The Trial: Australia
The Trial goes behind the headlines of some of the biggest trials in the world. We take you into the courtroom, bringing you the detail as the evidence unfolds, examining key moments and carrying out exclusive interviews with detectives, victims, and experts. For ad-free listening to all of our shows, exclusive bonus episodes of The Trial every week, and complete access to our show archives, subscribe to The Crime Desk now. Visit thecrimedesk.com to become a member. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
On the first night of Hanukkah, two gunmen opened fire at Bondi Beach in Sydney. The unthinkable atrocity killed 15 people and injured many more, with the impact still being felt across the world.
In this episode, Wayne speaks to freelance photographer Banjo, who witnessed the attack unfold firsthand. Journalist and Bondi local Lucy Manly also joins the podcast to explain what we know so far, and how the community is grappling w...
In this episode, Wayne is joined by journalist Paul Shapiro to unpack one of the most explosive legal stories to hit Australia this year: the public naming of Tom Silvagni, a 23 year old from one of Victoria’s most prominent AFL families, after a long running suppression battle.
For nearly 18 months, courts kept his identity and family ties secret. But now a judge has now lifted the gag order protecting Silvagni, shortly a...
A quiet North Turramurra street was horrified in the early hours of the morning when a house party descended into sudden, brutal and violent chaos.
The bloody pool party in a $4 million property left a man fighting for his life after being stabbed 10 times. Now one culprit is behind bars for recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.
In this episode, Senior News Reporter Candace Sutton is joining Wayne to explain...
When beloved German Shepherd Arnie was reported stolen, the story captured the hearts of thousands across Australia. A viral search effort, media appeals, and a $6,000 reward followed- until a devastating discovery changed everything.
Now police allege the dog was ever stolen at all. Accusations of neglect, a late night visit to a Brisbane brothel, and a rapidly unfolding investigation have turned a missing pet plea into one of ...
Four year old August “Gus” Lamont vanished from his grandparents’ remote sheep station in the South Australian outback, triggering one of the largest searches in the state’s history.
But nearly two months on, police, soldiers, SES crews, divers, and locals have turned up nothing. No trace, no evidence, no clues to what might have happened.
In this episode, Wayne returns to the case with journalist Karleigh Smith, ...
In this episode, Wayne Flower unpacks one of the strangest cases to come out of South Australia this year.
Tamika Chesser, a once familiar face from the reality TV show Beauty and the Geek, now stands accused of murdering her boyfriend, Julian Story, whose headless body was discovered in Port Lincoln earlier this year.
Senior crime reporter Candace Sutton joins Wayne to trace Chesser’s timeline from Gold Coast model to ...
Erin Patterson’s story isn’t over yet. After being sentenced to life in prison, the convicted “mushroom killer” is fighting back, entering a notice of appeal and calling for a retrial.
In this episode, Wayne Flower is joined by top Melbourne lawyer George Balot to unpack Patterson’s seven grounds of appeal, from claims of jury irregularities to allegations of unfair cross-examination. They break down exactly what this appe...
One morning earlier this year, Venus Bay locals woke up to find 9 dead wombats in the streets- and now they claim they’re dealing with a mass wombat killer. The 9 wombats were found lying by the roadside, some with tyre marks, some moved into strange positions.
Investigators found CCTV showing multiple utes driving around that night, swerving across the road. And one of those vehicles was allegedly used to hit the wombats. The a...
It's been a while since Caroline & Liz had time to catch up and say hello to you all, and with the launch of our exciting new Crime Desk newsletter, thought now was as good a time as any!
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The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are ta...
In this episode, Wayne is delving into the surge of violence in Melbourne as part of the ongoing tobacco wars. Targeted attacks, drive-bys, firebombings, even the death of innocent civilians caught in the middle; and the violence is showing no signs of stopping.
Joining Wayne is Ryan Naumenko, a former crook turned independent journalist who has made a career exposing the truth of the criminal underworld. In this podcast, h...
On September 27, four-year-old Gus Lamont disappeared without a trace from a remote sheep station in South Australia. Despite the largest search operation in the state's history, there’s still no sign of him.
In this episode, Wayne is joined by Daily Mail senior reporter Karleigh Smith, who’s been on the ground covering the case. Together, they cut through the swirling rumours, debunk the AI generated hoaxes, and lay out t...
In this episode of The Trial Australia, Caroline is returning to join Wayne for a dive deep into the latest bombshell developments in the Erin Patterson case.
The Victorian DPP is now appealing Patterson's sentence, calling the 33 year non-parole period for three murders and one attempted murder "manifestly inadequate." Wayne and Caroline unpack the implications and examine why this sentence is now under serious legal scrutiny.
<...In 2021, Tom Phillips disappeared into the bush with his three children. They remained hidden for years, and despite a mammoth police hunt, headline news, and even an $80,000 reward, their whereabouts remained unknown. But that suddenly changed when a police encounter with Phillips quickly escalated into a shootout, and the fugitive father was shot dead.
However, the story doesn’t end there, as questions arise as to how Phillips...
In this episode, Wayne Flower is looking at the heartbreaking and tragic house fire that claimed the lives of two children and injured a third- and the mother of all three who now faces charges of negligent manslaughter.
Shania Lee’s lawyer says that there was no way, and no evidence, that she could have known what was going to happen that night. But the police hold a more distressing belief, alleging that Lee left the house aft...
In the first of our weekly episodes, Wayne Flower looks at the gripping and ongoing manhunt for Dezi Freeman, a sovereign citizen fugitive accused of killing two Victorian police officers. With Australia’s largest tactical police operation underway, Paul Cale, known as the country’s toughest soldier, joins the podcast to analyse the manhunt. He explains why Freeman may have remained undetected, what it might take to bring him in, a...
In this emergency episode Caroline and Wayne have the moment Erin Patterson was sentenced to life in prison.
She will serve at least 33 years for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Heather’s husband Ian.
For the first time ever in Melbourne’s Supreme Court, the judge was broadcast live as he told her she had shown no pity for her victims.
He also said it would never be known...
In this special extra episode Caroline and Wayne have the words from the victims of Erin Patterson as they addressed a court in Melbourne today. Erin Patterson sat in the dock listening intently as members of the families told her she had taken the lives of people who only did good in the world, and they asked over and over again how she could have gone through with her “cold and calculated” plan to murder. They said the “ultimate ...
In this special episode Caroline and Wayne have more shocking allegations made against Erin Patterson in court. These were kept from the jury during the trial and until today we weren't allowed to reveal them to you either. But we can now explain the details of four attempts she made to poison and kill her husband, Simon - months before she murdered his parents with death cap mushrooms.
The Trial series uses actors and some voic...
In this final episode of this series - for now - Caroline and Wayne interview one of the key witnesses in the case. Dr Chris Webster suspected Erin Patterson of doing something “macabre” within minutes of seeing her at the hospital and he said as two of the people she poisoned were lying in beds feet away from her she didn’t even go to see them. His evidence was crucial in helping to convict her of triple murder.
The Trial serie...
In this episode Caroline and Wayne have exclusive CCTV footage of Erin Patterson visiting a tip - within half an hour of her lunch guests leaving her house. The video has never been seen before and this tip visit was never disclosed to the jury. So what exactly was she getting rid of?
The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are taken as verbatim from the official court transcript.
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