''Crime Investigation Australia'' is an Australian true-crime series that first premiered on pay TV Foxtel's

Crime & Investigation Network Crime & Investigation (stylized as Crime + Investigation) is an American pay television channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Hearst Communications and the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. The cha ...

in August 2005. The series was also rebroadcast on Free to air

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

, and made its debut there on 14 August 2007. The original host of the series was

Steve Liebmann Steve Liebmann (born 4 May 1944) is an Australian retired television presenter, journalist and radio broadcaster. Liebmann is best known for co-hosting ''Today'' on the Nine Network between 1982 and 1986, and again from 1990 to 2005. Early ...

and is currently on Channel 7 with host Matt Doran.

Production

The series was produced by Graham McNeice who resides in Moore Park, New South Wales and is director of Shadow Productions. In a 2008 interview, McNeice said the impetus for the series was to provide an element of local content to a channel (

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

) that is dominated by American and European crime stories. Foxtel announced that the series would be "rested" for 2010, however, it never returned. The series included interviews from victims, families, investigators, lawyers, and journalists. The crimes were further reviewed using original media and police audio and video footage alongside re-enactments and interviews shot in the same locations where the crimes took place.

Episodes

Series 1

# No More Grannies – The Granny Killer # Kid for Ransom/ Tears for Daniel # Death in a Heartbeat/The Body in the Bag # Ivan Milat: The Backpacker Murders #

Contract to Kill ''Contract to Kill'' is a 2016 American action film starring Steven Seagal. It received a limited theatrical release in the United States, and was released via video on demand. Plot U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) border patrol agen ...

/ The Mornington Monster # The Moorhouse Horrors/The Call Girl Killing # The Killer Punch/The Will of Death # The Anita Cobby Murder # Snowtown: Bodies in the Barrels # The Kimberley Killer # The Wanda Beach Murders/ The Beaumont Children Mystery # The Greenough Family Massacre # The Disappearance of Donald Mackay # The Body in the Sports Bag # The Assassination of John Newman # The Butchered Boys

Series 2

# The Killing Fields of Truro # No Mercy: The Killing of Virginia Morse # The Night Caller:

Eric Edgar Cooke Eric Edgar Cooke (25 February 1931 – 26 October 1964), nicknamed the Night Caller and later the Nedlands Monster, was an Australian serial killer who terrorised the city of Perth, Western Australia, from September 1958 to August 1963. Cooke c ...

# Headless Body: The Kim Barry Murder # The Gonzales Family Murders # Thrill Kill: The Janine Balding Murder # Hunt for a Killer:

The Claremont Murders ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

# The Devil Inside – John Ernest Cribb # The Predator: Leonard John Fraser # Evil Heart: The Murder of Donna Wheeler/The

Disappearance of Trudie Adams Trudie Jeanette Adams disappeared in the early hours of 25 June 1978 after attending a dance at the Newport Surf Life Saving Club, New South Wales, Australia. She left the event early before hitchhiking home, at which point she entered a vehicle ...

Series 3

# The Girls Who Knew Too Much (

Juanita Nielsen Juanita Joan Nielsen (; 22 April 1937 – disappeared 4 July 1975) was an Australian homicide victim, who was a newspaper owner, publisher and journalist, a model, businesswoman, urban conservationist, and heiress. She was notable for her advo ...

and

Sallie-Anne Huckstepp Sallie-Anne Huckstepp (nee Krivoshow, 12 December 1954 – 6 February 1986) was an Australian writer, sex worker and whistleblower, who was the victim of a homicide. She came to attention in 1981 for speaking out about police corruption in ...

) # Bloodsport – The Bondi Gay Murders # A Killer Amongst Us – The Norfolk Island Murder # Night of Terror: The Bega Schoolgirls # Murder of Innocence – Sian Kingi # Date with a Serial Killer: Rodney Cameron # Cop Killer – The Winchester Assassination #

Michael Kanaan Michael Kanaan (born 23 May 1975). is an Australian triple murderer from Sydney, currently serving three sentences of life imprisonment plus 50 years and 4 months without the possibility of parole, for the murder of three people and other offenc ...

: Shoot to Kill # Buried Alive: Luckman and

Reid Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red". People with the surname * Alan Reid (disambiguation) * Alex Reid (disambiguation), includes Alexander Reid * Amanda Reid, Australian Paralympic athlete * Amanda Reid (taxonomist), Australia ...

# Mystery of the Homestead Murders

Series 4

# Cangai siege # Kerry Whelan – Wife for ransom # Body in the suitcase – Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce Pearce # Unknown Episode Yet To air on Channel 7 or 7 Plus as of 2022 # Almost a perfect murder – Bill & Pamela Weightman # Murder & Mayhem – George Brown and Fine Cotton # On Borrowed Time – The

Michael McGurk Michael McGurk (ca. 1883 – 23 June 1948) was a nationalist politician and farmer in Northern Ireland. McGurk became active in the Irish Home Rule campaign in the early 1900s. He was subsequently elected to Tyrone County Council and Cookstown ...

Assassination # Hero To Hitman – Lindsey Rose

Reception

The show was generally well received. Michelle Nagy in her Editorial Review of the program writes:

”Crime Investigation Australia presents an impressive package, using re-enactments, montages of real evidence, locations, maps, photos and real footage – not to mention leading Australian anchor Steve Liebmann, who lends weight and integrity to the series."

Similarly:

“...McNeice's films skilfully dramatise the stories behind these cases, though in disturbing the past he sometimes creates a sense of dismay... McNeice, with his just-the-facts method, unashamedly gives us criminality, violence, gritty realism, horror and psychopathology. There is no apology and no shame here, which is what makes it such riveting TV."

A recent review by David Knox explains that:

"...it shies away from emotive, sometimes even racist, sensationalism of other players. CIA has also triggered viewers to come forth with new information – surely a measure of success for any in this genre."

Another review states:

"Crime Investigation Australia has all the hallmarks of a pay-TV documentary – lots of stock footage, dodgy re-enactments, eerie music and talking heads – but nevertheless tells an engaging tale."

The re-enactments featured on the show are often explicit, as for example the Anita Cobby episode in which the moment of the murder is replayed over and over again. There are also inaccuracies and anachronisms, for example in the Beaumont Children Mystery episode where the hairstyles and hair lengths of the child actresses playing Jane and Arnna Beaumont do not match photographs of the real children and Jane is wearing a 2006-era pink "Speedo" female child's swimsuit instead of a period-accurate little girl's swimsuit.

Revival

In 2018, Channel 7 began re-broadcasting some but not all of the original episodes originally hosted by Steve Lirbmann on Foxtel and Channel 9. It was re branded ''Crime Investigation Australia: Most Infamous.'' This new series is hosted by

Matt Doran Matthew James Doran (born 30 March 1976) is an Australian television and film actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Damian Roberts in the Australian soap '' Home and Away'' from 1991 to 1996, "Mouse" in the 1999 film ''The Matrix'', ...

. Doran revised the original series with new information and updates on particular cases. In 2022 season 4 released on Channel 7 with new episodes again with Matt Doran as host.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 1552648, CIA: Crime Investigation Australia Nine Network original programming Australian non-fiction television series 2000s Australian crime television series 2005 Australian television series debuts 2009 Australian television series endings