Trial by Water – Details, episodes & analysis

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Trial by Water

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald

True Crime

Frequency: 1 episode/54d. Total Eps: 15

Trial by Water is an investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005.

Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit?

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Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - trueCrime
28/08/2026
#67
🇬🇧 Great Britain - trueCrime
27/09/2025
#65

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https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
24 shares
https://omnystudio.com/listener
10 shares
https://www.theage.com.au/podcast/trialbywater
4 shares

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Score global : 69%

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Introducing: Diagnosing Murder

Thursday, September 25, 2025 • Duration 04:02

For decades, families in Australia and overseas, have been accused of one of the worst crimes imaginable – child abuse. Diagnosing Murder is an investigative podcast about parents who've had their children taken away, sat in the dock and even done time in prison. All for something they insist they didn't do – shake their baby. Can we trust the science behind shaken baby syndrome? Or are innocent people being locked up for a crime they never committed?

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Bonus Episode: Farquharson Inside

Season 1 · Episode 8

Sunday, April 6, 2025 • Duration 26:34

Robert Farquharson has now spent nearly two decades in prison for murdering his three sons. We've made multiple requests to Corrections Victoria to interview Farquharson, but each request has been turned down. So today, we turn to two of his longest-standing supporters, who speak to and visit Farquharson regularly, to understand what his life is like on the inside.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Bonus Episode: The Psych Report

Thursday, December 19, 2024 • Duration 24:22

When we first released this podcast, we found a gaping hole in the evidence against Robert Farquharson. It seemed like nobody had done a psychological evaluation of a man who was said to have murdered his three sons out of a desire for revenge.

But now, a Freedom of Information request we submitted to police has come back.

It turns out there was a psychological report -- of sorts. So what did it say? And what was its effect on the case?

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Bonus Episode: Your questions answered

Season 1 · Episode 6

Thursday, July 25, 2024 • Duration 40:53

Since releasing the Trial by Water podcast, we’ve been contacted by a lot of people. Some have wanted to ask questions, some to give feedback – positive and negative – and others to tell their stories.

The evidence in this case is so broad-ranging that we couldn’t touch on everything in the series itself. But there are themes to the questions and comments, so in this bonus episode, Trial by Water host Michael Bachelard sits down with the show's executive producer, Ruby Schwartz, to talk through some of those questions.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Episode 5: The Golden Thread

Season 1 · Episode 5

Friday, July 5, 2024 • Duration 56:13

As lawyer Luke McMahon prepares a new fight for Robert Farquharson’s release, we discover something new: that Farquharson and his ex-wife believed that police investigators were trying to pin the crime on him just days after the crash.

So would it be a problem if the system had a strong impression, right from the start, that Farquharson was guilty?

For exclusive content and additional reporting on the case, available to subscribers of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, visit theage.com.au/trialbywater or smh.com.au/trialbywater. Subscribe now to access the special Good Weekend investigation, which features never-before-seen 3D models recreating key scientific evidence, video, audio and other interviews.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Episode 4: The Dad Test

Season 1 · Episode 4

Friday, June 28, 2024 • Duration 58:17

In the story of Robert Farquharson, there's one thing that’s hardest to understand: his behaviour in the minutes and hours after the crash.

Because on that night, his actions seemed so far outside normal behaviour for a father that the police, the media and the general public all came to the conclusion that he must have murdered his three sons.

But is that true? Or is there some other explanation for his unsettling behaviour that night?

The original version of this episode included a re-enactment of parts of Robert Farquharson's formal police interview. We decided to do the re-enactment because of a legal threat from Victoria Police that we would be in breach of a 2009 law, and potentially liable for imprisonment, if we included the audio of the original interview. But since then we’ve clarified that parliament never intended the law to apply to old recordings, so we’ve replaced that re-enactment with the actual interview of Robert Farquharson.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Episode 3: Bad Memories

Season 1 · Episode 3

Friday, June 21, 2024 • Duration 57:13

There were two key witnesses in the Robert Farquharson case.

The first was Greg King, an old friend of Farquharson, and the story he told provided police with something they desperately wanted for their case - a motive for murder.

The other witness, Dawn Waite, came forward four years after the crash. She said she had actually seen Robert Farquharson on the night of the crash, as he was sizing up his exit from the road.

But how reliable are they? And how much can we trust our memories?

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Episode 2: Strands of the Rope

Season 1 · Episode 2

Friday, June 14, 2024 • Duration 58:57

A day after Robert Farquharson drove his car into the dam with his three sons, the homicide squad took over the investigation. Sceptical of his story and suspecting Farquharson's motive was revenge, they began delving into every aspect of his account.

Had he really coughed and passed out? Or would the evidence show he deliberately steered off the road and into the dam to murder his children?

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Trial By Water, Episode 1: Father's Day

Season 1 · Episode 1

Friday, May 31, 2024 • Duration 56:26

On Father’s Day, 2005, Robert Farquharson crashed his car into a dam. He survived, but his three children who were in the car with him didn’t. At first it seemed like a tragic accident. But quickly, it turned into a murder investigation.

For exclusive content and additional reporting on the case, available to subscribers of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, visit theage.com.au/podcast/trialbywater or smh.com.au/podcast/trialbywater. Subscribe now to access the special Good Weekend investigation, which features never-before-seen 3D models recreating key scientific evidence, video, audio and other interviews.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Introducing: Trial by Water

Sunday, May 26, 2024 • Duration 04:00

From The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Trial by Water is a new investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005.

Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit?

Episode 1 will arrive on Saturday, June 1.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Trial by Water – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

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Apple Podcasts

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Trial by Water – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other4

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other4