Episode notes
Who killed Rosslyn McQueen? Join Hedley Thomas, Karina Berger and retired private eye Rex Bakes as they mine dark secrets in Victoria’s gold-rush country. The mysterious 1986 death by poisoning of a 30-year-old mum and her unborn baby has become one of Australia’s most intriguing cold cases. Subscribers hear episodes first at Apple Podcasts, thepoisonedwife.com and The Australian’s app. To contact the team, email us at thepoisonedwife@theaustralian.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Read the transcript · about 200 words, follows along as you listen
Speaker 1:She always wanted to be a mother always.
Speaker 2:The poisoned wife, her unborn baby, and the bus driving and later insurance selling husband Ray McQueen, and the local teenager Donna.
Speaker 3:I just think it's also cruel.
Speaker 2:The strict thing which poisoned Roslyn and the baby in her wormb was delivered in a massive dose.
Speaker 1:She's a lovely lady, lovely girl.
Speaker 2:This was a double murder.
Speaker 3:You feel guilty, ashamed, embarrassed, But it's not about us, It's about her.
Speaker 2:How would you have been trying to protect him?
Speaker 4:Not guilty?
Speaker 3:I have nothing further to say at this stage.
Speaker 2:Many layers of this unsolved case will be investigated and shared in detail in this podcast series.
Speaker 3:Every single piece of paper I got about this case you have now got.
Speaker 4:Imagine if he's murdered her and then she's changed her mind within a year, Oh my god.
Speaker 1:Listen to The Poisoned Wife everywhere now. Episode one is free. The Australian subscribers get access to all episodes first at the Poisoned Wife dot com and via Apple Podcasts, where you can link your subscription to the Australian. To contact the team, email us at the Poisoned Wife at the Australian dot com dot au
Transcript supplied by the publisher with the episode.
The Poisoned Wife
by The Australian · English · True Crime
Who killed Rosslyn McQueen? The Australian’s Hedley Thomas and Karina Berger investigate the unsolved 1986 murder of a 30-year-old pregnant mother, poisoned with strychnine in her own home in country Victoria, as her toddler played nearby.
More from The Poisoned Wife
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S1 · E3 · 10 Sep 2026 · 56 min
Episode 3: Contradictions
Homicide squad detectives rush from Melbourne to Bendigo. They hit the ground running, questioning Donna and Ray within days of one another. Detectives identify contradictions in their accounts, including when Ray denies kissing Donna before Ros's death. Ray suggests that his neighbour Vin, who found Ros's body, might have been the source of the strychnine that killed Ros. Ros's mother pleads with her daughter's best friend, Wendy, to tell the police everything she knows. Subscribers hear new episodes of The Poisoned Wife first. Listen at thepoisonedwife.com , in The Australian’s app…
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S1 · E2 · 3 Sep 2026 · 50 min
Episode 2: False Trail
Documents from the brief of evidence reveal that when police ask Ray McQueen whether he has any idea why his wife died at the kitchen table, he tells them “Yes, she’s had cancer”. Police decide there are no suspicious circumstances, but her general practitioner refuses to provide a death certificate. Almost three months later, toxicology tests show strychnine killed Rosslyn. Hedley Thomas, Karina Berger and Rex Bakes meet in Bendigo for new interviews and investigations. Subscribers hear new episodes of The Poisoned Wife first. Listen at thepoisonedwife.com , in The…
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S1 · E1 · 20 Aug 2026 · 52 min
Episode 1: The Suitcase
A cold case murder by strychnine poisoning of a pregnant mother of one is revived when a suitcase filled with documents is sent to the newsroom by a retired private investigator. Secrets and lies surrounding the death of Rosslyn McQueen in a small rural community four decades ago spill out of the suitcase and trigger a new investigation into this unsolved homicide. And a vulnerable teenager groomed by a married man more than twice her age breaks her silence. Subscribers hear new episodes of The Poisoned Wife first. Listen at thepoisonedwife.com , in The Australian’s app or search for…
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S1 · E7 · 8 Oct 2026 · 52 minNew
Episode 7: Donna
Donna reveals she received a secret letter from Ray after Rosslyn's death. The then teenager tells Hedley and Karina that she didn't give it to police when they came to her home with a search warrant. Donna recalls how the letter "freaked her out" and regrets not handing it over. Donna asks herself whether things might have turned out differently if she and others had "not fought for Ray" had they known about his lies at the time. Back in Bendigo, Rex tells Hedley and Karina why the inscription on the headstone of Rosslyn's grave infuriates him. Subscribers hear new episodes of The Poisoned…
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S1 · E6 · 1 Oct 2026 · 58 min
Episode 6: Fearful
Former detective Ron Blackshaw breaks his silence to reflect on critical aspects of the police case, 40 years after charging Ray with Ros's murder. Ray told friends, neighbours, work colleagues and teenager Donna that Ros had cancer and might die. Ros and her doctors told a very different story. A former neighbour of Ray and his first wife Jeanette speaks publicly for the first time about helping Jeanette flee the family home. Peter and Yvonne Dixon "call bullshit" on Ray's claims their neighbour Vin McKenzie supplied the strychnine that killed Ros. They say Vin went to his grave heartbroken…
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S1 · E5 · 24 Sep 2026 · 59 min
Episode 5: The Charge
Donna drops a bombshell during her police interview. Two months after Rosslyn's sudden death, Ray asked Donna to live with him in a "husband and wife relationship". Her mother and stepfather are horrified. Ray tells his friend Evan Doherty that Donna had offered to live with him to repay him for his help to her. Evan doubts Ray's supposedly altruistic motives in relation to Donna. Donna endures an intrusive medical examination to test her claim to police that she has not had sex with Ray. After hours of questioning by homicide detectives, Ray is charged with murdering his wife. He maintains…
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S1 · E4 · 17 Sep 2026 · 58 min
Episode 4: Volatility
Ray's mother Beryl McQueen tells police they used strychnine to poison foxes on the family farm, where Ray lived for about 25 years. Ray's first wife Jeanette McQueen makes startling disclosures to police about the tumultuous end of her marriage to Ray and his violence towards her. Ros is so concerned about Ray and Donna's closeness that she involves her mother-in-law. Friends notice Ray and Donna's intimacy and ask Ros if something is going on. In the months before Ros dies, Donna and Ray are often seen close together in Ray's car at the local tennis club. Members of the club are highly…
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