Live AMA now

I don't know if you are familiar with some of our local Canadian cases such as Paul Bernardo and Lukas Magnata. Bernardo lived close by where we live and he targeted young girls on the street next to ours. Magnata went to the same high school as my kids. Very creepy! (We actually live in a nice part of the city)

We will wrap it up now. Thankyou for everyone for tuning in. Thank you for all the questions. And thank you for your support on Patreon. We are super appreciative of it.

Thank you Kym.

I'll check that one out Gillian. It doesn't ring a bell.

I have to go now too - but thanks for arranging this session and all the very best for continuing success with the podcast - you're providing a great deal of fresh information to an obviously enthusiastic audience!!!

Thank you Charmaine.

I am late to the party, LOL. I love this podcast! The quality is outstanding. I now don't feel so alone for liking true crime. Also, as a Canadian, I love when you say "1999" I love your Australian accent.

The Sian Kingi case on sunny coast shook me as a kid and I think was the first time I realised something bad could happen. It's always stuck with me. I think this would be my suggestion, and I think you would do it justice.

Thank you Adam. Keep going with the walking. Hope your health issues improve mate.

Thank you Matt.

I would just like to say thank you for such a great podcast. As others have said, we appreciate the huge effort you and the team go to. I suffer from some health issues, and listening to Casefile while walking has been amazing for me.

I have to go now Mr. Anon Host but thank you for answering my questions and for you and your teams great work on the show! Look forward to hearing more. Cheers!

Yes im familiar with those cases. Will potentially cover them.

Sorry latest survey. Not podcast.

I haven't seen the stats from the latest podcast. But from the first one 13% 18-24. 40% 25-34. 30 % 35-44 13% 45-54 4% 55 and above.

The Mark Valera and Belinda Van Krevel cases are worth a look also

Have you been able to compile any stats on the age of your listeners?

Yes, that's correct.

That is one case I'm not familiar with at all. That's the one Phoebes fall podcast is on?

One thing that alarmed is how many light sentences have been handed out for murders in Australia. Terrible.

The phoebe Handsjuk case is pretty strange and sad. Most would say it's unsolved

After researching so much on these cases have you changed or any of your views changed about people or the law?

In my sleep when I'm well and truly over 100 :)

I didn't have Mike for the first 6 episodes. So I was going back over those ones trying to clean them up. But since then I've never listened to a full completed produced episode of casefile.

I don't :) once I've done the recording that's it. I never listen to a finished episode. Obvioisly I have to go back during the recording and listen to parts here and there. And that's when I cringe! But once the narration it's done Mike takes over. I'm sure he gets sick of my voice.

I would probably say Kill Bill if I had to pick one.

whats your fav tarentino movie?

How do you go listening to your own voice for hours on end?

I actually read that in an article while doing the first episode on Wanda. The article said something like. "The police casefile is now over...." went on to mention how many statements and documents there were. So that's where that came from.

How did you come up with "casefile" for the name?

Still have a bit of time if there are any more questions.

How long did it take for the show to start gaining momentum? I imagine it was quite a shock when you were hitting 1m + plays!

No issues Gillian. Go for it. The transcripts just aren't referenced like normal written papers would be though. All of the sources are listed at the end and aren't marked in the transcript.

Adam - A lot of confusion :) so many people still Don't know what podcasts are, especially my family. None of them listen to podcasts. So I got a lot of 'what's a podcast, like YouTube?"

Actually, I do have a quick question. I teach academic English to students at uni who need to improve their skills, including listening, and I often use texts to help them in class. If the occasion arises, will it be okay to use excepts of your podcast? Is there any copyright issue with that? Cheers.

Beside being amazingly proud, what reaction do you get from friends/family about casefile?

I have heard good things about the killing. Will check it out eventually.

I haven't seen animal kingdom either :/

I haven't seen the killing. The missing or Beon unfortunately. Or the fall. I am a massive x files fan though. Only halfway through the 6 episode new series. That's how behind with tv shows I am.

Thank you Frankie!

As in I don't want to hear from people who have a vested interest in guilty/not guilty. Of course I would want to hear from people with involvement in the case.

It is truly impressive all of the work you put into each case. I am sure it is a thankless job. I appreciate all of your hard work and attention to detail you put into each episode.

I know there a tonne of podcasts out there. But I don't want to hear from people who are connected to anyone. I just want the facts. The witness statements. The interviews. The police files etc.

Is the Adnan file online like the WM3?

Same answer as Avery. I have heard Serial but that's it. (And that was while recovering from a surgery so my focus probably wasn't great). I haven't followed the case closely. I wouldn't give an opinion until I have studied it in detail. Basically a review of the police file. Witness statements, interviews etc etc. I think only then I can form a real opinion. Otherwise I'd be guessing.

What did you think about Animal Kingdom?

I was waiting for this :)

I know you are a busy fellow but do you watch any crime drama tv series? - like The Missing, The Killing, Bron/Broen?

is adnan guilty?

Thank you Tiffany.

Thankyou Gillian and thank you Sandy for answering.

Hi Sandy. It has. Quickly - some I have heard about and wanted to learn more on as I didn't know too much. Other are suggested. Others we stumble across during research for other cases.

And many more. Too many!

Anything Denzel Washington.

The town I thought was great. So many good ones. Anything Liam Neeson.

Top 3 movies. Wow. That's tough. I'm the type of person that would have about 40 movies in my top 3. But some that come to mind are rocky. Terminator. Jaws. The departed. Man on fire. Gone baby gone. Training day. Anything Tarantino. And my child hood favs stand by me and the goonies.

Not a question but I wanted to thank your team for the dignity with which you treat victims and cases. These are sensitive issues and true crime as a genre can be difficult to navigate respectfully. Casefile does an exceptionally good job of this.

Hi Casefile team! I'm in the classroom (teaching) so I don't have time to scroll through and see what questions have already been asked. Just wanted to say hi and thank you all again for the best true crime podcast out there! And yes, I was interested in your listener demographic. I'm from Australia, but what is the main demographics? Cheers :)

That's definitely what we go for Matt.

Not sure if this has been asked before but where and how do you find your stories? What makes you chose that crime?

Thanks Van. So do the overseas listeners too. 75 per cent of casefile listeners are from the US and Canada.

Matt - I really don't like forming opinions based on docos like that. As good as I thought it was it is essentially only coming from one side. Although not as one sided as others out there. I really wouldn't want to form a solid opinion either way unless I got a look at the police file. Studied every interview, every witness statement, all of the evidence. Otherwise you are really only guessing based on whatever info the documentary makers want to tell you.

top 3 favourite movies of all time... go!

I just want to say what a great job you and your team have done and continue to do. We are all fans but most importantly we are Australians and enjoy the local context.

Sammi. Yes massive UFC fan. Shogun being my all time fav fighter (huge pride fan too)

You mentioned earlier Making a Murderer - do you think Steven Avery is guilty? (I understand if you don't want to answer lol)

Doubtful on the meet and greet. I'm too shy :)

Oh and to answer the last part of your question Charmaine it was about 4-5 weeks in total. A good few weeks researching and writing and a few weeks preparing the equipment, recording, and release side of things. Like hosting etc.

will there ever be a meet & greet?

No I don't think so. So long as we think we can do the story justice.

is there anything you wont cover?

Nikki. So good that someone has been arrested. But I guess we just have to wait for the judicial process now. No use getting to carried away until then. But really really happy an arrest was made. For so many of these long term u solved cases an arrest never comes.

Yeah that audio of Anneliese didn't make for great sleeping either.

Wow Charmaine. I thought the first one was absolutely horrible. I'm talking strictly the narration. I think the research and story was definitely there. But I cringe at the narration for all of the early episodes actually. I don't do trial recordings. I do several read throughs though. I make a tonne of mistakes in each recording session. But luckily it's easy just to go back and re record that bit. For case 45 it actually took me 5.5 hours to record 1 hour 20 of narration. Due to the errors and there were some equipment issues too.

You should do the old Melbourne Goal when you get a chance, if you haven't already. So many historical stories. Lots of crime, both female and male.

What are your thoughts on the latest developments in the Claremont serial killer case?

Hi Timothy. Yes it has. That would be Snowtown.

Hi Tiffany - the research and writing is done by one person. For the cases Vicky and Anna work on I will still go over them though just to make sure they all fit the casefile format. So there is some editing and sometimes some re writing that goes on there. But essentially it's one person per case. I think that's the best way. Otherwise I think it would get to confusing. Once the final copy is done I then record it and send it to Mike. Who edits everything. Cleans up the audio gets it all nice. Mike and Andrew then work together on the scoring on each case. They split each episode into sections and work on the different sections.

This may have already been asked, but which episode was the hardest on your soul if any?

Hi Van. That's how Vicky and Anna were both hired :) They came to us

Matt - in a perfect world I like to be at least 5 ahead. But life happens. At the moment we are only two ahead. It ebbs and flows. Some cases take way longer than others which has an effect too

Hi anon host! What is your team's overall process for compiling an episode? With several people working on different components, it seems like it would be difficult to make it flow, but the show is seamless. About how long does an episode take from start to finish, and are you working on more than one simultaneously?

Many hands make light work. We all like to see quality work and more podcasts. Seeing there are so many passionate true crime podcasters out there have you tried recruiting any volunteers?

Lindsay Buziak though is one that isn't nearly as well Known as some of the other cases. And that was hugely popular. So it's not always just the well known ones.

Amok is well down on the list in terms of popularity.

Vinnie - The well known cases definitely. Jaycee Lee was the first case to hit 1 million listens in a week. Falconio which is well known is already at 1.3 million. Which is by far a record for most listens in 2 days. Smashed the record actually.

Ps that's for the question on current cases.

Vinnie - I'm sure there is one. I just can't think off the top of my head. I'm sure it will come to me.

How far in advance is your roadmap so to speak aka - How far in advance do you have episodes planned out?

Which cases get better responses from what you have seen? Well known cases (North Hollywood Shootout/Peter Falconio)? Unique, off the beaten path cases (Amok)? Historical cases (Sommerton Man)?

All good Adam hopefully that answers it.

Sammi - other interests. Music. I'm a massive music fan both listening and playing guitar. Although I haven't played for the past year, no time :) so I'd be very rusty now. I love sport too. Fitness.

Vanessa - hard to answer. There is no set process. Some cases I have heard a lot about, or mentioned a lot in the media, but I don't anything about them. So that sparks me to dive into them. Wanda, Snowtown are examples of that. Others are suggested to us, cases I've never heard of but after reading the suggestion I know within 30 seconds of reading up on the case that I have to cover it. Lisa Marie Young and Lindsay Buziak are two examples of when that happened. But basically there is no set formula. Sometimes you stumble across a case and it just grabs you. Vicky and Anna have there own methods too.

Elle - yes that has been mentioned to me before. I have been meaning to listen to an episode. One day soon I will! They are doing so well, very popular show. I know a lot of casefile listeners are huge fans of My fav murder.

have you always been a true crime buff? and how did you first decide to start the podcast, given you dont really listen to true crime podcasts?

What are current cases or past cases with recent news that are getting you interested for research towards future eps?

Earlier you mentioned you have an interest in history. What other interest do you have apart from crime?

But still are both good watches.

PS those Aussie true crime dramas are only loosely based on the facts. Can't let truth get in the way of entertainment.

Matt. I've never been a massive life log true crime fan or anything. But have always had a passing interest over the years. I followed the WM3 case a little (would love to do an in depth multi part series on that case) and was really interested in the Australian true crime shows 'Blue Murder' and 'Underbelly' - the first season on Melbourne last Gangland killings. Couldn't get into the other seasons. But I would say making a murderer is the one that came along just at the time when I was thinking about starting the podcast which is the one that re sparked my interest.

Adam. No I don't listen to a single one. Not that I don't think they wouldn't be good. But I just don't have time too. I did listen to one episode each of S&S, Gen why, thinking sideways and last podcast on left when I was first planning casefile - just to make sure the format I had planned wasn't going to be the same as any others. And those were the main ones in the genre at the time (other than of course Serial) And when I found out it wasn't going to be. That's it. I haven't had a chance to listen to even one episode of any of the newer ones either.

What goes into the decision making process for which crimes you cover? And how has that changed as your team has grown in size?

That's hopeful thinking Kym ;) Yes we will sort some stickers out too.

When/How did your interest in true crime begin?

I'm pretty sure the Toy box Killer is on our list of potential future episodes. Will double check.

Do you listen to any other true crime podcasts?

Vanessa - it's not a goal or a hope or anything. But if the opportunity presented itself in the future I'd definitely consider it.

Yeah we didn't sell too many casefile t shirts. We do plan on releasing another batch this year. Hopefully we will start working on that soon.

The David Ray Parker murders are very disturbing, could be an intoresting cover. Not sure if it's that popular?

As you gain more popularity and success with the podcast and Patreon, do you hope to make producing Casefile a full time career?

Adam - yes, we do plan to cover some of the bigger cases in the future. Again, it's all about time. But it is definitely on the cards.

- One day I'll be able to reveal some more info about background, day jobs etc. but at the moment I'd like to steer clear.

I bought a casefile t-shirt but haven't seen any others up here in Brisbane...

Matt - only ever for unsolved cases. And even then, not always. But we have done for a few. Buziak being one, as Jeff spoke at the end.

any plans to cover any of the "big hitters" serial killers?

Sammi - I haven't. I would love too. But I haven't even had time to see if they post to Australia. I think it's a great product though. And have heard a lot of positive feedback from listeners.

Adam - we definitely aren't against the idea of using more audio in future episodes. But only when we feel it ads something. I don't want to start dropping in large audio files just for the sake of it. For case 42 I really think that provided some fascinating insight so that's why we went with it. And will do again in the future if we feel it's right.

As part of your research, do you reach out to the families/people involved?

Sorry Buziak answer meant to say Vinnie.

Particularly hard when there is little straight info out there, as in the Buziak case. A lot of the information is in bits and pieces on forums and little articles. It's really tough separating fact from fantasy too. There are a lot of bizarre theories and rumours floating around online.

have you tried the huntakiller product?

Connie - Lindsay Buziak was incredibly complex. That was a good four weeks of solid research. Just trying to piece together a time line and working out who was who and how they fit in and connect with others in the story. It is definitely hard, but worth it for unsolved cases. I think the more coverage and more info there is for cases like that, the better. Some patreon only info for that case - I got a Facebook inbox from one of the Del Alcazars after the episode saying they would like to come on and have a say - but they never got back to me when I tried to set it up.

I really loved the addition of the interview chatter in episode 42. It added a whole different feel to the podcast. Do you have any plans to experiment with the format?

How hard can it be to cover cases especially with such complex threads like the Lindsay Buziak case in terms of the work you and your amazing team do?

Thank you Felicity :)

Bowraville we probably won't cover. As there is the Bowraville podcast. Which I haven't heard yet, but I would imagine goes into a lot of depth given it is a multi part series. So I would highly doubt we could add anything.

Yes, definitely don't see the Snowtown movie if the story disturbed you that much. The movie is intense but beautiful as Matt mentioned. Your podcast is unique and that's why I anticipate and listen to it every week so keep covering those lesser known stories. I also appreciate the Australian stories as I don't think they get enough coverage in the podcast world. Thank you :)

Kym - have been incredibly lucky assembling the casefile team. Some extremely talented individuals that it is a pleasure working with. All great people too.

What is your day job?

Bradly - still record in my spare bedroom (which gives Mike (producer) headaches. He is desperate for me to get a sound treated room) Neuman mike. K&M pop filter. Into my mac, record on garage band. With an apogee one - which I originally bought to record myself playing music before the podcast stared. Which now comes in handy for recording the pod.

Smart move regarding the Snowtown Movie. I thought it was brilliantly made, however; it's like a car crash you could do without seeing, but just can't look away from.

Have you heard of the Bowraville case? Do you plan on doing an episode about it?

Haha - Yes it is incredibly disturbing - stayed with me for a long time. As odd as it sounds, it is beautifully shot.

It's been so interesting to see and hear this podcast become more sophisticated over time - you have certainly assembled a talented team!!!

Adam - New South Wales. No I haven't really come across a crime I have wanted to cover but couldn't due to a lack of info yet. There are even some I have covered when there is a lack of info. Lisa Marie Young is probably the one that has the least info out there. But I tried my best to get some info out there about it.

Matt - I haven't seen Snowtown no. I have no plans to either. I don't think I need that in my life!

What goes in to deciding which cases you choose? Is it a personal connection in any way in terms of location or location of those on your team or close to you?

Justine - that is a factor. I always try and check to see if other true crime pods have covered a particular case. If there is a few others out there I still may go for it, but if it has already been covered extensively then I won't. The Elisa Lam case being one example. I think there is something like 30 different podcast episodes on that case. I highly doubt we would be able to add anything.

Are there any attempts with future episodes with any interactive or different out of the box methods of the storytelling like the long audio clip in the Sherri Rasmussen episodes?

Sammi - yes, neither has anything to do with true crime. Joe Rogan podcast is the first. He was always telling guests to start there own podcast and that planted the first seed. The other was Hardcore history. I love the detailed storytelling of Dan Carlin. So I tried to use that as an inspiration for the detailed storytelling of casefile.

Hi Casefile Host and others!

where in Australia are you located? and is there a local crime that you would love t cover, but cant because of lack of info?

Thanks for answering my question. That one was incredibly disturbing. Have you seen the film Snowtown?

Do you try to cover cases that other true crime podcasts haven't, or that aren't that well known?

Hi Charmaine

Adam - they all each have an affect in some way. Some more then others. But the number 1 still for me is Snowtown. That horrified me. And legit kept me awake at night for a while. I lost sleep. I found it extremely disturbing. But again, that's not to downplay the other cases. None of them are particularly enjoyable topics.

Hi there, just wondering if there is a particular pod cast that inspired you to create your own?

Sounds great thanks. Which case that you have covered would you say has affected you the most? In terms of you thought about it long affter you did the podcast

Yes I know :-) but will you continue the anonymity? Seems like a really good feature

Yes I'll continue to remain anonymous for a while yet. I prefer it that way. I'm all about low key :)

TY

Who are we chatting with casefile?

PS this is the host here.

Just fire your questions. If I miss one fire it again. But I will hopefully keep track of them.

Will your host continue to remain anonymous?

Thankyou Kym. Yeah it's been pretty crazy. Never expected to get close to this far when I started a year ago now. Really appreciate all those positive reviews. It's amazing.

Do we just post our questions then?

Yay! Hey Casefile!

Hello Bradly, Adam and Matt.

Hello Casefile

You've been doing great work -getting lots of good reviews

Afternoon Casefile team.

Hi Kym

Hi - been looking forward to this live chat

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