wavePod

Get Wave AI

Strange Investigations with Charlie Bezzina - Australian True Crime | Wave AI Podcast Notes

Back to Australian True Crime

Strange Investigations with Charlie Bezzina

Australian True Crime

Sun Feb 15 2026

Summary

Australian True Crime – "Strange Investigations with Charlie Bezzina" (Feb 15, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode of Australian True Crime features veteran detective Charlie Bezzina alongside host Michelle Laurie. Together, they delve into some of the most unusual and perplexing investigations of Charlie’s career in Victoria Police, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of crime scene work in Australian suburbs and the challenges of interpreting evidence that might not align with initial impressions. The conversation takes listeners deep into the practical and emotional realities of homicide investigation—discussing everything from evolving forensic technology to the mental health struggles of police officers.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Crime Scene Process & Teamwork

Structured Approach: Charlie outlines the routine procedures at crime scenes and post-mortems: systematic photography, collecting evidence (“collect it and we can always throw it away”), and reliance on a diverse team (forensics, pathologists, ballistics, etc.) ([01:19]–[02:54]).
Minimal Contamination: Emphasizes minimizing personnel at scenes—normally six to eight specialists—to avoid contamination and ensure all evidence is collected ([02:15]–[02:54]).
Life Goes On: Humanizes investigation, noting realities like retrieving personal items for families and the challenges when returning a processed scene ([02:56]–[03:51]).

“You work under the adage that once you've gone to the crime scene and you leave, you can't go back.” — Charlie Bezzina [02:56]

2. Forensics: Past, Present & Future

Evidence Preservation Evolution: Importance of photography and video as the only records once a scene is released, and recognizing how seemingly innocuous items can be crucial at trial ([04:04]–[04:36]).
Modern Technology: Discussion of AI, 3D imaging, and virtual goggles for juries, which can immerse them more fully in a scene, reducing monotony and boosting understanding ([04:36]–[06:17]).

“This 3D imaging, just hone in on that coffee cup... take the whole caption. It was magic.” — Charlie Bezzina [04:58]

3. The Human Element: Stress, Judgment Calls, and Training

Pressure on Investigators: Charlie describes the pressure of noticing every detail and the “fatal flaw” in cutting training for police—especially exposure to autopsies ([03:51]–[11:19]).
Critical Early Decisions: Uniformed officers are often relied upon to identify cause of death, but misuse or lack of experience can create failures in suicide or homicide assessments ([06:49]–[11:19]).
Gaps in Training: Recent policing trends allow officers to “opt in” for mortuary experience or skip it entirely, leading to unnecessary escalation and poor investigation outcomes ([09:07]–[11:19]).

“It's the only unnatural death not done by a detective.” — Charlie Bezzina on suicides [06:58]

4. Respect for the Deceased

Maintaining Dignity: Importance of referring to victims by name, treating bodies respectfully, and maintaining empathy to counter the risk of emotional detachment ([14:09]–[15:15]).
Vulnerability of the Deceased: Discussion of historical instances where undertakers took advantage, underlining the need for respect and vigilance ([13:10]–[14:09]).

“You lose your identity once you die... but by naming, they're a person. Doesn't diminish the fact that they were living, walking, human being and they deserve respect.” — Charlie Bezzina [14:16]

5. Crime and Community: Sex Offender Registries & Neighbourhood Safety

Registry Debate: Discusses Queensland’s public registry for sex offenders, weighing victim family advocacy against risks of vigilante attacks and ineffective deterrence seen in the US ([15:29]–[16:47]).
Neighborhood Awareness: Charlie favors public knowledge and laments the erosion of community policing roles ([16:06]–[16:47]).

6. Strange Cases

Case 1: The Elderly Woman with Facial Fractures ([22:03]–[31:04])

Initial Suspicion: Found deceased, face covered and severely fractured, splayed legs, missing underwear—initially seeming like a sexual homicide ([22:03]–[23:17]).
Investigation: Gathering background—known as a prolific climber and eccentric. No forced entry; evidence of a fall onto a concrete surface causing symmetrical fractures ([26:28]–[27:36]).
Forensic Insights: Entomologist timed maggot gestation; found buried house keys, reasoning she hid the keys herself ([29:46]–[30:07]).
Final Determination: Despite sinister staging, concluded a tragic accident—died after a fall trying to re-enter her property. Coroner agreed on misadventure ([31:05]).

“That was my sticking point—I was happy with the rest... but the killer may have put her on the blind side.” — Charlie Bezzina [28:41]

Case 2: The ‘Bound’ Woman in the Country Town ([31:05]–[35:51])

Initial Scene: Young woman found naked, loosely bound with a phone cord, room in disarray, history of family violence ([31:05]–[33:44]).
Findings: Pathologist observed only leg bruises; no signs of sexual assault or forced entry. History of substance abuse—Serapax, Jim Beam ([34:47]).
Explanation: Bruises likely incidental; death determined as overdose. Cord entanglement accidental as she thrashed post-ingestion ([34:54]–[35:51]).

“She was thrashing around... able to entangle herself in that phone cord. But it served no purpose, so it didn’t make sense that an offender would do that.” — Charlie Bezzina [34:54]

Case 3: Ingenious Suicide in a Locked Cupboard ([37:15]–[42:24])

Discovery: Elderly man missing, found dead in a locked outdoor cupboard, ankles and hands tied, plastic bag over head with an LPG bottle ([37:15]–[41:48]).
Complex Scene: Padlock and slide bolt secured from outside. Initial suspicion of homicide.
Analysis: Realized victim engineered own death using string to slide bolt after entry, avoiding chance of changing mind—a highly intelligent, planned suicide. Left a note citing grief for his wife ([41:48]–[42:24]).

“A lot of suicides... they want to be in a position that they don’t want to change their mind and they’re very tentative about them.” — Charlie Bezzina [39:02]

7. Broader Reflections on Policing and Community

Changing Police Recruitment and Careers: Lowering standards and glamorizing police life leads to high attrition and disillusionment ([11:29]–[12:41]).
Dedication Beyond the Force: Even after retirement, Charlie remains involved as a PI and victim advocate, asserting his ongoing passion for investigation and service ([36:33]–[37:14]).

“You never retire. And that’s why I became a private investigator... what do I know to do best?” — Charlie Bezzina [36:33]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Evidence and Trials:
“My adage always has been, well, collect it and we can always throw it away.” — Charlie Bezzina [04:04]
On Jurors and Modern Evidence:
“Anything dynamic like that seems like it would be a great idea. The 3D imagery.” — Michelle Laurie [06:08]
On Thinking Like a Cop:
“Always expect the unexpected.” — Charlie Bezzina [21:02]
On the Limitations of Forensics:
“None of this other crap about, oh, look, I died between 11 and 12 o’clock. Doesn’t work that way, as you’d know.” — Charlie Bezzina [23:17]
On Keeping Perspective:
“Even things like taking out warrants, you know, I built up reputation up to about 35 years.” — Charlie Bezzina [21:02]

Timestamps for Important Segments

[01:19] – Charlie discusses standard crime scene and postmortem processes
[04:36] – Michelle and Charlie discuss advances in crime scene visualization
[09:07] – Training gaps and issues with new police recruits
[14:09] – Respect and dignity for the deceased
[16:06] – Discussion of the sex offender registry debate
[22:03] – Elderly woman strange death case
[31:05] – Country town overdose mistaken for homicide
[37:15] – Ingenious suicide concealed as murder
[42:24] – Closing remarks

Tone and Style

The conversation is brisk, candid, and grounded in years of experience. Charlie’s no-nonsense style is balanced by Michelle’s curiosity and empathetic approach, inviting listeners behind the police tape for a raw look at what real detectives face—mystery, grief, doubt, and the perpetual challenge of separating truth from surface impressions.

For anyone interested in the intricacies of crime scene investigation, the limits of forensic certainty, and the strange realities just beneath the surface of suburban Australia, this is an episode that brings both insight and respect for those who do this essential—if difficult—work.

Loading summary...

Transcript

Charlie Bazina (0:00)

Foreign.

Michelle Laurie (0:04)

This is Australian True Crime with Michelle Laurie. And as promised, we are back today with the legendary Charlie Bazina. But this time you can watch the interview in full living colour if you want by checking out the Australian True Crime YouTube channel. There is of course, a link in the show notes. Charlie is here to talk about some of the stranger and more unpredictable investigations he was part of the during his decades as a detective with Victoria Police. This is Australian True Crime. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, People of the Kulin Nation and a warning. This episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.

VRBoCare Representative (0:48)

Day or night. VRBoCare is here 247 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you simply need a little guidance, support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the moment you head home. We're here to help things run smoothly because a great trip starts with the right support. And, hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either.

Charlie Bazina (1:19)

Crime scenes have a set process you follow, and so do postmortems. You know, you go there and it's okay, you look at the body, you photograph it, do that, then you strip it, then you wash it down and do stuff and away you go. And then ultimately. And then it works so well because then you gotta keep saying, well, I'm the investigator, they're the tools that help me whilst I'm the face of the investigations, the team behind me from pathologists, my team members and the like. So the pathologist said, well, anything else you want to cover off? Oh, can you do the, you know, can you just swab, let's say it might be a rape or something, or can you just swab here and can you swab there for any DNA and something that they may overlook and stuff like that? So the more eyes on it, the better.

Michelle Laurie (2:01)

How many people are at the crime scene? Say remains have been. A body's been found and it's a violent attack. You've got cause. I know that the police have their forensics team as well. So there's the mortuary guys, the pathologists.

Charlie Bazina (2:15)

Yeah. So you start off with a crime scene examiner and then a photographer. In my day, photographer, video operator. And then if it's a shooting, you got the ballistics guy with you. And if it's a stabbing as such, or if not with. And even if the blood splatter, you got a biologist with you for blood splatter interpretation, you've Got a pathologist with you. If they see the body in situ and then your team members, not we all go in there and then you sit back, wait for it to be processed. And you want to keep it to the minimum of going to a crime scene, but other than that, you might have six or eight at any given time with those resources so they can take it all up there. So away you go.

Charlie Bazina (6:58)

So they go to a scene and it's, oh, we've got a person who's deceased. They don't know if they're going through natural causes, a suicide or a murder. So they go there and they go, oh, this is pretty sus. I'm not happy with that. They call in the local detectives. So local detectives come in, they make the call and they come in and say, yep, it's a drug overdose or it's a suicide. If it's a suicide, that's where it stops. They give it back to the uniform branch, which I'm very critical about, and the uniform branch are left with it and they want to get rid of it as soon as they can. They're not investigators. It's the only unnatural death not done by a detective. So. Or they say, yep, definitely this is a shooting. From their experience, from their detective training school. Yep, let's call in the rape squad, let's call in homicide squad. Then we come in, we make an assessment and then we either then do the postmortem, go that way, they give it back to the local detectives and say, no, it's a murder, suicide or whatever, do it that way. So that's a process as you go through and a lot of times you're running the job at home, you know, I'll get caught out and I'll say, mate, it doesn't sound, you know, like it's going to be a murder to me. Do your job, start doing a door knocks and let me know or someone's going to die. You know, this guy's going to. Who told you that? Oh, the ambos. Well, the ambos aren't doctors. Let him go to the hospital. If a surgeon then says he's not going to survive, then call me. Because I'm then balancing my resources. I'm servicing the state of Victoria with one team of detectives. So while I'm going out two or three in the morning to a half baked job, I think you had a fair ninkum job. So you're mindful of that. You're running a job from home at 2 in the morning, saying no. Sounds like a drug overdose to me. Go through the process or close the scene down, photograph it. Let's organise a post mortem, let's say for sids or something like that. Let's organise a post mortem in the morning. We've lost nothing. You preserved the scene, you photographed it, have a guard there, let's do the post I booked a post mortem for 9 o'. Clock. I'm then liaison with the coroner's court. I've logged the body in. When can the pathologist come? I organise a photographer. Okay, let's do that. As I'll be one example and say, yep, it's a cerebral haemorrhage. Okay, fantastic. But we've overseen it.

Charlie Bazina (23:17)

Yeah, yeah, right. Yep. And the other twist to it, she didn't have any underwear on. So from experience, you do know that as an investigator, that one trait is when. When a female has been assaulted, let's say a rape, or that then leads to a death, or they want to rape a person post mortem, that they don't want to look at the face, they'll put a covering over the face. Here we've got a covering over the face, legs sprayed open, no underwear. Well, you think of the sinister. We then start your investigation. You want to learn as much as you can about the deceased person. Ultimately, woman lived on her own. So we processed the crime scene and part and parcel of processing that crime scene. And as you see in the movies, time of death becomes an issue critical for us. None of this other crap about, oh, look, I died between 11 and 12 o'. Clock. Doesn't work that way, as you'd know. But one way we can do it, we then get an entomologist come in. So when you're talking about earlier about what services, you bring in, ballistics, forensics, biology for Blood splatter and the like. So here we have a body that's infested with maggots. Then you know, as an investigator, that we may be able to get a time span on these maggots being. Or the eggs being laid by the blowfly. So we bring an entomologist in and she collected the maggots from the body. We then start our investigation. We then talk to neighbors, et cetera. She had no relatives, lived on her own. There's no forced entry into the house because of the severe decomposition. You can't look at any bruising or issues. Nothing significant. We got gaping wounds or anything like that. So we don't. We can't remove clothing at the scene. We leave it in situ, we process the crime scene. We then learned that she lived on her own. Bit eccentric, this lady. And we learned that she was a prolific climber. She'd been found on outside garages, in backyards. She would have a shopping trolley. She'd go to house to house at nighttime, pinching pavers, gnomes, shoes, whatever might be in the front yard. So we start building this picture up. So we get the body back to the coroner's court and the pathologist does the post mortem. Pathologist comes back and like any expert, a lot of them have an each way bet. So we come back, he's unable to tell us where she's been sexually assaulted because of the decomposition. He tells us her symmetrical fractures to the face. Now, it would have to need a flat surface to get symmetrical fractures. If you smack someone on the side of the face, you're gonna get a fractured right cheekbone or whatever. But 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 as an investigator. So he steps away and says, well, that's my finding. They leave an each way bet. Not firm up on that one. Because if it goes one way, they don't get discredited and say, well, I put it down as a homicide. And then Charlie found out it was an accident or whatever.

Charlie Bazina (31:05)

I don't wanna make one and say, well, I'll leave for the coroner to work out. The buck stops with me as a team leader. So I had to make the decision that it was a. An accident. But I maintained it. I Didn't push it off to another, to uniform branch. I maintained it. The coroner side with me and said, yep, I'll put it down as a misadventure accident. And based on everything else, so that's where that worked out there. The next one I'll do is we get a call. This was a country town. We've got a naked female in her early 20s and she's bound by electrical wire. So that's the call you get. Quite sinister. Country town, not too kosher. Let's better go and look at this one. So off we went and sure enough, we go with the crime scene. There's a house. She's in the bedroom next to the bed in that bedroom. The window's broken in the lounge in the bedroom. House is a bit of a topsy turvy. We find there's chimpan cans in the lounge room, medication there. But then what does a crime scene tell me? She's got bruising below her knees, she's lying on her back and being bound by electrical tape. Electrical wire was in fact the phone cord, but it was quite loose. It wasn't restraining her at all. So I'm reading that your door knock, we find a couple of young teenagers, they come and say, well, look, we went there Saturday, so we know she's alive on a particular. Forget what day we got there might be the Monday or Sunday. I forget what it was. And they said, oh, yeah, we tried to knock on the door. Whatever reason, we heard the woman inside. Okay, then more you do, she's in a family, violence involved comes more sinister. Broken window, place is turned up. Where's the defect, though? Oh, he's nowhere to be found. Okay, let's start looking for him. We got a family violence stuff. Boyfriend, girlfriend. And the only injury she exhibited was below the knee, so on her legs. So we get the body back, we take the body back to Melbourne, do the post mortem down there. We had the pathologist come up, which was good. It's always good for the pathologist to see the body in situ because if there's a particular injury to a body, you can say, oh, that happened from that. They can piece it together rather than you try and explain it. That's why it's so important.

Charlie Bazina (39:08)

So he does call homicide. So that's what I'm confronted with. So we do that. Okay. So we look at the crime scene and I look at it from an offender's perspective. Here we have a elderly gentleman and a lot of stuff I said earlier we may not be able to explain. Here he is lying in his bag. He's lying on a hessian mattress, if you will. Quite comfortable just lying there. We take the plastic bag off his head and there's a small LPG gas bottle inside the plastic bag. And a lot of suicides. People with suicide, they want to be in a position that they don't want to change their mind and they're very tentative about them. That's one trait which is going through your mind because you've done different crime scenes, but quite significant that he's tied up from his feet to his hands around there. So again, a lot of stuff we can't prove and how things happened. So I then look at and say, would an offender go through all this process of doing that? So we remove the body as best we can. And what about the slide bolt being in place now they're padlocked. Very sinister. But it didn't make sense to me to say, well, an offender wouldn't have put a deceased person in, then tied him up, or even as a tired person, he's on a comfortable little cushion mattress. Why the LPG gas bottle in there? Did he murder, look like a suicide, et cetera. So these things are going through your mind all the time. Keeping that open mind. Get the body back to the coroner's court. No sign of any injury whatsoever. And it's in inhalation of the LPG gas. Is the cause of death. Has it been set up by this particular an offender? It turned out to be suicide. We eventually found a note in the house saying his wife had not long died. He cannot live without his wife. So he took his own life. But went to such a an extent to do all of that. How he tied himself up. I can't explain how did he get the slide bolts in place from the outside. What we then find is it was a piece of string tied to the slide bolt. And this guy was a very highly intelligent individual. So he's got himself in there, pulled the string, pulled the slide bolt, but he's obviously holding the plasterboard at an angle that opens the door. So he's got in with the plasterboards, made the slide bolt put in place, been able to tie himself up while he's in this confined area.