Unravel

Ollie and his brother Simon follow the trail of broken dreams and failed restaurants to Paso Robles, California. It's apparent Lezlie's exploits didn't stop when she left New Zealand. Ollie discovers his former sister-in-law had manufactured an image of a successful restaurateur in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe and New Zealand. Her exotic CV and exciting stories pull a new family into her web — with disastrous consequences.

Following the trail to Lezlie Manukian, Ollie and his other brother Simon end up in California. With a muscle car and loud Hawaiian shirts, the brothers look every bit like '80s TV detectives as they head off on their very first stakeout. But, when the trail runs cold, they decide to chase down a lead at Lezlie's first restaurant in the resort town of Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile, Lezlie's emails become stranger than fiction.

Lezlie Manukian's stories about her time in Hawaii usually ended with murderous local mobsters running her off the island. So, to track down his brother Greg's ex-wife, Ollie Wards needs to understand her past. What really happened according to "the coconut wireless"?

Ollie and Greg's dad, David Wards, picks through the clues left behind by Greg's American wife, Lezlie. He realises that the entire family may have been victims of an elaborate con job.

David is obsessed with finding answers, launching his own investigations and even becoming a 60-something computer hacker.

When Ollie Wards' brother Greg marries his American dream girl in New Zealand and they go into business together, it seems like a perfect start to a new life. But only a few months later, Greg is heartbroken, the family home is gone — and so is Lezlie.

Ollie Wards' family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. As he embarks on a quest to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now, he opens the door on a mystery that spans decades and across continents.

Host Gina McKeon interviews film-maker Helen Barrow about her coverage of Belinda Peisley’s inquest and the behind-the-scenes moments that we can’t hear in the audio.

Helen’s one-hour tv documentary WHO KILLED BELINDA PEISLEY? is available on the streaming platform ABC iView. Download the app or visit the website: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/who-killed-belinda-peisley

Some of the most explosive moments in Belinda Peisley’s inquest happen between lawyer Phil Strickland and the man we’re calling Luke.

Luke admits to using heroin and to staying on Belinda’s floor from time to time, like a lot of their crowd in Katoomba at the time. He’s got a violent past and a long rap sheet, but denies being a standover man or ever demanding money from Belinda.

In the coroner’s court, Luke is grilled about an alleged conversation he had in jail with a fellow prisoner who remembers Luke bragging about smashing Belinda’s head with a rock.

Luke denies all these accusations.

Jeremy Ward Douglas was going out with Belinda Peisley’s best friend, Heidi Wailes, at the time Belinda disappeared. The inquest into her death heard Jeremy had a reputation around town as a violent and controlling guy with a short temper who would hang around Belinda’s house, often against her wishes. Heidi says that, after Belinda disappeared, she remembers Jeremy behaving like he knew she wasn’t coming back. The court hears stories from others of Jeremy’s rage and that he allegedly had ideas about where Belinda’s body might be.

Heidi Wailes was close to Belinda and says she looked out for Belinda like an older sister would. But a break-in at Belinda’s house just days before she disappeared suggests Heidi might not have always been the friend she claimed to be.

Many, including the coroner at Belinda’s inquest, believe Heidi may know more about what happened to Belinda than she is revealing. As pressure mounts in the courtroom, cracks begin to show. We also hear from another person in Belinda’s friendship circle, Wanda Loynds (aka "Storm") who admits to punching Belinda on the last day she was seen alive.

We go inside the courtroom at Belinda Peisley's inquest to hear firsthand the arguments, phone taps and witness testimony. Jason*, Belinda's boyfriend at the time, says he met up with her on the night she disappeared. They had an argument at her house and he left. It's the last time he ever saw her. Jason is from a footy family in the Mountains and his father John* wasn't impressed his son was going out with someone from the so-called 'junkie' crowd.

Hear the inquest testimony from Jason and his father as they answer questions about Belinda's disappearance.

*We've changed their names for legal reasons.

Belinda Peisley's life descended into chaos after her 18th birthday when she received a big inheritance and bought her own place in Katoomba. Her family hoped the house would set her up for life but, instead, her new address became a magnet for a world of drugs and crowd of people who’d turn up at all hours.

Six months later, Belinda disappeared. In the months before she vanished, Belinda told her family she was scared — even that she wanted to change her identity and leave town — but they couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt her.

Join reporter Gina McKeon as she travels to Katoomba to begin to understand what happened to Belinda Peisley.

19-year-old Belinda Peisley vanished after she left a Blue Mountains hospital, west of Sydney, on the night of September 26, 1998.

The single mum-of-two disappeared within a year of inheriting a significant sum of money from a distant relative and buying a house in Katoomba, a small town in the Mountains.

Six persons of interest were named in Belinda’s case. By piecing together the stories and evidence surrounding these six, Last Seen Katoomba, uncovers a dark underbelly of drugs and violence and a culture of fear and intimidation that still exists in this town. Twenty years on, some are still too scared to speak about Belinda’s case.

The first episode of Unravel Season 3 lands on February 5.

It’s the lead Ruby and Neil have hoped for — a tip-off from an old law enforcement source about a potential burial site for Trudie Adams.

Deep in Kur-ing-gai National Park is a place called Christmas Tree Hill and, rumour has it, a guy nicknamed "Chicken Wire Man" is responsible for disposing of Trudie’s body there.

It’s time for one last trip to the bush.

Investigating the link between a career criminal, Trudie ... and a corrupt cop.

For decades, Neville Tween evaded scrutiny by law enforcement, despite being a well-known career criminal. But what if he was protected?

Not long after Trudie’s inquest, Mark Standen — one of Australia’s most powerful law enforcement officers — went down as a corrupt cop. It turns out Tween was one of Standen’s informants.

As Ruby Jones and Neil Mercer begin to examine the relationship between Standen and Tween, they discover Tween was more than just an informant.

There are so many questions, but only one man who has the answers.

With Standen behind bars, will a letter to him from our investigation team provoke a response?

Neville Tween appeared at the inquest into Trudie’s disappearance in 2011. Unravel has been given access to Tween’s evidence — and for the first time ever, his voice is being aired.

This is the man that multiple detectives think is responsible for the assaults on the northern beaches in the '70s, as well as the disappearance of Trudie Adams.

As the evidence is presented against Tween — will he dig in, or fess up.

Despite the similarities between the disappearance of Trudie Adams and the assaults on fourteen women on Sydney’s northern beaches, the case goes cold for almost two decades.

That is until 1992, when fresh eyes re-examine an old lead and police think they might be close to cracking the case.

Is it the breakthrough they think it is? Ruby Jones sits down with a former detective who knows Trudie’s case better than anyone else

A chilling visit to bushland where abducted hitch-hikers are taken. In the days and weeks after Trudie’s disappearance, a series of women come forward to the police telling similar, terrible stories about being targeted by two men on the northern beaches.

At least 14 women have been abducted while hitchhiking or walking home. They are taken out to bushland, sexually assaulted and warned not to tell anyone. They don’t... until Trudie disappears. Many wonder if what happened to them had also happened to Trudie.

The shadows of the bush are about to give up secret horrors... gunshots, a grave and an assault so depraved it could only have been committed by a criminal monster.

Trudie Adams was last seen hitching a ride home from a dance in Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches. The last known person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Steve Norris. Or more accurately, her soon to be ex-boyfriend.

Police label Steve as a person of interest in the days following Trudie’s disappearance. The couple were in the process of breaking up. There were rumours of an argument. Trudie already had a crush on someone else... could this be a motive?

Then there was Trudie’s upcoming trip to Bali and a strange link to a drug dealer known for bringing back marijuana from there. Could Trudie’s death have something to do with drugs?

Journalist Ruby Jones tracks down Steve Norris and the original detective on the case to re-examine what happened in the days immediately following Trudie’s disappearance.

A heart breaking search for the hitch-hike girl. For a free-spirited teenager, growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches in the '70s was as good as it gets. Endless perfect surf breaks, days spent lounging on the beach with mates, parties every weekend. 18-year-old Trudie Adams was typical, hanging out with her girlfriends and looking forward to a trip to Bali.

On a Saturday night out at the Newport Surf Club in June 1978, Trudie’s boyfriend watches her leave to hitch hike home. She never makes it.

The laidback community quickly realise something is wrong. The popular teenager had no reason to go missing. Suddenly, the northern beaches don’t feel so safe anymore.

Trudie’s disappearance exposes the dark underbelly of the "insular peninsula". There are drugs, crimes against women and, potentially, police corruption.

Join investigative journalist Ruby Jones as she begins to unravel what happened to Trudie Adams.

The story of Barrenjoey Road explores the disappearance of Trudie Adams in 1978 from Sydney’s northern beaches in 1978 leaving a family and community devastated.   

When 18-year-old Trudie Adams goes missing hitchhiking home on Sydney’s northern beaches in 1978, a family and community are devastated.   

The case exposes the dark underbelly of the “insular peninsula”… a world where surfers run drugs home from Bali, gangs of men prowl the beaches and predators have unchecked power.   

The story of Barrenjoey Road explores why the case was never solved and takes us all the way to the top... to a criminal monster with links to organised crime and police corruption at the highest level. 

Years of investigation have led to this moment ... a major breakthrough in the case, a potential answer to thirty years of mystery and pain for the Haines family.

An alleged confession has revealed who might have placed Mark’s body on the train tracks on that summer night in 1988.

Now it’s time to put the question to him — did he have anything to do with Mark’s death? Will Allan finally have some answers for Uncle Duck?

Allan and the team shift their focus to Tamworth and the truth starts to emerge from a fog of rumours. As Allan builds on the case, he discovers the police aren’t far behind.

An eyewitness comes forward. Key witnesses are confronted for the first time. An alleged confession emerges which takes the investigation in a completely new direction.

If it turns out to be true, this new lead could help finally solve the 30-year-old mystery.

More than two decades have passed since the coronial inquest into Mark Haines’ death. The family have been forgotten about — until news reporter Allan Clarke arrives in Tamworth on a routine story and becomes convinced this is a major injustice.

Allan’s reporting unearths fresh information. A mother comes forward with a story about her son’s involvement.

Police aren’t quick to follow up. But, after a flurry of protests and phone calls ... the case finally starts to gain traction.

The family's hopes for an answer at the inquest fade fast.

Nine months after Mark’s death, an inquest is held. The family are hopeful it will give them answers, but the police won’t budge from their theory that he put himself on the tracks.

As the hearing unfolds, the family find out just how mediocre the initial investigation was. Lost evidence, an unsecured crime scene ... and a forensic pathologist who ignores a key injury, medical evidence that could provide clues to how Mark died.

One person is in the family’s corner though. The railway worker who found Mark on the tracks is adamant the police and the forensic pathologist have it wrong. He’s remained silent for the last thirty years but finally comes forward to set the record straight.

Violence erupts as Uncle Duck and the family confront their number one suspect.

On the surface, Tamworth in 1988 is a typical Aussie town with rodeos, farmers and an active Country Women’s Association.  But beneath the friendly veneer, there’s a thriving criminal underbelly.  Large marijuana crops grow on the outskirts of town and there are reports of bikie gangs with links to corrupt cops on the take.

The police investigation into Mark’s death has stalled allowing gossip and innuendo to take hold.  The family know Mark occasionally smoked marijuana, but now they’re hearing whispers that he might’ve have got on the wrong side of some serious criminals.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s the first plausible explanation for Mark’s death they’ve heard.  The family decide to confront the man rumoured to have killed Mark... with ugly consequences.

Mark Haines' family challenge the police investigation. 

When Mark Haines dies, news of the teenager's death spreads quickly through Tamworth and beyond. His family are on summer holidays in different parts of the state and rush home to be together in grief.

While the family mourns and Mark’s body is in the morgue, their town is in full party mode. The Tamworth Country Music Festival is on and Australia is celebrating 200 years of colonization. For Mark’s uncles, it feels like the death of a young Aboriginal boy is the last thing on anyone’s mind.

The police come up with a theory that Mark might’ve killed himself ... but the family aren’t buying it. In the days and weeks ahead, his uncles return repeatedly to the train tracks looking around for answers. They’re worried the police have missed vital clues and they become convinced Mark met with foul play.

In their quest to disprove the police theory, the family find an unlikely ally. The railway worker who first found Mark’s body on tracks is just as convinced the evidence out there on the tracks just doesn’t add up.

Thirty years of mystery surrounds the death of 17-year-old Mark Haines.

It’s the summer of 1988. A train hits a person early in the morning on its way out of Tamworth. Straight away, something doesn’t add up about the scene where the body is found. A rail worker notices strange inconsistencies at the scene. If this was suicide, why is there so little blood?

The boy on the tracks is Mark Haines, a Gomeroi teenager with friends on both sides of the tracks. We meet his uncle Don (Duck) Craigie, who has been tirelessly searching for answers since Mark’s death. He suspects foul play.

We trace Mark’s movements on the night before his death, as he hits the town on a big night out with a bunch of friends, dancing, drinking and having fun. Mark’s friends and girlfriend say they left him in the early hours. Just after, a nearby resident hears voices on the street, what sounds like an argument, and a car driving dangerously.

But the next few hours remain a mystery. How did Mark end up on the tracks?

Blood On The Tracks investigates the suspicious death of 17-year-old Mark Haines, whose body was found on the railway line outside Tamworth in January 1988.