Australian True Crime – Shortcut: Strange Investigations with Charlie Bezzina

Podcast: Australian True Crime
Host: Meshel Laurie
Guest: Charlie Bezzina (retired Victoria Police detective)
Date: February 15, 2026

Episode Overview

In this gripping shortcut episode, host Meshel Laurie sits down with legendary former detective Charlie Bezzina to explore some of the most bizarre and perplexing cases of his decades-long career with Victoria Police. Together, they pull back the curtain on investigations where the truth defied expectation—cases that at first glance screamed murder, only to reveal far more complex, and sometimes tragic, realities beneath the surface. Listeners are reminded that Australia’s quietest suburbs can harbor the strangest mysteries, further proving that ‘you never know what goes on next door.’

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Case of the Eccentric Elderly Woman

[00:58–08:39]

• Scene Description:

  • Discovery of a deceased elderly woman in her yard—legs splayed, no underwear, face covered with a towel, and severely decomposed; signs pointing to a possible sexual homicide.
  • Clues: Blood trail up the driveway, a single shoe, symmetrical facial fractures, no forced entry, and her known eccentric behaviors.

• Investigation Details:

  • Entomologist consulted for time of death; neighbors confirm she lived alone, had peculiar habits (nightly “climbing” escapades, collecting items from yards).
  • Forensics struggle due to advanced decomposition; the pathologist indecisive, suggesting accident or murder.

• Key Analysis:

  • Charlie Bezzina:
    • “Here we have symmetrical fractures on the face. Like you got a fry pan, something flat and hit this woman. So the pathologist said, Charlie, it's an accident or it's a murder.” [04:32]
    • He pieces together her routine—tying gates with towels, climbing fences, sometimes losing shoes.

• Resolution:

  • Accidentally fell, face-first, onto concrete after climbing a fence; attempted to return to the house, dropping keys on the “blind side” as she often did; succumbed to injuries outdoors.
  • Evidence (house keys buried in lawn, towel from gates used to staunch bleeding, her history of eccentric behaviors) supports this accidental scenario.

• Memorable Moment:

  • Meshel Laurie: “But again, a classic example of thinking, who would do that? I don't know. She did.” [05:51]
  • Bezzina: “I was more than happy the circumstances. I found where the evidence took me.” [07:26]

• Conclusion:

  • Ruled “misadventure/accident,” not homicide.
  • Memorable Quote:
    • Bezzina: “Always expect the unexpected.” [00:58]

2. The Young Woman, the Loose Phone Cord, and an Overdose

[09:38–12:42]

• Scene Description:

  • Country town: Young woman found bound (loosely) by phone cord, naked, with apparent bruising, in a disordered house.

• Investigation Details:

  • Evidence of drinking and drug use (empty Jim Beam cans, Serepax medication).
  • Interview with partner uncovered arguments but no evidence of sexual assault or forced entry.
  • Pathology confirms bruises likely from substance-related accidents, not violence.

• Key Analysis:

  • Meshel Laurie: “I think the Serepax and the Jim Beam are accounting for that. Bumping into things.” [12:33]
  • Charlie Bezzina: Points out how the phone cord entanglement was accidental, not a binding meant to restrain or harm.

• Resolution:

  • Death ruled as drug overdose—no homicide.
  • Importance of considering context and forensics together when scene suggests foul play.

3. The Locked Cupboard and Ingenious Suicide

[12:42–17:58]

• Scene Description:

  • Missing elderly man reported; found dead in a locked wooden cupboard in the backyard, in pajamas, with hands and feet tied, a plastic bag over his head, and a small LPG gas bottle inside the bag.
  • Padlocked cupboard, one slide bolt locked from inside via string.

• Investigation Details:

  • The setup at first suggested potential homicide: elaborate restraints, locked compartment, gas inhalation.
  • Further inspection uncovered a suicide note explaining inability to live without his recently deceased wife.
  • Ingenious methods used to irrevocably lock himself in.

• Key Analysis:

  • Bezzina: “Would an offender go through all this process of doing that?... He wants to make sure. He doesn't want to change his mind.” [17:22]
  • Forensic findings showed no injury beyond gas inhalation, and all evidence pointed to a highly premeditated suicide.

• Resolution:

  • Officially determined to be suicide; example of the extraordinary lengths individuals may go to close off escape in suicide attempts.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Never, always expect the unexpected... because my name's on it. I've got to stand by it.”
  – Charlie Bezzina [00:58]

• “Who would do that? I don't know. She did.”
  – Meshel Laurie [05:51]

• “A lot of times you can't explain a lot of things.”
  – Charlie Bezzina [04:50]

• “I was more than happy the circumstances. I found where the evidence took me.”
  – Charlie Bezzina [07:26]

• “They’re the traitors. Say an offender wouldn’t be smart enough to set up this intricately.”
  – Charlie Bezzina [17:50]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:58 – 08:39: Case of the eccentric elderly woman (misadventure vs. murder)
• 09:38 – 12:42: Young woman’s overdose and investigation into suspicious scene
• 12:42 – 17:58: Ingeniously executed suicide in the locked cupboard

Episode Tone and Takeaways

Throughout the episode, Meshel Laurie and Charlie Bezzina maintain a thoughtful, respectful tone while remaining open-minded and skeptical of assumptions. Bezzina’s experience shines in his insistence that truth in investigation rarely matches expectations—and that apparent crime scenes often mask much sadder, stranger personal realities.

Major Takeaway:
Even veteran investigators must “expect the unexpected.” Careful attention to forensic detail, context, and human behavior is paramount in true crime, and the most baffling cases are often solved by digging beyond surface assumptions.