Coffee and Crime AU | Australian True Crime

Phillip Island, September 1986. Beth Barnard is found dead at home. Vivienne Cameron disappears the same night.The official coronial story linked the two: Vivienne was found to have contributed to Beth’s death and was later declared dead herself. But no criminal trial tested the case against Vivienne, her body has never been recovered, and later examination of witness accounts and physical evidence has raised questions about whether the original reconstruction was complete.This episode follows Beth first: her life, the affair that placed her inside the Cameron marriage, the final night, the investigation and the case that still divides opinion four decades later.

On 5 November 1994, 22-year-old Revelle Balmain disappears from Kingsford. She has plans for drinks that night, lunch with her mum the next morning, rehearsals in Brisbane and work waiting in Japan. Instead, her calls stop, her pages go unanswered and her belongings begin appearing across nearby streets. This episode follows Revelle’s final known hours in real time, then moves into the investigation and the 2026 coronial findings that criticised the original police focus and sent the case back for further investigation. Listen next: Megan Kalajzich — another NSW case where the investigation becomes central to understanding what happened.

In January 1986, Megan Kalajzich survived an attack at her Fairlight home. Sixteen days later she was killed. Her husband Andrew was later convicted of arranging her murder and maintained his innocence through appeals, a judicial inquiry and decades in prison.Listen next: Maria Korp — another Australian case where what was happening inside a relationship became central to the investigation.

In February 2005, Maria Korp disappeared from her Mickleham home. Four days later, police found her unconscious in the boot of her Mazda near Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. This episode follows Maria’s final ordinary morning, the attack, the search to find her, the investigation, Tania Herman’s guilty plea, Joe Korp’s denial and death before trial, and the coronial findings that followed.Subscribers can also listen to The Other Woman, a companion episode going deeper into Tania Herman, her relationship with Joe Korp and what was happening behind the scenes before Maria was attacked.Listen next: Allison Baden-Clay, another Australian case where what was happening inside a relationship became central to the investigation.

In February 2013, 23-year-old Shandee Blackburn finished a late shift in Mackay and began the short walk home. She never reached the front door. This episode follows her final known movements, the investigation, John Peros’s 2017 acquittal, the later coronial findings and the forensic DNA failures that helped force Queensland’s state-run laboratory system into the light.Content note: homicide, grief, intimate-partner allegations, criminal proceedings, coronial findings and forensic DNA failures. Injury details are non-graphic.