Mr Lyttle Meets Mr Big

Introducing: Mr Lyttle Meets Mr Big

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?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

A Knock at the Door

Is this police sting reliable? Is it just?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

Mr Big: How it Works

Only three countries in the world allow the Mr Big technique to be used. We're one of them.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

The Mr Big Operation on David Lyttle

The police get their confession. But can we believe it?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

What to Believe

We find it hard to believe people would confess to a crime they didn't commit. But they do.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