Evil at Kananook: Part 2 - Australian True Crime
Part 2 of 2 - The heinous crimes of Paul Denyer
Three years after Sarah MacDiarmid vanished from Kananook station, a young man began killing women in the streets around Frankston.
In the second of two episodes, we follow the winter of 1993, from a slashed unit in Seaford to a walking track off Skye Road, the same street Sarah's family had once called home.
Paul Denyer confessed to three murders, and to crimes nobody had linked to him. Sarah's disappearance, however, is the one thing he has always denied. We weigh the case against him, and against the other names that have surfaced over thirty-six years, and ask who still knows what happened in that car park.
This episode contains descriptions of violence against women and animals.
Subscribe now to Strewth Premium on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/cw/StrewthPodcast
Strewth social media links - https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast
Contact me - [email protected]
Theme Music - Jesse Frank on Pixabay
Sources
• ABC News. (2010, July 10). Million dollars on offer in missing persons case. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-07-10/million-dollars-on-offer-in-missing-persons-case/898950
• Australian Missing Persons Register. (n.d.). Sarah MacDiarmid. https://australianmissingpersonsregister.com/ampr/Macdiarmid.htm
• Francis, T. (2018, September 2). Sarah MacDiarmid's mysterious disappearance. Unsolved True Crime. https://unsolvedtruecrime.com/2018/09/02/sarah-macdiarmids-mysterious-disappearance/
• Gadd, D. (2004, July 11). The never-ending search for Sarah. The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/10/1089000397377.html
• Petraitis, V. (Host). (2021). Searching for Sarah MacDiarmid [Audio podcast]. Casefile Presents. http://searchingforsarah.com/
• Petrie, A. (2004, February 6). $1m for leads on missing woman. The Age.
• Razak, I. (2017, September 2). Sarah MacDiarmid: Parents of woman missing from Kananook train station share their heartbreak 27 years on. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-02/sarah-macdiarmid-remembered-with-special-plaque-kananook-station/8866454
• Victoria Police. (n.d.). Missing person: Sarah MacDiarmid. https://www.police.vic.gov.au/missing-person-sarah-macdiarmid
• Victoria Police. (n.d.). Reward: Sarah MacDiarmid. https://www.police.vic.gov.au/reward-sarah-macdiarmid
• Wikipedia. (2026). Disappearance of Sarah MacDiarmid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Sarah_MacDiarmid
Three years after Sarah MacDiarmid vanished from Kananook station, a young man began killing women in the streets around Frankston.
In the second of two episodes, we follow the winter of 1993, from a slashed unit in Seaford to a walking track off Skye Road, the same street Sarah's family had once called home.
Paul Denyer confessed to three murders, and to crimes nobody had linked to him. Sarah's disappearance, however, is the one thing he has always denied. We weigh the case against him, and against the other names that have surfaced over thirty-six years, and ask who still knows what happened in that car park.
This episode contains descriptions of violence against women and animals.
Subscribe now to Strewth Premium on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/cw/StrewthPodcast
Strewth social media links - https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast
Contact me - [email protected]
Theme Music - Jesse Frank on Pixabay
Sources
• ABC News. (2010, July 10). Million dollars on offer in missing persons case. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-07-10/million-dollars-on-offer-in-missing-persons-case/898950
• Australian Missing Persons Register. (n.d.). Sarah MacDiarmid. https://australianmissingpersonsregister.com/ampr/Macdiarmid.htm
• Francis, T. (2018, September 2). Sarah MacDiarmid's mysterious disappearance. Unsolved True Crime. https://unsolvedtruecrime.com/2018/09/02/sarah-macdiarmids-mysterious-disappearance/
• Gadd, D. (2004, July 11). The never-ending search for Sarah. The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/10/1089000397377.html
• Petraitis, V. (Host). (2021). Searching for Sarah MacDiarmid [Audio podcast]. Casefile Presents. http://searchingforsarah.com/
• Petrie, A. (2004, February 6). $1m for leads on missing woman. The Age.
• Razak, I. (2017, September 2). Sarah MacDiarmid: Parents of woman missing from Kananook train station share their heartbreak 27 years on. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-02/sarah-macdiarmid-remembered-with-special-plaque-kananook-station/8866454
• Victoria Police. (n.d.). Missing person: Sarah MacDiarmid. https://www.police.vic.gov.au/missing-person-sarah-macdiarmid
• Victoria Police. (n.d.). Reward: Sarah MacDiarmid. https://www.police.vic.gov.au/reward-sarah-macdiarmid
• Wikipedia. (2026). Disappearance of Sarah MacDiarmid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Sarah_MacDiarmid