In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand, we explore the case of Gary Lewer — a former Mr. Australia, world bodybuilding champion and long-time Melbourne identity who now finds himself detained in an immigration facility and facing deportation to a country he hasn’t lived in since childhood.

Lewer insists he’s no criminal mastermind but the victim of a vendetta — a web of untested allegations and police dossiers that have never seen the inside of a courtroom. Adam unpacks the evidence, the politics, and the human cost of a system that allows punishment without trial.

In this episode of Real Crime with Adam Shand, we explore the case of Gary Lewer &mdash; a former Mr. Australia, world bodybuilding champion and long-time Melbourne identity who now finds himself detained in an immigration facility and facing deportation to a country he hasn&rsquo;t lived in since childhood.
Lewer insists he&rsquo;s no criminal mastermind but the victim of a vendetta &mdash; a web of untested allegations and police dossiers that have never seen the inside of a courtroom. Adam unpacks the evidence, the politics, and the human cost of a system that allows punishment without trial.

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.

Real Crime with Adam Shand

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them. 

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.&nbsp;

Deported Without Trial: Inside Australia’s Character Test | Gary Lewer

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/47489934-8bdd-4f98-b674-b383017659ee/transcript

****Content Warning:****

This episode contains discussion of the abduction, sexual assault and murder of children. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

In August 1973, two girls vanished from Adelaide Oval at a Saturday afternoon football match. Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, and Kirsty Gordon, 4, walked to the toilet at 3:45pm and were never seen again.

For decades, the prime suspect was Errol Radan — a convicted paedophile held under an indefinite detention order in a Queensland prison until his death in 2022. He never spoke publicly about the girls. He never confessed. Or so we thought.

Adam Shand speaks with "Ted" — a former Queensland prison officer who ended up on the other side of the bars after a conviction of his own. Placed in the same high-security protection unit as Radan, "Ted" spent three months playing chess with a man the other inmates refused to go near. And one afternoon, leading up to Christmas, Radan broke his silence.

What he said to "Ted" has stayed buried for over fifteen years. Until now.

****Content Warning:****
This episode contains discussion of the abduction, sexual assault and murder of children. Listener discretion is strongly advised.
In August 1973, two girls vanished from Adelaide Oval at a Saturday afternoon football match. Joanne Ratcliffe, 11, and Kirsty Gordon, 4, walked to the toilet at 3:45pm and were never seen again.
For decades, the prime suspect was Errol Radan &mdash; a convicted paedophile held under an indefinite detention order in a Queensland prison until his death in 2022. He never spoke publicly about the girls. He never confessed. Or so we thought.
Adam Shand speaks with "Ted" &mdash; a former Queensland prison officer who ended up on the other side of the bars after a conviction of his own. Placed in the same high-security protection unit as Radan, "Ted" spent three months playing chess with a man the other inmates refused to go near. And one afternoon, leading up to Christmas, Radan broke his silence.
What he said to "Ted" has stayed buried for over fifteen years. Until now.

Errol Radan's Jailhouse Confession | "Ted"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/e604b408-358e-4100-85d7-b412006724b7/transcript

Mark "Hammer" Dixon spent years on the road with Roger Rogerson and Mark "Chopper" Reed — working security, collecting debts and sharing hotel rooms in outback Queensland. And in that time, Rogerson said things he probably shouldn't have.

He told Dixon the two men convicted of the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing — which killed 15 people — were innocent. That he'd written them up. He hinted that Donald McKay's body was never going to be found in Griffith, because investigators were looking in the wrong state. He let slip, in an unguarded moment over a glass of red, exactly who pulled the trigger on undercover cop Michael Drury in 1984.

Dixon isn't a criminal. He has no record. But for a stretch of years, he had a front-row seat to one of the most dangerous men Australia has ever produced — and he remembers everything.

Mark "Hammer" Dixon spent years on the road with Roger Rogerson and Mark "Chopper" Reed &mdash; working security, collecting debts and sharing hotel rooms in outback Queensland. And in that time, Rogerson said things he probably shouldn't have.
He told Dixon the two men convicted of the 1973 Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing &mdash; which killed 15 people &mdash; were innocent. That he'd written them up. He hinted that Donald McKay's body was never going to be found in Griffith, because investigators were looking in the wrong state. He let slip, in an unguarded moment over a glass of red, exactly who pulled the trigger on undercover cop Michael Drury in 1984.
Dixon isn't a criminal. He has no record. But for a stretch of years, he had a front-row seat to one of the most dangerous men Australia has ever produced &mdash; and he remembers everything.

The Dodger: Roger Rogerson's Confessions | Mark Dixon

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/0f17f6f6-aa8e-4e98-b9a2-b410002b2e0a/transcript

Adam Shand sits down with author Michael Madigan to discuss his book Father Teacher Child Killer, the chilling account of Dieter Pfennig, the South Australian man now serving life for the murders of 10-year-olds Louise Bell and Michael Black.

Louise Bell vanished from her bedroom in Hackham West on the night of January 3rd, 1983 — taken without a sound while her younger sister slept beside her. Six years later, Michael Black disappeared from the Murray Bridge riverbank on what was meant to be his first solo fishing trip. Both cases went cold for years, haunted by false leads, a wrongful conviction and Pfennig's sadistic games with police.

Madigan also explores the disturbing question that lingers: how many more? Pfennig's movements during school holidays, his connections to the families of other missing children and the unsettling echoes of cases like Eloise Worledge and the Adelaide Oval abductions suggest his crimes may stretch far beyond what he's been convicted of.

Father Teacher Child Killer by Michael Madigan is available now.

https://www.booktopia.com.au/father-teacher-child-killer-michael-madigan/ebook/9781764386142.html?srsltid=AfmBOoonKackHoFbhNqJJt3V9MkINs_CjEM_f86JgAFEUKjpGhqOYGjq

Adam Shand sits down with author Michael Madigan to discuss his book Father Teacher Child Killer, the chilling account of Dieter Pfennig, the South Australian man now serving life for the murders of 10-year-olds Louise Bell and Michael Black.
Louise Bell vanished from her bedroom in Hackham West on the night of January 3rd, 1983 &mdash; taken without a sound while her younger sister slept beside her. Six years later, Michael Black disappeared from the Murray Bridge riverbank on what was meant to be his first solo fishing trip. Both cases went cold for years, haunted by false leads, a wrongful conviction and Pfennig's sadistic games with police.
Madigan also explores the disturbing question that lingers: how many more? Pfennig's movements during school holidays, his connections to the families of other missing children and the unsettling echoes of cases like Eloise Worledge and the Adelaide Oval abductions suggest his crimes may stretch far beyond what he's been convicted of.
<a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/father-teacher-child-killer-michael-madigan/ebook/9781764386142.html?srsltid=AfmBOoonKackHoFbhNqJJt3V9MkINs_CjEM_f86JgAFEUKjpGhqOYGjq">Father Teacher Child Killer by Michael Madigan is available now.</a>
https://www.booktopia.com.au/father-teacher-child-killer-michael-madigan/ebook/9781764386142.html?srsltid=AfmBOoonKackHoFbhNqJJt3V9MkINs_CjEM_f86JgAFEUKjpGhqOYGjq

The Monster Next Door: Dieter Pfennig | Michael Madigan

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/8f6eafe6-85bc-44e2-86fe-b4080177a259/transcript

Deported Without Trial: Inside Australia’s Character Test | Gary Lewer

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