A major investigation by The Age newsroom in Melbourne, Australia, into the death of Phoebe Handsjuk, who was found at the bottom of a garbage chute in a luxury apartment building.
For decades, families in Australia and overseas, have been accused of one of the worst crimes imaginable – child abuse. Diagnosing Murder is an investigative podcast about parents who've had their children taken away, sat in the dock and even done time in prison. All for something they insist they didn't do – shake their baby. Can we trust the science behind shaken baby syndrome? Or are innocent people being locked up for a crime they never committed?
Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/diagnosing-murder/id1830112935 (https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/diagnosing-murder/id1830112935)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7n9DWSmwqgPUekmhtdLqCr?si=c482c1f4d4c044c2 (https://open.spotify.com/show/7n9DWSmwqgPUekmhtdLqCr?si=c482c1f4d4c044c2)
YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrLulycax359U5QBusRAjb93TJEaH4psH&si=nvi4rbEAwrBTbaWY (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrLulycax359U5QBusRAjb93TJEaH4psH&si=nvi4rbEAwrBTbaWY)
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
19 May 2025TRANSCRIPT
Coming soon - the 40/20 NRL podcast
This episode previews the "40/20 NRL podcast" from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, promising insights into major stories, news, and performances during the State of Origin and Finals series.
31 May 2024TRANSCRIPT
Trial By Water, Episode 1: Father's Day
On Father’s Day, 2005, Robert Farquharson crashed his car into a dam. He survived, but his three children who were in the car with him didn’t. At first it seemed like a tragic accident. But quickly, it turned into a murder investigation.
For exclusive content and additional reporting on the case, available to subscribers of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, visit theage.com.au/trialbywater or smh.com.au/trialbywater. Subscribe now to access the special Good Weekend investigation, which features never-before-seen 3D models recreating key scientific evidence, video, audio and other interviews.
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22 Jun 2018
Phoebe's Fall - New Laws
Victorian Government announces reforms to Coroner's Act and Phobe's grandfather Lorne responds.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
15 Dec 2016
Phoebe's Fall - A Fresh Look
The Victorian Government has announced a review of the Coroner's Act amid widespread public concern about the inquest into Phoebe Handsjuk's garbage chute death.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
27 Oct 2016
Episode 6: Inquest & Aftermath
We dissect the coroner's finding in Phoebe's case, raising serious questions about his conclusion and the methods he used to reach it. We examine the consequences of challenging a poor finding. And we reveal the Facebook post that prompted this podcast.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
25 Oct 2016
Mini-episode: The mystery phone number and the litany of unanswered questions
Seven months after Phoebe Handsjuk died, forensic scientists found a piece of paper in the pocket of the jeans she was wearing when she died. Whose number was it? And what did it mean?
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
20 Oct 2016
Episode 5: Saying Goodbye
Phoebe is remembered by her friends and family. We chronicle the competing memorials and funerals. And we journey to the shores of her Viking farewell.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
19 Oct 2016
No time of death for Phoebe
We explore the difficulties of establishing Phoebe's time of death, and a debate between police and doctors over the value of trying to estimate when somebody has died.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
13 Oct 2016
Episode 4: Policework
We explore Phoebe's tumultuous last week and examine what she and her partner, Ant Hampel, did on her final day. Then we put the blowtorch to failings and omissions in the police investigation following her death, and the early conclusion that it was a suicide.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
11 Oct 2016
Podcast prompts political action
Our investigative journalists Richard Baker and Michael Bachelard report back on the tip-offs we've received and the political developments triggered by Phoebe's Fall since we launched.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
6 Oct 2016
Episode 3: A Secret Tape
Examines the state of Phoebe's mind and the relationship that dominated her life at the time of her death. We find evidence that she was planning to leave her partner, Ant Hampel. And we play audio of a secret recording made by Phoebe's mother of Ant's reaction to her death.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
28 Sept 2016
Episode 2: The Chute
We walk through the final hours of Phoebe Handsjuk's life, challenge the plausibility of the coroner's findings, and examine the gruesome mechanics of her death in a chilling re-enactment. We also hear from a leading forensic pathologist whom we commissioned to review the evidence.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
22 Sept 2016
Episode 1: Knowing Phoebe
Starts with the mysterious and gruesome death of 24yo Phoebe Handsjuk and the open possibilities that it was either murder, suicide or a tragic accident. Then it steps back to hear from Phoebe herself and then her friends and family describe her many traits; her beauty, her art, her physical strength, her appetite for drugs and booze, her obsessions with forbidden men.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
21 Sept 2016
Live Friday, 23 September - The short life and brutal death of Phoebe Handsjuk
A major investigation by The Age newsroom in Melbourne, Australia, into the death of Phoebe Handsjuk, who was found at the bottom of a garbage chute in a luxury apartment building.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
16 Sept 2016
Coming soon - Phoebe's Fall - a podcast from The Age
A new podcast series from The Age, Melbourne, Australia.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.6 / 5
386 ratings
Spotify
4.5 / 5
171 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 20 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
2
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
98
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