DELVE

The day starts with a surprise when the judge turns the spotlight on our journalist, Melanie Reid, questioning her connection to the family, her objectivity and her independence. Then testimony from Jess’ midwife and the on-call obstetrician examines whether intense birth forces and induction drugs could explain the injuries, setting up a high-stakes clash between the hospital’s medical view...

“Distraught, shocked and in disbelief” is how one neighbour describes Dan’s reaction when he found out about his baby’s injuries. A second neighbour tells the court it’s laughable to even think that Dan could be violent. Then the maternal grandmother takes the stand, saying after the baby was born he screamed and cried all day, every day. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new...

After days of intense questioning, Jess finally steps down and takes a seat in the public gallery behind her husband in the dock. That’s where she remains for the rest of the trial. Next, her sister-in-law takes the stand and tells the court the family were shut down by doctors.  Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis...

The Crown’s cross-examination of the pro athlete’s wife begins, as her words, messages and private calls are picked apart in court. As the questioning intensifies, how much can she withstand? Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the...

A police interview, tapped phone calls and the video recording of the pro athlete’s wife. Jess had no idea that in her search for answers, her phone call with a specialist would be intercepted by Dunedin police. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both season...

We take you right inside Dunedin’s historic courthouse as the pro athlete’s trial begins. The jury is sworn in. His wife is the first to take the stand. This is her moment – how will she cope under the pressure? Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of...

On the eve of trial, we are with the pro athlete and his wife at their home, where emotions are running high as neighbours and supporters gather around the family. Everything is on the line, because what’s about to unfold in the courtroom could change their lives forever. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all fo...

In the highly anticipated return of Melanie Reid’s latest podcast investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, listeners are given unprecedented access inside the high stakes criminal trial of a professional athlete, examining whether young parents accused in complex medical cases are receiving fair access to justice. Find out what happens when medical evidence from New Zealand doctors - usually left...

What if the evidence used to convict parents isn’t as solid as it seems? In this pre-season bonus episode, Melanie Reid speaks to a scientist and adjunct law professor who exposes cracks in the medical evidence used in court - and asks whether bad science is tipping the scales of justice. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis o...

In this season finale, a second family’s case erupts with a revelation that will leave listeners questioning everything. And when Melanie and Bonnie demand answers from Health NZ, the former head of Starship Hospital’s child protection unit responds by lawyering up.  Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all fo...

With the pro athlete’s court date looming and three international experts now set to testify, the couple hopes the prosecution will drop the charges. Melanie also speaks with the mother of the young dad still in prison, following the revelation there is no evidence of 19 back rib fractures that were central to his conviction. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and...

After going back over the investigation files, the pro athlete’s wife becomes convinced the criminal case against her husband is substandard and irresponsible. And as the trial approaches, we finally receive the news we’d long been hoping for. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning T...

Will the breakthrough international expert reports in the pro athlete case throw everything into question? And why is a plea deal suddenly on the table? Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Sata...

The focus shifts back to the South Island pro athlete’s case as his trial draws closer. With no local doctors prepared to go to court, Melanie and Bonnie seek out international experts - and what they find could change everything. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the...

As the Delve team digs deeper into the North Island case of a young father in prison, a bigger question emerges: is the medical certainty behind the diagnosis of non-accidental injury more belief than science? Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both seasons of Fr...

A young father is serving six years in prison, but his case takes an extraordinary turn when Melanie Reid’s investigation finds there is no evidence of rib fractures to his baby. How can someone be convicted on injuries that don’t exist? And what happens when the doctors get it wrong?  Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation,...

A family in shock, a father behind bars and a controversial medical diagnosis at the centre of it all. The Delve team begins its investigation into whether key evidence used to convict a young dad even exists.  Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagnosis of a Crime, all four seasons of award-winning The Boy in the Water, both se...

It’s been described as career-ending for New Zealand doctors to go up against the Starship Children’s Hospital experts, so the Delve team takes this investigation international.  As mentioned in the episode, here is a link to the 2017 Swedish SBU report into Shaken Baby Syndrome: https://ncip.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SBU-report-2017.pdf Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episo...

How do you go from a successful pro athlete to the prime suspect in a criminal case? In this episode we depart from the norm, taking listeners right inside the central police station to hear the moment by moment interview between the detective and the unsuspecting young athlete.  Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to our latest investigation, Diagn...

A well-known professional athlete is devastated when doctors accuse him - and police charge him - with the unthinkable. As the family’s ordeal unfolds, with phone taps, 24/7 supervision and an impending trial, serious questions begin to surface about whether the couple have any chance of justice when up against 12 medical witnesses.  Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new...

A rural South Island family’s life is turned upside down when one of their newborn twins’ medical emergency spirals into a diagnosis they have never heard of. Armed police turn up to their home and a two-year legal battle ensues that costs them more than a quarter of a million dollars. This latest Melanie Reid investigation is about medicine diagnosing a crime, and what happens to ordina...

Imagine being told that what’s wrong with your child isn’t an illness or an accident, but a crime.  From the team behind The Boy in the Water and Fractured, Diagnosis of a Crime takes you inside the lives of families torn apart by a medical diagnosis.  Join us for Melanie Reid’s latest groundbreaking investigation, where medicine and law combine, and nothing is q...

In a season finale that pulls no punches, Coroner Ho delivers his final conclusions. With serious questions about supervision, the post mortem, the police investigations and the rush to label Lachie’s death an accident, the spotlight now turns to what happens next.  Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to all four seasons of our award-winning The Boy in the Water p...

What does the Coroner say about  those  Facebook messages? And did police uncover all the cellphone location data? Coroner Ho examines the circumstantial evidence surrounding the key question: how did Lachie end up in the pond? Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to all four seasons of our award-winning The Boy in the Water podcast, both seasons of Fractured,...

Accident or foul play? A flawed post mortem leaves Lachie’s cause of death uncertain, as the coroner weighs drowning, head trauma or both, and investigates how Lachie’s body ended up with the wrong pathologist. Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to all four seasons of our award-winning The Boy in the Water podcast, both seasons of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg a...