For over 50 years, Alex Bone’s name was absent from the record, omitted from the inquest, ignored in official files, and unknown even to Joanne Ratcliffe’s own sister. But Alex was there. He went to the football with the Ratcliffes. He searched for Jo and Kirste that afternoon. And, in this episode, he finally tells his story.

This is not just a recollection, it’s a revelation that challenges everything we thought we knew about the Adelaide Oval abduction. From a timeline that no longer holds to police being denied access to key areas of the Oval, unknown Bones uncovers details long buried, and asks the questions no one else has.

Because when the official story doesn’t match the lived truth… It’s time to listen to the voices left behind.

Abbreviations & Explanations

ACB = The Australian Cricket Board - the governing body of all cricket matters in Australia.

COPPERS = Australian slang for Police

FAT CAT = Fat Cat was a popular children's television program for South Australian Children.

FAT CAT CAME ON = Adelaide Local Television Channel 10 would put to air a 2-minute broadcast every weeknight at 7:30 pm of FAT CAT - 'going to bed'. - parental help at 'bedtime'

ST. JOHN'S = The St. John Ambulance Service, precursor to the SA Ambulance Service, volunteer uniformed community qualified first aiders who patrol and provide first aid and patron assistance at South Australian sporting and community events to the present day.

SACA = South Australian Cricket Association - co-owner and administrator of the Adelaide Oval to the present day

SANFL = South Australian National Football League - co-owner of Adelaide Oval to the present day

SAPOL = South Australia Police Force

REDLEGS = Norwood Football Club - One of the teams playing that day

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In this powerful episode of SLEEPERS, we bring you the harrowing story of Alfredo Paglia, known to all as FRED. A survivor who has spent more than a decade trying to make his voice heard.

Fred's experience is not just personal; it’s deeply connected to the broader investigation into the Adelaide Oval abduction of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon. He names names, maps connections, and details an alleged network of abuse that, until now, has remained mainly in the shadows.

With raw honesty and unwavering courage, Fred recounts the times he stepped forward to the police, to the powers that be, and the responses he received. He speaks not with bitterness, but with determination. And in doing so, he becomes a voice for many still waiting for justice.

Alongside our growing team of researchers, Bryan Littlely and Max Marten explore the significance of Fred’s revelations and the patterns of inaction that have haunted this case for decades.

This is not just another interview. It’s a call to remember. A call to act. A call to never again let these stories fall through the cracks.

Because at SLEEPERS, the past doesn’t sleep.

And neither do we.

Abbreviations - SAPOL = South Australian Police Force

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We had planned for this episode to focus on what is known about our prime suspect, Stan Hart. But two days after Sleepers Episode 1 dropped, everything changed. Out of nowhere came an extraordinary interview with Anthony Kilmartin, the then 13-year-old boy who stood just metres away from the man who abducted Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon from Adelaide Oval in 1973.

Anthony isn’t just a witness. He’s the witness. The only person to see the abductor’s face up close and give the description that built the first identikit image in the case. For decades, his voice was largely absent from public view, until now.

In this raw, unfiltered conversation recorded just days ago, Anthony shares the details still burned into his memory half a century later, the sounds, the faces, and the moment that changed everything.

This is why sleepers is different. We’re not just telling you a story; we’re in the middle of a journalistic investigation, speaking directly to the people who lived it, and putting you in the room with us where, just maybe, the truth may emerge.

Click HERE for Episode Acknowledgements.

And remember…

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On August 25, 1973, 11-year-old Joanne Ratcliffe and 4-year-old Kirste Gordon left their seats during a football match at Adelaide Oval… and never came back. Despite thousands of witnesses, multiple sightings, and decades of investigation, their disappearance remains one of South Australia’s darkest mysteries.

In this opening episode of sleepers, investigative journalist Bryan Littlely and producer Max Marten take you back to that spring afternoon — the bustling crowd, the frantic search, and the chilling last images of the girls seen with a strange man in a 1950s-style fedora.

We explore police theories, forgotten leads, the flawed identikit sketch that shaped the case, and the long shadow this crime cast over a community already haunted by the Beaumont children’s disappearance just seven years earlier.

This is where sleepers begins: with two little girls, a stadium full of people, and a predator who vanished into the noise of a football crowd.

Fifty years on, it’s time to rise and shine a light on the secrets buried with this case.

support 'Leave a Light On Inc.' here

view acknowledgements here

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