LiSTNR has dropped a new six-part investigative documentary series, Jailbreak, tracing the extraordinary life of Darko ‘Dougie’ Desic – the Northern Beaches local who broke out of prison with a hacksaw and bolt cutters and managed to stay free for nearly three decades.
The story begins with an unlikely scene: a neatly dressed man in his 60s walking into Dee Why Police Station to hand himself in.
Police soon realised they were face-to-face with one of Australia’s most elusive escapees, a man once featured on Australia’s Most Wanted.
From Yugoslavia to Avalon
Hosted by award-winning journalist and author Tim Elliott, the podcast follows Darko’s journey from his arrival in Australia from Yugoslavia, to his arrest for cultivating marijuana, his prison escape from Grafton, and his decades on the run.
Darko worked for wealthy Sydney executives, carved out a quiet life in Avalon, and even earned affection from locals who later rallied to support him after his arrest.
Along the way he relied on charm, quick thinking, and even some makeshift dentistry with pliers to survive undetected.
Journalist and author Tim Elliott
Inside the story
Elliott said Darko’s double life made for a compelling investigation: “I love escape stories, and when I heard about this fugitive who’d led a double-life, near where I live, I had to know more. And I soon realised the backstory to this mysterious intellectual recluse went so much further than had been reported.”
Clair Weaver, LiSTNR’s Head of Factual, said the series captures both the scale and the eccentricities of Darko’s story: “Secrets We Keep: Jailbreak is a wild, rollicking story about an eccentric but loveable anti-hero whose early attempts to fast-track his big Australian dreams land him in jail, until dire circumstances in his homeland drive him to escape.
“Tim Elliott and the LiSTNR Factual team have done an excellent job bringing Darko’s story to life in audio for the first time. This is a podcast you’re going to want to tell your friends about.”
The man behind the myth
Darko’s latest disappearance means the podcast may be the only direct account of his life and choices.
Jailbreak blends Elliott’s reporting with Darko’s own words to piece together a portrait of survival, secrecy and a community that struggled to reconcile affection for a neighbour with the reality of his past.