Coffee and Crime AU | Australian True Crime

For years, Ivan Milat was just another man living an ordinary life in suburban Sydney.


A neighbour.


A husband.


A father.


A man who went to work, came home, and blended into the community around him.


But in 1992, seven young travellers disappeared — and the discovery of their bodies in Belanglo State Forest would expose one of the darkest chapters in Australian criminal history.


In Part Two of Ivan Milat: The Forest That Changed Everything, we look beyond the headlines and explore the life of the man behind the name.


From his childhood in a large Croatian immigrant family, his early years, his relationships, and the ordinary life he built — to the warning signs, the investigation that brought police to his door, and the evidence that would eventually see him convicted of seven murders.


We explore:


• Who Ivan Milat was before Belanglo


• His family background and upbringing


• The early incidents that later attracted attention


• The disappearances of the young backpackers


• The investigation that led police to Milat


• The evidence presented during his trial


• The conviction that changed Australia forever


• The unanswered questions and ongoing fascination surrounding the case


But at the heart of this story are not just the crimes — they are the lives lost.


Caroline Clarke.


Joanne Walters.


Deborah Everist.


James Gibson.


Simone Schmidl.


Anja Habschied.


Gabor Neugebauer.


Seven people with families, dreams, and futures ahead of them.


This is the story of Ivan Milat — the man behind Belanglo.


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In 1992, a discovery inside Belanglo State Forest changed Australia forever.


What began as a search for missing travellers became one of the largest homicide investigations in Australian history.


Seven young backpackers had disappeared.


Their families had spent years searching for answers.


And hidden among the trees was the evidence that would reveal one of Australia’s most notorious criminal cases.


In Part One, we examine the disappearances, the discovery of the victims, the survival of Paul Onions, and the investigation that eventually led detectives to Ivan Milat.


A man who appeared ordinary.


A man investigators believed was responsible for extraordinary crimes.


But finding a suspect was only the beginning.


The evidence, the trial, and the courtroom battle would come next.


Early access listeners can join Deeper Into The Case for exclusive case files, evidence breakdowns, courtroom analysis, and deeper investigations into Australia’s most significant true crime cases.


#IvanMilat #AustralianTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast

Bob Chappell stepped onto his yacht on the River Derwent… and was never seen again.


No confirmed witness. No body. No clear explanation of what happened that night.


What followed was one of Australia’s most debated missing person investigations — a case built on circumstance, interpretation, and contested evidence.


In this episode, we break down the disappearance of Bob Chappell, the investigation into the yacht Four Winds, and the trial that followed.


But the questions never fully went away.


What really happened on the water that night?


Listen now for the full story.

In November 1962, a foul smell drifting through a quiet Sydney street led police to a discovery that would quietly conceal one of Australia’s most disturbing serial killers.


What they found beneath the floorboards of a small delicatessen seemed straightforward at first. A dead man. A closed case. A name on the paperwork: Alan Brennan.


But there was one problem.


Alan Brennan didn’t exist.


He was an alias used by William MacDonald — a man already responsible for a series of brutal murders across Sydney and Brisbane. While police believed the killer was dead and buried under his false identity, MacDonald was still alive… walking free… and planning his next attack.


Nicknamed “The Mutilator”, MacDonald’s crimes would span cities, identities, and multiple victims before an extraordinary mistake exposed the truth: investigators had buried a victim under the killer’s name, allowing him to vanish in plain sight.


This episode traces MacDonald’s life from troubled beginnings to a devastating series of killings, the investigative failures that allowed him to evade capture, and the unlikely encounter that finally brought one of Australia’s most feared killers to justice.


A story of deception, missed connections, and one of the most bizarre errors in Australian criminal history.