Show Notes
Tassie has a reputation of being an inbred backwater twenty years behind the rest of Australia, and to a certain extent that’s true (less so with regards to the inbreeding perhaps). But sometimes, Tassie is ahead of the times. That was the case when the murder of David Crawford caused a breakthrough in forensics. Murdered brutally with an axe in his own home, police quickly zeroed in on a suspect – friend and neighbour, Ivan Jones. The police needed a way to destroy Jones’ alibi, and they found it in Crawford’s pacemaker, which had recorded the time of his death. This was the first time information was retrieved from a pacemaker in order to solve a murder. See, cool things do happen in Tasmania! It’s not all incest and dairy farms!
EPISODE NOTES: 72 year old David William Crawford was bludgeoned to death with an axe in his home by Ivan Jones, who was then aged 19. Jones had allegedly committed the crime because he was in need of cash, and he’d heard that Crawford had a bit stashed away on his property. Jones lured Crawford outside and struck him six times with an axe. He left the house with only $80 in cash. A few hours later, he rang police, pretending that he’d just happened across the body. The police were suspicious of Ivan straight away, but his story kept changing and they needed a smoking gun to prove he was lying about his involvement in the crime. So they looked towards a unique forensic measure – examining Crawford’s pacemaker. It would record the time that the heart stopped – but they only had a brief window to retrieve the data before it was erased forever. Jones was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for the murder of Crawford, but to the shock and horror of his loved ones, and Tasmania as a whole, Jones was paroled after only serving half his sentence. Our main source this week was is the greatest true crime television show of all time, no contest, Forensic Files, season 11 episode 36, Ticker Tape. Fuck me, how damn good is Forensic Files. It’s available on Netflix or on Youtube if you’re feeling dangerous.
Information about Jones’ paroling can be found here https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/bridport-axe-murderer-ivan-john-jones-has-been-paroled-for-the-killing-of-pensioner-david-crawford/news-story/0142aba9d8cf03129f8d0e20ab0c63fa?fbclid=IwAR0HfPppeFQYTIFNGqEO9G_sDuhYp99ZdMyD8xmBSWLwQMfJyGtbW228Og8
Transcripts of the ABC Program Catalyst that covered the case can be found here https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1052901.htm
More info can be found here https://www.examiner.com.au/story/471037/murderer-to-be-released-on-monday/?fbclid=IwAR0tuRuTUsA-5yekSwmelV4RjTdjg7YGVPn5S8J4x_NDaaXWNRFTmJ47i8E If you like what we do please consider supporting us on PATREON Subscribe to the podcast on ITUNES, Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Murder in the Land of Oz
As the final installment of our First Nation's themed season, we are talking about January 26th. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We are back after a (what turned into a much bigger than intended) break!
Whoops we covered another cult. Coming for ya, Jo Thornely. Chantelle McDougall, her six-year-old daughter Leela, her partner Simon Kadwill, and their housemate Tony Popic went missing in July of 2007. Simon was the leader of an internet-based doomsday cult, who believed that through death, a chosen few would ascend to a new plane of reality and usher in the new Aquarian age of existence. So you know, normal stuff. They told friends and family they were moving to Brazil, but their was no activity on their passports. Their disappearance left police stumped. Had they committed group suicide, or had they gone even further into isolation and completely segregated themselves from society? Our main sources this week were the coronial inquest completed in 2017. You know we love an inquest document! https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Felton,%20G;%20McDougall,%20C%20J%20and%20L;%20Popic,%20A%20K%20%20finding.pdf News articles about the case can be found here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-06/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-begins-into-missing-family/9205656 and here https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-hears-police-failed-to-investigate-report-of-dead-flesh-smell/news-story/b828be6ad139699e509c94ce62bc5292 The website for Simon’s “work” can be accessed via the Wayback Machine here https://web.archive.org/web/20071103141354/http://www.thenewcall.org/book_sdp.htm Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Okay, yes, every show and their dog (or podcast cat) have covered this case. But we just had to jump on the bandwagon. You may be familiar with the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard from the documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, or the hit TV show now on Hulu The Act, or just generally from having an internet connection at any point in time over the past four years. The internet is obsessed with this case, and for good reason – the horrific murder of Dee Dee Blanchard shocked the world, not because of the brutality of the crime – but because of the scale of the abuse that Dee Dee afflicted on Gypsy, her daughter, who she had raised to believe was sick with a whole medical textbook of illnesses. Once Dee Dee was dead, the truth came out – nothing was wrong with Gypsy. She was a victim of Munchausen by Proxy, and was horribly abused by the person who was meant to care for her most. EPISODE NOTES: Friends and neighbours looked at Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard as a perfect mother-daughter pair. Dee Dee was dedicated to her sick daughter, and Gypsy was in turn loving and devoted to her mother. When Dee Dee was murdered in 2015, people were horrified. Who was going to take care of poor Gypsy now? But as the truth came out, and Gypsy – along with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn – was charged with her death, people were horrified to discover that Dee Dee was not what she seemed – and neither was Gypsy. Gypsy had every disease under the sun, from cancer to muscular dystrophy. She was confined to a wheelchair, had tubes all over her body, and had no hair and barely any teeth. She never properly attended school and was in and out of hospital constantly. But none of her ailments were real. Dee Dee was forcing Gypsy to be sick, lying to her about her real age, and physically and mentally abusing her to keep up the sickness routine, so that Dee Dee could keep reaping the benefits of having a sick child. While Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn were both ultimately convicted of Dee Dee’s murder, many people believe that Gypsy acted in self-defence, and did what she had to do to escape from one of the most horrific situations of abuse conceivable. Read Michelle Dean's incredible longform article on the case here https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom More info about the case can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322839/who-nick-godejohn-new-details-gypsy-roses-boyfriend-man-murdered-dee-dee-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR0c95is1g2caWJ1wSQX9CobuA8rK30l_Z5BDjfW4AAdf-CpbE2IlcVH7kA Information about the case and also Munchausen by Proxy can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322870/what-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy-story-gypsy-rose-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR28fu87X_aWdA9iOnfoLHevQ_bfIyiMeabBSbHo-T2YajOWh8ey3vd7YKI For some info on Hulu's stunning new show The Act (this is not a sponsored episode but also – sponsor us, Hulu?) head here https://www.marieclaire.com.au/the-act-tv?fbclid=IwAR2Ohe3PFiupYeS2rfTO3Ux9LoluGAiYbzWQMNMiQJz8RCg5iwvChcyUMHM