Show Notes
Tracey Donnelly says her husband Jim's disappearance is illogical, and 13 years on, still believes there are answers to be found - in the Glenbrook Steel Mill. This series was first released on 17 November 2017. Watch a video segment from the episode here On Monday 21 June 2004, Jim Donnelly signed into work as usual. Thirteen years later, he still hasn't signed out. The 43-year-old father-of-two worked at the Glenbrook Steel Mill, south of Auckland, for nearly 20 years. His wife, Tracey, is still trying to find out what happened to him; she believes the answer lies in the mill where he was last seen alive. "There has been no sighting of him apart from inside the mill. There has been no sighting of him leaving. There has been no sighting of him since he was seen on the gantry," she says. "It makes me incredibly sad and upset that this wonderful person who was my husband and the father of my children disappeared without a trace." The couple's children, Liam and Siobhan, were aged seven and five when Jim disappeared. They are now grown up. On the day Jim went missing, Tracey called him at work about 8am and became increasingly worried when she didn't hear back. Jim had missed a 9am meeting and was nowhere to be found, yet his car was still parked at the mill carpark. He was reported missing about 6pm. Tracey believed he may have had an accident, but the theory shifted. Search and rescue teams thought he may have had a mental breakdown and was actively evading them. Jim had been behaving strangely in the days before his disappearance. Tracey and Jim had planned to spend the night at an Auckland hotel on the Saturday, but out of nowhere he said he had a meeting to go to. A Saturday night meeting made no sense to Tracey, but no matter how hard she tried to find out more, Jim wouldn't tell her where he was going. He hired a suit and headed off. It's still not clear why he needed the suit. Things between the pair didn't get any better the next day, when again Jim said he had to divert a "crisis and a waste". Tracey was confused. Some of his co-workers described Jim's behaviour as strange on the Monday too. Five days after Jim was last seen at work, workers at the mill found his hard hat next to an acid tank in a restricted area of the mill - the area had already been searched. The tank was drained and some of Jim's things were found inside. The acid wasn't strong enough to do significant damage. His house keys have never been found. Who put Jim's things there? That question remains unanswered. The hard hat wasn't tested for fingerprints… Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
More from Motive: Mr Lyttle Meets Mr Big
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? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Is this police sting reliable? Is it just? This episode was first released on 14 June 2023. When Halcombe builder David Lyttle answers a knock on his door in March 2014, he's drawn into a shadowy organisation with promises of wealth and friendship. David is desperate to join, but learns that first, he has to get the nod from the organisation's boss, Mr Big. Mr Big asks David about his past. David says he's committed a murder. He shows the boss where he says the body parts are buried. Then... he's arrested. It was all a police sting! Police dig up the burial sites. There's nothing there. Was this a confession? Is it reliable? Is it just? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
The Mr Big technique is a powerful tool used to get criminals to confess. But is it fair? Is it just? Or does it lead to false convictions? This episode was first released on 6 June 2023. Can the police use a story to get to the truth about a murder? In 2014, David Lyttle, a struggling builder in the little town of Halcombe, answers a knock at his door. What happens then leads him into a shadowy criminal organisation that offers him friendship, a new job, and riches, in exchange for one thing: honesty. Pressed by the organisation's boss, David Lyttle confesses to murdering his friend Brett Hall three years earlier. He shows the boss where he buried the body parts. Then, his world explodes. He's arrested and charged with murder. The whole thing was a police sting operation known as "Mr Big". And now David has confessed. Or has he? The body parts aren't there. It starts to look like the confession doesn't add up. How reliable is a confession obtained by dangling these prizes, and where it costs the suspect nothing to make up a story the boss apparently wants to hear? And how good are we - and are jurors - at working out whether to believe such a confession? This series follows the prosecution of David Lyttle through to the verdict and its aftermath. We visit the campsite in rugged bushland 30 km from Whanganui where David was building a house for his best friend Brett Hall. We learn that Brett was annoyed at David and believed David was ripping him off. We also find out that Brett was dealing drugs and told people he had a big deal coming up soon. Then he disappeared. Did Brett fatally fall out with David over a building dispute? Or was he murdered over a drug debt? The trial looks to be an uphill battle for David Lyttle. There's the confession evidence. The problem that juries almost always convict Mr Big defendants. And the fact that, in order to show the jury how powerful the manipulation was so that they might understand how he came to give a false confession, David is going to have to convince them that he's a liar, a dupe and a willing criminal. Journalist and lawyer Steven Price looks into the stories and failings of one of Aotearoa's most controversial 'Mr Big' investigations. Mr Lyttle meets Mr Big looks at the evidence pointing to David, and the evidence pointing to a drug killing. We examine the police's astonishing failures to properly disclose evidence to the defence - even when that evidence pointed to another killer. We follow the ups and downs of the trial… Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details