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Australian True Crime

Hedley Thomas’ own unsolved crime.

Australian True Crime
Australian True Crime

Episode 233


Hedley Thomas is an award-winning investigative journalist and podcast producer who brought us The Teacher’s Pet and The Night Driver podcasts. He is back with a new podcast series – Shandee's Story – where he goes back to the night of the 23-year old’s murder to find out who killed her and why.


For those of you not familiar with The Teacher’s Pet podcast, Hedley delved into the cold case of missing woman, Lynette Dawson, who disappeared on Sydney's Northern Beaches in 1982. The case remains unsolved some 39 years later. While her husband Chris Dawson pleaded ‘not guilty’ for her murder, he was charged and will stand trial next May. The podcast was withdrawn for reasons of potential pre-trial prejudice and is no longer available in Australia.


The Night Driver podcast follows the disappearance of 31 year-old Janine Vaughan, who was last seen getting into a red car after a night out in the township of Bathurst 20 years ago. The case went from 47 suspects to just 3, including a pharmacist, former Bathurst detective and aged care worker. Her sister, Kylie, and her family have continued searching since, the podcast giving them hope that justice may still be served.


Hedley joins Meshel Laurie this week to talk about those cases, but also about the unsolved crime that haunts his own family – a shooting at his home 19 years ago that still lives with them today.


Shandee's Story Podcast: https://bit.ly/3b5Mbv5

The Night Driver Podcast: https://bit.ly/3EjxEsh



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