Beyond the Darklands

★ 5 · 2009 · 60m · Crime · Documentary

Beyond the Darklands is an Australian true crime television series that airs on the Seven Network. It is narrated by Samuel Johnson, with each episode focusing on a certain criminal, with commentary from clinical psychologist Dr Leah Giarratano providing insight into the minds of the criminal. After screening the first four episodes in early 2009, the show was taken off the air, only to return later that year for a further four episodes. Via a phone call on 11 November 2009 a Channel Seven spokesperson confirmed that the show will be returning in the New Year with new episodes. Due to a court injunction Channel Seven was prevented from screening the episode featuring Peter Dupas in Victoria. Beyond the Darklands Australia is based on the original New Zealand series and book created by the New Zealand clinical psychologist Nigel Latta. The TVNZ series has been shown in Australia on the ci channel on Foxtel.

Episodes

▶1. The Birnies60m · Look into the minds of Australia's most notorious serial-killing couple, David and Catherine Birnie. Psychologist Dr Leah Giarratano tells viewers what led these two violent, sexual predators to commit these shocking crimes.▶2. Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin60m · Take a look inside the dangerous mind of Melbourne's most feared underworld executioner - Andrew "Benji" Veniamin - and gain unprecedented insight into his world through an exclusive interview with former gangland wife Roberta Williams, who held vigil over Veniamin's body after he was gunned down in Melbourne in 2004. Police believe Benji had killed seven men, some of them senior underworld figures, some of them his close friends, but the Victorian police never managed to bring a single murder charge against him.▶3. Will Matheson60m · Take a look into the obsessed mind of violent killer, William Matheson who in 2003 brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend, Lyndsay Van Blanken. He strangled the pretty 18-year-old with cable ties before dumping her body in an abandoned storeroom. Clinical psychologist Dr Leah Giarratano tells us what led this loner to turn from obsessed ex boyfriend into a vicious killer.▶4. Camilleri and Beckett60m · Take a look into the minds of one of Australia's most sadistic killing teams: the master and his apprentice, Leslie Camilleri and Lindsay Beckett. In 1997, fuelled by drugs and alcohol, the dangerous duo abducted teenagers; Nichole Collins and Lauren Barry from their camp site in Bega, NSW and took them on a hellish road trip before brutally murdering them. Clinical psychologist, Dr Leah Giarratano dissects their personalities and offers some insight into why they committed these horrific crimes.▶5. Neddy Smith60m · Take a look into the mind of Australia's most notorious gangster, Arthur Neddy Smith, who rode a wave of criminal success organising armed robberies and dealing heroin that earned him millions of dollars. Was Neddy Smith simply a product of the poisonous environment?▶6. Bilal Skaf60m · Delve into the mind of the teenager who led a gang of savage rapists on a rampage that shocked Australia. In 2000, 18-year-old Bilal Skaf orchestrated attacks that would shake public confidence in the justice system, ignite racial tension and leave behind scores of women whose lives are damaged forever. How did this fearsome criminal come to be?▶7. Peter Dupas60m · Take a look into the mind of one of Australia's worst serial killers, Peter Dupas, who due to his unassuming, baby-faced guise got away with brutal sexual crimes against women throughout Melbourne for more than 30 years. He proved to be a modern day Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde.▶8. Katherine Knight60m · Delve into the mind of Katherine Knight, a woman who committed a crime so barbaric it shocked the nation. She is Australia's first and only women to be jailed for the remainder of her life without parole. Could it be possible that Katherine Knight was sane when she committed this murder?▶9. Terry Clark60m · Take a look into the sinister mind of drug king and killer Terry Clark. His story is one of a bad boy gone worse - as a boy he was cruel and manipulative and as a man he extended his repertoire to include torture and murder.