10 episodes

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.

Murder Archives Nearly

    • True Crime
    • 4.4 • 49 Ratings

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.

    1: Norma’s last day

    1: Norma’s last day

    The first glimpse into Norma’s life in prestigious Mandeville Crescent, Toorak and an overview of her last day alive.

    We begin to question some of the events of that day and the actions of those involved.

    Expert consulting Forensic Pathologist, Byron Collins, is introduced, providing his interpretation of the 1929 pathology report. Accidental death was ruled out then, as it is now.

     

    More information - www.murderarchives.com.au

    Contact Emma - emma@murderarchives.com.au

     

    Thanks to all those who added their voices to this podcast (in alphabetical order):

    Daniel Alfieri

    Courtney Carthy

    Simon Curtin

    Alan Hands

    Cassidy Krygger

    Ben Mitchell

    Elaine Mitchell

    Gill Neale

    And our experts:

    Charlie Bezzina

    Dr Byron Collins

    Dr Karen Scally

    Andrea Scarf
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 25 min
    2: Initial theories

    2: Initial theories

    This episode examines the initial theories about how Norma died and the theories that were dismissed.

    A number of letters were sent from the public to police with a variety of hypotheses about the ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘why’.

    Forensic Pathologist, Byron Collins, once again brings his expertise, this time discussing the likely weapon used to cause the violent trauma to Norma’s head and the nature of the attack.

    We also introduce retired Homicide Detective Charlie Bezzina to provide some insight into public input into well-publicised crimes.

     

    Murder Archives is written and presented by Emma Curtin.

    www.muderarchives.com.au

    Editing and sound by Courtney Carthy

    Produced in partnership with Nearly

     

    Thanks to all those who added their voices to this podcast (in alphabetical order):

    Daniel Alfieri

    Courtney Carthy

    Simon Curtin

    Alan Hands

    Cassidy Krygger

    Ben Mitchell

    Elaine Mitchell

    Gill Neale

    And our experts:

    Charlie Bezzina

    Dr Byron Collins

    Dr Karen Scally

    Andrea Scarf
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 29 min
    3: The prime suspect

    3: The prime suspect

    The police focus on their prime suspect – Norma’s mother, Edith McLeod.

    Importantly, it introduces an anonymous letter written to police by someone using the pseudonym ‘Asmodeus’.

    This letter was central to the police focus on Edith.

    We examine its contents and explore who the writer may have been. We also provide a glimpse into the inquest, looking at the approach taken by police and the evidence provided by several witnesses.

    Once again, Byron Collins and Charlie Bezzina bring their expertise to respond to various aspects of the inquest.

    The case begins to unravel as we question whether Edith was really guilty.

     

    Murder Archives is written and presented by Emma Curtin.

    www.muderarchives.com.au

    Editing and sound by Courtney Carthy

    Produced in partnership with Nearly

     

    Thanks to all those who added their voices to this podcast (in alphabetical order):

    Daniel Alfieri

    Courtney Carthy

    Simon Curtin

    Alan Hands

    Cassidy Krygger

    Ben Mitchell

    Elaine Mitchell

    Gill Neale

    And our experts:

    Charlie Bezzina

    Dr Byron Collins

    Dr Karen Scally

    Andrea Scarf
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 38 min
    4: Who was Norma?

    4: Who was Norma?

    This episode goes beyond the police and newspaper records and focuses on the lives of Norma and Edith through the eyes of those who knew them.

    We meet some of Norma’s relatives and examine information passed down the family line.

    We learn about Norma’s growing independence and a secret that remained hidden until 20 years after her death.

    And we began to develop a picture of the relationship between mother and daughter, which once again raises questions about Edith’s guilt.

     

    Murder Archives is written and presented by Emma Curtin.

    www.muderarchives.com.au

    Editing and sound by Courtney Carthy

    Produced in partnership with Nearly

     

    Thanks to all those who added their voices to this podcast (in alphabetical order):

    Daniel Alfieri

    Courtney Carthy

    Simon Curtin

    Alan Hands

    Cassidy Krygger

    Ben Mitchell

    Elaine Mitchell

    Gill Neale

    And our experts:

    Charlie Bezzina

    Dr Byron Collins

    Dr Karen Scally

    Andrea Scarf
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 37 min
    5: The men in Norma’s life

    5: The men in Norma’s life

    What kind of men were Norma’s father and brother (Norman and Rhys McLeod)?

    And what clues their stories might provide about her death?

    Once again, we hear from family members to help us develop a picture of the McLeods.

    We look at the reasons why Norman apparently didn’t want the police involved, question why Rhys seemed almost missing from the police investigation and examine more letters from the public, this time pointing the finger at Rhys.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 33 min
    6: Watching the detectives

    6: Watching the detectives

    This episode focuses on the police themselves and the kind of environment they were working in in 1929 – a world of social distinctions and only six years after a major police strike that rocked public confidence in the constabulary.

    Retired detective Charlie Bezzina provides some more insights into the nature of murder investigations and his opinion on the thoroughness of the McLeod investigation.

    We also examine accusations at the time that Norman McLeod had ‘friends in high places’ and how this may have had an impact on the case.

     

    Murder Archives is written and presented by Emma Curtin.

    www.muderarchives.com.au

    Editing and sound by Courtney Carthy

    Produced in partnership with Nearly

     

    Thanks to all those who added their voices to this podcast (in alphabetical order):

    Daniel Alfieri

    Courtney Carthy

    Simon Curtin

    Alan Hands

    Cassidy Krygger

    Ben Mitchell

    Elaine Mitchell

    Gill Neale

     

    And our experts:

    Charlie Bezzina

    Dr Byron Collins

    Dr Karen Scally

    Andrea Scarf
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 34 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
49 Ratings

49 Ratings

yobonks ,

Recommend

I love hearing about murders and conspiracy theories in other countries. The host does a great job at giving us background details on the victim and her family and also about how Australia was back in the 1900s

wilfulgreen ,

Nope

It’s all real til you realize it’s so made up
Menopause is a thing …. in the real world
“With such authority we hand you a line”
😵‍💫
😉

Cloudy43 ,

Highly Recommended

I recently stumbled across this podcast, and am enjoying bingeing on Norma McLeod very much. The case is compelling, excellently researched, well laid out and engagingly presented.
While I’m generally turned off by the insertion of sound effects and use of actors recreating dialogue, somehow both work well here.
The host does a wonderful job of providing the listener with an understanding of the time, place and world view in which the murder occurred, and her incorporation of current-day expert opinions encourages the listener to see the past through the lens of the present, as well as in its own right.
Finally, her self described obsession with the case is contagious, it must be, because I’ve caught it.

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