COMING SOON - Episode 3
When an American born Oceanographer murdered his 37-year old estranged, mother of two, American born wife in Hobart, the chilling details of the crime captivated and outraged the nation.
In this episode of True Crime Tasmania, we explore a case that lives long in the memory of Tasmanians. Dr. Rory Jack Thompson was an American-born CSIRO marine biologist who committed one of Tasmania’s most notorious crimes at his home in West Hobart. In September 1983, amid a volatile custody dispute, Thompson ambushed and killed his estranged wife, Maureen Thompson, before using a hacksaw and meat cleaver to dismember her body into 91 pieces, flushing most of the remains down the toilet. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1984 and institutionalised at the psychiatric hospital attached to Risdon Prison Complex. During his long-term confinement, he legally changed his name to Jack Newman, authored a detailed 1993 autobiography titled Mad Scientist, and orchestrated a brief, sensational escape in 1999 where he made it onto a commercial aircraft before being recaptured. Later that same year, on 18 September 1999, Thompson died by suicide in his cell, leaving his substantial estate to the World Wildlife Fund while entirely excluding his children
