ELEVEN DEAD OR MISSING.
IS THIS AUSTRALIA’S
OUTBACK MURDER MAGNET?

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 AT 8.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 AND 9NOW

Australia’s ‘murder highway’ has been taking its deadly toll for decades, allowing killers to vanish their victims without a trace, until now. Outback Murder Highway is about to uncover the Flinders Highway’s darkest secrets when it premieres on Wednesday, April 22 at 8.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.

In four chilling episodes, Outback Murder Highway investigates some of the nation’s most haunting cold cases and asks one confronting question: why have so many people vanished along the same highway?

The Flinders Highway is a murderous stretch spanning 800km of unforgiving isolation between Townsville and Mount Isa. This long and lonely corridor is populated by hitchhikers, caravanners, truckies – and a serial killer, or perhaps more than one.

With no CCTV cameras, vast distances between towns, and Outback Queenslanders who prefer to keep their mouths shut, this rural highway is the perfect place to get away with murder . . . after murder . . . after murder.

Outback Murder Highway delves into decades of unsolved cases. It begins in the 1970s with the disappearance of teenage hitchhiker Anita Cunningham and the murder of Robin Hoinville-Bartram at Sensible Creek. It then examines the execution-style killings of three young travellers at Spear Creek in 1978, the baffling 1980s disappearance of backpacker Tony Jones, and the 2017 vanishing of Jayden Penno-Tompsett.

A dedicated team of experts are determined to uncover the truth. Leading the investigations are Dr Louise Steding, a forensic archaeologist and criminologist, whose work on locating human remains has helped crack some of Australia’s toughest cases. Investigative journalist and crime podcaster Amelia Oberhardt, has a reputation for reopening cold cases and uncovering overlooked evidence. And FBI-trained criminal analyst Dr Mike King, an expert in geographic profiling and murderous highways around the world.

These unsolved crimes have left behind desperate families who have dedicated their lives to finding closure, enduring years of failed investigations and unanswered questions. Our three experts are determined to succeed where previous efforts faltered, applying modern forensic and analytical techniques to cases long thought unsolvable.Outback Murder Highway combines cutting-edge forensic science, criminal profiling and powerful personal stories to shine a light on some of Australia’s most unsettling mysteries. Is this highway a single killer’s hunting ground, or a deadly convergence of opportunity, isolation and chance? And most importantly will these cases ever be solved?

Find out when Outback Murder Highway hits our screens on Wednesday, April 22, at 8.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.

Plus, from April 23, Motive & Method by 9Podcasts is releasing special episodes on the cases investigated in Outback Murder Highway.

In each episode renowned criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro and the country’s top forensic criminologist, Dr Xanthe Weston, are joined by Amelia Oberhardt to dissect the history of these cases and the new developments revealed in the documentary series, including extended interviews and never-before-heard details.

Outback Murder Highway is produced by Ronde Media for the 9Network. Executive Producers are Jo Towsend and Ben Davies.

OUTBACK MURDER HIGHWAY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 AT 8.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 AND 9NOW 

LISTEN TO THE MOTIVE & METHOD OUTBACK MURDER HIGHWAY
SPECIAL PODCAST FROM APRIL 23
WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS

Thursday 16 April, 2026