Part criminal, part storyteller, and part myth. Mark “Chopper” Read is one of Australia’s most polarising figures.

Today, we dive into the life and legacy of the man behind the legend. From a violent childhood and years in Pentridge Prison to bestselling books, stage shows, and the iconic film portrayal by Eric Bana, Chopper’s story is as chaotic as it is captivating. Was he a violent criminal, a folk hero, or just a master manipulator of his own narrative?

Journalist and author Mark Dapin, who once featured in a Chopper tale himself, joins us to explore the truth, the fiction, and everything in between.

You can read Mark's book, The First Murderer I Ever Met, here.

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

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.

CREDITS

Guest: Mark Dapin

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

GET IN TOUCH

Follow us on Instagram and 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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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a summer night in Italy in 2007, the brutal murder of Meredith Kercher shocked the world. Her American flatmate Amanda Knox, and her new boyfriend Raffaele, were instantly thrust into an international legal saga that spanned years.

For the first time ever, True Crime Conversations host Claire Murphy joins The Spill's Laura Brodnik for a can't-miss crossover that dissects the new Disney+ series, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. Whether you're a true-crime devotee or an entertainment junkie, you need to hear this.

In this episode, we bring you the full forensic detail of the Amanda Knox case, including the vital piece of contamination that crumbled the prosecution's DNA evidence. We also analyse the dramatic new TV series that puts you inside Amanda’s mind, depicting the terrifying interrogation police failed to record.

Discover the unsettling truth about the unflushed poo, the "see you later" text police misinterpreted, and the psychological tricks used to coerce a false confession from an exhausted, non-Italian speaking student.

We explain why the show's creators believe that only a drama - not a documentary or a memoir - can truly clear a name that has been dragged through the mud for a decade, and clear up exactly how Monica Lewinsky got involved.

THE END BITS
Hear Laura Brodnik every day on Mamamia’s twice-daily entertainment podcast The Spill. We post the latest celeb headlines you need to know at 8am, and an in-depth (and hilarious) look at the day’s biggest celebrity stories at 3pm. Follow our feed to get in the know.

Content warning: This article contains graphic details of violence, assault and sexual assault. 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.

Mamamia’s No Filter spoke exclusively to Amanda Knox - hear her own story here.

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

CREDITS
Hosts: Claire Murphy and Laura Brodnik
Producers: Tahli Blackman and Monisha Iswaran
Audio Producer: Scott Stronach

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In October 2022, Samantha Stites was kidnapped and assaulted by a man who had stalked her for over a decade. After breaking into her Michigan home, he restrained her and took her to a soundproof bunker he had built inside a storage unit, where she was held captive for nearly 15 hours.

Despite a previous protection order, the man’s harassment had only escalated over the years. His stalking included following Samantha, leaving unwanted gifts, and even tracking her movements, creating a terrifying and relentless ordeal that ultimately led to her kidnapping.

Samantha joins us on the podcast to tell her story.

You can watch Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror on Apple TV+ + now. Watch 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: Samantha Stites

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Group Executive Producer: Ilaria Brophy

Audio Producer: Tina Matolov

GET IN TOUCH

Follow us on Instagram and 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.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What drives a teenager to become a killer?

In 2001, three-year-old Courtney Morley-Clarke was put to bed on a hot summer night on the NSW Central Coast. By morning, her bed was empty, the screen door wide open, and her nightie lay on the ground.

Police soon discovered Courtney hadn’t wandered off, she was abducted and murdered by her 13-year-old neighbour, Australia’s youngest convicted killer. He confessed it was practice for more killings.

After serving 22 years in prison, he’s now back in the community.

So, how can someone so young commit such a horrific act? Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro joins us to explain.

Listen to the Motive & Method 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.

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

CREDITS

Guest: Tim Watson-Munro

Host: Claire Murphy

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

GET IN TOUCH

We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside The Cecil Hotel: Dark Truths Behind Elisa Lam's Elevator Video

On a February morning in 2013, guests at the infamous Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles complained of brown, foul-tasting water. What the maintenance team discovered on the rooftop would spark a global internet frenzy - the body of 21-year-old Elisa Lam inside the hotel's water tank.

In the days leading up to her disappearance, Elisa was captured on the hotel’s elevator CCTV behaving erratically. The now-viral footage has since fuelled endless theories, speculation, and conspiracy. But for those who worked inside the walls of the Cecil, Elisa’s case wasn’t unusual. The hotel had a long, dark history of death, violence, murder and tragedy.

This week on True Crime Conversations, host Claire Murphy speaks with the Cecil Hotel's former manager, Amy Price who lived through the sheer horror and chaos. From eerie theories to the realities of running a place with such a dark history, Amy shares what it was like inside the hotel when one of the internet's most enduring mysteries unfolded.

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

CREDIT LIST
Guest: Amy Price
Host: Claire Murphy
Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman
Audio Producer: Jacob Round

GET IN TOUCH
We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations
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.
Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes.
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.

When police raided the home of 48-year-old Garry 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 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

GET IN TOUCH

We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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.

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

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.

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

GET IN TOUCH

We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

GET IN TOUCH

We finally have an Instagram! Follow us @truecrimeconversations

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.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.