Motive: Mr Lyttle Meets Mr Big

The Crown finally opens its case against David Lyttle.
This episode was first released on 26 June 2023.
After years of delays and postponements, the Crown finally opens its case against David Lyttle for the murder of Brett Hall.The contest of stories can finally begin.
What really happened? Will the rest of the evidence give us the full story?
And what will the jury think when they hear both sides?
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The trial begins, only to collapse after a week due to police failures. Can a fair trial ever happen?
This episode was first released on 23 June 2023.
The trial begins.
A week later, it's declared a mistrial. The Crown has just turned over evidence that seems to say someone saw the murder of Brett Hall - and the killer wasn't David Lyttle!
How could that possibly happen? It turns out that this is just the latest in an astonishing chain of disclosure failures by police investigating the case.
Is the justice system broken? Can a fair trial go ahead?
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We find it hard to believe people would confess to a crime they didn't commit. But they do.
This episode was first released on 21 June 2023.
What can psychologists tell us about Mr Big?
Leading experts in false confessions argue that we (and therefore jury members) find it difficult to believe that someone could confess to a crime they didn't commit, difficult to tell when someone is lying, and difficult to accept that it's people's predicaments that drive their behaviour, not their character.
All this makes David's lawyers nervous about the trial. They try put up expert evidence so the jury can understand these things, but the judges threw it out.They said juries should be able to understand all that on their own.
But can they?
Could you?
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The police get their confession. But can we believe it?
This episode was first released on 19 June 2023.
We go inside the sting police used on David Lyttle and look at the tactics involved: the nurturing of friendship with "Nick"; the offers of money, cars, trips and status.
David is told again and again the catchwords of the gang - truth, honesty, loyalty.
This is an organisation that looks after its people, that doesn't judge them, and that controls crooked cops who can fix anything.
As long as you are honest with Mr Big.
But is this fair? And can we believe any confession that comes from the sting?
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Only three countries in the world allow the Mr Big technique to be used. We're one of them.
This episode was first released on 16 June 2023.
Mr Big is a powerful technique that can bring justice to murder victims.
But experts disagree about its effectiveness.
Some support the technique. Others think Mr Big stings exploit people's vulnerabilities and encourage them to lie.
Not all countries use the sting, including the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
In Canada, police employ some surprising and troubling variations on Mr Big to get the accused to confess..
But despite all this, an undercover police team here in New Zealand get approval to run Mr Big on David Lyttle.
Will it work?
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