New Episode: Shandee Blackburn — The Evidence That Failed Her
Shandee Blackburn was 23 years old when she finished a late shift at Harrup Park Country Club in Mackay and started walking home.
She was almost there.
Her final walk was captured in fragments through CCTV, witness evidence and activity on the surrounding streets. What followed became far bigger than one murder investigation.
The Evidence That Failed Her
This episode follows Shandee's final walk, the investigation that followed, the criminal trial, the later coronial inquest and the questions raised by the forensic evidence in her case.
John Peros was charged with Shandee's murder and was acquitted by a jury in 2017. A later coronial inquest reached findings through a separate fact-finding process. Those two legal processes are not the same, and the episode keeps that distinction clear.
Years later, scrutiny of the DNA testing in Shandee's case became part of a much broader examination of Queensland's state-run forensic DNA laboratory.
This is Shandee's story, and the story of evidence that would eventually raise questions far beyond one case.
Please remember Shandee was a real person with family and friends who still love and miss her. Keep discussion respectful.
