Debbie Fahey’s death in a Melbourne motel room in 1981 was treated as a heroin overdose. But more than four decades later, troubling questions remain.Multiple syringes. Four foils of heroin. No obvious heat source to prepare the drug. And a strange telegram that appeared to explain Debbie’s state of mind.Then there is the man in her life: Alistair Farquhar "Sandy" MacRae — later convicted of four murders — who identified Debbie’s body and described himself as her fiancé.Were these simply the circumstances surrounding a tragic overdose? Or was somebody trying to make Debbie’s death look like one?

In this special From the Desk, Adam Shand examines the anomalies in the original investigation and makes a direct appeal to anyone who knew Debbie, MacRae, or Melbourne’s drug scene in 1981.Someone may still know what happened inside that motel room. After 45 years, it’s time to talk.

Listen to the full epsidoe with Debbie's daughter, Des here

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Like thousands of young Australians in the 1980s, Patrick McKenzie became addicted to heroin and found his way to Sydney's King Cross joining a sub-culture of drug users who financed their habit by committing petty crime. It took five days in jail for him to begin to see a life beyond drug addiction but the road to recovery was difficult, including multiple stints in rehab, relapses and the painful restoration of personal relationships. Patrick takes Adam Shand through his story of self-destruction and redemption.

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Was Debbie Fahey's death really a murder? In 1981, Deborah “Debbie” Fahey died from a heroin overdose; her death was apparently another tragedy of Melbourne’s drug scene.
But was there more to the story?

In an earlier episode, former detective Noel Ashby identified convicted killer Alistair Farquhar MacRae as a possible suspect in a series of heroin deaths during the 1980s—deaths that may have been made to look like suicides or accidental overdoses.
After hearing that episode, Debbie’s daughter, Des, contacted us. Together, we uncovered an extraordinary connection: MacRae had been Debbie’s boyfriend.

In this episode, Des tells the deeply personal story of the mother she lost and the disturbing questions that have remained unanswered for more than four decades.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.