The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have launched a new podcast Trial By Water investigating what happened on Father’s Day, 2005 when Robert Farquharson drove his three young sons into a dam. Two juries would later find him guilty of triple murder with a judge sentencing him to 33 years in prison.
The five-part podcast series comes after a joint 60 MINUTES, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald investigation, which you can catch up on on 9NOW, seeking to reopen and delve deeper into the case.
Farquharson has maintained his innocence, saying he coughed, passed out, woke up in the dam, and before he could help his children, the car disappeared into the water.
Hosted by investigative journalist Michael Bachelard, with never-before heard audio from inside the courtroom as well as interviews with detectives, scientists and doctors, the series asks the question could a convicted, triple murderer who is currently sitting in a protection unit in the maximum security Barwon Prison win an appeal and be proven innocent?
Bachelard said:
“Investigating this series has thrown up serious questions about how our courts deal with expert and scientific evidence, and whether there are sufficient safeguards built into the system.
These questions concern all of us.”
Trial by Water is available now wherever you get your podcasts.