The Twelve (2022) s02e01 Episode Script

Hey.
Hey.
Uh my engine's cooked.
Um, uh, do you want a ride or ?
That alright?
Hello, you.
Uh, I think you know where to find me.
OK, yeah. Let's, uh, rendez-vous apr.
Yeah, OK. Ciao.
Having two defendants
is one of the challenges
of this case, Patrick.
You'll be sitting next to
the co-accused in court,
you know that?
I'll be next to Sasha?
Sasha, yeah, but but to
us, she's just the co-accused.
It's best to keep this depersonalised.
I'm accused of murdering her mum, mate.
It's it's pretty
fuckin' personal, isn't it?
Patrick, you're lucky to
have Mr Colby here pro bono.
You're getting the best.
He knows what he's doing.
That is a persistent rumour, Patrick.
In this case, it's absolutely true.
- Uh-huh.
- Now, remember
every little glance or gesture
will be scrutinised by the jury.
They'll be interpreted in ways
that we can't entirely predict,
so it's best you don't talk
to Sasha at all during court.
Don't even look at her.
Yeah.
And, um
- No-one on the jury can know you personally
- OK.
but there will be
a few that know of you
in a district this size.
That is unavoidable,
so if someone gets
up from the jury pool,
uh, someone that you've had
an unpleasant contact with
a shopkeeper, park ranger
you just give me a little sign, yeah?
- OK.
- And, uh, I'll challenge.
A sign? Uh, yeah.
Um, are they gonna keep me in here,
in this cell next to
him, the whole trial?
Yeah, it's just a little more practical
than going back and
forth from the prison.
OK.
You will be sitting next to Patrick
in court.
It's very exposed up there,
so you need to keep, uh, your
body language neutral, yeah?
- Thanks.
- Yeah, you're right.
Yeah.
I mean, you're you're welcome.
Yeah, righto. Um
Hey, you know what?
You shouldn't pick up strangers.
No, I don't, usually. I
I I just made an exception for you.
Appreciate it.
Thank you. Yeah.
Yeah, it's gonna be hard to be neutral.
I hate him.
It's just a matter of self-control.
Bit late for that, wouldn't you say?
What?
- Modesty.
- Oh, yeah.
I just need a bit of a barrier
between my vagina and this seat.
You just never know who's
stayed in these hotel rooms.
- I'm starving! Let's order.
- Yep.
What was that Italian
we went to last time?
Um Oh, yeah.
So, it's a show pony's first circuit
and first co-accused case.
Yeah, so, he'll be desperate to win,
but he'll make mistakes.
Well, I admire your optimism,
but we can't rely on the
prosecution fucking up.
Now, who do we want on the jury?
Well, for Patrick, I want
hard-working young men
who'll sympathise with him.
Oh, shit!
We want younger women who will
sympathise with both of them.
What?
You're gonna disagree,
but I think a couple
of older men for Sasha.
Older men won't like Patrick.
Yeah, but old-fashioned
guys find it hard to believe
that a woman could kill their mother.
I will give you one old-fashioned man
if we can find one who won't
sympathise with the victim.
The prosecution are probably
going to try and push
a couple of older women through
if we run out of challenges.
Well, let's hope they're not
a narrow-minded bureaucratic type.
It's the first day
of the much-anticipated
trial of the former lovers.
The Supreme Court will be
hearing the case in Tunkwell
in a trial that is expected
to take four to six weeks.
On the morning of 19 July 2022,
mother, landowner
and thriving local farmer Bernice Price
was seen alive and well in
this very town of Tunkwell,
was seen alive and well in
this very town of Tunkwell,
going about her business.
By that evening,
Bernice Price was dead
..murdered by her own
daughter, Sasha Price,
and her boyfriend, Patrick Harrows,
who, after an altercation with a gun,
brutally hit Bernice Price on the head.
And though she was still alive,
the State will show
they dumped her in a well
in an attempt to cover up
her injuries as accidental.
There, Mrs Price drowned
in filthy, stagnant water.
Here, we have a case
of two greedy lovers
who killed a respected town matriarch
all so they could inherit the
12,000-hectare cattle property
known as Airly Downs.
Their motive was not only greed,
but a determination to
pursue a romantic relationship
of which the victim,
Bernice Price, disapproved.
You will hear that the co-accused
are each other's only alibi,
but following charges being laid,
their guilt has strained
their relationship
and torn apart their folie deux.
English, if you please, Mr Prosecutor.
Excuse me, Your Honour.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
what the State is describing
is a joint course of action
where both accused are either guilty
or not guilty of murder.
You can only find them
both guilty or not guilty,
or one guilty and acquit the other.
There is no lesser charge
of aiding and abetting.
Understand?
You'll have a chance to
say so if you don't later.
Good. Carry on.
Thank you, Your Honour.
At least they have tea facilities.
Hopefully it turns into
cocktails on Friday nights.
Or we could introduce Margarita Mondays.
Yes.
- Apparently, these things can be quite gruelling.
- Hmm.
A friend of mine ended up
with PTSD after a trial.
'Cause of what happens with the crime?
No, from dealing with
the other jury members.
Oh, I was hoping they wouldn't pick me.
You're not interested in the case?
That's my ex-husband there
in the pink polo shirt.
- Very ex.
- Oh. Awkward.
Fucking annoying, actually.
Thank you.
Yeah, very, very ex.
- Hey.
- Sorry.
No, no, you're right. I
was just, um, saying hey.
Um, you're Joey Kovac.
- Uh, yeah.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
- What?
- Sorry. No, you were
You were ahead of me at school.
You don't remember. That's OK.
- Claudia.
- Shit!
- Nah, I do remember.
- Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You and, um
You and Haz had a thing,
right? Harry Parsons? You
Yeah. Yeah. Well, for,
like, a minute in Year 8.
- Oh, gotcha.
- Yeah.
And he's Well, he's good good?
He's still kicking a ball around,
playing for the Reddies or ?
I don't know. Last I
heard, he left town, but
- Did he? Oh.
- You'd know better than me.
No, no, no, I've not
talked to him in years.
Yeah. I kinda lost touch
with all the boys after the
You know, he's given up footy and that.
Oh, of course, yeah, yeah.
- I'll let you sit down anyways.
- Yeah, thanks.
Mate, who's looking after the mill
while you're on your civic duty?
Oh, it pretty much
runs itself these days.
I'm just there for decoration.
These jury rules are pretty gnarly, hey?
Nevertheless, we have to stick
by them for the whole six weeks.
Shouldn't have to take
the whole six weeks, right?
Hey? I mean, come on.
Pretty much an open-and-shut
case, to my mind.
I mean, no question
those two did it, right?
That's a very scientific approach, Ian?
I don't want to diminish that,
but I just think everybody
deserves a fair go.
Especially the poor victim.
Poor victim?
You are joking, aren't you?
Am I missing something?
Guessing you're not from around town.
- Oh, am I the only ring-in?
- No, no, I'm from Gully.
Yeah, I'm out of town as well,
so I don't know any local gossip.
Well, I live right here
and I don't know any
local gossip either.
- So
- Bernice Price was
the most notoriously disliked
battleaxe in the district.
You can ask anyone.
People would have been lining
up to knock the old bitch off.
Fuck, Ian.
Oh, tactful as usual.
Right.
Go on.
That's it. Good. Go on.
I told you we were unloading at 2:00.
Yeah, I got held up in town. I'm sorry.
You were meant to prep the gates.
- Well, I'll do it now, then.
- No, I'll do it.
You get all that shit out of the
barn. We're burning on Tuesday.
No, I'm gonna do the gates.
You're not even supposed
to be on your feet
until the moon boot comes off!
You should sit down for a bit.
Look, if I sit down,
I won't get up again.
Hey, Mum, you remember that bloke
that I helped a couple of weeks back?
He's a decent bloke. Reliable.
Listen, he's done a bit of jackarooing.
He's got his tractor hours up.
I was thinking maybe we could, uh,
take him on just for a little bit.
Just until you're
properly back on your feet.
Came calling, did he?
Listen, I know you
don't want to admit it,
but we could use the help right now.
I mean, just even Just
even for a couple weeks.
I told him there might
be a bit of work around.
If he'll take $35 an
hour, we'll take him on,
but he's gone as soon as I'm fit again
or even sooner if he
turns out anything like
that last useless prick we had.
My client, Sasha Price,
is hard-working
stable, a sensible
member of the community,
and a dutiful daughter.
There are no eyewitnesses,
no fingerprints,
no compelling technical
evidence to suggest
that she had any part to play
in the death of her mother.
She lost her mum.
This is her lifelong companion.
And now she finds
herself falsely accused
of an unthinkable crime
that she did not commit.
What we have before us
is a terrible
tragic
accident.
The prosecution is painting a picture
of my client, Patrick Harrows,
as one of two evil conspiring villains,
but the truth is much simpler.
Everyone in rural Australia knows
that farm accidents happen every day.
More people die on farms
than in mining accidents
and a helluva lot more die of
everything other than murder.
Patrick Harrows had not
worked on Mrs Price's farm
for three months at
the time of her death.
The State will produce no eyewitness,
nor any evidence suggesting
that he was even on the
property on that day.
So, when listening to the prosecution,
I want you to apply the
good old-fashioned pub test
to their version of events.
If something sounds unlikely,
then it should fail the pub test
and be rejected.
You don't have to know
exactly how Mrs Price died.
You only have to have reasonable doubt
whether my client
conspired to murder her
to find him not guilty.
Thank you.
According to that, we
should be holding the trial
in your pub, Columbus.
Yeah. I don't know how he thinks
the pub test is gonna work.
In my pub, everybody reckons
they're as guilty as hell.
Nah, I think he's just asking us
to use our bullshit detectors, right?
Exactly. Spot on.
So, we all agree?
Winston for foreperson?
- Sure. Fine with me.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Just so as you know, I used my
vote for you as jury foreman.
Hey, champ? The club's best
and fairest three years running.
Cheers, Ian. I think Winston,
he's the man for the job.
Yeah, nah, he's I reckon
I reckon I could've made a
good fist of it too, you know?
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, good.
- What's that?
Sorry? Oh, oh, nothing, mate.
Just, uh, you know,
saying how lucky we are
to have Winston here to lead
us to the Holy Grail of justice.
- Our fearless leader!
- I wouldn't go that far.
Well, the whole town's
eyes are on you now, mate.
Don't fuck it up.
Hey, darling. I'm gonna call you later.
Um, I hope Noah got to
band practice for once.
Um, I'm gonna try you
tomorrow if I miss you.
Love you.
Oh!
Did a little mercy dash
on your behalf. Some lunch?
Aww, who said chivalry's dead?
Meredith, we have a request
from Fleur, Sasha's cousin.
She wants to sit in the gallery.
Not if she brings the kid.
Ever the soft touch.
- What?
- She's trouble.
What's happening?
She's been making demands.
Senior Constable Collins,
what do you remember about
the evening of July 19?
I was at the station
and I received a call about
an accident on Airly Downs.
It was logged at 9:26pm.
So, an hour after Sasha Price
first called an
ambulance for her mother?
Yes. They, um
The ambos, they couldn't revive her
as she was already dead
and it was difficult
to retrieve her body,
so they called me.
Was there anything about the
property that struck you as odd?
Fire.
As I was driving, I saw
a fire in the burn pit.
What the fuck is going on here?
Mum's fallen in the well
and they can't get her out!
Shit.
My client was very distressed
when you first saw her, wasn't she?
She appeared distraught.
Would you say that her behaviour
was consistent with someone
who just suffered the loss of her mother
through a tragic accident?
It was, yes.
Did you interview Sasha
Price at the scene?
No, not that night,
but, uh, she told me that
the well light was broken
and that she believed that her
mother had fallen in the dark.
So there was no light
when you first arrived?
No, just torches.
Later, we brought in floodlights,
we brought in helmet lights
so all the firies could
see what they were doing
But it would be fair
to say that it was dark
and impossible to clearly
note any forensic evidence?
Yes.
Did you or any of the first responders
try to turn on the light?
- No. No.
- Because it's a tiny space in there
with one light switch.
- No-one walked up to it
- I had no
- and just gave it a quick flick up and down?
- We had no reason not to believe Sasha
uh, the accused about the light.
She lived there. She was
familiar with the place.
Mm-hm.
And you, uh
You also didn't make any
effort to secure the area
for homicide detectives.
Is that correct?
Yeah, yeah, well, because
we weren't viewing it
as a crime scene at the time.
I see.
Thank you. No further
questions. Thank you.
If you didn't believe
it was a crime scene,
why did you take photos?
In case of a WA Safe investigation.
Standard procedure.
Right.
May we review exhibit 3, Your Honour?
When you took these photographs,
you were of the opinion it
was an accident, weren't you?
Uh, yeah. I'd known
the family for years.
It didn't cross my mind it was
anything other than an accident.
When did you decide
it wasn't an accident?
Did you, for instance, go
home, have a nice cup of tea
and then decide a few hours
later it was murder instead?
I only sought advice from Homicide
after the autopsy results had come back.
How much later?
- Three days.
- Three days.
So, even though you
were there on the spot,
you saw everything with your own eyes,
three days later, it still
hadn't crossed your mind
that it was anything
other than accident.
No.
Hm.
No further questions.
But it came as a shock to hear
that her injuries weren't
consistent with a fall.
- Neal
- No, no, no, no. We can't be speaking.
They're making horrible
comments about her online.
- Surely that's not legal.
- Excuse me.
Hey.
You know they're being housed
in cells side by side, right?
Yeah.
You won't be able to stop 'em talking.
- I want them talking.
- What?
If either of them crack,
I've told the guard to
let the prosecution know.
Just
The shape and angle of the
injury to the back of the head
was more consistent with a blow
by an instrument than a fall.
What effect did the blow to
the head have on Mrs Price?
The blow rendered her unconscious.
- She died of drowning.
- Drowning where?
Uh, the E. coli in
the water in her lungs
matched the E. coli in the well water.
What kind of implement would
make an impression like this
in a human skull?
As there were contusions on her skin,
but no deep lacerations
- Thanks.
- it was likely to be a heavy implement
with rounded edges.
Can you look at these photographs
of farm implements found at the scene?
Exhibit 8.
Could any of these tools
have caused such an injury?
Your Honour, prosecution
has produced no evidence
of a murder weapon.
Your Honour, the State
seeks to show the correlation
between the shapes of these implements
in contrast to any objects in the well.
I consider that reasonable, Mr
Colby. I'll allow the question.
Dr Liu,
do you see any implement that
would cause such an indentation
in Mrs Price's skull?
The metal end of the bottom
tool would be the closest.
The bottom tool Dr Liu has identified
is, I believe, known as an auger.
Yes, Your Honour,
or more commonly as a post hole digger.
Hey! What are you doing here?
I dunno.
You've got a visitor.
Oh, he's a little bandit, this one.
- A fence down, hey?
- Yeah.
Should I get the ute
and we'll take him back?
Uh, yeah.
Or, uh, I could I could carry him.
You what?
You been smoking weed again?
No, watch and learn.
- You ready? You watching?
- Yeah.
No way.
It's my party trick.
I'm famous for it.
That is that is the
fuckin' sexiest thing
I've ever seen in my whole life.
Come here.
What are you talking about?
What did you ascertain as time of death?
Based on the air
temperatures on the day,
uh, and the rigor mortis,
the victim died between
3:30pm and 4:30pm
on July 19.
So, when the paramedics
were first called
by Sasha Price at 8:32pm,
how long had Mrs Price been deceased?
At least four hours.
Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honour.
Where did you earn your degree, Dr Liu?
At Tsinghua University in Beijing.
I see. And did you grow up on a farm?
I grew up in Beijing. It's a city.
Yes, I'm aware of that. I've been there.
Remarkable Peking duck,
but lamentably few farm wells.
Dr Liu, did you
personally inspect the well
in which Mrs Price died?
- No.
- So, how did you establish
that there was nothing in the well
that caused her head injuries?
I was provided with forensic photographs
and measurements of the well internals.
But since you didn't inspect the well,
you cannot be 100% certain
that all aspects of the well
were taken into account, can you?
I can be quite certain.
Can you be 100% certain?
Think carefully before you answer that.
Not 100%.
So, you must agree
that there is a chance,
no matter how small,
that there was something in that well
that caused those injuries
to Mrs Price's skull.
Well, yes.
Yes.
No further questions.
So, they make you take
off the knife every day?
Yeah, I told them it was a
religious symbol and not a knife,
but also made me hand it in.
So, um, what's it a symbol of, then?
Um
Well, it reminds us to
stand up against injustice.
- Uh-huh.
- Which is, like, apt for the occasion.
You know, I actually have
Indian heritage, apparently.
It was somewhere along the line.
- Really?
- Yes!
Sorry I didn't make
it back in time, hon.
Yeah, I'll see you in a fortnight.
Oh, wait! Did you speak to the neighbour
about not using our bins?
Well, I disagree,
but we will have that
argument when you get home.
Alright, miss you already. 'Bye.
Oh, Mum, I've been meaning to ask you,
there's a very nice
Indian girl on the jury.
Her name's Parvinder
and we've been talking about
my Indian heritage through Dad.
I'm wondering does it
come through Grandma
or is it Granddad?
Mum?
W-what?
My Indian heritage.
Shh.
Shh!
All the washing. All the washing!
Mum, Mum, Mum! Hey, it OK.
There's no washing. Ray did it.
Oh.
Mrs Price's daughter and her boyfriend
were charged with the woman's
murder last August and
How do they expect small
businesses to survive
while staff are doing jury duty?
I can still do nights and Saturdays.
She's a hard worker. She'll help.
Oh, yeah.
Her mind's already not on the job
because she forgot to pick
up our cake for dessert.
- Ma, it was a big day!
- Mm.
Hey, I'm not supposed
to be watching this.
- Can we mute it or something?
- expert witnesses.
- Was she murdered?
- We don't know yet
and we're not supposed
to talk about it either.
You know, that man, that, um
- Ma!
- What's his
- What's his ?
- Patrick.
Patrick! Whatever his name is.
He's a gold-digger, my opinion.
So, he works in the mines?
No, 'gold-digger' is
when someone, like a guy,
pretends to be in love with a lady,
but, really, he's only after her money.
- She doesn't need to hear that.
- Yeah, well
- She's nine years old.
- OK, but Mum brought it up.
And she needs to know
how the world works.
Don't listen to her.
Yeah, no, I'm on fuckin' jury duty.
Yeah. Pretty hectic.
Um, so, yeah, you don't
have any spare drivers
who can squeeze in a cheeky
south-west run this week?
Yeah, nah, that's fair
enough. Pretty last-minute.
Oh, I already tried both
of them, but no luck.
It's all good. It's my problem.
Yeah. I'll sort it.
OK. Yeah, cheers. Thanks, mate. 'Bye.
Fuck.
Fuckin' hell.
You're not gonna find anyone.
Dad's not gonna let
you drive a truck, mate.
He just forked out 200K for it.
Did you even ask him?
Yeah, I asked him, Pete.
He wants someone with
more experience, mate.
- Oh, fuck off. Really?
- Yes.
I got my MR licence.
I can handle this thing, mate. I
Just talk him into it.
Sure.
Hey, Pete. Joey round?
Yeah, just here.
Hey, babe.
I was expecting you to come
home and tell me about the trial.
Yeah, I just had to make
a few phone calls, babe.
That's all. Sorry. I lost track of time.
Well, you can tell me about
it after netball, then.
Over dinner.
OK. Yeah. Sounds good.
I'll finish up here and
see you after netball.
- See ya.
- Have fun.
Give 'em hell.
Don't fuckin' look
at me like that, mate.
Fuckin' hell!
Wait, where the fuck ?
Where the fuck ?
What did you lose?
Just looking for your
fuckin' balls, mate.
Oh, good one. Good one.
Listen, Pete, hey,
I'm sorry about the driving gig, mate.
Yeah, if you were sorry,
you would sort it, but
whatever.
Now I know why they
call it 'the circus'.
Mm, it's a play on 'the circuit'.
Of course, of course, but it
is like being on a circus train.
- Mm.
- You know, riding into small towns,
roll up for the show.
I asked for Reggiano.
This isn't Reggiano.
Mm.
Those two are obviously
comparing briefs.
Well, if you're such a
stickler for the rules,
you really should be
sitting at another table.
What happens on circuit
stays on circuit.
Detective Gardner,
can you tell the court your
role in the investigation
of Bernice Price's murder?
I'm a senior detective
based in Boorloo/Perth
and I was called onto the case
by Senior Constable Collins
once it became a homicide investigation.
Can you tell us what you know
about the deceased's movement
on the day she died?
Mrs Price was seen at
approximately 11:35am,
driving in town,
by her solicitor, Stanley Churchill.
How do?
She was then seen around
about 15 minutes later
entering the Sunrise Motel room
where Mr Harrows was staying.
She was carrying a bag
and then she emerged 10
minutes later without the bag
and drove away.
- Was she seen after that?
- No.
At 3:26pm that afternoon,
a neighbour heard a gunshot
on the Airly Downs property
and came to investigate,
but there was no sign of Mrs Price
and her vehicle was parked at the well.
You mentioned a gunshot.
Did you undertake an
investigation into that?
Yes, we did.
There was Packard ammunition residue
on Mrs Price's vest
and that is consistent with a gun
being fired at close range to her body.
We believe that the gun went off
during an altercation with the accused.
Did you find any
firearms on Airly Downs?
There was an old shotgun
registered to Mrs Price,
but ballistics determined that
there was no Packard ammunition
or residue in the barrel.
Oh, fuck.
Your shottie's seen better days.
It's practically an antique.
Fuckin' is.
You know, my foster dad,
the one that taught me
about shooting and stuff
he'd have a stroke if he saw this gun.
You guys need a new one.
Your hair looks nice.
Yeah?
Well, did you search anywhere else?
Yes.
In Patrick Harrows's motel room,
there was an unregistered
.22-calibre rifle
hidden under the bed
and there was also Packard
ammunition found with it.
Your Honour, relevance.
The victim had no gunshot wound.
Mr Prosecutor, how is this relevant?
It's most relevant
as the discovery of the gun,
along with the witness
statement about the gunshot,
led to the accused being charged.
Very well, I'll allow it.
- Detective.
- Yes.
What else can you
tell us about that day?
In the morning, Sasha Price,
at the request of her mother,
had withdrawn $100,000 cash
from the local bank branch
and then delivered it to
her mother at Airly Downs.
That was at about 10:30am.
Her mother then drove into town
where she visited Patrick Harrows
and gave him the cash.
Your Honour, there is no proof
that my client received $100,000.
Detective Gardner, can
you specify how much cash
was given to Mr Harrows?
Well, we know he was given $50,000,
but the other $50,000
is not accounted for.
Did the accused furnish
police with alibis
for the time of death?
We were at the waterfall all afternoon.
Describe 'all afternoon' for me.
We were there from about 3:20
through to about 5:00.
Did anyone see them at
the waterfall, Detective?
Their alibi is uncorroborated.
They were then seen around 7pm
having dinner at a local restaurant.
CCTV footage obtained from
the restaurant's car park
at 7:39pm
showed that the
co-accused were arguing.
Let's review the CCTV footage.
Was he pressuring you to stay
quiet about what you'd done?
No. We haven't done anything.
Then what were you arguing about?
- What were you arguing about?
- Um um um
That that that was just
Well, it was a personal matter.
You can get me a lawyer right now, hey?
I'm not fuckin' talking anymore.
Sasha Price then drove
home to Airly Downs
at around about 8:10pm.
She claimed that, upon not
seeing her mother in the house,
she set fire to the burn pit
and then called the deceased's phone
before discovering her
mother's ute at the well
and then investigating.
She called emergency
services at around 8:32pm.
On her own evidence,
Sasha Price set fire to the burn pit
before calling the ambulance.
Yes.
What was she burning?
We found remnants of pallets,
feed bags, household rubbish,
but also the metal remains of an auger.
Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honour.
Detective Gardner, you took
statements from several people
who told you that Mrs Price held grudges
- against others in the community, didn't you?
- Yes.
For example, a neighbour
who was on the property
at the time of Mrs Price's death,
she told you that she
had a dispute, didn't she?
- Yes.
- Several contractors gave evidence
that they were owed
substantial amounts of money
from Mrs Price, didn't they?
- Yes.
- And a group of pig shooters
who were in the vicinity on July 19,
they told you that they
had a long-standing dispute
with Mrs Price for an incident
in which she fired a
shotgun at them, didn't she?
- Yes, but they all have alibis.
- In fact, Detective, not one prosecution witness
will give evidence that Sasha Price
had a violent relationship
with her mother
and your narrative about my
client murdering her mother
is based entirely on
circumstantial evidence,
isn't it?
Isn't it?
Yes.
Thank you. No further
questions, Your Honour.
Dad, I've literally
tried, like, everybody.
No-one but Pete's available.
He's got his Medium Rigid licence, yeah.
Yeah, I told you that.
OK.
Yeah, OK.
Yeah, no, I'll give him a run tonight
after after court.
Beauty. Alright. Cheers, Dad. Yeah.
Thanks so much, Vicki. We'll be fine.
You can't talk to Sasha's friend
about the case. She's a witness.
I know that, but Vicki's babysitting
so I can be in court.
Well, just don't give
her any information.
What is an auger used for?
Digging holes, taking soil samples.
Is it a common farm implement?
I can't answer that.
Well, my inquiries found
that 243 augers were sold
in the local hardware shop
over the last 12 months.
Would you agree that makes
it a pretty common implement?
Probably, yes.
Yes. Now, is this auger the one
you believe to be the murder weapon?
- No.
- No, but this auger was found by police
on Airly Downs,
having been purchased by Mrs Price
a month before her death for 69.99
something of a bargain.
Is that correct, Detective?
Yes.
So, if this auger that
was found on the property
was not the murder weapon,
did someone bring another
auger to hit Mrs Price with?
We believe the auger that was
used was found in the burn pit.
In the burn pit.
Exhibit 4, please.
So, you believe that this implement
was used to strike
Mrs Price on the head?
Yes.
Why were you convinced
that this was burnt to cover evidence?
Because Mrs Price's farm working book
showed that the burn pit wasn't
scheduled to be lit that day.
The farm working books, yes.
Please hand the witness exhibit 10,
the last three years of Mrs
Price's farm working books.
Open to July, if you would.
Now, you'll find that
although the burn pit was lit
every fourth Tuesday of the month,
this varied every July
following a large annual
delivery of fertiliser
after which they would burn the pallets.
So, July 2019.
The burn took place on the
third Tuesday of the month.
July 2020, the third Tuesday.
July 2021, the same pattern.
Do you agree?
Apparently. Yes.
The burn, in fact,
was due on that day
the day of Mrs Price's death.
So, is it possible that,
by lighting the burn
pit on that evening,
her daughter was not burning evidence,
but simply performing a farm chore?
It's possible.
It's possible. Thank you.
How'd I get so lucky?
What
finding a job with benefits attached?
Yeah.
Why aren't you married?
I don't know.
Um, well, I went to an
all-girls boarding school.
And then Mum went through a phase
of trying to marry me
off to sons of farmers.
Right.
I don't know. It just never really
It just never really worked out.
Women in my family live to, like, 100,
so the prospect of spending that
amount of time with my mother
- probably wasn't an asset.
- Ah!
Now, that I can really understand.
We don't fuck the hired help.
Unless it's you.
Don't be ridiculous.
Lines get blurred.
He'll take advantage and talk
about our business in town.
- You're gonna make a fool of yourself.
- You're just jealous, Mum.
So, did you find any forensic evidence
on the auger in the photo
that would connect it
to Mrs Price's death?
- No.
- No. Any hair?
- No.
- Or skin, for instance?
No, we did not.
No, no.
Well, that doesn't
augur well for your case,
does it, Detective?
Hello? I've got cake.
Great.
- How's she feel?
- Yeah, it's good.
She's easy to drive, huh?
Yeah. It's like riding a bike, mate.
Fuck, I've never seen
you ride a bike before.
I'll take a photo of you,
send it to the old man.
Like this?
Don't fuckin' do that, you dickhead.
- That'll just piss him off.
- Bro, let's do it. It'll be funny.
- Fucking hell.
- You right there, bro?
Yeah, yeah, just
dropped me fuckin' phone.
Yeah, it's down here. Down here.
- Wait, watch the fuckin' road, man!
- Shit!
Keep going over!
- Oh, shit.
- You good?
What the fuck was that?
It's the fuckin' Tunkwell sign.
Pop it in reverse. Put
it in reverse. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, just back her up.
Just gently. Gently. Fuck!
Fuck!
OK, yeah, just drive.
Argh, fuck!