The Ultimate Sacrifice
The Ultimate Sacrifice investigates Queensland's deadliest police shooting, the Wieambilla siege, where a routine callout turned into a planned ambush that killed two young officers and an innocent neighbour. The series explores how a six-hour gunfight unfolded, the survivors' escape, and the investigation that exposed a dark web of conspiracy theories and religiously motivated terrorism. It is produced by 9News presenter Melissa Downes and producer Jessica Lodge, the team behind the award-winning podcast Hannah's Story, in partnership with 9News and 9Podcasts.
Episodes
Episode 17. The Coroner's Recommendations
Weeks out from the third anniversary of the Wieambilla shootings, the State Coroner hands down his report - finding the actions of the Trains on 12 December, 2022 was not a ‘terrorist act’. Some, but not all, of the key issues raised in the inquest are addressed in the Coroner's 10 recommendations - including drones for regional police, mandatory mental health checks for gun lice
Episode 16: The Plea Deal
A major update in Donald Day Jr’s case - the man originally accused of inciting the deadly police ambush has struck a surprise plea deal in the United States. Melissa Downes is joined by Arizona journalist Cody Lillich to unpack the legal twists, the FBI recordings and how Day walked away with a watered-down conviction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode 15: Donald Day Jr.
A year after the Wieambilla shootings, on the other side of the world, FBI agents swarmed a petrol station in a remote Arizona town, making a dramatic arrest and revealing the man behind the name “Don”. Donald Day Jr. is now heading to trial on five federal charges and the evidence against him has been laid bare in new court documents; disturbing videos praising the Trains, online comments boasti
Episode 14: A Legacy of Change
Heartache and disappointment consumed the coronial inquest on its final day. The mothers of Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold deliver emotional statements, sharing the many “what ifs” that still haunt them from that day, and the critical questions that remain unanswered. In this episode, new details come to light around radio blackspots, body worn cameras, the Arnold family’s agonising five-hour wa
Episode 13: The Missing Persons Report
Ominous final emails sent by Gareth Train never made it into the hands of Queensland police. Why were those four young constables sent to that property, into that ambush, without all the information? Would it have even made a difference? This episode takes us back to the start, unravelling the missing persons report that set this whole series of tragic events in motion. More than a dozen New Sou
Episode 12: An Act of Terrorism?
Was the Wieambilla attack an act of terrorism? An expert in political and religious extremism dissects the evidence to address this question. He breaks down Gareth, Stacey & Nathaniel’s radicalisation into five phases, highlighting their dramatic shift through the pandemic along with the part Donald Day Jr played in the rapid escalation of the Train’s extremist religious beliefs. The Coronial
Episode 11: The Madness of Three
Gareth, Stacey and Nathanial Train had descended into a world of paranoia and conspiracy, experiencing a shared psychotic disorder; Folie à troix, “madness of three”. This is the assessment of one of Australia’s leading forensic psychiatrists who, after dissecting their upbringing, communications and relationships, has delivered a deep and comprehensive analysis of the Train’s mental state, conclu
Episode 10: The SERT Operatives
They’re some of the most highly trained police officers in Australia; and now, specialist operatives take us inside “the most dangerous operation” they’ve ever faced - Wieambilla in December 2022. The team leader recalls the extraordinary ‘volley of gunfire’ that shook their heavy, armoured vehicles. The SERT commander lays out their mission to ‘isolate, contain and arrest’, and their tactical ap
Episode 9: The Extraction Team
Untold stories of bravery and courage emerge as the first responding officers step into the witness box, delivering confronting and emotional testimony. Before now, we didn’t know their names, or the extent of their selfless actions, to rescue Constable Keeley Brough, retrieve their fallen colleagues and protect the community. Losing daylight, with limited information and unreliable radio communi
Episode 8: Alan Dare
Alan Dare saw his killer seconds before he was shot, his neighbour by his side. Now, after almost two years, the video Alan was filming at the very moment he went to investigate the explosions and gunshots next door has been made public - and we hear from that neighbour for the first time. As Alan ventured out to the Train’s property, his wife Kerry was on the phone to 000, with recordings of th
Episode 7: Randall Kirk
Confronting recordings are released by the court from Constable Randall Kirk’s body worn camera. We hear exactly how the ambush played out from the officer’s point of view as he dived for cover, saw his colleague executed, attempted to kill one of the Trains, and ran for his life. We also hear, for the first time, the voices of all four of those young officers, as they walked down the Train’s driv
Episode 6: The Lead Investigator
The first witness takes the stand; Queensland Detective Inspector Sue Newton, who led the 16-month-long police investigation. Her evidence, and never-seen-before photos, take us inside the Train's property and house, revealing the weapons, the hiding places and some inexplicably bizarre items. The police investigation lays bare the Train’s depraved actions, stripping the gear from the fallen offi
Episode 5: The Inquest Begins
Chilling evidence was played to the Coroners Court on the opening day of the coronial inquest into the Wieambilla massacre, unveiling the tragic moments that led to the deaths of officers Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and neighbour Alan Dare. Footage from police body cameras established a clear timeline of the ambush, capturing the unfolding tragedy - and the heroic actions of the four young o
Episode 4: The Killers
Who were the Trains? In the days after the siege, detectives scoured the property, uncovering shocking evidence. It was the start of a years-long investigation that would reveal a twisted tale of conspiracy theories and extremism. Once-respected teachers had turned into cop killers. But what detectives uncovered in the United States would add an even more chilling dimension to the case. Content wa
Episode 3: The Siege
A nightmare scenario was unfolding in Queensland's Western Downs: two officers had been murdered and two others were in extreme danger. In the face of untold peril, 16 brave local officers put their lives on the line to save their colleagues. Heavily armed units then moved in, engaging in an hours-long gunfight with the killers: Nathaniel, Stacey and Gareth Train. It was "one of the most dangerous
Episode 2: The Neighbour
Alan Dare was killed when he went to investigate the gunfire and smoke, but his wife doesn't want him remembered as a hero. Kerry Dare has more questions than most about what happened in Wieambilla that day—questions she hopes the inquest will answer. In this episode, we visit Kerry at her home, neighbouring the crime scene, to relive that day through her eyes. Episodes 3 & 4 of The Ultimate S
Episode 1: The Ambush
Australia was left in shock when four young police officers were ambushed on the driveway of a property in the Queensland outback town of Wieambilla: two were executed in cold blood, two were forced to fight for their lives, and an innocent neighbour was murdered. Before the coronial inquest begins, we take you back to the 12th of December, 2022. How did a routine missing persons callout end in th
Introducing: The Ultimate Sacrifice
Four young officers ambushed; two escaped, two executed in cold blood, an innocent neighbour murdered. How did a routine callout turn into Queensland’s deadliest police shooting? Episodes 1-4: The events as we knew them prior to the Coronial Inquest. Then, this podcast follows the coronial inquest as new evidence and information is released. The Ultimate Sacrifice is the new podcast fr
