Serialously with Annie Elise – Episode 376
Jeans Around Her Knees, Lost CCTV & a Case That Still Haunts Australia | Phoebe Handsjuk
Released: March 16, 2026 | Host: Annie Elise

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the baffling and tragic case of Phoebe Handsjuk, a 24-year-old woman found dead in the garbage room of her luxury Melbourne apartment building in December 2010. Annie Elise methodically examines the details surrounding Phoebe’s mysterious death—focusing on the circumstances, the investigation’s many failures, the strange behavior of her boyfriend Antony “Ant” Hampel, and the profound questions that still surround this Australian true crime mystery. The tone is intensely questioning and indignant, with Annie speaking as both a forensic-minded sleuth and as a friend frustrated on behalf of Phoebe and her family.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Discovery of Phoebe’s Body

• Setting the Scene (02:00–04:00): Annie invites listeners to imagine the horror faced by the concierge who discovered Phoebe’s body blocking the garbage chute door, surrounded by blood and trash:

  “Imagine pushing open a door at work, and then realizing that something is blocking it, only to notice... a smear of blood underneath it. You push harder... and see a woman's body lying in a pool of blood.”

• Discovery led to an immediate but questionable lockdown; paramedics were not permitted to check if Phoebe was alive, a decision that erased the possibility of determining time of death or providing aid (04:00–07:00).

  “Paramedics were not allowed to touch Phoebe... From the moment that the authorities stepped into that room, Phoebe was treated as if she was just unquestionably dead.” (06:00)

Initial Police Response & Primary Theories

• Police formed an almost immediate theory: Phoebe must have fallen down the trash chute from her 12th-floor apartment—either by accident or self-harm—with minimal investigation (07:00–09:00).
• Annie explains what a trash chute is, noting the unlikelihood of anyone accidentally falling in, especially feet-first, given the design (09:00–11:00).
• “Three big questions” arise:
  1. Was it homicide?
  2. Was it a freak accident?
  3. Did Phoebe take her own life? (11:30)
• All scenarios seem deeply improbable, both in logistics and common sense.

The Disturbing Physical and Forensic Details

• Phoebe’s State: Found barefoot, jeans below her knees, zipper undone, only partially belted—none of which matches an accidental trash chute fall or a planned suicide (13:00–14:30).
• Injuries: Nearly severed right foot, multiple leg cuts, extensive bruising, and her body physically compressed by the fall.
• Signs she survived the fall: Drag marks in blood, indicating she attempted to crawl to the door for help (14:30–16:00).

Investigative Failures and Lost Evidence

A. Denial of Medical Aid

• Paramedics not allowed to check her—removing any chance to determine time of death, severely hindering the investigation (16:30–17:30).

  “That single decision, it erased the chance of determining her time of death… It is foundational to any investigation.” (17:00)

B. Loss of CCTV Footage

• Police did not request building security footage promptly.
• The building’s system erased most footage every 48 hours—leaving only brief clips of Phoebe leaving and returning with her dog at 11:44 a.m., with a major 7-hour gap until her body was found (18:30–21:00).

  “By the time investigators finally asked for the footage... hours of footage and Phoebe’s last known movements had already been erased.” (20:00)

• Vital questions about who was in the halls, who accessed the trash room, if Phoebe was alone—all gone.

C. Failure to Secure Crime Scenes

• Neither the garbage room on the 12th floor (where Phoebe entered the chute) nor her shared apartment were properly preserved as crime scenes (22:00–24:30).
• Blood found in the 12th-floor trash room (pre-fall), and on various surfaces in her apartment.
• Items not investigated: blood stains (apart from doorframe), two glasses with alleged vodka, muddy footprints, and fingerprints on the chute—all ignored or left untested.

The Apartment & Ant’s Bizarre Behavior

• When police question Ant, he calmly reports Phoebe missing but refuses, despite her father’s pleas, to file a missing persons report (24:30–29:00).
  • Orders takeout for one from Phoebe’s favorite restaurant (26:00).
  • Apartment chaotic: blood, broken glass, ripped cushion, uncharacteristic disorder.
  • Phoebe’s personal items all left behind, candles still burning—suggesting abrupt interruption.
• Ant’s reaction is bizarrely unemotional compared to Phoebe’s devastated family:

  (26:52) “If your partner is missing and their dad is calling you panicked, who just casually then is like, 'she’ll show up eventually'... and just chill?”

Phoebe’s State of Mind and Last Contacts

• Ant claims Phoebe was mentally unwell, battling depression and alcohol dependency. On the night before her death, Ant painted her as “particularly low,” having run a bath and helped her to bed (31:00–33:00).
• At night, Phoebe sends a cryptic group text to her family—interpreted by all as alarming, possibly suicidal:

  (33:30) “Hi family, I am in bed and about to sleep and when I wake, I will transform into the most incredible human being you’ve ever seen… not I will go to the hospital… I love you all very much… but time is sleep and I must be on my way. Merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream. XO.”

• The next day, Ant claims her phone was broken, yet call logs show he called her “lost” Nokia for 13 seconds—implying it connected. Inconsistencies abound (36:00–38:00).

  “Thirteen seconds is certainly long enough for somebody to speak, breathe, answer, or for you to hear something on the other end. So why didn’t he remember it?” (37:30)

Ignored Leads & Suspicious Clues

• Two untasted glasses, set on opposite ends of the kitchen island, hint someone else may have been there.
• Witness reports seeing a strange man buzzed to the 12th floor at 4pm; police dismiss.
• Muddy shoe prints leading out of the apartment—never measured, photographed, or analyzed, despite Phoebe being found barefoot (41:00–43:00).

  “Every avenue that should have been explored was ignored.”

The Official Conclusion—and Why It Makes No Sense

• Police and Coroner’s conclusion: Phoebe, highly intoxicated and under the influence of sleeping medication (Stillnox), entered the chute feet first—possibly while sleepwalking.

  (43:21) “So as a family to hear the finding, what was that like? Well we were shell shocked… Numb.”

• Family devastated and incredulous; official explanation does not match physical realities.

Physical Impossibility of the Chute Theory

• Chute opening: 21” x 11”, 40 inches off the ground, hatch only opens 8 inches.
• Phoebe’s grandfather (a retired detective) reconstructs the chute entry with her friend: takes two sober adults to replicate, impossible without leaving fingerprints—none of which were found (48:30–51:30).

  “So we’re supposed to believe that Phoebe… managed to climb in, feet first, all while drunk and medicated, and somehow did all of that without leaving a single fingerprint behind?” (52:00)

Unexplained Injuries

• In addition to trash chute trauma, Phoebe had a cut jaw, blunt head trauma, and fingerprint-shaped bruises on her neck, arms, and wrists—not explained by a feet-first fall (54:00).
• No testing or explanation for blood on apartment surfaces.

Potential for Foul Play: Focus on Ant

• Examines Ant’s “picture-perfect” narrative vs. family and friends’ accounts of a volatile, often cruel relationship.
• Violent breakups, including incidents where he allegedly threw Phoebe out.
• Phoebe’s doctor and a friend both note Ant’s controlling, emotionally harming presence (58:00–59:30).
• After Phoebe’s death, Ant’s emotional display described as insincere ("no actual tears, no redness in his eyes… performing sadness rather than feeling it” (59:45)), and he pushes the suicide narrative immediately.
• Ant’s powerful family connections (father a retired judge, stepmother a judge, sister received “lenient” sentence for drug trafficking), raising questions of influence or protection.

A Pattern Emerges: Bailey’s Death

• In 2018, Ant’s 25-year-old girlfriend Bailey is found dead under highly suspicious circumstances, also ruled non-suspicious—uncanny parallels to Phoebe’s fate (62:30–64:30).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the investigation’s failures:

  “Every avenue that should have been explored was ignored.” (43:10)

• On the absurdity of the official theory:

  “How is it that the official version of events in this case is actually the least plausible explanation?” (57:00)

• Phoebe’s grandfather, after reconstructing the chute scenario:

  “She just got in by herself? ...What if you, if you breathe in and wiggled... What about if your arms were up on top...?” (53:09)

• Phoebe’s father, on his certainty:

  “Do you believe she committed suicide? No, I don’t.” (66:43)

• Annie Elise’s closing reflection:

  “A woman who is defined by her passion for justice died under circumstances that have never been properly investigated.” (67:09)

Important Timestamps

• 00:30 – Case introduction and preview (last footage of Phoebe, discovery of body)
• 04:00–11:00 – Initial police response, trash chute scenario outlined, physical logistics
• 13:00–14:30 – Phoebe’s physical condition, forensic oddities
• 17:00–21:00 – Investigation fumbles: time of death, lost CCTV
• 24:30–29:00 – The apartment scene, Ant’s strange response, family reactions
• 31:00–36:00 – Phoebe’s last night, the cryptic text message
• 37:30 – Suspicious phone call and timeline problems
• 41:00–43:00 – Ignored evidence: glasses, witness, muddy prints
• 43:21 – Coroner’s verdict: family devastated, skepticism about sleepwalking theory
• 48:30–52:00 – Trash chute demonstration, physical impossibility, lack of fingerprints
• 54:00 – Unexplained injuries and unanswered questions
• 58:00–61:00 – Ant’s character, relationship issues, family influence
• 62:30–64:30 – Bailey’s suspicious death, pattern emerges
• 66:43–67:09 – Family’s conviction of murder, Annie’s reflection

Final Reflections

Annie’s investigation leaves listeners with a powerful sense of injustice—pointing to an official conclusion full of logical gaps, procedural negligence, and possible corruption or cover-up. The episode ends with both grief and resolve, as Phoebe’s family continues to push for answers and Annie encourages listeners to reflect critically:

“Be nice. Don't kill people. Don't date anyone named Ant... and stay away from trash chutes.”

For more information and to support Phoebe's family’s quest for justice, visit phoebehandsjunk.com.

This summary excludes ads and non-content segments to focus solely on the case and its revelations.