Chapter 1: The Disappearance of Maya Jakic

On April 6, 1999, Maya Jakic was reported missing by her mother, Jagoda Jelic, in Adelaide, South Australia. An extensive search was launched, but days passed without any leads. Then, 11 days later, a crucial note appeared on a police car at the Norwood police station. The note ominously stated, “There is a dead girl’s body in the bushes near the main road of the Paneham police station. This is no joke. Take a good look.”

The police followed this lead to an abandoned station on April 17, where they discovered the badly decomposed body of a young woman—later confirmed to be Maya Jakic. Autopsy results indicated she had been murdered on April 12, just days after her disappearance. The condition of her body suggested she had been sexually assaulted prior to her death, which was determined to be due to strangulation.

A crucial question arose: Where had Maya been between April 6 and April 12? During the investigation, authorities identified two emergency calls from an unidentified c