Sixteen years after two barrels were recovered from tunnels beneath a South Australian reservoir, the science is moving again.
In this episode of Sleepers, Bryan Littlely speaks with forensic scientist, toxicologist, and criminologist Asha Walther from Exhuming the Truth about her independent preliminary examination of material recovered from the barrels.
Those barrels have long formed part of an investigative theory surrounding the 1973 disappearance of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon from Adelaide Oval. That theory has never been proven, and there is currently no evidence establishing that either girl was ever inside them.
But the barrels are real. The material recovered from them is real. And now new preliminary forensic findings are in
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Asha reveals that presumptive testing produced a positive reaction consistent with the presence of blood or haemoglobin-related activity. At this stage, the testing cannot determine whether that blood is human or animal, and no DNA identification has been made.
Preliminary pH testing has also found material from the barrels to be acidic. Again, that doesn't establish what substance was present, why it was there, or support any particular theory about how the barrels may have been used. Further chemical analysis is required.
Then there's the expanding foam.
The unusual material inside the barrels raises another set of questions. What happened to the significant amount of liquid apparently once present beneath the foam? What may have been absorbed into it? And could the chemical composition of the foam itself help establish when it was manufactured or placed inside the barrels?
Asha explains how techniques including GCMS analysis may help characterise its chemical composition and potentially narrow its age to a useful timeframe. She also explains why microscopic examination can reveal biological material that would never be visible to the naked eye, particularly after decades of environmental exposure.
Most importantly, the preliminary examination isn't where this investigation ends.
Subject to the necessary permits and approvals, material is intended to undergo further independent specialist examination through a university laboratory in the United Kingdom. That next stage could include species-specific or human-specific testing, DNA analysis, chemical examination, and further analysis of the expanding foam.
Bryan also confronts the question that inevitably follows: after another independent presumptive result consistent with blood, should South Australia Police now receive material from the barrels for further examination? And if these tests eventually produce something significant, how important will the documented chain of custody become?
Max doesn't interrupt this time. We leave Bryan and Asha to follow the evidence and explain what the science tells us, what it doesn't, and what needs to happen next.
After sixteen years, the next step isn't another theory.
Join Bryan, Max and the SLEEPERS team LIVE at the Arkaba Hotel, Wednesday 30 September 2026.
Expect new cases, new information, advance developments in current investigations, and the story behind an upcoming hunt through the Adelaide Hills for one very particular item.
Doors 6:30 pm | Show 7:30 pm
Always remember – fight like Jo.
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