The Brownout Murders

Australian True Crime

Meshel Laurie

True Crime

4.6 • 979 Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During World War II, Melbourne hosted American soldiers as part of the Allied effort, and the city enforced "brownouts"—partial blackouts to obscure urban areas from potential air raids.

Among the soldiers was Edward Leonski, whose self-confessed fixation on women's voices led to a series of tragic murders.

Joining us is Luke C. Jackson, one of the creators of The Brownout Murders, a graphic novel that examines the fear, fortitude and social change sparked by this dark chapter in Melbourne’s history.

Links:

"The Brownout Murders" is authored by Luke C. Jackson, Kelly Jackson and Maya Graham. You can purchase your copy here.

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CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram here.

Guest: Luke C. Jackson

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

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Transcript

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0:00.0	There's a line that he says that for me has always, I think has haunted me since I
0:04.6	read it.
0:06.8	You know, so he's saying, I guess that girl Thompson was the hardest.
0:10.8	She was strong.
0:11.7	An old boy, could she drink gin squashes?
0:14.2	She told me that I had a baby face, but that I was wicked underneath.
0:23.9	I firmly believe that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
0:29.0	And that's the theme of a new graphic novel called The Brownout Murders.
0:34.1	Melbourne in 1942 was undergoing a period of massive social upheaval brought about by World War II.
0:41.5	In the midst of this, a killer stalked the streets.
0:45.7	Author Luke C. Jackson joins us on Australian True Crime to talk about his book, The Brownout Murders.
0:52.4	This is Australian true crime.
0:58.3	We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created,
1:01.7	the Waurundri, Woi Warang people of the Kulin Nation.
1:03.3	And a warning.
1:07.5	This episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.
1:16.9	Fulham peer is being sport for choice in a riverside food hall and playing with interactive art.
1:17.9	Tree pose with river views.
1:19.4	Ferry laughing at local comedians.
1:21.1	Kids dancing at a toddler disco.
1:23.1	Declaring checkmate with the nogroni.
1:24.9	Flat whites and river strolls.
	...

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