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Xanthé Danielle Mallett (; born 17 December 1976) is a Scottish
forensic anthropologist Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification o ...
, criminologist, and television presenter. She specialises in human craniofacial biometrics and hand identification, and behaviour patterns of paedophiles, particularly online. She is an associate professor at the University of Newcastle in
Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.


Biography

Mallett was born in
Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and grew up in Bedfordshire,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Her father was an engineer and her mother a former dancer. Mallet herself was a dancer, and from age 9 attended the Arts Educational School in
Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
. She was also active in other sports, such as tennis, and planned to take a degree in physical education. However, a car accident severely damaged her knee and required 10 surgeries. She received her bachelor's degree in archaeological sciences from the
University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...
, a master's degree in biological anthropology at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, and her doctorate in forensic science from the
University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...
. For five years, she worked at the Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification (CAHID) at the
University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...
, Scotland, where she was a forensic practitioner and a lecturer of forensic anthropology. Mallet stated that her interest in criminology began to increase, which led her to move to Australia in 2012. "My casework experience helped me to realise that I was becoming more interested in investigating the behaviours behind the crimes, rather than identifying the victims and offenders from physical evidence they leave behind," she said. She was a senior lecturer at the
University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...
in
Armidale, New South Wales Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands, New ...
, before taking the same role at the University of Newcastle in
Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...
. Mallett has been published in various academic journals including the ''International Journal of Legal Medicine'' and the ''Journal of Forensic Sciences''. In 2014, she published the book ''Mothers Who Murder: And Infamous Miscarriages of Justice'' about mothers who kill their own children.


Media career

Mallett worked as a forensic anthropologist on the
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...
series ''
History Cold Case ''History Cold Case'' is a British documentary television series in which scientists use modern forensic techniques to investigate ancient remains. Two series of ''History Cold Case'' aired on BBC Two between 6 May 2010 and 21 July 2011. The tel ...
'' from 2010 to 2011. The series involved Mallett and other experts working to find cause of death for human remains dating from
Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...
to
Victorian England In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...
. She also starred in the U.S. version of the series, which aired on the
National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...
as ''The Decrypters''. In Australia, Mallett presented the series '' Wanted'' in 2013 and is a co-host of ''
Coast Australia ''Coast'' is a BBC Television documentary, documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two television in 2005. It covers various subjects relating to both the natural and social history of the Coastline of the United Kingdom, British coastline and ...
''. In 2014, she presented a television special, ''Mothers Who Murder'', on Channel Ten that coincided with the release of her book. In the special, she met with families and police to investigate what led to the murders. One of the women she profiled was Rachel Pfitzner, who killed her 2-year-old son, Dean Shillingsworth, in 2007. Since March 2023, she has co-hosted the crime podcast ''Motive & Murder'' with forensic psychologist Tim Watson Munro.


Bibliography

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References


External links

*
University of Newcastle, NSW profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallett, Xanthe 1976 births Living people Scottish anthropologists British criminologists Scottish expatriates in Australia People from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire Alumni of the University of Bradford Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of Sheffield Academics of the University of Dundee Academic staff of the University of Newcastle (Australia) Academic staff of the University of New England (Australia) Scottish television presenters