On a cold February night in 1976, Australia's first celebrity chef vanished from his Bavarian restaurant in the misty Dandenong Ranges. Wilhelm "Willi" Koeppen, the man who brought smorgasbord dining to Australia and hosted the country's first televised cooking show, left behind a blue Volkswagen Kombi with keys in the ignition and the door wide open.

Part 1 reconstructs the final hours: a violent argument with his estranged wife, threats of suicide, hours of drinking with the local doctor, and a mysterious phone call at 3 AM. By sunrise, only his van remained, parked in the wrong spot, abandoned in haste. The window for his disappearance was just 90 minutes.

Nearly five decades later, his body has never been found. But the secrets of that night, kept by those who saw him last, may finally be unraveling.

This is the story of how a man can disappear in plain sight, and how the people closest to the truth chose silence over justice.

Content warning: This episode contains references to suicide, alcohol abuse, and suspected violence.

Sources

• 2018 inquest finding by State Coroner Sarah Hinchey (July 11, 2018)
• "The Cuckoo affair: What happened to Willi Koeppen?" by Tammy Mills (July 13, 2018)
• Channel Nine "Under Investigation" "Where's Willi" episode (February 15, 2023)
• "Life and Crimes with Andrew Rule" Podcast - Episode on Koeppen case (October 3, 2020)
• Marrett Investigations - Case summary and ongoing investigation by Damian Marrett

Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay

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