When police raided the home of 48-year-old Gary Francis Newman in March 2007, they found him sitting in his lounge room, chatting online with a 14-year-old girl. She thought she was speaking to “Brandon,” a teenage American boy. In reality, Brandon was a persona—a carefully crafted fake identity Newman had used to lure girls online. Police would later uncover nearly 200 such identities.

One of those girls was Carly Ryan.

Newman lured Carly to a secluded beach, pretending to be Brandon, and brutally murdered her.

What followed was every parent’s nightmare—and one mother’s mission to stop it ever happening again.

Donate to the work at The Carly Ryan Foundation through their website here.

Support is available if you need it:

Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation - https://www.accce.gov.au/

eSafety Commissioner - https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Our new podcast Watch Party is out now, listen to our deep-dive into The Thursday Murder Club movie on Apple or Spotify.

CREDITS

Guest: Sonya Ryan

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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You don’t expect to find two billionaires posed like mannequins by their own pool.

But on December 15, 2017, realtor Elise Stern did just that when she entered Barry and Honey Sherman’s Toronto mansion. Honey was traveling, and Barry was at work, so Elise knew the couple wouldn’t be home.

As she showed potential buyers through the house, Elise pointed out quirky features, including life-size statues. When they reached the basement pool, she was shocked to see two figures hanging by their necks from the pool railing.

Realizing these were not statues, Elise called for help. The bodies of Barry and Honey Sherman—two of Canada’s wealthiest—had been discovered. Their deaths triggered an investigation that remains unsolved nearly eight years later, with a $35 million reward offered for information.

Listen to The Billionaire Murders podcast here. Read Kevin's book here.

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Our new podcast Watch Party is out now, listen to our deep-dive into The Thursday Murder Club movie on Apple or Spotify.

Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes.

CREDITS

Guest: Kevin Donovan

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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On October 19, 1997, Sally Leydon called her brother Owen to ask if their mum, Marion Barter—who was on a year-long trip overseas—had phoned for his birthday. When Owen said no, Sally felt uneasy. Marion never missed birthdays.

She’d last heard from her mum in August, calling from the UK. But it was the '90s—no constant contact, no photo trail. Marion had vanished.

Someone suggested checking her bank account. A bank employee paused when Sally mentioned Marion was overseas, saying that they were seeing large withdrawals from her account.

That moment sparked Sally’s decades-long search for answers. A missing mother, a hidden identity, and a trail of secrets would become the focus of one of Australia's most gripping podcasts: The Lady Vanishes.

Find out more about The Missing Matter podcast here.

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Our new podcast Watch Party is out now, listen to our deep-dive into The Thursday Murder Club movie on Apple or Spotify.

Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes.

CREDITS

Guest: Sally Leydon

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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In October 2003, newlyweds Gabe and Tina Watson travelled from Alabama to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for their dream honeymoon. Just 11 days after their wedding, the couple prepared to dive the SS Yongala shipwreck, one of the world’s most famous dive sites. But within minutes of entering the water, Tina was pulled to the surface unconscious. Despite desperate attempts to save her, she could not be revived.

What began as a heartbreaking accident soon raised chilling questions. Why were Gabe’s stories inconsistent? And what really happened underwater that day?

In this episode, host Gemma Bath speaks with journalist and author Lindsay Simpson, co-author of Honeymoon Dive, to explore a case that captivated the world and still divides opinion more than 20 years on. You can find the book here.

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CREDITS

Guest: Lindsay Simpson

Host: Gemma Bath

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What began as a typical game day celebration for University of Idaho students would end in unimaginable horror on Saturday, November 12, 2022.

Xana Kernodle, a marketing junior, spent the day with friends, including her boyfriend Ethan Chapin and housemates Dylan, Bethany, Kaylee and Maddie at their shared home on 1122 King Road. After parties and celebrations, the group returned home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

At around 4am, Dylan heard disturbing sounds. When she cracked her door open, Dylan saw a masked man with bushy eyebrows holding what looked like a vacuum cleaner. The next day, when upstairs roommates wouldn't answer their phones, friends discovered the bodies of Xana, Ethan, Kaylee and Maddie - all brutally stabbed to death.

Vicky Ward, co-author of The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy, joins Claire to explore this devastating case. You can find her book here.

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes.

CREDITS

Guest: Vicky Ward

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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In May 1999, two detectives followed a trail of suspicious missing persons cases to an old, red-brick bank in Snowtown, South Australia.

As they head inside, they head straight for the bank’s vault where they find six large plastic barrels containing human remains. They also find handcuffs, knives, a saw, boxes of disposable gloves and bottles of hydrochloric acid.

They’d come to realise they'd found the dumping grounds of Australia’s worst serial killings, crimes that would see four men sent to prison with lengthy sentences.

But now, one of these men, the youngest of the killers, has been granted parole.

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CREDITS

Guest: Jeremy Pudney

You can find more info about his book Snowtown: The Bodies in Barrels Murders here.

Host: Gemma Bath

Executive Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producer: Scott Stronach

The story is not the first time we've covered the Snowtown Murders. Hear our past episode with Debi Marshall here.

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We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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On a scorching summer day in Adelaide, January 26, 1966, the Beaumont children—Jane, Arnna and Grant—left for Glenelg Beach and never came home.

In a crowd of hundreds, they vanished without a trace, no evidence at all. Nearly 60 years on, the mystery still grips Australia, it's the cold case that can't go cold.

Joining us are author Stuart Mullins and former detective Bill Hayes, who believe a man known as “The Satin Man” is responsible for their disappearance.

Find out more about Stuart and Bill's book Unmasking the Killer of the Missing Beaumont Children here.

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes.

CREDITS

Guests: Bill Hayes & Stuart Mullins

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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Follow us on TikTok @truecrimeconversations

Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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When two-year-old Khandalyce Pearce vanished, police were baffled that her mother, Karlie, hadn’t reported her missing. What no one realised was that Karlie Pearce-Stevenson had already been murdered years earlier, her remains discovered in Belanglo State Forest in 2010—eight years before Khandalyce’s name would make national headlines.

The true shock came from the killer’s calculated deception: for years after Karlie’s murder, her killers and their associates sent fake text messages and made calls using her mobile phone, convincing family and friends she was still alive.

Author Ava Benny Morrison joins Jessie to step through the case of Karlie and Khandalyce and explain how law enforcement agencies around the country managed to solve the case of The Lost Girls.

This episode first aired in 2019 and marked one of the earliest major cases on True Crime Conversations. We're re-releasing it today for listeners old and new.

CREDITS

Guest: Ava Benny Morrison

Host: Jessie Stephens

Senior Producer/Editor: Elise Cooper

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Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show, then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review. You can also leave a comment for us on Spotify.

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.