The Night Driver

4.4 (274)
TRUE CRIME

Gain access to ad-free, early and exclusive shows

$4.99/mo or $33.99/yr after trial

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.

MAY 31

Listen to episode 1 of BRONWYN

The Night Driver creator Hedley Thomas returns with a new podcast investigation for The Australian. Subscribers to The Australian and registered users hear episodes of ‘Bronwyn’ first. Plus, you can read more about this case and see exclusive stories, maps, timelines, graphics, video and more at bronwynpodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1h 12m
MAY 24

From The Front: Hedley Thomas’ new cold case podcast, 'Bronwyn'

Where is Bronwyn Winfield? The devoted mum has been missing since 1993 – and the man behind The Teacher’s Pet is on the case. Go to theaustralian.com.au/bronwyn to listen. Plus, you can read more about this case and see exclusive stories, maps, timelines, graphics, video and more. This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Josh Burton. The multimedia editor is Lia Tsamoglou and original music is composed by Jasper Leak. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 min
11/10/2023

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.

26 min
06/30/2023

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.

1 min
05/13/2022

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.

1h 3m
12/30/2020

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.

1h 49m
12/21/2020

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.

1h 7m
10/18/2020

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...

1h 26m

See All (17)

Witness is the home of investigative podcasts for news.com.au It’s 10.56am. A family home in Kendall, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Three-year-old William Tyrrell is reported missing. Last seen wearing his favourite Spider-Man suit. Ten years after his disappearance on 12 September 2014, there is still no sign of William. The police believe his foster mother knows something. She denies it. Only one of them can be telling the truth. Witness: William Tyrrell is the new, landmark investigation from news.com.au. Read more and watch exclusive video content here Follow us on socials: Instagram: @newscomauhqFacebook: News.com.au TikTok: @news.com.au Subscribe to Crime X+ and listen to this podcast ad-free If you know anything about what happened to William, please call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000 Contact us confidentially at witness@news.com.au Witness season 1: The Missing 49 Million The story of one Aussie man, the secret code he claimed to find buried in the Bible and $49 million dollars of investors' money that's gone missing. Gold Coast businessman Alan Metcalfe said his tech company had found the secret to artificial intelligence. He convinced hundreds of people to part with their life-savings but when Alan died, no one knew what had happened to their money. Join Alex Turner-Cohen as she tries to find the missing millions, uncovering the wild story behind the company Alan promised would one day be “bigger than Google”.

3.3 (42)

TRUE CRIME
Lyn and Chris Dawson appear to have the perfect marriage. He's a star footballer and popular high school teacher. She's a devoted wife and mother. They share a beautiful home above Sydney's northern beaches. But when Lyn goes missing, dark secrets are buried. This is no fairytale, but a sordid story of strangely close twin brothers, teenage student lovers, and probable murder. The Australian's Hedley Thomas digs deep into a cold case which has been unsolved for 36 years, uncovering startling new evidence.

4.5 (6981)

NEWS
Shandee Blackburn was brutally murdered as she walked home from work - but this cold-case can still be solved. Gold Walkley-winning journalist Hedley Thomas - who created The Teacher’s Pet and The Night Driver - goes deep to find out who killed Shandee, and why. Episodes of the podcast first, plus exclusive stories, videos, pictures and extraordinary evidence are available with a subscription through The Australian's app, or at shandee.com.au To contact Hedley Thomas anonymously with any information on Shandee's Story email here - Shandee@theaustralian.com.au

4.7 (203)

TRUE CRIME
He was born Hamish Watson, a surfie dude from Sydney – but he could morph into whatever you needed him to be. Hamish is due to be sentenced to jail in early 2019 for swindling a handful of victims out of more than $7m. But these crimes are just the final pages in a resume too thick to staple; for decades he’s duped victims in the US, Canada, Britain, Hong Kong and Australia. How did he do it? How did he evade authorities around the world for so long and what’s he done with all those tens of millions of dollars he stole?

4.7 (1821)

NEWS
Subscribe to Crime X+ today. From humble beginnings in a suburban Sydney warehouse to an international pentecostal powerhouse, Hillsong has changed the world around it, counting politicians, business tycoons and A-list celebrities among its true believers. Talking to one of those who has since turned her back on Hillsong, reporter Stephen Drill found himself asking: How did the church get so powerful? And is Hillsong really everything it claims to be? On his journey to find out the truth, Stephen follows the money, exposing disturbing claims of worker exploitation, complicated consensual sexual relationships and a culture where women are allegedly told to physically submit to their husbands. A ground-breaking eight-part investigation, Faith on Trial: Hillsong will leave you asking what you can believe in. Faith on Trial is hosted, written and produced by Stephen Drill and Andrea Thiis-Evensen. The executive producer is Dan Box. Go to faithontrial.com.au for more. Theme song: The Jordan Singers, By His Grace, 2022.

3.4 (317)

TRUE CRIME
Theo Hayez is missing in Byron Bay, a beautiful beachside town on Australia’s most easterly mainland point, frequently in the spotlight for its famous residents. Theo's from Brussels. He's 18 and on a backpacking holiday when he vanishes in May 2019. Behind the scenes local volunteers who've never met Theo begin searching and investigating with his family, parallel to a major police investigation. At the request of Theo's family, The Australian newspaper's national crime correspondent David Murray joins the unofficial search party to investigate the mysterious disappearance for a new podcast series, The Lighthouse. Theo left a local bar around 11pm. As the search narrows to the area around the 118-year-old Cape Byron Lighthouse, a range of theories emerge. From the newspaper that brought you The Teacher's Pet and Who The Hell is Hamish, The Lighthouse investigates all possible scenarios as it takes you inside an extraordinary search. To read more about the disappearance of Theo Hayez, and access exclusive photos and video material, go to www.lighthousepodcast.com.au.

4.6 (321)

TRUE CRIME

View Subscription FAQs

4.4

out of 5

274 Ratings

Decent

05/26/2021

parford

Could have been shortened by 2-3 episodes. Good, but not as good as the Teacher’s Pet. A lot of repeat details.
Too long too often

10/27/2022

jvarguello

Why do I care about a car race that took place (if memory serves) a good two months before the woman’s disappearance? What am I doing listening to announcers of this race for minutes? I am sorry, but it feels like you fill in your podcasts with irrelevant detail and repeat information. More episodes, more ad revenue? Please, get to the point.
Andrew Jones

01/07/2022

deplhi

It’s frustrating that the podcast producers heavily believe that Andrew Jones is not a good suspect just because Lynette couldn’t ID him in a police image line up. That doesn’t mean it wasn't him that tried to abduct her. Who knows what image she was shown. More research has to be done. He just cannot be ruled out because of this. Also, why hasn’t the DNA from Jones’ car come back yet? And why have sniffer dogs not been brought in to search the creek by the university? Those dogs can smell death many many years after the fact.
What Really happened in Wuhan

12/19/2021

MDahlhausen

Spreading trumpist propaganda?? I really thought this podcast was better than that.

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.