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In 1923 Nurse Hannah Mitchell faced trial, charged with the murder of Bertha Coughlan and the attempted murder of her ex-husband Frank Bonfiglio. The evidence was sensational, as were the verdicts.

Nurse Mitchell was not required to testify under oath, nor was she able to be cross-examined.

Frank Bonfiglio delivered gripping testimony about Bertha’s death, the dumping of the body and why Mitchell had shot him. But his credibility was in serious doubt.

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She dropped a headless torso into the Yarra River and shot her ex-husband full of holes — and these were just two of the horrific crimes alleged against Nurse Hannah Mitchell in the 1920s. The full story of “Melbourne’s Most Notorious Woman” is told for the first time in a special three-part episode.

Bertha Coughlan went missing in November 1922. She was found three months later, having been dumped in the Yarra River.

Nurse Hannah Mitchell, tried in 1923 for the
murder of Bertha Coughlan.
Mugshot of Hanna Mitchell’s husband when he was arrested for running an illegal casino.
Senior Detective Frederick Piggott, known as “Melbourne’s Sherlock Holmes”, led the investigation into the murder of Bertha Coughlan.
From left to right: Frank Bonfiglio, star witness for the prosecution; Margaret Milward, Mitchell’s sister, who testified against her; and Thomas Cook, Bertha’s “friend”.

Mitchell and her daughter “Queenie”, who was charged with being an accessory after the fact, leave the City Coroner’s Court in 1923.

Mitchell was represented by Percy Ridgeway, who was rumoured to be her lover and who defended numerous Melbourne underworld figures in the 1920s.
The case was reported all over Australia.

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