A tragic fact of crime is that many cases go unsolved. There are more than 1000 cases in Australia alone that remain open, with questions unanswered and no closure to families. The murder of Maria James in 1980 is one such case, but Trace – a new podcast by the team at the ABC – is looking to find answers 37 years on. ABC Walkley Award-winning journalist Rachael Brown has decided to lead her own investigation into the events, searching for any details that may have been overlooked – sifting through files to find any hint of the culprit.

Trace sees Rachael Brown work with Maria’s sons Mark and Adam and retired detective Ron Iddles to unearth new details of the case. Maria’s case was the very first case Ron worked on as a homicide detective, and remains the one case he can’t let go of. Trace is being released through ABC in an episodic format, with two episodes already online to hook you. To tune in and hear Rachael’s investigation unfold, listen to Trace online, through the ABC Radio app or on Apple Podcasts.

Images: ABC