S4 Ep10: Malcolm John Naden - The Ghost of the Bush

On June 21st, 2005, the body of Kristy Scholes was discovered in the bedroom of her grandparents’ home in West Dubbo, New South Wales. She was twenty-four years old, living with her partner and young daughter. Police quickly determined that she had been strangled, and the circumstances of her death were immediately alarming. The home showed no signs of forced entry, and nothing appeared to have been stolen, suggesting that the perpetrator had a familiarity with the house or its occupants. Kristy’s partner had been absent at the time, leaving questions about who could have accessed the property and how the crime had been committed without interruption.

The shock of the discovery rippled through the Dubbo community. Neighbours and friends struggled to reconcile the violence of the act with the normalcy of suburban life. For investigators, the case presented immediate challenges. They needed to consider not just potential intruders or opportunistic offenders, but also those who had pre-existing connections to the family. Given the nature of the crime, attention quickly turned to individuals known to the household—family members, close friends, or acquaintances—anyone with the means and opportunity to commit such an act. The investigation required careful examination of relationships, movements, and behavioural patterns.


Earlier that year, on January 4th, 2005, another member of the extended family, Lateesha Nolan, had disappeared under circumstances that were, at the time, equally confounding. Lateesha was also twenty-four and a mother of four children. She had been last seen leaving her home in Dubbo to run errands, and when she did not return, immediate concern arose among her family. Within hours, relatives began contacting authorities, describing her sudden absence and the unusual nature of her disappearance.

As the investigation unfolded, the community watched closely. Rumours circulated, sightings were reported and discounted, and the tension in Dubbo grew. Two women, both young, both connected to the same family network, were either missing or dead. The reasons for their suffering were unknown, and the question of who could have committed such acts—and why—loomed over every lead, every interview, and every search. It was the beginning of an investigation that would stretch for years, involve multiple law enforcement agencies, and eventually expose the extraordinary lengths one man would go to evade capture.