The Trial: Australia Archiv

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 the most bizarre cases of the year.

In this episode Wayne is joined by reporter Tita Smith to unpack accusations surrounding Nathan McKeown and the night Arnie disappeared.

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Presenter: Wayne Flower 

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, who has been on the ground in Yunta following this story. Karleigh brings new details from the drained dam search, rising community tensions and sightings of Gus’s reclusive family.

Later, Wayne also speaks with renowned private investigator Ken Gamble, who offers rare insight into how missing persons cases are handled, what may have been overlooked in the initial search, and why an absence of evidence can be its own critical clue.

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Presenter: Wayne Flower 

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 being accused of murder by Port Lincoln police.

Follow us on Tiktok @DailyMailCrime

Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk

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Presenter: Wayne Flower 

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 appeal means, and what we can expect next in this historic case.

Follow us on Tiktok @DailyMailCrime

Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk

Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

 

Presenter: Wayne Flower 

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 alleged wombat massacre turned local community members into sleuths, with people sharing information updates on social media in the hunt for the alleged perpetrator.

In this episode, Wayne is joined by one of those local sleuths and wombat protection group founder Thomas Osberg. Together, they are laying out everything known about this case, and the alleged wombat killer.

Follow us on Tiktok @DailyMailCrime

Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk

Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

 

Presenter: Wayne Flower 

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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!

sign up to the newsletter at newsletter.thecrimedesk.com for free.

Become a full member of The Crime Desk with a month’s free trial at www.thecrimedesk.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, he’s laying it all out on the table, from insider information, to the attempt on his own life.

Follow us on Tiktok @DailyMailCrime

Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk

Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

 

Presenter: Wayne Flower 

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the definitive facts of the case.

Follow us on Tiktok @DailyMailCrime

Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk

Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

 

Presenter: Wayne Flower

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Plus, top Melbourne criminal lawyer George Balot joins the show to shed light on what might come next, both for the prosecution’s appeal and Patterson’s own expected appeal against her conviction. 

Follow us on Tiktok @DailyMailCrime

Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk

Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

 

Presenter: Wayne Flower and Caroline Cheetham

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 survived in the bush for years, and an investigation into his possible accomplices commences.

Today Wayne is joined by investigative journalist Michael Morrah from The New Zealand Herald, to dive into all the shocking details of this case, and what could happen next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 after the fire began.

Using voice actors to recreate the events of the courtroom, Wayne is taking you inside Lee’s bail hearing, where the police lay out every detail from their investigation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, as well as what could happen next in this shocking case.

Follow us on Tiktok @DailyMailCrime

Email us thetrial@mailmetromedia.co.uk

Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’)

 

Presenter: Wayne Flower

Producer: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

 

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 if their lives could have been saved, if doctors had known sooner that they had eaten death cap mushrooms.

He said her crimes fell into the worst category and she knew her victims would suffer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 injustice” was never having an explanation for why she did what  she did. The statements delivered in court today will now be considered by the judge who will hand down her sentence in two weeks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.