The Ultimate Sacrifice

A major update in Donald Day Jr’s case - the man originally accused of inciting the deadly police ambush has struck a surprise plea deal in the United States. Melissa Downes is joined by Arizona journalist Cody Lillich to unpack the legal twists, the FBI recordings and how Day walked away with a watered-down conviction.

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One tragic night in 2018, what began as an NRL grand final party in a quiet town on the Queensland coast spiralled into a storm of lies, drunken embellishment and a bungled emergency response. By dawn, two men - Tom Davy & Corey Christensen - were dead, killed by a teenager they’d never met. 

Seven years on, 60 Minutes’ Adam Hegarty has travelled to Alva Beach to uncover the truth behind one of Australia's most baffling legal cases that raises the burning question: How do two famil...

In the final episode of The Saints - The cult is now locked behind bars, but is anyone else to blame for Elizabeth’s death? In this episode, host Pippa Bradshaw is joined by legal experts to examine allegations of multiple failures by the Child Safety Department and the many lingering questions in this case. Why were warnings from medical experts ignored? Why was Elizabeth's case closed? And why was Elizabeth left in the care of two parents convicted over allowing her to almost die the first time, especially after her mother confessed that she would continue to withhold vi...

In Episode Six of The Saints, estranged loved ones of ‘The Saints’ share surreal and heartbreaking accounts of losing family to a cult. This episode reveals that The Saints isn't an outlier, but a textbook example of how cults take hold. Pippa Bradshaw is joined by forensic anthropologist and criminologist Dr. Xanthé Mallett to unpack the formation, impact and far-reaching consequences of fringe religious sects quietly embedding themselves in communities nationwide.

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Episode Five of The Saints takes you inside the unprecedented mass trial. The 14 cult members reject legal representation and let their police interviews do the talking in the Supreme Court of Australia. The Saints are confronted with testimony from medical experts, police officers and family members. After a nine-week trial, the Judge delivers a shocking verdict that will set legal precedent in Australia.

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Episode Four of The Saints explores the circumstances that led to Elizabeth's death. With her mother now out of prison and her father in the grip of the cult and Elizabeth is left vulnerable. After her parents are arrested, Pippa Bradshaw tracks down the cult in Toowoomba to find answers. Months later, 12 other adults are also charged and we hear them attempt to justify their actions, through hours-long police interviews, steadfast in their belief that God will miraculously bring Elizabeth back to life.

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In Episode Three of The Saints; Serious red flags loomed long before Elizabeth Struhs' tragic death. In 2019, she was rushed to the hospital on the brink of death. Court documents, police interrogations and expert medical testimony expose the events leading to Elizabeth’s diagnosis. Her case was so extreme, having been neglected to the point of critical illness, that her mother was jailed.

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In Episode Two of The Saints, who are the 14 cult members arrested over Elizabeth Struhs’ death? How did ordinary people, from teachers to police officers, become entangled in religious cult who called themselves The Saints? Estranged family members and friends break their silence for the first time. This episode breaks down the origins of this group, its members, and the shocking truth behind their decent into religious extremism.

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Welcome to Episode One of this new true crime podcast.
In January 2022, two parents were arrested on the front lawn of their Toowoomba home and charged over the death of their eight-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Struhs. In the months that followed a disturbing story unraveled of a religious cult with extreme beliefs, rejecting medical assistance and placing their complete trust in divine healing.
In a rare and deeply personal interview, Elizabeth’s sister opens up about how their mother’s unwavering devotion to the cult leader shaped their childhood. She shares chilling details of life inside the cult, the...

A little girl dead. A cult on trial. A tragedy that should have never happened.

The Saints unravels the harrowing story of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs, whose parents and their secretive religious group denied her life-saving medical care - choosing prayer over treatment, with fatal consequences. Award-winning journalist Pippa Bradshaw takes you inside one of Australia’s most confronting cases of religious extremism, exposing how blind faith turned deadly. With exclusive interviews, chilling police interrogations, and expert analysis, this gripping series lays bare the sinister side of excessive devotion. How did no one stop it? And could it ha...

Search for 'The Mushroom Trial: Say Grace' wherever you get your podcasts, then press the follow button. New episodes publish weekly. 

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From A Current Affair and 9Podcasts, The Saints is a new investigative podcast unraveling one of Australia’s most shocking and heartbreaking stories: the tragic death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs. All 14 members of the fringe religious group known as The Saints - including her own parents - were found guilty of her manslaughter, but many questions remain unanswered.

How did it all go so wrong? How did an innocent child slip through every safety net? How did a system meant to protect her fail so spectacularly? And will those responsible for her death ever repent?

Th...

A year after the Wieambilla shootings, on the other side of the world, FBI agents swarmed a petrol station in a remote Arizona town, making a dramatic arrest and revealing the man behind the name “Don”. 

Donald Day Jr. is now heading to trial on five federal charges and the evidence against him has been laid bare in new court documents; disturbing videos praising the Trains, online comments boasting about being “an x-con, who’s armed to the teeth”, and the cache of guns found at his home. 

In this episode, U.S Correspondent Jonathan Kearsley bre...

Heartache and disappointment consumed the coronial inquest on its final day. The mothers of Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold deliver emotional statements, sharing the many “what ifs” that still haunt them from that day, and the critical questions that remain unanswered.

In this episode, new details come to light around radio blackspots, body worn cameras, the Arnold family’s agonising five-hour wait for answers, and Rachel McCrow’s final message. And as Internal Investigations hone in on opportunities for improvement, the families are demanding more be done; fighting for Matt and Rachel’s legacy to be one of change...

Ominous final emails sent by Gareth Train never made it into the hands of Queensland police. 

Why were those four young constables sent to that property, into that ambush, without all the information? Would it have even made a difference?

This episode takes us back to the start, unravelling the missing persons report that set this whole series of tragic events in motion. 

More than a dozen New South Wales and Queensland police officers are called into the witness box; every conversation, phone call and email scrutinised.

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Was the Wieambilla attack an act of terrorism?

An expert in political and religious extremism dissects the evidence to address this question. He breaks down Gareth, Stacey & Nathaniel’s radicalisation into five phases, highlighting their dramatic shift through the pandemic along with the part Donald Day Jr played in the rapid escalation of the Train’s extremist religious beliefs.

The Coronial Inquest hears about prison letters, more Youtube videos and cryptic diary entries, and the actions the Train’s took to “bunker down” believing they were nearing their “time in battle”.

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Gareth, Stacey and Nathanial Train had descended into a world of paranoia and conspiracy, experiencing a shared psychotic disorder; Folie à troix, “madness of three”.

This is the assessment of one of Australia’s leading forensic psychiatrists who, after dissecting their upbringing, communications and relationships, has delivered a deep and comprehensive analysis of the Train’s mental state, concluding they were experiencing “identical persecutory and religious beliefs and delusions”. 

In this episode we hear how Gareth's diagnosis may stem all the way back to birth, how this delusional disorder evolved and how he was able to transfer his d...

They’re some of the most highly trained police officers in Australia; and now, specialist operatives take us inside “the most dangerous operation” they’ve ever faced - Wieambilla in December 2022. 

The team leader recalls the extraordinary ‘volley of gunfire’ that shook their heavy, armoured vehicles. The SERT commander lays out their mission to ‘isolate, contain and arrest’, and their tactical approach, fearing the Trains would escape. Plus, the court releases new recordings of negotiation attempts, appeals to the Trains to end the situation without violence, that went unheeded... 

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Untold stories of bravery and courage emerge as the first responding officers step into the witness box, delivering confronting and emotional testimony. Before now, we didn’t know their names, or the extent of their selfless actions, to rescue Constable Keeley Brough, retrieve their fallen colleagues and protect the community. 

Losing daylight, with limited information and unreliable radio communications, they mapped out their plan on the bonnet of a car and volunteered to risk their lives, completing their mission just minutes before the Trains opened fire once again. 

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Alan Dare saw his killer seconds before he was shot, his neighbour by his side. Now, after almost two years, the video Alan was filming at the very moment he went to investigate the explosions and gunshots next door has been made public - and we hear from that neighbour for the first time.  

As Alan ventured out to the Train’s property, his wife Kerry was on the phone to 000, with recordings of those calls now also released. They shed light on a crucial question for Kerry; Had police warned them not to leave their home? 

Confronting recordings are released by the court from Constable Randall Kirk’s body worn camera. We hear exactly how the ambush played out from the officer’s point of view as he dived for cover, saw his colleague executed, attempted to kill one of the Trains, and ran for his life. We also hear, for the first time, the voices of all four of those young officers, as they walked down the Train’s driveway and into that ambush. 

Constable Randall Kirk -  one of the two surviving officers -  has never spoken publicly before. Stoic in the witne...

The first witness takes the stand; Queensland Detective Inspector Sue Newton, who led the 16-month-long police investigation.  Her evidence, and never-seen-before photos, take us inside the Train's property and house, revealing the weapons, the hiding places and some inexplicably bizarre items. The police investigation lays bare the Train’s depraved actions, stripping the gear from the fallen officers bodies, and haunting images captured on one of those officers body worn cameras finally reveals who fired the fatal shots that killed Constable Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold. 

In this podcast episode, host Melissa Downes is joined by producer Jess...

Chilling evidence was played to the Coroners Court on the opening day of the coronial inquest into the Wieambilla massacre, unveiling the tragic moments that led to the deaths of officers Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and neighbour Alan Dare. Footage from police body cameras established a clear timeline of the ambush, capturing the unfolding tragedy - and the heroic actions of the four young officers - in real time. There was also emotional testimony from the victim's families, a joint statement made outside the court. The McCrow and Arnold families said there was “no escaping our devastating loss … the...

Who were the Trains? In the days after the siege, detectives scoured the property, uncovering shocking evidence. It was the start of a years-long investigation that would reveal a twisted tale of conspiracy theories and extremism. Once-respected teachers had turned into cop killers. But what detectives uncovered in the United States would add an even more chilling dimension to the case.

Content warning: This episode contains sensitive material related to violent crime and extreme religious beliefs, and may be distressing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

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A nightmare scenario was unfolding in Queensland's Western Downs: two officers had been murdered and two others were in extreme danger. In the face of untold peril, 16 brave local officers put their lives on the line to save their colleagues. Heavily armed units then moved in, engaging in an hours-long gunfight with the killers: Nathaniel, Stacey and Gareth Train. It was "one of the most dangerous and complex situations police have witnessed in Australia".

Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence, including gun violence and death. Listener discretion is advised.

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Alan Dare was killed when he went to investigate the gunfire and smoke, but his wife doesn't want him remembered as a hero. Kerry Dare has more questions than most about what happened in Wieambilla that day—questions she hopes the inquest will answer. In this episode, we visit Kerry at her home, neighbouring the crime scene, to relive that day through her eyes.

Episodes 3 & 4 of The Ultimate Sacrifice are out Monday, July 22nd.

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Australia was left in shock when four young police officers were ambushed on the driveway of a property in the Queensland outback town of Wieambilla: two were executed in cold blood, two were forced to fight for their lives, and an innocent neighbour was murdered. Before the coronial inquest begins, we take you back to the 12th of December, 2022. How did a routine missing persons callout end in the deaths of Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and neighbour Alan Dare? And how did two officers survive?

Episodes 3 & 4 of The Ultimate Sacrifice are out Monday, July 22nd.<...

Four young officers ambushed; two escaped, two executed in cold blood, an innocent neighbour murdered. How did a routine callout turn into Queensland’s deadliest police shooting?

Episodes 1 & 2 drop on Monday, July 15th.

Episodes 3 & 4 drop on Monday, July 22nd.

Then, from Monday July 29th, this podcast follows the coronial inquest in-depth, releasing regular episodes as new details emerge.

The Ultimate Sacrifice is the new podcast from the acclaimed team of 9News presenter Melissa Downes and producer Jessica Lodge, following their multiple award-winning podcast Hannah's Story, and is produced in partnership with 9Ne...