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On Easter Sunday,2002, Janelle Patton was murdered on Norfolk Island. it was the first murder on the island in 150 years.
The hunt for the killer and the attendant media scrutiny threw a spotlight onto the small, insular community which perhaps changed it for ever. The suspicions created during the investigation will perhaps linger for many years.
FATAL FLAW follows the investigation, the inquest and the trial which convicted New Zealander Glenn O'Neill.
Although the record shows that O'Neill was the killer, his conviction was based on an early confession which was later recanted by him. The rest of the evidence was largely circumstantial and there were many unanswered questions which haven't completely closed the matter.
Norfolk Island is a somewhat hierarchical community, with descendents of the Bounty mutineers and Pitcairn Islander at the top. it is also a community which is very protective of itself, where the smallest conflicts can result in decades long feuds and rumours run riot.
Roger Maynard looks beneath the seemingly picture-postcard exterior of Norfolk Island and uncovers what lies beneath the surface. What it shows is that life on Norfolk Island is perhaps darker and less idyllic than the tourism publicity would lead us to believe.
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