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On Trial Australia

Crime Central Australia

Inside Australia's biggest and most gripping trials - the evidence, witness testimony and every update - as it unfolds before a jury.

Join Nine's Penelope Liersch & The Age's Erin Pearson as they bring you real-time reporting from cases that have Australia, and the world, talking. 

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  • 28 episodes
  • Avg 32 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • Friday · 17 min

    Erin Patterson loses appeal

    Erin Patterson has lost the appeal she launched against her triple murder conviction in the Court of Appeal after arguing there were seven reasons why she was wrongly convicted. Patterson will now likely die in jail after her possibility of parole was abolished. Patterson's life sentence, now that it's without parole, means for the term of her natural life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • October 27 · 11 min

    Gregory Lynn’s bail denied

    Accused high country killer Gregory Lynn has lost his second bid for freedom and will remain behind bars as he awaits a retrial for the alleged murder of missing camper Carol Clay. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • October 23 · 26 min

    Accused killer Gregory Lynn claims: ‘I am the victim here’

    Former Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn says he is ‘the victim’ - as he makes a bid for bail ahead of a retrial next year over the alleged murder of retiree Carol Clay, who vanished while camping in Victoria's Wonnangatta Valley in 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • October 15 · 47 min

    Victoria: The Suppression State

    Accused and convicted criminals are using the legal system to hide their identities. Justin Quill, top media lawyer at Thomsons, takes us inside the world of suppression orders and how Victoria became the 'suppression state'. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • October 8 · 41 min

    The Patterson court watchers

    The mushroom murder trial captured attention all over the world, but unlike most cases, people began travelling to court to see it for themselves. In this episode we’re joined by Tammy Egglestone, who’d never attended court and then spent months in Morwell watching this case unfold. Erin Patterson has appealed against her convictions by a Supreme Court jury, maintains her innocence, and prosecutors have also appealed for a harsher sentence. The Victorian Court of Appeal has yet to hand down its decision in both appeals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • October 1 · 27 min

    The Hotel Bungle

    As the jury deliberated in Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial, they were staying in the same hotel as police and the media. So what actually happened during the accommodation cross over? Senior reporter at The Age, Chris Vedelago, joins Penny and Erin to unpack it all. Erin Patterson has appealed against her convictions by a Supreme Court jury, maintains her innocence, and prosecutors have also appealed for a harsher sentence. The Victorian court of appeal has yet to hand down its decision in both appeals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • August 21 · 33 min

    Erin Patterson's lies

    Erin Patterson's interest in foraging for wild mushrooms was at the centre of the second day of her appeal against her convictions for murder and attempted murder, which she has always denied, as prosecutors zeroed in on the lies she told police. The DPP also put forward its case for why she should never be released from prison as they appeal her sentence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • August 20 · 36 min

    Killer’s appeal

    Lawyers for mushroom murderer Erin Patterson claim the jury could have been contaminated by a hotel blunder and that the killer was forced to take the stand. Her legal team have argued seven key issues in an attempt to have her convictions thrown out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Oct 2, 2025 · 20 min

    Erin Patterson’s ‘last ditch attempt’

    Erin Patterson’s new barrister tells the court his team needs more time to prepare an appeal case against the triple murderer’s conviction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
  • Aug 29, 2025 · 30 min

    Inside the prison cell

    The prosecution calls for Erin Patterson to be handed a life sentence, without the possibility of parole. The court is also given a rare insight into the killer’s life in a maximum security prison cell, including the personal items she keeps. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Aug 26, 2025 · 49 min

    'I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim'; The family speaks

    The only survivor of the deadly mushroom lunch says he forgives the woman who tried to kill him, pastor Ian Wilkinson telling the court ‘now I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim, and she has become the victim of my kindness’. Speaking through tears the family she tried to destroy say they can not understand her murderous wrath. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Aug 11, 2025 · 36 min

    What really happened to Simon Patterson

    Listen for the first time what the jury didn't hear, including Simon Patterson's claims his estranged wife was trying to kill him for years, secret poison papers found on her electronic devices and the killer's imaginary cat. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jul 18, 2025 · 48 min

    The many faces of Erin Patterson

    In the aftermath of the trial, Erin and Penny take listeners through their observations from the courtroom, things the jury didn’t see and just how big the global attention is. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jul 9, 2025 · 33 min

    Why did she do it? The doctor's perspective

    In an extended interview, Leongatha doctor and trial witness Christopher Webster sits down with our hosts to speak about his interactions with murderer Erin Patterson when she arrived on his hospital doorstep in the aftermath of the fatal lunch. It’s a case, he says, that’s changed his life forever. Please be advised: This episode contains strong language. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jul 7, 2025 · 29 min

    ‘Guilty’ - the jury decides

    12 jurors have convicted Erin Patterson of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Come inside the courtroom as the verdict was handed down and hear some of the evidence for the first time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jul 7, 2025 · 3 min

    THE VERDICTS

    After 6 days of deliberations, the jury has returned with its verdicts. We bring you some of the reaction as it unfolded in Morwell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jun 30, 2025 · 22 min

    Deliberations begin

    After 40 trial days, the jury retires to deliberate. With two jurors balloted off, the remaining 12 are now sequestered, unable to return home. The judge gives them a final warning to avoid discussing the case with anyone outside the secure jury room. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jun 26, 2025 · 39 min

    Judges of the facts

    The final instructions to the jury, known as the judge’s charge, are underway. Justice Christopher Beale gives directions on the principles of law while also summarising parts of the evidence. He says the jurors, and only them, are the judges of the facts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jun 19, 2025 · 54 min

    ‘Total speculation’

    Erin Patterson’s barrister finishes his final plea to the jury, telling them they must find his client not guilty. He points to four ‘ridiculous convoluted propositions’ from the prosecution and argues the accused never had any reason to harm the lunch guests. He urges the jurors to put themselves in her shoes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  • Jun 17, 2025 · 50 min

    'Fifth deception'

    The Crown closes its case, accusing Patterson of engaging in multiple calculated deceptions and telling lies even when her lunch guests were gravely ill. Rogers also accused Patterson of trying to play the jury. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • Transcript
Showing 1–20 of 28 episodes