New Zealand’s Stuff already had polished its reputation for creating quality true-crime podcasts when it decided to try something new in 2023: Combine live court reporting with podcasting.

Most court reporting in New Zealand consists of short articles summarising the day’s events, but Stuff saw an opportunity to dive deeper into the case with podcasting. And the case of David Charles Benbow seemed tailor-made for such a podcast.

Benbow’s case was captivating and salacious. He was accused of murdering his childhood best friend, Michael McGrath, who disappeared in 2017 after McGrath started a relationship with Benbow’s ex-girlfriend. Adding to the attention-grabbing nature of the case was the fact that no body was found, no weapon was ever recovered, and there was no crime scene or physical evidence.

In other words, it was the perfect true crime mystery to catch the ears of the audience.

Inside “The Trial”

As Benbow’s trial date approached in February 2023, Stuff developed the concept for The Trial, which would take listeners inside the courtroom and offer ringside seats to the proceedings as they unfolded. This meant producing episodes as the trial was happening — a first for Stuff — and creating a new workflow that combined in-person reporting with the task of processing hours of court recordings, then scripting each episode before moving into post-production.

The fast-moving process allowed the team to approach court proceedings in a new and engaging way, weaving a story and offering context instead of simply serving up information and evidence from each day’s proceedings.

After seven weeks of testimony and evidence, the jury could not reach a verdict in the case, so a retrial was set for August 2023, opening the door for additional coverage.

Not only did listeners tune it, but the innovative approach led Benbow’s defense team to try to block episodes from being released, arguing it compromised Benbow’s chance of a fair retrial. Stuff found itself in court, defending its right to publish the information — and winning favour from the judge to continue with the podcast.

Winning in the court of public opinion

Attempts to block the podcast only drew attention and drove anticipation for new episodes. The podcast found an international audience and took the top spot on Apple’s New Zealand “All Podcasts” chart; it also was the top true crime podcast for weeks.

Benbow was found guilty in October 2024 and, in March 2024, was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Stuff continued its coverage through the sentencing, and in July 2024, it launched its second season of The Trial with the case of successful eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne, who was charged with murdering his wife in 2021.

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