Civilian Sleuths
Civilian Sleuths is a new investigative podcast shining a forensic light on Australia’s most challenging unsolved murders and missing persons cases.
For decades, these crimes have haunted families, investigators, and communities searching for answers—not for lack of effort, but because the tools of the past were limited.
Using original source material, coronial records, archived media, and modern analytical tools, Civilian Sleuths recreates timelines, re-examines evidence, and explores theories that may have been overlooked for decades. But the most powerful tool remains public memory.
Behind every cold case is a real person. A family. A life interrupted. And often, someone who still knows the truth.
If you know something—no matter how small—it may matter.
Launching January 6 with new episodes every second Tuesday, Civilian Sleuths invites you to become part of the investigation.
Unsolved. Unforgotten. Unfinished.
Listener discretion advised.
Civilian Sleuths
Denise McGregor: What The Evidence Holds
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Nearly fifty years later, could this case still be solved — and on what evidence?
Before any explanation can be tested, the reliability of the evidence must be established.
In the decades since Denise McGregor was murdered, technology has advanced — but the evidence itself has not stood still.
Some material remains. Some has been lost. Some can no longer be interpreted with certainty.
This episode establishes the boundaries.
It examines what evidence from 1978 can still be relied upon, what has degraded or changed over time, and where the limits of modern analysis now lie — including the role of emerging tools such as AI.
This is not about suspects or conclusions.
It is about what can safely support them.
Because once information is mishandled, it cannot be undone.
And any explanation that follows must be grounded in evidence that can still bear weight.
Content warning: This series discusses the sexual assault and murder of a child. Clinical, non-graphic language throughout. Listener discretion advised.
If you have information, contact Victoria Police Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or www.police.vic.gov.au/crime-stoppers