Xanthé Mallett
{{Short description|Scottish anthropologist (born 1976)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Xanthé Mallett
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Xanthé Danielle Mallett
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1976|12|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = Helensburgh, Scotland
| nationality = Scottish
| other_names =
| occupation = Forensic anthropologist, criminologist, TV presenter
| years_active =
| alma_mater = Sheffield {{small|PhD, 2007}}
Cambridge {{small|MA, 2003}}
Bradford {{small|BA, 2002}}
| notable_works = Mothers Who Murder, History Cold Case, Coast Australia
}}
Xanthé Danielle Mallett ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|æ|n|θ|i|}}; born 17 December 1976{{cn|date=April 2024}}) is a Scottish forensic anthropologist, criminologist, and television presenter.{{cite news |title=Meet the forensics queen debunking 'NCIS,' 'Silent Witness' |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/meet-the-forensics-queen-debunking-ncis-silent-witness-xanthe-mallett/ |access-date=6 July 2018 |work=CNET |date=1 September 2017 |language=en}} She specialises in human craniofacial biometrics and hand identification, and behaviour patterns of paedophiles, particularly online.{{cite news|last1=Croxon|first1=Natalie|title=Digging up the bare bones of history' curious cold cases is all in a day's work for UNE anthropologist|url=http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/1289519/digging-up-the-bare-bones-of-history-curious-cold-cases-is-all-in-a-days-work-for-une-anthropologist/|access-date=22 July 2015|work=Northern Daily Leader|date=8 February 2013}} She is an associate professor at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Biography
Mallett was born in Helensburgh, Scotland, and grew up in Bedfordshire, England.{{cite news|last1=Hendry|first1=Steve|title=Scottish scientist and Coast star Xanthe Mallet discusses her new life in Australia|url=http://www.scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/scottish-scientist-coast-star-xanthe-3665839|work=The Daily Record|access-date=21 July 2015|date=9 June 2014}} Her father was an engineer and her mother a former dancer. Mallet herself was a dancer, and from age 9 attended the Arts Educational School in Tring, Hertfordshire. She was also active in other sports, such as tennis, and planned to take a degree in physical education. However, a car accident severely damaged her knee and required 10 surgeries.{{cite news|title=Our worst secrets are not safe with her|url=http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1620537/our-worst-secrets-are-not-safe-with-her/?cs=4067|access-date=21 July 2015|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=6 July 2013}}
She received her bachelor's degree in archaeological sciences from the University of Bradford, a master's degree in biological anthropology at the University of Cambridge, and her doctorate in forensic science from the University of Sheffield.
For five years, she worked at the Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification (CAHID) at the University of Dundee, Scotland, where she was a forensic practitioner and a lecturer of forensic anthropology.{{cite news|last1=Mallett|first1=Xanthé|title=Is this the face of Jack the Ripper?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14207581|access-date=21 July 2015|work=BBC News|date=31 August 2011}} Mallet stated that her interest in criminology began to increase, which led her to move to Australia in 2012. "My casework experience helped me to realise that I was becoming more interested in investigating the behaviours behind the crimes, rather than identifying the victims and offenders from physical evidence they leave behind," she said. She was a senior lecturer at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales,{{cite news|title=Meet UNE's Xanthe Mallett|url=http://newengland.focusmag.com.au/meet-xanthe-mallett-from-une/|access-date=22 July 2015|work=New England Focus|date=7 March 2013}} before taking the same role at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle, New South Wales.{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Angus |title='Abuse on abuse': Parents' anguish over school's handling of sex abuse |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/abuse-on-abuse-parents-anguish-over-school-s-handling-of-sex-abuse-20180630-p4zoqn.html |access-date=6 July 2018 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=30 June 2018 |language=en}}
Mallett has been published in various academic journals including the International Journal of Legal Medicine and the Journal of Forensic Sciences. In 2014, she published the book Mothers Who Murder: And Infamous Miscarriages of Justice about mothers who kill their own children.{{cite news|last1=Purcell|first1=John|title=7PM INTERVIEW: Dr Xanthé Mallett, author of Mothers Who Murder, chats to John Purcell|url=http://blog.booktopia.com.au/2014/12/08/interview-dr-xanthe-mallett-author-of-mothers-who-murder-chats-to-john-purcell/|access-date=22 July 2015|publisher=Booktopia|date=8 December 2014}}
Media career
Mallett worked as a forensic anthropologist on the BBC2 series History Cold Case from 2010 to 2011. The series involved Mallett and other experts working to find cause of death for human remains dating from Roman times to Victorian England. She also starred in the U.S. version of the series, which aired on the National Geographic Channel as The Decrypters.{{cite web |title=The Decrypters |url=http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/the-decrypters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102192442/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/the-decrypters|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2014|publisher=National Geographic Channel |access-date=22 July 2015}}
In Australia, Mallett presented the series Wanted in 2013 and is a co-host of Coast Australia. In 2014, she presented a television special, Mothers Who Murder, on Channel Ten that coincided with the release of her book.{{cite web|title=Dr. Xanthé Mallett|url=http://h100.tv/article/dr-xanthe-mallett-coast-australia-s2|publisher=History Channel Australia|access-date=22 July 2015}} In the special, she met with families and police to investigate what led to the murders.{{cite web|title=Mothers Who Murder |url=http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/mothers-who-murder/about |publisher=Channel Ten |access-date=22 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814013347/http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/mothers-who-murder/about |archive-date=14 August 2014 }} One of the women she profiled was Rachel Pfitzner, who killed her 2-year-old son, Dean Shillingsworth, in 2007.
Since March 2023, she has co-hosted the crime podcast Motive & Murder with forensic psychologist Tim Watson Munro.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-22 |title=Motive and Method on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/motive-and-method/id1676882162 |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-AU}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Mallett|first=Xanthé|title=Reasonable doubt|date=2020|publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia|isbn=9781760784843}}
- {{cite book|last=Mallett|first=Xanthé|title=Cold Case Investigations|date=2019|publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia|isbn=9781760784836}}
- {{cite book|last1=Mallett|first1=Xanthé|last2=Blythe |first2=Teri|last3=Berry |first3=Rachel|title=Advances in Forensic Human Identification |date=2014|publisher=Amazon|asin= B00HZNQISS}}
- {{cite book|last=Mallett|first=Xanthé|title=Mothers Who Murder |date=2014|publisher=Random House Australia|asin=B00IY5QK8O}}
- {{cite book|author1=Patrick S. Randolph-Quinney|author2= Xanthé Mallett|author3=Sue M. Black|author-link3=Sue Black (forensic anthropologist)|editor1-last=Jamieson|editor1-first=Allan|editor2-last=Moenssens|editor2-first=Andre A|title=Wiley Encyclopaedia of Forensic Sciences|date=2009|publisher=Wiley|location=Chichester, West Sussex|isbn=9780470018262|chapter=Forensic Anthropology}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|3897540}}
- [https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/xanthe-mallett University of Newcastle, NSW profile]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallett, Xanthe}}
Category:Scottish anthropologists
Category:British criminologists
Category:Scottish expatriates in Australia
Category:People from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire
Category:Alumni of the University of Bradford
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield
Category:Academics of the University of Dundee
Category:Academic staff of the University of Newcastle (Australia)
Category:Academic staff of the University of New England (Australia)