This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.

Content warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence against children.

In March 2025, Donna Fitchett’s story came to a grim end, just weeks after her release from prison.

Fitchett had served 15 years for the shocking murders of her two young sons, Thomas and Matthew.

Criminologist and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Xanthé Mallett, author of Mothers Who Murder, joins us on this episode to delve into the psychology of a person capable of such an unimaginable act of betrayal.

Links:

Click here to purchase Mothers Who Murder.

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Dr. Xanthé Mallett

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence against children.

In March 2025, Donna Fitchett’s story came to a grim end, just weeks after her release from prison.

Fitchett had served 15 years for the shocking murders of her two young sons, Thomas and Matthew.

Criminologist and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Xanthé Mallett, author of Mothers Who Murder, joins us on this episode to delve into the psychology of a person capable of such an unimaginable act of betrayal.

Links:

Click here to purchase Mothers Who Murder.

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Dr. Xanthé Mallett

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.

Elizabeth Struhs was just eight years old when she died in 2022 after her parents stopped giving her insulin, following the beliefs of a religious cult called The Saints.

Journalist Pippa Bradshaw, who has covered the case from the start, now hosts "The Saints", a podcast investigating the cult and the institutional failures that led to Elizabeth’s death.

Links:

Click here to listen to The Saints on Apple Podcasts.

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Pippa Bradshaw

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Struhs was just eight years old when she died in 2022 after her parents stopped giving her insulin, following the beliefs of a religious cult called The Saints.

Journalist Pippa Bradshaw, who has covered the case from the start, now hosts "The Saints", a podcast investigating the cult and the institutional failures that led to Elizabeth’s death.

Links:

Click here to listen to The Saints on Apple Podcasts.

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Pippa Bradshaw

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.

Tracy Hall was in a long-term relationship with a man she knew as Max Tavita—until his 2017 arrest revealed he was actually serial con artist Hamish McLaren.

As explored in the hit podcast Who the Hell is Hamish?, McLaren defrauded victims worldwide of millions.

Tracy joins us to discuss her new book and the shocking discovery that she, too, had been one of his victims.

Links:

Click here to purchase Tracy's book, The Last Victim

Click here to visit Tracy Hall's website

Need support? Click here to visit the IDCARE website

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Tracy Hall

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tracy Hall was in a long-term relationship with a man she knew as Max Tavita—until his 2017 arrest revealed he was actually serial con artist Hamish McLaren.

As explored in the hit podcast Who the Hell is Hamish?, McLaren defrauded victims worldwide of millions.

Tracy joins us to discuss her new book and the shocking discovery that she, too, had been one of his victims.

Links:

Click here to purchase Tracy's book, The Last Victim

Click here to visit Tracy Hall's website

Need support? Click here to visit the IDCARE website

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Tracy Hall

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The upcoming coronial inquest into the Bondi Junction stabbings and the renewed attention on Tiahleigh Palmer's case following the death of her killer, Rick Thorburn, in prison, have brought coronial inquests back into public focus.

In this episode, we explore why coronial inquests are conducted even when the perpetrator is known, examining their role in uncovering systemic issues, providing closure to families, and informing public policy.​

Joining Meshel in this discussion is ATC's producer Matthew Tankard, and criminologist Dr. Xanthé Mallett.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie

Guest Host: Dr. Xanthé Mallett

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

This episode contains extra content from the ABC and 60 Minutes.

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.

In 2001, Rachelle Childs was found murdered near the town of Gerroa, NSW. For years, her case went uninvestigated—until now.

Investigative Journalist Ashlea Hansen joins us to talk about Dear Rachelle, the new podcast that’s reignited the fight for justice.

Click here to visit the Dear Rachelle website and listen to their podcast.

Click here to subscribe to ATC Plus on Apple Podcasts and access all ATC episodes early and ad-free, as well as exclusive bonus episodes.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Ashlea Hansen

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.