Episode
E38 | The Sandhills of Wanda
- Podcast
- The Veil
- Published
- Jun 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2070
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
On a windy Monday in January 1965, two fifteen-year-old best friends, Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock, took four young children to Cronulla. When the little ones tired, the girls walked on into the sandhills behind Wanda Beach and never returned. Their bodies were found the next morning, stabbed and partially buried, a thirty-four-metre drag mark telling the story of one friend's desperate, failed escape. Sixteen thousand people were interviewed. Three men were named and never charged. A weak DNA profile survives; a crucial sample was lost. Sixty years on, it remains New South Wales' oldest unsolved homicide. Sources used Wikipedia — "Wanda Beach murders" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanda_Beach_murders): primary backbone for timeline, crime-scene reconstruction, autopsy findings, drag mark, weapons, reward, investigation scale, suspect summaries, 2012 DNA, 2014 lost sample, Kruger/Dowlingkoa linked cases. Illawarra Mercury — "Blood spot offers new Wanda murders clue" (2012) and "Australian serial killer Christopher Wilder linked to the Wanda Beach murders" (2018): corroborates the knife-wipe blood mark / weak male DNA profile; Wilder named as official police suspect, Det Insp Ian Waterson "number one suspect," family not told, ~9-month delay before seeking to interview Wilder. that's life! — "Hans Schmidt breaks silence over his heartache": corroborates 2007 cold-case reopening, 2012 DNA, 2014 lost semen sample, mother died 2009; Hans's belief that someone still knows. Alchetron (mirror) and en-academic (Wikipedia mirror): corroborating detail on autopsy, alcohol/food findings, suspect profiles, reopening. NZ Herald — "Derek Percy believed to be Australia's worst child serial killer": Percy family Sydney holiday Jan 1965 / Ryde; story found in Percy's belongings wit…