Murder Archives

We’ve started this podcast to create a dialogue with you, that may help solve a 1929 murder in Toorak. If you want to know more, or help in the amateur sleuthing, we’ve uploaded documents and images to our website www.murderarchives.com.au to complement the podcast. About the case. On 9 September 1929, Norma McLeod, an unmarried 29-year-old teacher was found unconscious in her parent’s home in the prestigious suburb of Toorak. A pair of men’s underpants lay across her forehead. By 5pm that day she was dead. An autopsy revealed a seven-inch crack in the back of her skull caused by violent trauma from a blunt object. The case attracted huge press and public attention; accusations were plentiful, but an inquest returned an open verdict. Almost 90 years after this mysterious death, an extensive three-year investigation involving a re-examination of the police files, combined with an in-depth look at Norma’s family, raises questions about the rigour of the original investigation. With the aid of the victim’s descendants and a group of renowned experts we’ve discovered long-held secrets, connections in high places and people who weren’t who they seemed to be. Experts who provide input: forensic pathologist, Byron Collins; ex-homicide detective, Charlie Bezzina; criminal barrister, Alan Hands; psycho-physiologist, Elizabeth Martin; forensic psychologist, Dr Karen Scally and graphologist, Andrea Scarfe Some of Norma’s descendants, who are also actors, ‘voice’ various parts throughout the podcast.