The Case Of

Some of the best questions we get are ones we can't answer during the trial because they haven't been addressed before the jury. Finally, now we can. In this episode Olivana Lathouris and Matt Garrick dive into The Case Of mailbag and explain if Matt Wright could still be found responsible for the helicopter crash, the legalities of police bugs and why croc eggs are collected in the wild (with Exe...

Erin Patterson has been sentenced to life in prison, but Justice Christopher Beale has left a light on with the option of parole after 33 years. In this episode Kristian Silva and Rachael Brown join Stephen Stockwell to explain Justice Beale's reasons for the sentence, why he left the door open for parole and whether Erin Patterson is likely to appeal. If you've got questions about the case that y...

The Northern Territory courts have been dealing with the fallout from the helicopter crash that killed Chris Wilson for years before this trial. In this episode, Olivana Lathouris and Matt Garrick join Stephen Stockwell to explain the other charges brought following the crash — including against another helicopter pilot and an off-duty cop — and what the transport regulator found caused it in the...

Now that the jury has delivered its verdict, the suppression of pre-trial hearings and nail-biting legal arguments during the trial has lifted. In this episode, Stephen Stockwell, Olivana Lathouris and Matt Garrick reveal the moments that almost ended the trial, that prompted aggressive questioning and led to some surprising friendships. If you have any questions you'd like Oli and Stocky to answe...

The jury has reached its verdict in the trial of croc wrangler Matt Wright — but not without a twist. In this episode, reporters Olivana Lathouris and Matt Garrick join Stephen Stockwell to take you inside the courtroom as the decision was handed down and discuss what comes next for Matt Wright. If you have any questions you'd like Oli and Stocky to answer in future episodes, please email thecaseo...

The jury has begun deliberations in the trial of Matt Wright, after three days of closing arguments and judge's directions. In this episode, Stephen Stockwell, Olivana Lathouris and Matthew Garrick step through the key arguments each side made regarding whether to convict or acquit the former Territory face of tourism, Matt Wright, for attempting to pervert the course of justice. If you have any q...

Mushroom Case Daily reporters Kristian Silva and Rachael Brown join Stephen Stockwell for a breakdown of Erin Patterson's plea hearing. Seven weeks after her guilty verdict, Patterson has returned to court to face her victims — the sole survivor of the deadly lunch, Ian Wilkinson; her estranged husband Simon Patterson, and other family members. In this episode, we talk through the victim impact st...

Covert recordings of croc wrangler Matt Wright allegedly discussing the destruction of a helicopter maintenance document have been played to the court as his trial nears its end. In this episode reporter Olivana Lathouris joins Stephen Stockwell to talk through the key moments of these recordings and the next stages as the prosecution closes its case against Matt Wright. If you have any questions...

In a flurry of activity following the 2022 fatal chopper crash, witnesses have described conflicting accounts of who did what. Specifically, who moved what: a logbook, a document and a diary. In this episode reporters Olivana Lathouris and Matt Garrick join Stephen Stockwell to talk through scenes from pilot Sebastian Robinson's hospital room and his cottage, as well as Matt Wright's defence team'...

Pilot Sebastian Robinson has spent a gruelling four days in the witness box, giving evidence against his former employer, TV star Matt Wright. In this episode, Olivana Lathouris and Stephen Stockwell break down the examination of this key witness: the survivor of the fatal chopper crash that is at the heart of Matt Wright's trial. Sebastian Robinson's evidence included details of the life-altering...

A deadly helicopter crash in February 2022 during a croc egg collection mission set in train the events that led to Matt Wright being charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. In this episode, Olivana Lathouris, Matt Garrick and Stephen Stockwell explain how one of the Northern Territory's richest men and a senior off-duty police officer ended up at the crash, and w...

Celebrity croc wrangler Matt Wright is facing three very specific charges relating to an alleged cover up of evidence. We explain what they are, as well as his alleged motive. In this episode, Darwin court reporter Olivana Lathouris and Stephen Stockwell unpack the prosecution's case against Matt Wright, and how his legal team will defend the charges. We also answer our first curious listener ques...

It's the trial everyone in Darwin is talking about. In February 2022 a helicopter on a crocodile egg collection mission crashed in remote Arnhem Land, killing the egg collector and paralysing the pilot. NT Croc Wrangler Matt Wright isn't on trial for the crash, but for what allegedly he did after. Charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, prosecutors say he tried to interfere with...

Police knew Erin Patterson was being deceptive about her lunch preparation early in their investigation, but they kept a straight face.   In today’s episode, we bring you audio of moments in Patterson's police interview where she lied, and police knew it.  Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell also talk through the next key dates in the case, and deliver a correction regarding an earlier episode’s c...

Allegations of prior poisonings, a mysterious cat story, and a survivor's hallucinations. These are just some of the things that have been suppressed from media reporting until today. Now that the restriction has been lifted, we can finally reveal many other things the jury didn't hear in Erin Patterson's triple murder trial as well. In this episode, Rachael Brown, Kristian Silva and Stephen Stock...

You asked, we answered. As the trial of Erin Patterson wrapped up, you made it clear we should keep making this podcast. So we decided we will, and from this weekend it will become The Case Of. We're keeping this window into the justice system open, using this feed to continue being your eyes and ears in the courtroom for high-profile Australian trials. around the country. Listen to this short dro...

The Mushroom Case Daily mailbag has been overflowing so we are diving back in to answer some of your questions. In this episode Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell explain how the sentencing of Erin Patterson will work, if the verdict can be appealed and reveal the composer of our now-iconic theme music — a question so many of you have asked! If you've got questions about the case that you'd like...

Never foraged. Don't own a dehydrator. Bought them at an Asian Grocer. These are just a few of the lies Erin Patterson spun to try to cover herself, once it became clear she was a suspect in a homicide investigation. In the final chapter of The Case of the Mushroom Lunch, Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell examine all the ways Erin Patterson tried to convince police, her family, and the public th...

Don and Gail Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson had no idea what was ahead for them the afternoon they left Erin's house. They raved about the delicious meal she'd served and went to bed feeling well. In Chapter Four of The Case of the Mushroom Lunch, Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell describe how their paths diverged from Erin's, in a day-by-day comparison between the cook and her guests.

A dehydrator and death cap mushrooms are uncommon murder weapons. To use them in preparation for her guests' beef Wellington lunch, Erin Patterson needed to make a plan months before the day. In Chapter Three of The Case of the Mushroom Lunch, Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell wind back through each of the steps Erin Patterson is believed to have made in preparation for murdering her relatives.

Erin Patterson was convicted of triple murder with no known motive. Still, much has been made of the tensions that simmered with her estranged husband Simon Patterson, and frustrations with her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson. In Chapter Two of The Case of the Mushroom Lunch, Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell retrace Erin Patterson's key life events before she killed...

It started with a homemade meal and ended in a triple murder trial. This is the first chapter in our limited series, retelling the tragic and bizarre case of the mushroom lunch, and its host, Erin Patterson. In this series, Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell draw together all the twists and turns of the unbelievable story over five episodes. Chapter One returns to the day of the lunch, when four...

We will never know exactly how the jury reached its guilty verdicts, but we can tell you why we think they did. Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell are re-joined by court reporter Kristian Silva for this post-verdict analysis episode. Today, we outline the most damning evidence against Erin Patterson, the gaps and questions never dealt with in court, and we dig into our listeners' 'Legally Blonde'...

If the jury didn't hear it, we couldn't talk about it. That's why for weeks we have left certain questions unanswered, even after getting them hundreds — sometimes thousands — of times. Today Stocky and Rachael lift the lid on these topics for the first time: why manslaughter was not an optional charge, where Erin Patterson lived during the trial, whether a certain novel was found on her bookshelv...

As Erin Patterson has spent her first night in prison a convicted murderer, the prosecution's exhibits from the trial have been released to the public. In this episode Rachael Brown and Stephen Stockwell reveal the panicked triple-0 call from a doctor in Leongatha, and bring you reactions from the police and the community in Korumburra. If you've got questions about the case that you'd like Rachae...