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Blood Territory: The Death of Jimmy O’Connell

By Pamelascott

How far would you go to clear the name of the man convicted of your son's death?

Red blood stains the red soil of the Australian Northern Territory in this true crime Audible Original Podcast, Blood Territory.

Less than 250,000 people live in the Northern Territory, an area more than twice the size of Texas. If you want to escape from civilisation, you don't have to go far. But you can't outrun the heat. Every year during October and November the sweltering climate can drive people wild; they call it 'Suicide Season', 'Mango Madness' or, more plainly, 'The Build-up'.

It's during this blistering heat that Jim O'Connell's body is found in a creek bed, mummified and with his genitals removed. But when a dubious plea deal buries the truth and puts Jim's best mate, Philip Mather, behind bars for the crime, the victim's parents seek to unravel it themselves to prove Philip's innocence.

Follow journalist Mark Whittaker's journey into the murky heart of the Northern Territory as allegations of police corruption and judicial racism emerge and a shadowy figure known as The Vigilante lurks on the fringe of the investigation.

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(Audible Original, 19 August 2019, 4 hours, audiobook, Audible Original Podcast, free from @audibleuk with membership, narrated by Mark Whittaker)

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Another great true crime podcast from @audibleuk. The events this podcast focus on are pretty grim. Jimmy's murder is quite brutal and how the police tell the family he died by accident, just went into the creek and somehow died is baffling. It's clear he was murdered. How else were his genitals removed? He hardly did that to himself. What struck me about this podcast, is how the parents of the murdered man, refuse to accept the man sent to prison for 11 years, their son's best friend, a man who confessed killed their son. They believe he's innocent from the moment of his arrest. As the podcast unfolds, it become increasingly likely their belief is misguided which is all the more sad and tragic. Like other true crime podcasts, we aren't given all the answers but the investigation is well put together and engrossing.

Blood Territory: Death Jimmy O’Connell

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