In the grim lifestyles of homeless youths, instant and transitionary friendships are as routine as day and night. In the late 1980s in Sydney, New South Wales, a group of transient youngsters drifted in and out of each other’s lives just as easily as they drifted around Sydney’s streets and the city’s rail system. Studies have indicated that a common characteristic of young violent offenders is the alienation from families and often from the community as a whole.
The displaced youngsters were all well-known to police but in 1988, they became well-known to the world after committing one of the most vicious crimes in Australian history.
Podcast Promo: Crime Salad
Website: http://www.crimesaladpodcast.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/crimesalad
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crimesaladpodcast/
Show recommendation of the week – CRIMELINES. Download the Himalaya app or go to https://www.himalaya.com/crimelines and enter promo code CHARLIE at checkout to get 30 days of premium content, FREE!
Sources:
The Sun Herald, 11 September, 1988 – “Hunt for Killer Gang”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 September, 1988 – “Police Slow Over Earlier Incident, Says Woman”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 September, 1988 – “Police Deny Delay Cost Woman’s Life”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 September, 1988 – “Charged Over Hammer Attack”
The Sun Herald, 18 September, 1988 – “Tough New Moves to Deal With Teenage Violence”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 September, 1988 – “Sex Murder Was Planned, Court Told”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 September, 1988 – “Govt to Target Young Offenders”
San Francisco Chronicle, 2 October, 1988 – “Australia’s Graffiti Mafia”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November, 1988 – “Two Cuddles As Woman Was Raped, Court Told”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 November, 1988 – “Murder Trial Told of Gift”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 November, 1988 – “Boy Tried to Sell Dead Girl’s Rings”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November, 1988 – “Five for Trial Over Balding Murder”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 September, 1989 – “DNA Test Linked Youth to Killing, Jury Told”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 September, 1989 – “Girl Bailed in Balding Murder”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 September, 1989 – “Kidnapper Bough Knife, Court Told”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 September, 1989 – “Street Kids Confessed to Killing, Says Woman”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 September, 1989 – “Court Told of Plan to Rape a Sheila”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 October, 1989 – “Youth Tells of ‘Nice Night for a Murder’”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 October, 1989 – “Balding Trial Told of Man’s ‘I Did It’ Boast”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 October, 1989 – “Accused Not at Murder Scene, Boy Tells Court”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 October, 1989 – “Murder Accused Read Porn, Court Told”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 October, 1989 – “Accused: I Was at the Pub”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 October, 1989 – “Discovery of Second Shorty Stops Trial”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 December, 1989 – “Balding Killing: Girl Gets a Bond”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 February, 1990 – “Boy Admits Guilt in Balding Case”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 March, 1990 – “Turbulent Past of Balding Case Boy”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May, 1990 – “Jury Told of Janine Balding’s Last Hours”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 June, 1990 – “I Felt Sorry for Sex Victim, Claims Teenager”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 June, 1990 – “Murder Mystery of the Two Shortys”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 June, 1990 – “Man Tells of Devil Worship”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June, 1990 – “How About We Go and Get a Sheila and Rape Her”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June, 1990 – “Mrs Balding Weeps for Janine”
The Sun Herald, 24 June, 1990 – “Call to Bring Back Hanging”
The Sydney morning Herald, 4 September, 1990 – “Murderer PLayed Dumb For Trial”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September, 1990 – “Killers to Face Sentence Today”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September, 1990 – “Janine’s Killer Never to Be Freed”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 December, 1991 – “Balding Appeal Awaits Decision”
The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 July, 1997 – “I Was Framed By Police, Claims Balding Killer”
The Australian Weekend, 14 June, 2002 – “They’ve Got The Wrong Shorty, Says MP”
Audio Sources:
“The Janine Balding Murder | Crime Investigation Australia | Full Documentary | True Crime”
