The Wanda Beach Mystery That Still Haunts Australia
- Jan 9, 2026
- 1:16:15
- Full Episode
On January 11, 1965, 15-year-old Christine Sharrock and Marianne Schmidt spent the day at Cronulla Beach with Marianne's four younger siblings. After lunch, the two teenagers went for a walk into the nearby sandhills at Wanda Beach, but never returned.
The following day, their bodies were found in the sand dunes. The murders shocked the nation, triggering one of the largest homicide investigations in Australian history. Despite an exhaustive inquiry, police were unable to identify the killer. Decades on, the mystery remains.
---
Casefile Archives is a series of special bonus releases revisiting the earliest years of the show. The re-run episodes have been completely edited, polished, re-recorded and freshly produced from start to finish to match our current production standards. They are not complete rewrites - our goal wasn’t to alter the cases or reshape the writing, but to preserve the original storytelling while giving the production the refinement it didn’t have when we started the show back in 2016.
Where appropriate, updates have been added, but the core structure and storytelling remain faithful to the originals. Because of this, these re-releases may sound a little different to our recent episodes, but they allow us to bring some of the earliest episodes up to the technical quality listeners expect today.
CREDITS Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Anonymous Host Production & music – Mike Migas Audio editing – Anthony Telfer
SOCIAL LINKS
Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com
RESOURCES
For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/casefile-archives-1-the-wanda-beach-murders
Brief Summary
The episode revisits the Wonder Beach murders, detailing the investigation and suspects in the case of Maryanne Schmidt and Christine Sherik.
Key points
- 10 Years of Case File. Celebrating a decade of storytelling with a loyal audience and new content.
- Introducing Case File Archives. A special series revisiting early episodes as a 10-year anniversary treat.
- The W Beach Murders. A chilling case of two missing girls that led to a horrific discovery.
- Discovery of the Bodies. The shocking moment when the bodies of the two girls were found in the sand.
- The Mysterious Food in Christine's Stomach. Investigators discover undigested food in Christine's stomach, raising questions about her last meal.
- The Hunt for the Surfy Teenager. Police begin searching for a teenager seen with the girls before their disappearance.
Episode highlights
- Introducing Case File ArchivesA special series revisiting early episodes as a 10-year anniversary treat.“We'll be releasing a mix of fully re-recorded episodes from our first year.”0:37Jan 9, 2026
- The W Beach MurdersA chilling case of two missing girls that led to a horrific discovery.“The case raised many questions.”4:48Jan 9, 2026
- Discovery of the BodiesThe shocking moment when the bodies of the two girls were found in the sand.“A closer inspection revealed the grim reality.”19:56Jan 9, 2026
- The Mysterious Food in Christine's StomachInvestigators discover undigested food in Christine's stomach, raising questions about her last meal.“Loud alarm bells were going off.”25:33Jan 9, 2026
- The Hunt for the Surfy TeenagerPolice begin searching for a teenager seen with the girls before their disappearance.“The hunt for the Surfy teenager began.”27:10Jan 9, 2026
- Police Flooded with TipsHundreds of calls pour in about the Surfy, complicating the investigation.“Police were receiving hundreds of calls a day.”33:12Jan 9, 2026
- Wolf Gang's Evolving StoryWolf Gang Schmidt's account of the events changes, raising skepticism among detectives.“His version of events was treated with some skepticism.”45:51Jan 9, 2026
- Brutal Crime Shocks NationJust after the one-year anniversary of the murders, another brutal crime occurred, raising fears of a serial killer.“Willilamina's murder was horrific and bore similarities to the Wander case.”50:12Jan 9, 2026






