251: The Wanda Beach Murders | Australia
Evidence Locker True Crime PodcastOctober 05, 202600:18:32

251: The Wanda Beach Murders | Australia

On a windy January day in 1965, two fifteen-year-old best friends walked into the sand dunes at Wanda Beach near Sydney. They never came home. What followed was one of the largest investigations in Australian history, yet the killer vanished without a trace. Sixty years later, three suspects have emerged, but no one has ever been charged. Was it a teenage surfer, a serial killer, or someone far more sinister?

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Resources
Books
Alan J. Whiticker - "WANDA: The Untold Story of the Wanda Beach Murders" (New Holland Publishers, 2003)
Documentaries
Crime Investigation Australia - "The Wanda Beach Murders" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfzy0DPTLBs)
Christopher Wilder: The Beauty Queen Killer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmBXz0Emm38)
Web
Wikipedia - Wanda Beach Murders (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanda_Beach_murders)
Wikipedia - Derek Percy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Percy)
Wikipedia - Christopher Wilder (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wilder)
National Film and Sound Archive - Nine News: the Wanda Beach Murders (https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/99096-nine-news-wanda-beach-murders)
Australian Missing Persons Register - Christine Sharrock and Marianne Schmidt (https://australianmissingpersonsregister.com/ampr/SharrockSchmidt.htm)
News Articles
Australian serial killer Christopher Wilder linked to the Wanda Beach murders (https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5461703/infamous-beauty-queen-serial-killer-linked-to-wanda-beach-murders/)  
Loved ones of the two girls murdered at Sydney's Wanda Beach (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-12/wanda-beach-murder-anniversary-marianne-and-christine-killer/104795602) ...
Ivan Milat's Family Reacts After Chris Minns Considers Inquiry Into More Unsolved Murders (https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/ivan-milat-family-inquiry-response/)
Podcast
The Backpacker Murders
(https://evidencelockerpodcast.com/search/milat)
Created & Produced by Sonya Lowe
Narrated by Noel Vinson
Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler
Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios

This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archival materials.