How to listen to Dear Rachelle podcast

Who killed Rachelle Childs? Innocent people, silenced by fear for decades, are breaking their silence. For Rachelle. Listen to the latest episode now.

A young woman murdered. A crime shrouded in secrecy. A killer who walked away.

Who killed Rachelle Childs?

Innocent people, silenced by fear for decades, are breaking their silence. For Rachelle.

For more than two decades, her family and friends have fought for answers.

They believe her case is solvable. They believe her killer is still alive.

For decades, they’ve suffered while police let the trail grow cold.

Now Rachelle’s younger sister Kristy has teamed up with a crew of investigative experts, to re-open the case with the aim of bringing about justice.

Dear Rachelle is hosted and investigated by journalist Ashlea Hansen, who teams up with retired detective and renowned cold case specialist Damian Loone.

Dear Rachelle is a podcast by True Crime Australia.

If you have any tips or confidential information, please contact investigative journalist Ashlea Hansen at [e-mail]

THE TRAILER: INTRODUCING DEAR RACHELLE

Kristy Childs’s sister Rachelle was murdered. No one has ever been charged with the crime.

The 23-year-old’s body was discovered, burning and partially undressed, on a remote Australian coastal road in June 2001.

For more than two decades, her family and friends have fought for answers.

Did Rachelle know her killer? Who was she supposed to be meeting at the Bargo Hotel the night she died?

Now an unstoppable cold case team has unearthed damning new evidence.

LATEST DEAR RACHELLE PODCAST EPISODES

EPISODE 12: A SISTER’S PROMISE

Kristy Childs’ words to her dying father Graham echo through the years.

“I remember one of the last things I said to him was, I’ll find him.”

Graham, who died of brain cancer during the pandemic, never lived to see anyone charged over Rachelle’s murder. Yet his determination to uncover the truth passed firmly to Kristy.

Meanwhile, specialist cadaver dogs from Search Dogs Sydney search Rachelle’s old car on Kristy’s farm. Kristy hopes for answers, but isn’t sure how she’ll feel if the car was used to move her sister’s body.

At the inquest, new testimony casts doubt on Kevin Steven Correll’s alibi on the night Rachelle went missing.

And a former car yard worker reveals that just days after Rachelle’s death, a key suspect was already talking about bikies being responsible.

BONUS Q&A: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Host Ashlea Hansen puts your questions to retired NSW detective and cold case expert Damian Loone, alongside Rachelle’s sister Kristy. After a flood of messages from listeners, they respond directly to what you’ve been asking and share fresh insight into the continuing investigation.

EPISODE 11: CARRIAGE OF SECRETS

What happens in the train carriage, stays in the carriage.

A confrontation escalates the investigation.

An old friend speaks in defence of Kevin Correll, and tells us what he’s up to now.

BONUS INVESTIGATION UPDATE 3: HIDDEN CLIPPINGS AND POLICE RESPONSE

A key witness comes forward with a disturbing discovery, in this third update episode of Dear Rachelle.

Host Ashlea Hansen is joined by Rachelle’s sister Kristy, her mum Anne, close friend Mindy and retired detective Damian Loone to unpack the latest developments.

The owner of the unit once rented by Kevin Correll has come forward with a strange find from under the carpet.

The discovery comes just days before what would have been Rachelle’s 47th birthday.

NSW Police have confirmed they’ve applied to increase the $200,000 reward, with a renewed call for anyone with information to come forward. As Kristy puts it, this could all end if someone simply tells the truth.

EPISODE TEN:GREASY ALIBI

A tip off to the podcast unearths fresh evidence from a unit near Camden Holden.

A policeman recalls arresting Kevin Correll (then known as Kevin Cornwall) at gunpoint in 1983, while a woman ran screaming from his car. Kevin denies all allegations and was later found not guilty of sexual assault and all charges stemming from the alleged incident.

It’s time to explore the alibi of key suspect Kevin Steven Correll, from June 7, 2001, the night Rachelle Childs died.

In 2025, the investigative podcast team shines a light on a person of interest.

EPISODE NINE: MY HUSBAND KEVIN

Elise says she lived with a man who had “many sides”. A charming, romantic, funny husband, who would turn into a controlling, stonewalling, cruel stranger at the flip of a switch. Then there were the threats. Eerily specific threats of violence, threats of murder.

Next, she alleges, came the actual violence.

Years after they’d separated, she heard her ex-husband was a key suspect in the murder of 23-year-old Rachelle Childs.

EPISODE EIGHT: WHAT LIES BENEATH

Rachelle Childs has been dead five years when new evidence leads authorities to exhume and re-examine her body.

Her family consents, but otherwise the exhumation remains secret until a key POI is informed that, while he answers questions at Rachelle’s inquest, her body lies in the morgue beneath that very courtroom.

The inquest is explosive. Nine persons of interest are scrutinised, and her body is exhumed to help answer some vital questions.

Was there ever a Walkinshaw? What happened to Rachelle in those missing nine hours after she left work? Who started the rumour about bikies cutting Rachelle’s fingers off?

The inquest ran for two years but concluded with an open finding.

EPISODE SEVEN: PRINCE CHARMING

First it’s the thrill of singles mingles nights, champagne, prawns and flowers.

Then, in an instant, the switch is flicked.

The pleading turns nasty. The menacing phone calls start. Sometimes fixation turns into threats of outright violence.

A Person Of Interest’s previous partners come forward with allegations about his patterns of behaviour.

Why was that same POI telling people about forensic evidence likely known only to police and those who’d conducted Rachelle’s autopsy?

EPISODE SIX: THE CLASSIFIEDS PREDATOR

WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault, which may be distressing to some listeners.

Two sexually motivated attacks. Two women preyed upon in their own homes.

Two acquittals. A familiar alibi.

Two women silenced for decades, who are now speaking out for Rachelle.

EPISODE FIVE: THE DRIVER’S SEAT

“What happened and why did it happen? Those two things will tell you about the person who did it.”

FBI-trained criminal profiler and former NSW police Detective Sergeant Kris Illingsworth takes Ash through the trail of evidence and the killer’s likely state of mind.

Her report has never been shared with the Childs family nor the public, until now.

Can hypnotherapy help a friend remember who Rachelle was planning to meet at the Bargo Hotel?

Meanwhile, Damian and Ash examine startling revelations about a person of interest.

EPISODE FOUR: KILLER AT A FUNERAL

As mourners gather to farewell the girl next door who just happened to love fast cars, detectives keep a close eye on the guest list.

Was Rachelle’s murderer there among them?

Investigating the men in Rachelle’s orbit, Ash and Damian uncover a common thread that brings them closer to the truth.

What did Rachelle stumble upon that could have put her in danger?

EPISODE THREE: CROOKED RIVER ROAD

Fear intensifies around the usually quiet towns of Bargo and Gerroa, as word spreads a serial killer could be responsible for two murders.

Police establish Rachelle Childs’ burned, half naked body was discovered just metres away from that of another murdered woman, young mum Jodie Fesus.

Ash and Damian go back to Crooked River Road and uncover crucial physical evidence, mapping out the crime scene and the timeline against chilling witness statements from the night Rachelle was murdered.

Kristy wonders if restoring Rachelle’s beloved blue 1978 Holden will help her hold onto her sister’s memory - even if it’s possible the killer was the last person to drive it.

EPISODE TWO: BIKIES, INK AND A VICIOUS RUMOUR

Rachelle Childs has been dead for a week and police have no clear suspects.

While detectives race to piece together her final movements, everyone grapples with shock and grief, and the small town rumour mill goes into overdrive.

Was Rachelle killed by bikies over a drug debt?

Rachelle’s sister Kristy hopes a former bikie boss will share vital information about the rumours.

EPISODE ONE: THE LONG WEEKEND

A killer is on the loose in an Australian country town.

Excited for the June long weekend, bubbly 23-year old Rachelle Childs leaves work, phones her sister, and is dead within hours.

Her burning, partially naked body is found nine hours later in bushland on a lonely coastal road.

It’s another two days before her family is told the devastating news.

Since Rachelle’s brutal murder and suspected rape in 2001, her younger sister Kristy has been hunting her killer.

Now, with an unstoppable cold case team reinvestigating and uncovering damning new evidence, could this finally be the break the family need?

BONUS EPISODES

BONUS EPISODE ONE: INVESTIGATION UPDATE

In this first update episode of Dear Rachelle, get exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the unfolding investigation.

Ashlea Hansen sits down with Kristy, Rachelle’s sister, and her best friend, Mindy, to reflect on the overwhelming response to the series and what inspired them to share Rachelle’s story.

Plus, just hours after launch, a major development - NSW Police provide a promising update on Rachelle’s case.

Hear Kristy and her mum Anne’s emotional reactions as Ashlea breaks the news.

BONUS EPISODE TWO: NEW LEADS

New forensic leads emerge in this second update episode.

Police enhance CCTV from the night Rachelle was murdered and send a new item for forensic testing, plus more people ink the “Team Chelle” cause on their skin.

Ashlea Hansen sits down with Kristy, Anne and retired detective Damian Loone to unpack the latest breakthroughs in the unfolding investigation.

For more information about our investigation, visit dearachelle.com.au

If you have any tips or confidential information, please contact investigative journalist Ashlea Hansen at [e-mail].

You can also join our Dear Rachelle podcast Facebook group.

Originally published as How to listen to Dear Rachelle podcast