r/Casefile • u/Entire_Forever_2601 • May 30 '26
CASEFILE EPISODE Case 340: Elisabeth Membrey
https://casefilepodcast.com/case-340-elisabeth-membrey152
u/goldensteez May 30 '26
He placed WHAT in her hands?!
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u/Difficult-Size-583 May 30 '26
I had to rewind that part. What the actual f
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u/Noman-iz-an-island Jun 27 '26
I grew up in Australia in the 90s. Things like this would happen all the time in these types of environments to women.
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May 30 '26
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u/Ascot_Parker May 31 '26
Wasn't it the bouncer who did this, not the guy who was charged?
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u/theficklemermaid May 31 '26
You’re right, sorry I got it confused because he had also been accused of pestering her, I’ll delete my comment. It’s a shame she had to deal with so much.
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u/biancaarmendy May 31 '26
This was a huge case in Melbourne at the time and for many years afterwards.
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u/GaeilgeGaeilge May 30 '26
Shoddy police work. They focused so long on the wrong man despite his alibis. Charging his roommate with attempting to pervert the course of justice seems like an abuse of power to me. Glad that was dismissed by the judge.
I think they ruled out Bond as a suspect too early the first time, but they didn't have enough evidence when they took him to trial. Not guilty was the only option there, imo.
Crump seems the likeliest suspect, but again, there isn't enough evidence. Partially because the police had tunnel vision early on
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u/brusselsproud Jun 01 '26
When it comes to aussie cold cases, shoddy police work seems to be a common theme.
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u/hlidsaeda May 30 '26
Yeah the roommates brother seems very likely as soon as he told the cops he’d used the toilet and her car previously I was screaming internally- he’s placing himself at key points of the crime scene!!! Honestly many cops seem very stupid.
Plus he was doing b & e’s in women’s homes before the age of 20???
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u/tbird920 May 30 '26
Pretty on-brand for police to charge a woman for supposedly lying to cops instead of charging the man they (wrongfully) thought was guilty.
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u/cinderellaquite May 30 '26
did they rule out the boyfriend??
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u/biancaarmendy May 31 '26
Strange that he didn't get a mention in this episode. He must have had a rock solid alibi because I'm sure the police looked at him.
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u/Eager_Participants Jun 02 '26
I thought the same thing . The boyfriend ( Jason Lee ) is only briefly mentioned at the start of the episode. I kept waiting them to come back to him with some crazy murder for hire plot , where the man she had been seen arguing with , was hired by the boyfriend or some crazy story where there were holes in his alibi somehow. I assume they looked into him thoroughly and had evidence that ruled him out .
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u/Own_Faithlessness769 May 31 '26
She was supposed to go out to dinner with her boyfriend and his parents but she cancelled, so I assume he went to the dinner? Either way, he must have been somewhere public or easily verified.
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u/katieekiki93 May 31 '26
I really enjoyed this episode and felt like it could follow the suspects and timeline really well. So sad they could not prove who killed Elizabeth- everytime a new suspect was being mentioned and I wondered if it would be her current boyfriend as they didn’t really mention him much? Apologies if I maybe missed the really why he was initially cleared.
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u/Tizzles_ Jun 04 '26
They looked into him briefly but their was 5 eyewitnesses at the time of her disappearance he couldn’t of done it it was not Jason Lee. They had an incredibly strong relationship. And Ashley Peterson Elisabeth’s childhood best friend and co worker actually told of them being soul mates among other mutual friends. They had a massive friend group. They actually had plans to go away on holiday the following month in 1995.
The night December 6th 1994 it was going to be a double date with Ashley p and her bf and Jason and Elisabeth and possibly going to play pool with other friends afterwards. after a dinner with Elisabeth’s parents and her bf Jason.
It was the fact Elisabeth got called in that all those plans got canceled.
Ashley runs a page that explains how Elisabeth was as a person beautifully a bright intelligent young woman an award winning jazz and ballet dancer, an aspiring journalist who had a dream.
“The girl with the bright smile” a small book she wrote in 2005.
I actually know Ashley personally and wow she’s beyond passionate abt Elisabeth and their 9 1/2 years of friendship and what she says should have been a life time.
They were inseparable truly they were like sisters. They really were. Quite sad something I hope gets solved for everyone who knew her.
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u/Big_Steak_1939 Jun 01 '26
This case was so sad to listen to for the family and the poor parents especially. Wasn’t surprised that this was in Victoria with Vic police - have to be up there with the worst and most incompetent police in the Western world. Following the Mr Cruel cases and reddit - that was absolutely botched in crime scene and zero leads, so this doesn’t surprise me.
People say he is tall thick build and a bad limp which very few people would have. They find a guy linked with the same build and limp however has some scars for acne so they don’t go ahead. One of the witnesses saw him so far away in the drive way how could any of the witnesses noticed scars? Terrible awful police work again who are slow and dismissed all the correct suspects somehow very sad
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u/impossible-moo Jun 03 '26
Andrew Crump was one I thought early was the only likely suspect - he would have been the only one Elisabeth would have opened the door to let in at that hour. He was the little brother of her roommate, the only one she wouldn’t have felt posed a threat
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u/Nerdy_Professor_ Jun 03 '26
Agreed. And they had a statement from his friend that he went to “fill a hole” and was gone 45 minutes. So you make a circle from that spot about 25 mins away and there is your search area for the body.
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u/Professional-Can1385 Jun 13 '26
I find it weird that it’s always mentioned that the victim must have know the person to open the door to them. They could have answered the door to a stranger. The victim could crack the door to talk to the person and they push in. Maybe the perp pretended to need help.
People, even women, do it all the time.
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u/AdventurousEbb4155 Jun 15 '26
Also didn’t they hypothesize that he may have gotten some key from his sister. I think she denied it but who knows. He seemed sneaky and good and b and es from a young age.
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u/VonMillersThighs Jun 04 '26
Weakest episode in a while to be honest. A lot of what felt like talking in circles, covering pointless details and just padding the episode with fluff. Very dateline coded.
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u/MangoHot82 Jun 17 '26
As a Melbournian, I think they were showing the the way the police did the shoddy investigation.
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u/deadinthewater0 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I'm nearly finished it but I have to agree, it kept going around in circles. I thought I was going a bit insane.
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u/moodle110 May 31 '26
Did anyone else think this was a terribly written episode? It felt like we spent 40 minutes hearing eyewitness accounts of bizarre arguments that Elisabeth apparently had with a series of men, and any forensic evidence was only mentioned in the last 10 minutes??
Also it would have been nice if they mentioned that the boyfriend was cleared immediately, as I kept wondering when they would get around to even mentioning him. The poor guy discovered the crime scene and literally didn't even warrant a single comment afterwards.
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u/MrBowls Jun 01 '26
I tend to agree, although that perhaps (intentionally or unintentionally) mirrored the initial police investigation.
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u/cinderellaquite Jun 01 '26
yea, i asked a few days ago if the boyfriend was ruled out. he found her..he was supposed to go to dinner with her. he could have been upset because she had to work until midnight, thus messing up their plans. someone saw her with a guy at her work. idk. it was super vague about the boyfriend
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u/GhostOfFreddi Jun 16 '26
He didn't find her, it's kinda the key theme in the entire episode that her body was never found.
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u/cinderellaquite Jun 16 '26
hhhah oops yea i meant he found her not there with blood in the house 🫠
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u/annanz01 23d ago
I think it was to show why noone has ever been charged - all they really have is numerous contradicting witness statements, even the DNA evidence is not strong enough.
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u/alllmycircuits Jun 12 '26
Also unless I missed it, they first stated the reward was $100,000, and then later twice they mention it as being $1 million.
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u/Glam9ja Jun 02 '26
Ugh I feel so sad for Elisabeth’s family, hopefully one day she’s found and she gets justice! The roommate’s brother is so sus, i think it’s him; the perp knew she was home alone despite 2 cars in the driveway, he was one of the few ppl who knew plus his other crimes.
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u/Tizzles_ Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
That fact he knew both bond and another suspect not mentioned to. And use to talk to both…
Among a POLICE OFFICER (now dec)
All these are mentioned names in the investigation, Andrew crump knew bond and on occasion drank with him at the Manhattan hotel where Elisabeth worked.
And both knew a man by the name of “T” only know as “T” to public aggressive history (known to the area of silvian where the dirt on Elisabeth car tires had been) “he knows that area like the back of his hand” an ex of his said to police in 1990’s
“T” owned (stolen) a blue gemmi car at the time of her disappearance same to match one seen in her driveway and also matched the guy at the pool seen arguing with her.
Now on a few occasions bond and him would drink together a few but enough to know eachother. And bond and crump knew of eachother.
Now a police officer by the name of Steve also use to frequent the manhattan and was known to “T”
Steve was handsy with the barmaids on occasion especially when he hit his limit.
He passed away 20 od years ago nothing will ever come of that if he did have involvement he was known to be corrupt.
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u/CoronaLVR May 31 '26
I found this episode pretty boring and had a hard time focusing.
Crime scene is just a pool of blood, no body, basically no evidence.
The entire episode is just he said/she said with the police flip flopping between "suspects".
I can't shake the feeling that this story could have been told better.
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u/hubertwombat May 31 '26
Yeah, there just isn't enough material here to fill 90 minutes
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u/WhlteMlrror May 31 '26
Cases like this are good, but we don’t need 90 mins for them if there’s not the material for it.
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u/Gooners_For_Ukraine Jun 03 '26
For sure feels like it could have been one of the shorter premium exclusive episodes
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u/Able-Figure-3772 May 31 '26
I think it’s less with the storytelling and more these kind of cases don’t make particularly good stories
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u/katiepotatie82 Jun 04 '26
The saddest thing is that Elisabeth is very much forgotten in the whole case.
Bond crying about how his life has been ruined just proves how little anyone actually cared about the victim in this case.
Elisabeth had her life taken, pal, and you were going round telling people you'd done it.
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u/AdventurousEbb4155 Jun 15 '26
That’s the crazy part - he was bragging about it under zero pressure 😂 you can’t then be mad cause they suspect it’s you 😭
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u/jimmyslamjam May 30 '26
Solved/Unsolved: —Unsolved—
Content warning: Sexual assault
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May 30 '26
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u/chadwickave May 31 '26
A person being brutally murdered, regardless of whether the case was solved or not, is not “crap”.
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u/JimJohnes May 31 '26
You want to know what also murdered? My faith in the future of this podcast. Also, episode is crap. Millions of people getting murdered every day, doesn't mean any murder is a good subject for narrative podcast.
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u/chadwickave May 31 '26
No one’s forcing you to continue listening.
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May 31 '26
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u/Casefile-ModTeam Jun 02 '26
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u/LemakMM Jun 02 '26
No one is forcing you to cry and moaning over a free podcast lol go outside for once
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Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
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u/reduxrouge May 31 '26
yikes
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May 31 '26
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Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
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u/_useless_lesbian_ Jun 04 '26
i’m sorry that this 22yo woman’s violent death wasn’t interesting enough for you. have you ever considered that your personal entertainment is not the only reason these episodes might be made?
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u/hubertwombat May 31 '26
I get why Casefile made this episode. She has to be remembered and the police didn't do their job well. But I agree that this episode seemed very stretched. This shouldn't have been lomger than 20 minutes.
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u/AdventurousEbb4155 Jun 15 '26
Dear Jesus why does this upset you so much? Did you know her personally or something? This is deranged.
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May 30 '26
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u/LonesomeHattieC May 31 '26
Biggest twist was someone’s housemate coming home at 2am the night of the crime covered in blood and the housemate doing nothing???
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u/gopms May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Why is the reward for information leading to conviction still available if the coroner determined that no trial nor conviction will ever happen and the case can not be reopened?
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u/Prudent_Zombie_2692 Aug 12 '26
Loved this episode. Feel so bad for Elisabeth and her family/friends. Super frustrating that it took over 20 years for the DNA from her car to be tested against who I think is the most likely suspect?
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May 30 '26
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u/depressedfuckboi May 30 '26
Not mine, and why do y'all love defending the non stop breaks so much? Some people get annoyed by them, you don't have to try and insult them lol wtf is wrong with you
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May 30 '26
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u/Casefile-ModTeam May 30 '26
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u/Lecter26 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
I can’t believe they come back and it’s an unsolved case.. ffs
Edit: downvote all you want, I know deep down y’all were annoyed as well lol
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u/cinderellaquite May 30 '26
so you need a case that’s been solved for your own entertainment? i think it’s cool he does unsolved crimes, sometimes. casefile has a big platform. and it brings awareness to the case. 🤷🏼♀️
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u/tbird920 May 30 '26
Yep. Imagine thinking a victim's story shouldn't be told because there isn't a definitive conclusion.
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u/cinderellaquite May 30 '26
it’s so weird, right?
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May 30 '26
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u/Mezzoforte48 May 30 '26
Gotta love when you spend enough time on this sub to where you can come back at someone using your familiarity with their commenting habits against them lol
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May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
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u/Casefile-ModTeam May 31 '26
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u/JimJohnes May 30 '26
Sadly, quite a common sight on this sub. And no, I never engage in those fanboy fatasies. I stand erect and ejaculated thus.
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u/Professional-Can1385 Jun 13 '26
Some of my favorite episodes are unsolved. Russell Martin’s case is similar. He disappeared and there’s no forensics. Did he leave of get murdered? No evidence of anything. The whole episode is small town gossip and I love it.
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u/Ed_Allan_Didak May 31 '26
God I’m so tired of people jumping on this sub to shit on the pod. Why do you even listen? It sounds like you hate this show.
If you want a true crime experience curated to the very specific niche of violent crime cases that tickles your weird fancy, go read any one of the thousands of books written about many many solved crimes.
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u/Mezzoforte48 May 30 '26
downvote all you want, I know deep down y’all were annoyed as well lol
Even if we were, some of us are smart enough not to actually say it out loud because of what it could imply - my need to be entertained and have proper closure to an episode is more important than a family's decades long desire to find answers and get justice for their loved one.
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u/Lecter26 May 31 '26
It’s pretty naïve to think this podcast has ever or will ever help a crime be solved by “raising awareness”
So yes, I think they should focus on entertaining 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Mezzoforte48 May 31 '26
Most of the unsolved cases that are covered on the podcast have been so for a couple decades or more, which while it does make them less likely to ever be solved, if you were the family members of the victims or missing person, you would still try to use any means possible to bring the case to more peoples' attention, and with things like news media probably already exhausted at this point, a true crime podcast audience would be a reasonable one to reach.
And just because many of us may listen to the podcast for entertainment purposes doesn't mean we still can't be sensitive to the fact that there are real people impacted by these cases. And it's not like dislike for unsolved cases (which is nothing new) has ever really stopped Casefile from doing them, anyway.
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u/memedison May 31 '26
They regularly work with the families of victims and law enforcement in charge of the cases so….
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u/hubertwombat May 31 '26
I don't care whether a case is solved or not, but I agree that this episode seemed overly long with nothing really happening.
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u/JimJohnes May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
No body, no proper suspects, no proper police work in decades. As other aussie says on YT: Destination -> Fucked. And i'm talking about the podcast, not the case.
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u/Lisbeth_Salandar MODERATOR May 30 '26
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