Unravel True Crime: Snowball

About this podcast

Unravel True Crime is a podcast where, each season, some of Australia's best journalists investigate unsolved crimes. Season 4: Snowball tells how an average family's encounter with a charismatic Californian con woman cost them everything.

Unravel True Crime: Snowball

Episodes

2021
PRESENTS — Barrenjoey Road The Book
Unravel Season 2 told the story of Trudie Adams. On a regular Saturday night in June 1978, 18-year-old Trudie leaves a party at Newport Surf Club just after midnight. Thumbing a ride on Barrenjoey Road, she is picked up… and never seen again. Reporting duo Ruby Jones and Neil Mercer looked at what might have happened to Trudie and they found a case that exposed a dark underbelly on the northern beaches of Sydney. The pair have now uncovered new evidence, which is featured in a book — Barrenjoey Road.
February 23, 2021
3 min
2019
S4 07 | The Morning After
After the confrontation in the supermarket carpark, Ollie is left feeling confused — has he been charmed just like everyone else in this story? Will Lezlie fail to keep her promises to Ollie or leave him and his family hanging?
September 2, 2019
24 min
S4 06 | Stakeout
Ollie and Simon have criss-crossed California to find themselves parked in a supermarket car park staking out where Lezlie supposedly works. They may only have one shot to talk to her and finally get some answers. It doesn't go the way Ollie imagined.
September 2, 2019
42 min
S4 05 | Black Widow
Ollie and his brother Simon follow the trail of broken dreams and failed restaurants to Paso Robles, California. It's apparent Lezlie's exploits didn't stop when she left New Zealand. Ollie discovers his former sister-in-law had manufactured an image of a successful restaurateur in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe and New Zealand. Her exotic CV and exciting stories pull a new family into her web — with disastrous consequences.
September 2, 2019
45 min
S4 04 | Charmed
Following the trail to Lezlie Manukian, Ollie and his other brother Simon end up in California. With a muscle car and loud Hawaiian shirts, the brothers look every bit like '80s TV detectives as they head off on their very first stakeout. But, when the trail runs cold, they decide to chase down a lead at Lezlie's first restaurant in the resort town of Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile, Lezlie's emails become stranger than fiction.
September 2, 2019
41 min
S4 03 | The Coconut Wireless
Lezlie Manukian's stories about her time in Hawaii usually ended with murderous local mobsters running her off the island. So, to track down his brother Greg's ex-wife, Ollie Wards needs to understand her past. What really happened according to "the coconut wireless"?
September 2, 2019
42 min
S4 02 | The Great Houdini
Ollie and Greg's dad, David Wards, picks through the clues left behind by Greg's American wife, Lezlie. He realises that the entire family may have been victims of an elaborate con job. David is obsessed with finding answers, launching his own investigations and even becoming a 60-something computer hacker.
September 2, 2019
44 min
S4 01 | The Girl With The Dragonfly Tattoo
When Ollie Wards' brother Greg marries his American dream girl in New Zealand and they go into business together, it seems like a perfect start to a new life. But only a few months later, Greg is heartbroken, the family home is gone — and so is Lezlie.
September 2, 2019
49 min
INTRODUCING – Season 4: Snowball
In 2006, Greg Wards was your average Kiwi backpacker on an overseas adventure in the UK, working hard, playing harder — and falling head-over-heels in love. After a whirlwind international romance, Greg married Lezlie Manukian in New Zealand. Their new life started out by setting up a small business north of Auckland. But a snowball had started to roll the day Greg met Lezlie Manukian. It wasn't long before this ball of chaos gathered pace and crushed Greg and his family. Ten years on, Greg's younger brother Ollie takes up the case begun by his amateur PI Dad and goes on the hunt. Across three continents and over seven episodes — with many twists, turns and WTF moments — Ollie goes on a mission to unravel a quirky and baffling love fraud. Who is Lezlie Manukian — and why did she con his family? Is this the first time this has happened? Can he track her down and finally get some answers? This series of Unravel is released on September 3.
August 28, 2019
5 min
BONUS — Seeing Is Believing
Host Gina McKeon interviews film-maker Helen Barrow about her coverage of Belinda Peisley’s inquest and the behind-the-scenes moments that we can’t hear in the audio. Helen’s one-hour tv documentary WHO KILLED BELINDA PEISLEY? is available on the streaming platform ABC iView. Download the app or visit the website: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/who-killed-belinda-peisley
March 11, 2019
9 min
S3 05 | The Visitor
Some of the most explosive moments in Belinda Peisley’s inquest happen between lawyer Phil Strickland and the man we’re calling Luke. Luke admits to using heroin and to staying on Belinda’s floor from time to time, like a lot of their crowd in Katoomba at the time. He’s got a violent past and a long rap sheet, but denies being a standover man or ever demanding money from Belinda. In the coroner’s court, Luke is grilled about an alleged conversation he had in jail with a fellow prisoner who remembers Luke bragging about smashing Belinda’s head with a rock. Luke denies all these accusations.
March 4, 2019
40 min
S3 04 | The Best Friend's Boyfriend
Jeremy Ward Douglas was going out with Belinda Peisley’s best friend, Heidi Wailes, at the time Belinda disappeared. The inquest into her death heard Jeremy had a reputation around town as a violent and controlling guy with a short temper who would hang around Belinda’s house, often against her wishes. Heidi says that, after Belinda disappeared, she remembers Jeremy behaving like he knew she wasn’t coming back. The court hears stories from others of Jeremy’s rage and that he allegedly had ideas about where Belinda’s body might be.
February 25, 2019
28 min
S3 03 | The Best Friend
Heidi Wailes was close to Belinda and says she looked out for Belinda like an older sister would. But a break-in at Belinda’s house just days before she disappeared suggests Heidi might not have always been the friend she claimed to be. Many, including the coroner at Belinda’s inquest, believe Heidi may know more about what happened to Belinda than she is revealing. As pressure mounts in the courtroom, cracks begin to show. We also hear from another person in Belinda’s friendship circle, Wanda Loynds (aka "Storm") who admits to punching Belinda on the last day she was seen alive.
February 18, 2019
39 min
S3 02 | The Boyfriend
We go inside the courtroom at Belinda Peisley's inquest to hear firsthand the arguments, phone taps and witness testimony. Jason*, Belinda's boyfriend at the time, says he met up with her on the night she disappeared. They had an argument at her house and he left. It's the last time he ever saw her. Jason is from a footy family in the Mountains and his father John* wasn't impressed his son was going out with someone from the so-called 'junkie' crowd. Hear the inquest testimony from Jason and his father as they answer questions about Belinda's disappearance. *We've changed their names for legal reasons.
February 11, 2019
39 min
S3 01 | Belinda
Belinda Peisley's life descended into chaos after her 18th birthday when she received a big inheritance and bought her own place in Katoomba. Her family hoped the house would set her up for life but, instead, her new address became a magnet for a world of drugs and crowd of people who’d turn up at all hours. Six months later, Belinda disappeared. In the months before she vanished, Belinda told her family she was scared — even that she wanted to change her identity and leave town — but they couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt her. Join reporter Gina McKeon as she travels to Katoomba to begin to understand what happened to Belinda Peisley.
February 4, 2019
32 min
INTRODUCING — Last Seen Katoomba
19-year-old Belinda Peisley vanished after she left a Blue Mountains hospital on September 26, 1998. The single mum-of-two disappeared within a year of inheriting a significant sum of money from a relative and buying a house in Katoomba. The first episode of Unravel Season 3 lands on February 5.
January 28, 2019
3 min
2018
S2 07 | Christmas Tree Hill
In the Season 2 finale, Ruby and Neil get the lead they have hoped for — a tip-off from an old law enforcement source about a potential burial site for Trudie Adams.
November 12, 2018
34 min
S2 06 | The Unholy Relationship
Investigating the link between a career criminal, Trudie ... and a corrupt cop.
November 5, 2018
39 min
S2 05 | The Big Bad Wolf
Hear the voice of criminal monster, Neville Tween.
October 29, 2018
34 min
S2 04 | The Green Kombi Van
A completely new theory on what happened to Trudie Adams
October 22, 2018
36 min

Unravel True Crime: Snowball

About this podcast

Categories

About this podcast

Categories

Unravel True Crime: Snowball

Episodes

PRESENTS — Barrenjoey Road The Book

S4 07 | The Morning After

S4 06 | Stakeout

S4 05 | Black Widow

S4 04 | Charmed

S4 03 | The Coconut Wireless

S4 02 | The Great Houdini

S4 01 | The Girl With The Dragonfly Tattoo

INTRODUCING – Season 4: Snowball

BONUS — Seeing Is Believing

S3 05 | The Visitor

S3 04 | The Best Friend's Boyfriend

S3 03 | The Best Friend

S3 02 | The Boyfriend

S3 01 | Belinda

INTRODUCING — Last Seen Katoomba

S2 07 | Christmas Tree Hill

S2 06 | The Unholy Relationship

S2 05 | The Big Bad Wolf

S2 04 | The Green Kombi Van