of hearings following a legal error.
SA’s unsolved cases with a $1m reward
Cleo Smith's case had a happy ending, but many SA families are still longing for information on their loved ones. Can you help solve these cases?
Inside the mind of a child abductor
Police are yet to make a breakthrough in the search for missing four-year-old Cleo Smith but one expert has shed light on how child abductors think.
Son’s plea to find mum’s killer
Jaie Hosking believes he knows who killed his mum. Major Crime detectives think they know too. But there’s a “frustrating” reason her suspected murderer is still at large.
Cannabis crop clue in cold case murder
A cannabis crop in a state forest could be linked to the 2003 murder of a Brunswick man, with fresh hope a $1m reward will help catch his killers.
‘Creating gossip’: Visit to town aims to crack woman’s disappearance
A Crimestoppers team sent into far north Queensland communities to find out new information about a missing mother is hopeful of a breakthrough.
New lead in Cheryl’s haunting 51-year cold case
Retired detective Frank Sanvitale is tortured by the abduction of little Cheryl Grimmer 51 years ago, but now believes he has fresh evidence that could finally bring peace to her shattered family.
After 73 years, Somerton Man is finally exhumed
The unknown Somerton Man has been exhumed and placed into a new coffin to be transported for forensic testing. Police say his remains are in “reasonable” condition for DNA extraction.
New footage reveals how ‘life went out’ of Floyd’s body
A doctor revealed how a new video of George Floyd showed him dying as he tried to get air into his lungs. WARNING: Graphic
Prime suspect’s son: ‘My father killed Sharron Phillips’
The son of the prime suspect in the 1986 disappearance of Sharron Phillips called a retired detective in 2016 to confess his father’s guilt, an inquest has been told.
‘Came up fist fighting’: Inquest told Sharron battled for her life
The former sister-in-law of the prime suspect in Sharron Phillips’ disappearance has told an inquest of admissions he made to her.
Is this Ivan Milat’s first murder victim?
A chilling new investigation claims Ivan Milat killed his first victim 50 years ago – 20 years before his backpacker murder spree.
Murder suspect a prude with secret taste for porn, prostitutes
Harold Janman trying to pick up women at bus stops doesn’t make him the Tynong North killer. But the fact he lied about it might.
Criminal profiler delves into Australia’s murder mysteries
From Melbourne’s Mr Cruel to Queensland’s “highway of death”, renowned criminal profiler Mike King’s new podcast shines new light on some of Australia’s oldest murder mysteries.
Living with a monster: ‘It’s our secret’
From the age of six, Kylie was molested by her stepfather. Only now has she been able to reveal the actions of the man many believe was behind one of Sydney’s most baffling cold cases, missing girl Trudie Adams, as this exclusive book extract reveals.
‘Like the Bermuda triangle’: Where people vanish without a trace
More people go missing in Northern NSW than any other area in the state – and police can’t explain why. In a bid to give names to more than 300 sets of unidentified human remains, police have launched a bold DNA collection program.
Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/coldcases