15 episodes

Janine Vaughan’s disappearance 19 years ago is at the heart of a mysterious case that has split a close-knit community left wondering if a murderer walks among them.

The Night Driver Crime X

    • True Crime
    • 4.4 • 281 Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
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Janine Vaughan’s disappearance 19 years ago is at the heart of a mysterious case that has split a close-knit community left wondering if a murderer walks among them.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Bonus episode: Hedley reads Chapter 1 of his new book, The Teacher's Pet

    Bonus episode: Hedley reads Chapter 1 of his new book, The Teacher's Pet

    Listen to Hedley Thomas reading Chapter 1 of his new book, The Teacher's Pet.

    The book is published by Pan Macmillan and is available at all good bookstores, and wherever you get audiobooks. 
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 25 min
    It's back: The Teacher's Pet returns for Australian listeners

    It's back: The Teacher's Pet returns for Australian listeners

    The Australian's global smash-hit podcast Teacher's Pet returns for Australian audiences on July 1. 

    You can find it wherever you got this podcast. Just search for "The Teacher's Pet". 
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 35 sec
    Introducing - The Teacher's Trial

    Introducing - The Teacher's Trial

    From Hedley Thomas and the journalists at The Australian comes The Teacher's Trial. A new episode will be published every Friday for the duration of the trial of Chris Dawson, who is accused of the murder of his wife Lynette Dawson. Search for The Teacher's Trial wherever you listen to podcasts, or read The Australian's ongoing coverage of the trial here.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Episode 11 - Fate

    Episode 11 - Fate

    Was Janine Vaughan murdered by a Bathurst man with a propensity for shocking acts of violence? Women who have been with him describe his depravity and cruelty. Or was she killed by a different man who has been dead for years? A man who worked at The Dirty Tav, drove around in a small red car, and was similarly renowned for violence. Hedley and his friend the retired judge Peter Murphy delve deep in the final episode of the series. They also explore what really happened to the bloodied knife, subjecting the stalker notes to analysis by a handwriting expert, and hearing from a former detective who identifies ‘red flags’ for possible deception and believes one of the three persons of interest is lying. The longest episode in the series hears from women who cast doubt on the conduct of the other two key persons of interest while the closest witness to the fight between Janine and her once-close friend describes what she saw just hours before Janine disappeared.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 1 hr 48 min
    Episode 10 - The Screams

    Episode 10 - The Screams

    John Haynes is a former senior cop in Bathurst who still lives at Mount Panorama. He’s been retired for a decade and for the first time he’s speaking publicly about blood-curdling screams he and his family heard near the local university, two days after Janine’s disappearance in early December 2001. Haynes is confident he heard Janine fighting for her life. He has come forward as he says the significance of the screams was not properly understood by police who looked in the wrong place, on the opposite side of a creek separating the university grounds and bushland from the mount. Haynes fears that Janine was killed near the uni and her remains could still lie among the gnarly blackberry bushes along the creek. As Kylie goes back and searches other locations around Bathurst, another thread in this case which fell through the cracks - a  fight between Janine and one of her best friends - comes to light. Janine was in serious conflict with her former employee and housemate before they spectacularly fell out. The person became Janine’s public enemy but it went under the radar in the 2009 inquest, raising awkward and distressing questions and memories nineteen years later.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 1 hr 6 min
    Episode 9 - Love You, Sis

    Episode 9 - Love You, Sis

    In the search for Janine’s murderer, her sister Kylie who devotes much of her life to this case is taken to the brink of what she believes is a breakthrough, only to have her hopes dashed. Every time there’s a discovery of bones near Bathurst it hits K...

    • 1 hr 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
281 Ratings

281 Ratings

sandwichsally ,

Great podcast, but…

This was a great podcast. I really like Hedley’s presentation style and interviews with all the key people in this tragic story. However, I did find the middle episodes were a bit repetitive and kept going over the same points and material which we had already heard earlier on. I think it would have been much better if it had only had half the number of episodes. The final episode was really good in bringing it all together. The podcast is not at all impartial in terms of who they believe the culprit is, and who they are convinced is innocent. In a way this is a positive as they are putting forward a point of view and trying to explore evidence in this direction. However, it certainly wasn’t a balanced view. Overall though I really enjoyed it and really hope that this opens up new leads to solve the case.

Radionoush ,

Superb

Hedley Thomas’ work is always superb and this was no different - serious journalism meticulously and grippingly told; he has a great radio voice too. I’d love to know what updates there are.

deanmews ,

A fascinating yet sad insight

I’m from the UK and I just Love the podcasts based around finding the perpetrators so the families get the closure they so desperately deserve.

What is a fantastic piece of investigative journalism also casts huge light on just how many male suspects there can be in one vicinity that women feel threatened by or have had negative encounters with even if they are not the ones who have killed Janine. I hope it makes every listener both male and female understand their actions have an impact and the victims should always speak up so these
People are held accountable.

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