Trace

June, 1980, suburban Melbourne: Mother of two Maria James is stabbed to death in the back of her bookshop. Her killer has never been found. Was it a scorned lover? A random stranger? Or was Maria's murder tied up in the sins of the Catholic Church?

On a winter morning in June 1980, Maria James turned to her son Mark and looked him in the eyes. "If anything happens to me, look after your brother." Later that day she was found stabbed to death at the back of her suburban Melbourne bookshop.

Rachael Brown's investigation into the death of Maria James turns to the local Church, and Rachael tracks down a new witness who saw someone covered in blood around the time of Maria's death.

Since Trace was first released, the ABC has received over 50 emails from the community with leads and tip offs. In this bonus update, reporter Rachael Brown follows up with two women who got in touch to say they saw men acting suspiciously around Maria's bookshop at the time of her murder. Send us your tips: trace@abc.net.au

A second person of interest emerges within the church. Rachael Brown investigates their past and discovers a dark and disturbing history.

There's a major break in the case, as Trace uncovers a police bungle in the murder of Maria James. But it only serves to throw up more questions than answers, as the James brothers continue their desperate search for justice.

The fall-out from major revelations in the Maria James cold-case continue, as her sons make a desperate plea to the Coroner.

New evidence has been found. So can police test it for a trace of the killer? What happened to crucial documents? And a new confession.

It is nearly a year since the James brothers applied for a new coronial inquest into their mum's murder, but the case hangs in legal limbo.

More than a year on from their plea for a new coronial inquest, the James brothers get a decision.

Will they finally get answers to the burning questions they've carried for 38 years about the murder of their mother?

And what about those items Trace has been given that might have DNA on them?

Can they identify the killer?

We take them to one of the world's best DNA labs, with some of the most sensitive equipment, to find out.