Blood Territory

By: Mark Whittaker

Narrated by: Mark Whittaker

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

Red blood stains the red soil of the Australian Northern Territory in this true crime thriller.

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.

This series contains mature themes and graphic imagery, and listener discretion is advised.

©2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd. (P)2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.

Blood territory

The audio was good. I am glad they found the killer. I am glad the story was short.

definitely not what I had expected.

the ending is insane and not what I had expected at all it's an amazing thrilling experience to have listened to.

overall well done

in places confusing. so many characters that it was hard to keep it all straight, but well researched, believable, and very interesting. I liked Jimmy's mother the most. I think it is possible that 1 or 2 rogue cops still might have done it. I wish the conclusion was more certain. As it stands we aren't 100% sure who did it. Phillip seems the most likely but he still denies it. i think it is possible that he gave Jimmy a beating, but did not kill him. Still the biggest lack of evidence to support that theory is the autopsy results. If he was beaten badly enough to kill him or almost kill him where are the bruises? He should have at least a broken nose, missing teeth or broken jaw from the attack that witnesses described. Maybe after the fight someone came along, an enemy , finding him in bad shape. cut off the penis and left him to bleed to death. Phillip would never have mutilated him. It makes no sense. The story is quite a mystery! But an unsolved one. I prefer fiction so that the ending wraps the mystery in a neat package.

Solid overall. I enjoyed it but!!!

Solid overall. I enjoyed it but!!! I was really hoping for a different outcome but it was still a good story and good storytelling.

Gripping

A sad story and very compelling. It really shows how one event can ripple through so many lives for a long time even after 'justice' is done and dusted.

So many unanswered questions remain

This was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a book and got a podcast. This is not a bad thing at all. Covering a murder committed outside Darwin, Northern Territories in Australia. The deceased parents believe that the man who served 11 years in prison for the death of their son is innocent of the crime Mark Whittaker followed a request by his journo friend who covered the original case to follow up on the stories. He obtained reprots, collated evidence, and conducted interviews on the case. He came to a conclusion that I'm not sure I agree with. Mosty because the autopsies performed leave a big question mark over his outcome, which doesn't sit well with me, which is why it got a 4 star overall instead of 5 stars. I still have no idea. It was thouroughly investigated by Mark, and very well reported in the podcast. I would love to hear more of the inteviews. Well done.

True or not true

It was ok... nothing really solved from the beginning to the end.. hard to understand with the accents at times...

Well produced content, unfulfilling story

Well produced, scripted, and narrated. However, the story isn’t really a story at all. It was a great six hour thing as a free subscriber item, but I could never recommend this to someone unless they were nuts about the entire true crime genre.

crime in the Northern Territory

This is called a crime documentary podcast or something to that effect. The author, who is also the narrator, is a journalist who makes a living making podcasts that make up a series that is sold in today's internet world. And, it evidently works.

To me, the highlight of the story is the setting in the Northern Territory of Australia which is in the middle of nowhere. On the north central coast of the country it is mostly barren, has a two month rainy season when it is not only hot but extremely muggy as well. There are about a quarter million people living here mostly in Darwin and about a third of the population is indigenous or Aborigine as they care called. And they have racial issues like most of the rest of the world.

One thing that attracted my attention to this part of the world is that there is a US Marine Corp. Rotational Force facility in Darwin where Marines stop as they are coming and going to other points in the region.

The author/narrator did a good, thorough job in his investigation. I can't say it was real exciting but it was interesting.

Unfulfilling conclusions - Spoiler Alert

The ending failed to deliver. Whittaker sets out to prove A. Spends most of the time explaining why A is true. Gets to the last episode. Fail. It’s an interesting case, but Whittaker fails to deliver anything new or interesting. He tries to use language to elicit a specific audience response, but it falls flat. I got as much reading headlines from a google search. Give it a pass if you’re looking for a eureka moment. Recommended if you’re grocery shopping and need a distraction in the background. Not recommended if you’re looking for entertainment.