The Queen & Zak Grieve

The Queen & Zak Grieve is a six-part documentary television series produced for The Australian newspaper. The series investigates the story of Zak Grieve, a young indigenous man from Australia's Northern Territory who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder even the judge said he did not physically commit.[1]

The multiple Walkley Award nominated series was presented by investigative reporter Dan Box and was developed and produced by In Films, in association with The Australian and Screen Australia.[2]

Series

The Queen & Zak Grieve follows journalist Dan Box, national crime reporter at The Australian newspaper, through the town of Katherine in Australia’s Northern Territory as he and his team investigate the killing of Ray Niceforo in 2011 and the events that led to 19-year-old Aboriginal man Zak Grieve being jailed, despite evidence he was not there when the crime took place.[3]

The Northern Territory has had a 20-year non-parole mandatory minimum sentence for murder since 2004. In addition, if an individual fails to stop a murder in the state, that party can also be convicted of murder. The judge who presided over Grieve’s case described the conviction as an “injustice”.

The series features exclusive interviews with many of the people involved, as well as rare crime scene footage, forensic photographs, police interviews with suspects and trial recordings from the case.

Aftermath

Following the broadcast of the series, the Northern Territory Attorney-General Natasha Fyles agreed to forward a mercy plea application to the Administrator of the Territory. After the Administrator’s secretary told Zak Grieve's mother Glenice, that a letter she had written pleading for her son's release had formally triggered the mercy plea process, the NT’s Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, described Zak’s case as an “anomaly” of “blunt” legislation. [4] [5] [6]

Opposition Leader Gary Higgins, said he would support reforming the Territory’s mandatory sentencing laws for murder. The Attorney-General said the royal prerogative of mercy was retained in the Northern Territory and exercised by the Administrator on the advice of the government, handed down by Cabinet. [7]

Zak Grieve remains in prison. [8]

Key characters
  • Zak Grieve - Sentenced to life imprisonment.[9]
  • Darren Halfpenny - Pleaded guilty to helping carry out the murder of Ray Niceforo. Agreed to give evidence for the prosecution.[10][11]
  • Chris Malyschko - Admitted beating Ray Niceforo to death. Pleaded self defence.
  • Bronwyn Malyschko - Former partner of Ray Niceforo and mother to Chris Malyschko. Paid $15,000 to have Ray Niceforo killed after suffering years of abuse.
  • Ray Niceforo - A member of one of the most successful business families in Katherine.
  • Trevor 'Nipper' Tydd - Bronywn's friend, Chris's flatmate and helped in the planning and organisation of the murder of Ray Niceforo.[12][13]

Episodes

Music

The music for the series was composed by Helena Czajka.[20]

Online

The series was streamed on The Australian newspaper's website from August 28, 2017. Each episode was supported on a custom built online hub,[3] with additional material, including extensive editorial, extended interviews, maps, forensic photographs and interactive elements.[3]

Broadcast

The series premiered on Foxtel's Crime + Investigation Channel on September 27, 2017 [21] and on NITV March 4, 2018.[22]

Awards and nominations
YearAwardsCategoryNominatedResult
2018 Kennedy Awards Outstanding Online Video Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney, Dan Box Won
2018 Logie Awards Most Outstanding Factual Programme In Films Nominated [23]
2018 Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo Documentary In Films Nominated [24]
2018 Australian Directors Guild Awards Best Documentary Series Ivan O'Mahoney Nominated
2018 Banff Television Festival Best Crime & Investigative Program In Films Nominated
2017 Screen Producers Australia Best Documentary Series In Films Nominated
2017 Walkley Awards Production Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney Nominated [25]
2017 Walkley Awards Cinematography Aaron Smith Nominated [25]
2017 United Nations Media Awards Best Online In Films, The Australian Online Nominated
2017 Australian Human Rights Commission Awards Finalist In Films Nominated [26]

See also

References
  1. "The Queen and Zac Grieve". The Australian. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. "The Queen & Zak Grieve". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  3. "The Queen & Zac Grieve". www.theaustralian.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-20/zak-grieves-prison-sentence-reduced-after-mercy-plea/10637998
  5. https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2018/12/20/zak-grieve-be-released-early-nt-prison-after-successful-mercy-plea
  6. https://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1444903/Petition-for-mercy-in-the-matter-of-Zak-Grieve-FULL-DOCUMENT.pdf
  7. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/the-queen-and-zak-grieve/zak-grieves-mercy-plea-moves-a-step-closer/news-story/14a52030409c063fcf7e5cd92cfb98a5
  8. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-29/zak-grieve-mother-glenice-voices-anger-at-system-frustrations/11053414
  9. "Doco hope for convicted killer, Zak Grieve". www.ntnews.com.au. September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  10. "Subscribe to The Australian - Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  11. "Darren confesses to his role in the murder". abc.net.au. 24 August 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  12. "Subscribe to The Australian - Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps". www.theaustralian.com.au.
  13. "Subscribe to The Australian - Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps". www.theaustralian.com.au.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. "Helena Czajka". IMDb. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  21. "Foxtel announces Queen & Zak Grieve premiere - Mediaweek". mediaweek.com.au. 4 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  22. "NITV". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  23. "Logies nominations: High-profile hosts snubbed". news.com.au. 27 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  24. "Monte Carlo TV Festival 2018: nominees". tvtonight.com.au. 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  25. "Finalists announced for the 2017 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism « The Walkley Foundation". www.walkleys.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018.
  26. connie.kwan (15 November 2017). "Winners and Finalists of the 2017 Human Rights Awards". hrawards.humanrights.gov.au. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018.
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