Debbie Fahey’s death in a Melbourne motel room in 1981 was treated as a heroin overdose. But more than four decades later, troubling questions remain.Multiple syringes. Four foils of heroin. No obvious heat source to prepare the drug. And a strange telegram that appeared to explain Debbie’s state of mind.Then there is the man in her life: Alistair Farquhar "Sandy" MacRae — later convicted of four murders — who identified Debbie’s body and described himself as her fiancé.Were these simply the circumstances surrounding a tragic overdose? Or was somebody trying to make Debbie’s death look like one?

In this special From the Desk, Adam Shand examines the anomalies in the original investigation and makes a direct appeal to anyone who knew Debbie, MacRae, or Melbourne’s drug scene in 1981.Someone may still know what happened inside that motel room. After 45 years, it’s time to talk.

Listen to the full epsidoe with Debbie's daughter, Des  here 

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Like thousands of young Australians in the 1980s, Patrick McKenzie became addicted to heroin and found his way to Sydney's King Cross joining a sub-culture of drug users who financed their habit by committing petty crime. It took five days in jail for him to begin to see a life beyond drug addiction but the road to recovery was difficult, including multiple stints in rehab, relapses and the painful restoration of personal relationships. Patrick takes Adam Shand through his story of self-destruction and redemption.

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Was Debbie Fahey's death really a murder? In 1981, Deborah “Debbie” Fahey died from a heroin overdose; her death was apparently another tragedy of Melbourne’s drug scene.
But was there more to the story?

In an earlier episode, former detective Noel Ashby identified convicted killer Alistair Farquhar MacRae as a possible suspect in a series of heroin deaths during the 1980s—deaths that may have been made to look like suicides or accidental overdoses.
After hearing that episode, Debbie’s daughter, Des, contacted us. Together, we uncovered an extraordinary connection: MacRae had been Debbie’s boyfriend.

In this episode, Des tells the deeply personal story of the mother she lost and the disturbing questions that have remained unanswered for more than four decades.

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Sixteen years after the death of Carl Williams, the Melbourne gangland war continues to resonate as Australia’s most famous underworld war. In this week’s From the Desk episode, Adam Shand reflects on why the Underbelly war continues to fascinate the public even as the death toll in Sydney‘s gangland conflicts continues to rise.

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In Part Two of Real Crime: Live at the Stanley Pub, Adam Shand sits down with Daniel Saunders — the man who discovered a glitch in his bank account that seemingly gave him access to unlimited money.

What followed was four months of outrageous spending, new friends, gambling, luxury hotels and a life that spiralled completely out of control. But eventually, Daniel did something almost as extraordinary as finding the glitch: he tried to give the money back.

Daniel tells Adam what really happened, why he ultimately turned himself in, what prison was like — and whether, knowing everything he knows now, he'd do it all again.

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A special double episode this week, Adam Shand is taking Real Crime on the road with Dan Saunders of The Glitch podcast visiting historic Stanley in northeast Victoria for a live event at the Stanley pub, in association with Turnip Media. In this first episode, Adam tells how he got into crime writing during Melbourne’s gangland war and recounts some of his near-death experiences

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This week I posted about disturbing revelations involving Australia’s Family Court. I was inundated with messages from women who believe the system failed them—and left their children in danger.

In this episode of From the Desk, I examine claims that protective mothers are being ignored, disbelieved, or financially broken by a process they entered to keep their children safe. I ask whether allegations of abuse are being properly investigated, whether children’s voices are being heard, and whether an expensive and secretive system is sufficiently accountable when the consequences of getting it wrong can last a lifetime.

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For more than 20 years, Adam Shand has asked detectives across Australia: has a psychic ever genuinely helped solve a crime?

In this episode, Adam speaks with Richard Saunders from Australian Skeptics about the $100,000 prize awaiting anyone who can prove they possess psychic abilities under controlled conditions. The money is real—but can anybody pass the test?

Together, they examine the claims made by psychics, the techniques that can make their predictions seem convincing, and why families and investigators may turn to the supernatural when conventional leads have run out.

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Jamie Burchell once made his living selling drugs and he was very good at it but he paid for it with years in maximum security and a struggle with anxiety and depression. Now free and living alone in the bush, the man once dubbed the Craigslist drug dealer speaks candidly about fatherhood, regret. self-sufficiency and his chance to build a life beyond crime

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More than one in three Australians—37 per cent—say they would support bringing back the death penalty. But supporting an execution in principle is very different from carrying one out.In today’s From the Desk, Adam asks the uncomfortable question: if the state is permitted to take a life in our name, who must bear the burden of actually doing it? Would those demanding the ultimate punishment be prepared to enter the execution chamber, carry out the sentence—and live with having taken another person’s life?

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He was dubbed the “Wolf of Whiteman Street," a Crown Casino high roller whose extravagant lifestyle allegedly included lavish parties, VIP treatment, and extraordinary spending.

But behind the glamour, police allege Sy Giang Nguyen was funding his lifestyle through a multimillion-dollar fraud against the charity where he worked. Nguyen is facing hundreds of charges, and the allegations remain before the courts.

Herald Sun senior reporter Seb Costello joins Adam Shand to unravel the extraordinary story of Nguyen’s rise, the world he inhabited, and the allegations that brought it crashing down.

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