Justice, tragedy, and betrayal: the crime stories that defined us in 2025
Updated 7 hours ago by Carla Mascarenhas
From a fatal beef Wellington poisoning to a reality TV romance that ended in court, and a veteran broadcaster facing dozens of sexual abuse allegations, the nation was gripped by a series of shocking crimes in 2025.
Murders, courtroom dramas, and fugitive manhunts captured headlines, while reality television couples traded insults in courtrooms instead of on screen.
Below are the most significant crime stories The Senior reported on throughout 2025 that caught your attention.
Mushroom cook verdict
It's every family's worst nightmare. Grandparents being poisoned by someone in their family.
In July, after almost three months of hearing evidence in a regional courtroom, a jury found that death cap mushroom killer Erin Patterson poisoned her in-laws with a beef wellington during a meal at home.
The 50-year-old was found guilty of murdering Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, when she fed the group a fatal dose of death cap mushroom.
Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, survived the meal after a successful liver transplant.
The case sparked a national media frenzy and drew international attention, spawning daily podcasts and YouTube videos.
And the interest shows no sign of abating with multiple books and an ABC drama series in the works in 2026.
Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy
The tragedy broke a nation's heart. Six Tasmanian children were killed when a wind gust lifted the castle and inflatable balls in northwest Tasmania in 2021.
In 2025 castle operator Rosemary Gamble and her business Taz-Zorb faced court over the deaths of the children.
Ms Gamble was found not guilty of workplace safety breaches, with a magistrate ruling the "dust devil" was impossible to predict, despite the fact Ms Gamble in some respects failed to comply with her health and safety duties.
Fugitive Dezi Freeman
Hundreds of police officers, a dog squad and drone unit failed to locate Australia's most wanted fugitive, Dezi Freeman in 2025.
Freeman had been on the run since August 26 after police allege he opened fire during the execution of a search warrant, killing two officers, Senior Constable Vadim De Waart and Detective Neal Thompson.
Police now believe he is likely dead and say the search has shifted from a manhunt to a recovery effort.
The Alpine region would normally be preparing for an influx of visitors in the summer school holidays, but tourism has been hit bad as the case continues to haunt the region.
Newcastle bus crash appeal
All eyes were on the courts after a bus driver responsible for a horrific crash that killed 10 and injured 25 wedding guests in the NSW Hunter Valley appealed his sentence in 2025.
Brett Button, 60, was jailed for 32 years, after his bus rolled near Greta, in the Hunter Valley, in 2023 while he was speeding and under the influence of the Tramadol.
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While his lawyer argued the sentence was "manifestly unjust and unfair" the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed it.
"The offending did not occur by mere happenstance or chance. Mr Button engaged in undoubtedly risk-taking behaviour," a panel of appeal judges found.
In 2026 survivors, victims' families and insurers will sue the transport department over alleged safety breaches at the roundabout.
Radio veteran in trouble
Former radio king Alan Jones hit the news for all the wrong reasons in 2025 facing a raft of sexual offences in court.
The 84-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 25 charges of indecent assault and two charges of sexual touching against nine alleged victims at a time when he dominated airwaves reaching millions of listeners every day.
The veteran broadcaster is due to fight the allegations at a hearing beginning in August 2026.
The matter will be heard by a magistrate in the Local Court rather rather than a jury in the District Court, which had been Jones' preference.
MAFS couple fall out
Reality TV gone rogue.
Married at First Sight stars Jacqui Burfoot and Ryan Donnelly took their explosive post-show feud to court, with both seeking restraining orders amid claims of harassment and damaging social media attacks.
The duelling applications sparked court appearances in Campbelltown and Tasmania, where the matters were adjourned for mediation and further review of evidence.
Donnelly and Burfoot were paired together in the most recent season of the hit Australian reality TV series but chose to separate during an insult-laden final vows ceremony.
Burfoot is now engaged to her MAFS co-star Clint Rice.
Croc wrangler sentenced
Another reality television star Matt Wright also captured headlines in 2025.
The Outback Wrangler star was handed a 10 month jail sentence for attempting to pervert the course of justice following a fatal helicopter crash where he lost his best mate and co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson.
The crash in February 2022 left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic.
Wright was accused of lying to crash investigators about the amount of fuel in the machine, of trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flying hours and of asking a friend to "torch" the helicopter's maintenance release.
Former cop pleads guilty
A police officer accused of the grisly murder of a TV presenter and his partner in 2023 was back in court in 2025.
Beau Lamarre-Condon, 30, formally pleaded not guilty to the murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, his former partner.
He also said he opposed any orders for a closed court at his trial because he wanted people to know the truth of his case, sensationally claiming corruption in the NSW Police and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A trial to watch in 2026.
Gareth Ward sentencing
Th tawdry tale of NSW MP for Kiama Gareth Ward finally came to a close in 2025.
The one-time state minister was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent and three indecent assaults in July following a NSW District Court trial.
The 44-year-old's acts were "deliberate and predatory," Judge Kara Shead said during sentencing in November.
His defence team had argued that he was unlikely to reoffend because he had been "stripped of power" and his sexuality had come out.
with Australian Associated Press
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