IN COLD LIGHT
The Australian Women's Weekly|February 2022
A Melbourne mum gunned down. A bookshop owner stabbed to death. A famous designer delivered a tragic end. Three murders three decades apart. Will 2022 deliver resolutions to these infamous Aussie cold cases?
ANGUS FONTAINE
IN COLD LIGHT

Something extraordinary is happening in crime investigation around the world. Time, long the enemy of the cold case, is becoming a friend. The first 48 hours – when physical evidence is fresh, witness memories are sharp and public interest is high – are still the most vital if a case is to be solved. But quantum leaps in forensic science, genetic geneaology, DNA analysis and media technology are giving today’s detectives new weapons to solve old crimes. And for families and friends who have been left behind, they offer renewed hope.

Everywhere we go we leave traces of ourselves – sweat, blood, fingerprints or skin particles. This material might be microscopic, but adroitly captured and preserved DNA can identify victims and killers years later.

That’s why, in May 2021, South Australian Police’s Operation Persevere exhumed the mysterious ‘Somerton Man’ more than 72 years after he died on Somerton Beach. As scientists try to match his DNA to that of living descendants, special effects artists have reanimated his face into a living, smiling, moving image. Now, having captured the imagination and interest of the public and media, the hope is he will be formally identified, offering resolution to his family at last.

Our appetite for cold case stories, true crime books and police procedurals on TV is insatiable. It emboldens amateur sleuths to fine-tune their own forensic eyes and do detective work of their own. Often the first step is to track our DNA to unlock the secrets of our family trees via intimate data sent to ancestry sites.

This story is from the February 2022 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2022 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLYView All
Hitting a nerve
The Australian Women's Weekly

Hitting a nerve

Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024
Take me to the river
The Australian Women's Weekly

Take me to the river

With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
The last act
The Australian Women's Weekly

The last act

When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?

time-read
8 mins  |
July 2024
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
The Australian Women's Weekly

MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN

When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.

time-read
8 mins  |
July 2024
The wines and lines mums
The Australian Women's Weekly

The wines and lines mums

Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.

time-read
10 mins  |
July 2024
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
The Australian Women's Weekly

Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?

Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
Growing happiness
The Australian Women's Weekly

Growing happiness

Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy

time-read
8 mins  |
July 2024
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
The Australian Women's Weekly

"Thank God we make each other laugh"

A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2024
Winter baking with apples and pears
The Australian Women's Weekly

Winter baking with apples and pears

Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2024
Budget dinner winners
The Australian Women's Weekly

Budget dinner winners

Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2024