Drowning in Lies


Genre: Crime & Investigation, Autumn 22


Duration: 2 x 60’


Year of Production: 2022


Production Company: Caravan


Commissioned By: Channel 5 /Paramount, UK


Definition: HD


Is the truth out there?

This gripping mini-series covers the intriguing case of Donald McPherson, who wakes up one day to find his wife Paula floating fully clothed and face down in the pool at their holiday home in Denmark. At first glance, it’s a tragic accident. But when the medical crew arrives, they see worrying marks on her body and call the police. Donald is tried for murder but the case collapses. He walks free... and then it turns out that Donald is not Donald at all.

Unfolding layer by layer, this dramatic true crime tale traces Donald’s secret past and multiple identities in an investigation spanning the globe. It reveals 13 different names and counting; a first wife and child who died in mysterious circumstances; a multi-million-dollar fraud; jail, and connections to the American mafia – plus bizarre beginnings in New Zealand. From one shocking discovery to the next, our suspicions of McPherson’s guilt swing like a pendulum. All the time we’re asking: who is Donald McPherson? And has he got away with murder?