Shandee's Story
A TRUE CRIME PODCAST BY HEDLEY THOMAS
Subscribers to The Australian have exclusive first access to episodes of Shandee's Story via The Australian app. Subscribe to The Australian here.
Shandee's Story is investigated and written by Hedley Thomas.
Audio and music production by Blacksmith & Co.
Additional reporting by David Murray and Isaac Irons.
Additional research by Isaac Irons.
Video trailer by Gwyn Dixon, 3P Studio.
Editorial Director, Claire Harvey.
Digital execution by Isabel Trujillo and Kellie Southan.
Marketing by Alice Bradbury, Dean Roffe and Jarrah Petzold.
Audio compiling, Lia Tsamoglou and Nicholas Adams-Dzierzba.
PROUDLY PRODUCED BY
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SHANDEE'S STORY
SHANDEE'S STORY
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Anyone with information about the murder of Shandee Blackburn can contact Hedley Thomas confidentially here
To share what you know with Crime Stoppers, call 1800 333 000.
Read stories from this podcast here
Episode 2 is available now exclusively to subscribers to
The Australian via the podcast player in The Australian app.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe to The Australian here.
• Palaszczuk should be outraged … so why is she silent? ›
• ‘It was really creepy … I think it’s him’ ›
• Calls to overhaul DNA lab ‘fell on deaf ears’ ›
• Police surveillance targeted former boyfriend ›
STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE
Major forensics failures in a government-run laboratory seriously compromised the police investigation into Shandee’s murder, one of Australia’s most respected DNA experts finds. After months examining the case for Shandee’s Story, forensic biologist Dr Kirsty Wright is convinced critical problems thwarted the lab’s ability to generate DNA profiles from crime scenes - potentially allowing a killer to get away with murder. Dr Wright finds the lab couldn’t find DNA in a sample of blood, or trace DNA from John Peros in his own car. She says all the results in Shandee’s case need to be retested by an independent laboratory, and that doing so could uncover the killer’s DNA.
Sugar Town
EPISODE 7
Bad Science
• Witnesses relive nightmare on Boddington St ›
• Key people in Episode 1 ›
• ‘I didn’t think it could get any worse until I saw Shandee’ ›
• Police targeted boyfriends as suspects ›
STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE
Shandee Blackburn is a popular, outgoing young woman who lives with her mother Vicki in a Queensland town renowned for its sugar, Mackay. Shandee walks home at night from her coffee shop job sometimes and she’s filmed by CCTV cameras - along with her killer who runs to launch a frenzied and savage knife attack. Shandee’s murder stuns the community and triggers ongoing trauma and investigations into her relationships including with a former boyfriend.
SUGAR TOWN
EPISODE 1
• Witnesses relive nightmare on Boddington St ›
• Key people in Episode 1 ›
• ‘The most gruesome murder I ever saw’ ›
• Police targeted boyfriends as suspects ›
STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE
Shandee Blackburn is a popular, outgoing young woman who lives with her mother Vicki in a Queensland town renowned for its sugar, Mackay. Shandee walks home at night from her coffee shop job sometimes and she’s filmed by CCTV cameras - along with her killer who runs to launch a frenzied and savage knife attack. Shandee’s murder stuns the community and triggers ongoing trauma and investigations into her relationships including with a former boyfriend.
SUGAR TOWN
EPISODE 1
Shandee's Story
A TRUE CRIME PODCAST BY HEDLEY THOMAS
Shandee's Story
A TRUE CRIME PODCAST BY HEDLEY THOMAS
Episode 7 is available now exclusively to subscribers to
The Australian via the podcast player in The Australian app.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe to The Australian here.
• Shut lab down: DNA fiasco in Shandee Blackburn murder case ›
• Shut lab down: DNA fiasco in Shandee Blackburn murder case ›
Episode 7 is available now exclusively to subscribers to
The Australian via the podcast player in The Australian app.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe to The Australian here.
Episode 7 is available now exclusively to subscribers to
The Australian via the podcast player in The Australian app.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe to The Australian here.
• Shut lab down: DNA fiasco in murder case ›