2026.4.7 How a five-year investigation led to Ben Roberts-Smith’s arrest at Sydney Airport
2026.4.7 Bruce Lehrmann: Trial date set for rape allegations at Queensland nightclub
A trial date can now be revealed for ex-federal ministerial staffer Bruce Lehrmann who has been charged with raping a woman he met at a regional nightclub.
Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s trial date to face rape charges can now be revealed after an application for a blanket non-publication order over the case was withdrawn.
Lehrmann, 30, is set to stand trial from November 2, just over five years after the alleged offences took place at a house in regional Queensland.
Lawyers for Nine Entertainment, News Corp and the ABC were informed last week that Lehrmann was no longer attempting to ban all media coverage of his court case before the trial.
District Court Judge Deborah Richards on Tuesday confirmed the temporary non-publication order over the entire case had been allowed to expire.
On March 18 defence solicitor Zali Burrows had sought blanket suppression over the case, saying further news reports would generate “adverse publicity” and serve as a “vehicle for commentating on social media”.
“We seek (the order) to preserve for Mr Lehrmann to have a fair trial,” Ms Burrows said.
Judge Richards imposed the temporary non-publication order next day with the media organisations due to challenge a permanent order at a hearing on April 9.
When Ms Burrows was asked by Judge Richards if Lehrmann would seek a jury trial or a trial before a judge alone.
“It may be (before a jury). Mr Lehrmann is still deciding,” Ms Burrows said.
Lehrmann is accused of raping a woman twice during the morning of October 10, 2021 after a night out in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.
He was charged in January 2023 and committed in July 2024 to stand trial following hearings in Toowoomba Magistrates Court into the reliability of the alleged victim’s evidence.
Lehrmann and the woman met during the previous night at a Toowoomba strip club.
She told police she and Lehrmann discussed their political beliefs before catching a taxi to his friend’s house, having consensual sex and consuming cocaine about 4am.
The woman said she was woken about 10am by Lehrmann sexually assaulting her.
Lehrmann, who is on bail, has yet to formally enter a plea but previously indicated he would contest the charges.
Lehrmann previously worked in Canberra’s Parliament House for then Liberal senator and minister Linda Reynolds.
He sued Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson for defamation over an interview with former colleague Brittany Higgins, who claimed Lehrmann raped her in the ministerial office in 2019.
A criminal trial in the ACT on the charge of raping Ms Higgins was aborted in 2023 due to juror misconduct.
Lehrmann lost the defamation case after a Federal Court judge found in 2024, to the civil standard of proof, that he raped Ms Higgins.
Lehrmann has taken his case to the High Court in his third bid to win the defamation case.
If Lehrmann is denied further appeal, he could be forced into bankruptcy due to court orders he pay a $2 million legal bill to Ten.
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2026.4.3 Teens accessed ‘extremist material’, ballistic vest seized: police
Two teenagers are behind bars on remand after a ballistic-style vest and extremist literature was seized at a remote rural town.
Two teenagers have been charged and a ballistic-style vest and extremist literature seized following a terror probe in a small rural rown.
NSW Police raided a home in Moree, about 120km south of the Queensland border, late in March following reports in December that a teenager had allegedly accessed extremist material online.
A 15-year-old boy was charged after a mobile phone, a ballistic-style vest, and several notebooks were seized.
The items were subsequently analysed by police and the matter was referred to the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which carried out further raids at two homes in Moree on Thursday.
Police allegedly located and seized a number of handwritten notes and pieces of literature alleged to contain extremist references during the operation.
The same 15-year-old was arrested at 10am and taken to Moree police station.
He has since been charged with using a carriage service to transmit violent extremist material and knowingly collecting or making a document connected with terrorism.
A 16-year-old boy was also arrested later that morning.
He has been charged with using a carriage service to possess violent extremist material.
Both teens were refused bail to appear before Parramatta children’s court on Friday.
‘I had always thought Canberra was safe, with not much violence, until I experienced this myself.’
A Chinese woman has been left bloodied and hospitalised after she was allegedly racially abused before being assaulted in Australia’s capital.
The 27-year-old, who asked to be identified only as KK Zhang, was walking with a friend when she was allegedly repeatedly punched in the head on Macdermott Place in Canberra’s Belconnen about 5.45pm on Thursday.
Police said the alleged offender — a woman not known to the pair — produced a knife and made threats before fleeing the scene in a dark grey Ford Falcon sedan.
Zhang was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being left “covered in blood”, but told 7NEWS.com.au the ordeal had left her “terrified” and deeply shaken.
“I had always thought Canberra was safe, with not much violence, until I experienced this myself,” the bookkeeper said.
She claimed the confrontation began after a teenage girl and a young boy — believed to be the woman’s children — directed racist abuse at her, including using a slur mocking Chinese speech.
Zhang said she confronted the children and began recording the interaction before the woman allegedly approached from behind and grabbed her phone, sparking a physical altercation.
“She was punching me, and I think her nails scratched me — I ended up with a 5mm cut on my face and bruising on my arms,” Zhang said, struggling to fight back tears.
“My left ear was bleeding, including the piercing, and my nose was bleeding too.”
She said when she tried to stop the woman from leaving before police arrived, the woman allegedly armed herself with a large knife — estimated to be about 30 to 40cm long — taken from a car and pointed it at her while making threats.
Fearing the situation would escalate further, Zhang’s friend pulled her back.
“But even as they got into the car, they were still smirking at us and making rude gestures, including giving us the middle finger,” Zhang said.
Zhang said the incident had left her fearful and shaken, and she is now reconsidering her sense of safety in Canberra.
“I’ve been in Australia since 2022, and I had never experienced anything like this before,” she said.
“Now both my friend and I are scared to go out and wary of strangers.”
Police told 7NEWS.com.au investigations are underway.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers website, quoting reference number 8345990.
2026.4.1 Murder charge against partner of Mullumbimby’s Ashleigh Grice is dropped
A man accused of murdering his girlfriend at Mullumbimby in September last year has had the charge against him dropped.
The Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions withdrew a charge of murder against 30-year-old Jai Oden-Jenkins in Lismore Local Court this morning.
Outside the court, public defender Jason Watts confirmed a post-mortem examination found Mr Oden-Jenkins’ 23-year-old girlfriend, Ashleigh Grice, died from a drug overdose.
The report stated the cause of death was “a mixed drug effect”, with methylamphetamine and Bromazolam detected in her system.
When the matter was mentioned in March, the court heard the post-mortem report finalised in December led to prosecutors not opposing bail for Mr Oden-Jenkins.
At that time, prosecutors were still seeking instructions on how to proceed with the matter.
There was an outpouring of grief in the small town of Mullumbimby in the days after Ms Grice’s body was found inside the Mullumbimby property she shared with Mr Oden-Jenkins.
Around 400 community members gathered at dusk in a local park to hold a candlelight vigil for the young woman who was described as “a beautiful soul”.
Byron Shire mayor Sarah Ndiaye said the community was still feeling the loss of Ms Grice.
“My heart goes out to Ashleigh’s family and friends; it’s such a tragic loss of a young life, whatever the circumstances,” she said.
“It’s a good reminder for all to take great care of themselves and each other.”
Mr Oden-Jenkins has been on bail and living in Victoria, and did not appear in court today.
The murder charge and bail conditions are withdrawn and dismissed.
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2026.4.1 Dezi Freeman joins a long history of Australian fugitives captured or killed
Dezi Freeman shocked Australians by surviving seven months on the run in the tough terrain of country Victoria.
It is not yet known how he survived, or if anyone helped him.
But Freeman is far from the first Australian to turn outlaw after committing a crime.
He is the latest in a long line of fugitives who have used the vastness of the continent to try to dodge responsibility for their actions.
Almost all are men. Some are supported by sympathisers. Others hide in plain sight after assuming a new identity. And some die as Freeman did, in a blaze of gunfire that delivers resolution to the community, but little consolation to the grieving families left behind.
On the run
It is not known how many fugitives are currently on the run in Australia.
The Australian Federal Police, which runs a specialised fugitive-catching squad, will not say how many cases it has on the books.
The majority are people who slip out of town or interstate with outstanding arrest warrants for relatively minor crimes.
But a small number of violent offenders continue to haunt the landscape.
2026.3.30 AS IT HAPPENED: Dezi Freeman shot dead after seven months on the run; Accused cop killer hiding in remote rural container, refused to surrender
Freeman was hiding out in something that resembled a shipping container and a caravan in Thologolong.
Police arrived at the scene about 5.30am but Freeman refused to come out, prompting a three-hour stand-off.
Eventually, police used the arm from a Bearcat armoured vehicle to ram the side of the container.
Freeman came outside wrapped in a blanket and armed with a gun.
Bush said police had appealed to him to peacefully surrender, but he did not do so.
Freeman was then shot dead.
The state coroner will attend the scene and the investigation will be overseen by the Professional Standards Command, as per standard process for a police shooting.
Police will now turn their attention to anyone who may have been helping Freeman.
“I am sure some assisted him in getting away from Porepunkah to where he is located,” Bush said, adding that anyone “complicit” in Freeman’s hiding would face charges.
“That’s a very important part of what comes next.”
2026.3.30 What is the ‘sovereign citizen’ movement?
The sovereign citizen movement has once again been thrust into the mainstream spotlight after fugitive cop-killer Dezi Freeman was shot dead by armed police in Victoria’s north-east.
Sovereign citizen Freeman murdered two police officers and seriously wounded another in August 2025, and had previously tried to prosecute then-premier Daniel Andrews for treason, been arrested while protesting outside court, and described police as “terrorist thugs”.
The overall movement is an uncentralised belief system but is generally characterised by an anti-authority idea that they are not under the jurisdiction of the government and the law does not apply to them.
It’s why, for many years, it was typically associated with videos of someone getting pulled over for a traffic stop and refusing to provide their details to police, claiming law enforcement has no authority over them – only to be arrested shortly after.
Long before he murdered Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart in Porepunkah, Freeman himself had a run-in with police when he was pulled over for driving at 76km/h in a 60 zone.
“I don’t give a s—. Leave me alone, you terrorist. Get the hell away from me and go,” he said when asked to produce his licence, according to court documents.
He also attempted to arrest a magistrate and several police officers while appearing in Wangaratta Magistrates Court, telling them “you must stand down. You’re now in my custody and under arrest. You are not free to leave”.
As Freeman’s attack shows, though, sovereign citizen beliefs can be far more dangerous than they might seem from videos of their court antics and nonsense arguments while refusing to deal with roadside police officers.
Extremists have carried out violent crimes both in Australia and overseas, and the movement has received a significant influx of followers following the COVID-19 pandemic as people retaliated against lockdowns, mask mandates and vaccination requirements.
So what exactly is a sovereign citizen? Here’s what you need to know.
What do sovereign citizens believe?
Sovereign citizens – or “SovCits” – is a term for people who hold extreme anti-government views, essentially believing laws and regulations don’t apply to them.
The idea is that, in the same way a country is a sovereign nation unconstrained by other nations’ laws, a person is themselves a sovereign unconstrained by the laws of a government.
“It’s a spectrum,” David Heilpern, dean of law at Southern Cross University, told Today Extra.
“On the one hand, there are those who want to challenge the law by raising old doctrine common law doctrines and concepts of sovereignty. That’s probably a positive thing.
“At the other end, there are those who simply refuse to comply with laws that apply to you and I. They see themselves as separate and different. They say they don’t consent to the jurisdiction.
“And by their own declaration, they’re not bound by laws.”
The exact reasoning behind this varies within the movement – no surprise given its uncentralised nature – but the idea of false governments is a common one for sovereign citizens around the globe.
One prevalent thought is Redemption Theory, which asserts the US (which is where the movement began) went bankrupt in 1933 when it abandoned the gold standard. It claims the government then began using its citizens as collateral in agreements with other nations.
Redemption Theorists go on to claim each person, therefore, has a monetary value – up to millions of dollars – stored in a secret US Treasury Department account listed under someone else’s name.
Some followers will also avoid entering into “contracts” with the government.
It’s why many of them are pulled over for driving without a licence or vehicle registration – or for just failing to produce such documents or provide their name and address when pulled over – and why you’ll hear phrases like “I do not consent” during exchanges between sovereign citizens and police officers.
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2026.3.26 Islamic State speech ‘likely inspired’ alleged Bondi shooting, terror experts say
An Islamic State (IS) speech that called on religious celebrations to be turned “into bloody massacres” could have inspired the Bondi terror attack, terrorism experts say.
The 2024 speech released by IS’ main spokesperson called on sympathisers to intentionally target Jewish and Christian people, urging supporters to “kill them by the worst of means”.
In a paper published in the West Point Combating Terrorism Centre, two Australian scholars believe the speech titled “And Kill Them Wherever You Find Them” was a call to arms for renewed attacks by IS supporters on Israeli and Western targets, and claim the Bondi attack carried similar themes to the ones outlined in the speech.
“The speech included an explicit call to arms,” the report from Andrew Zammit and Levi J. West said, adding it was reminiscent of a similar speech in 2014 that preceded a spate of Islamic terrorist attacks across Europe.
“[It] sought to inspire sympathisers to undertake terrorist attacks in their home countries and provided sanction for a range of tactics, suggesting that perpetrators, ‘detonate explosives … [and] shoot them with bullets.’”
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, are accused of shooting and killing 15 people at Bondi Beach on December 14 last year, targeting a Hanukkah celebration.
They also allegedly threw IEDs towards the celebration before the shooting started, but the devices failed to detonate.
Sajid was shot and killed by police, while Naveed was wounded and remains before the courts.
The authors say other aspects of the attack matched the callout in the IS speech, which called on followers to “pick easy targets”.
“It explicitly stated that its targeting advice sought to ensure that any resulting attacks matched the movement’s strategic and ideological logic,” they said.
“[Followers were] being told to ‘target synagogues and churches over military targets… [and to] carry out daring and courageous operations targeting Jewish and Christian gatherings and neighbourhoods everywhere, especially in Crusader European countries,’” the report said, quoting some phrases from the speech.
The authors believe the Bondi Massacre is a consequence of IS’ plans for resurgence in the aftermath of the war in Gaza, saying the group wanted to “remobilise its transnational support.”
“[It] took care to not let the Israel-Palestine conflict overshadow the movement’s global revolutionary goals and wider range of enemies,” they said, saying the group wanted to renew attacks in the West, with a greater emphasis on attacking Jewish targets.
The Akram’s allegiance to IS is alleged by police in its statements of facts relying upon a video they filmed in October last year, where they stand in front of an IS flag and claim responsibility for an upcoming “Bondi attack”, evidence from the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team said.
The pair also travelled to the Philippines in November just before the attacks, which is alleged to have been done in their preparations for the attack.
An article in one of the organisation’s publications also acknowledged the attack, saying the Akram’s allegedly “answered the call and carried out the recommendations to target holidays and gatherings.”
“They armed themselves with the Prophetic methodology and set off without looking back, plunging unarmoured into the Hanukkah celebration and turning it into a scene of mourning,” the article said.
A teacher is likely to be jailed for having sex with a 17-year-old student at a school while she was meant to be teaching, a court has been told.
Monique Nguyen wore a face mask and kept her head bowed as she hurried in and out of Parramatta District Court today.
The 30-year-old pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse with a person between 17 and 18 years old under care and using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material.
She was supposed to be teaching the student when she had sex with him at a NSW school, crown prosecutor Sarah Beaumont told the court.
She pushed for Nguyen to be taken into custody, emphasising that students and parents are entitled to expect that trusted educators won’t abuse their position.
“The offender exploited a special relationship,” Ms Beaumont said.
A sentence of imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence for the offences and the breach of trust they involved, she told the court.
But Nguyen’s lawyer argued the 30-year-old needs to be on bail to attend appointments for her mental health, which would be adversely impacted by a stint behind bars.
She has engaged in meaningful mental health treatment programs and made significant progress since being charged with the offences, the court was told.
Judge Anthony Colefax noted that progress would be halted if the teacher was taken into custody while awaiting sentencing.
He declined to grant the detention application, finding it was likely but not realistically inevitable that she would receive a full time jail term.
Nguyen also admitted to nine counts of sexually touching a person between 17 and 18 years old under special care, which will be taken into consideration when she is sentenced at a later date.
When the detention application was denied, the teacher – who wiped away tears throughout the proceedings – cried and embraced her family.
CCTV has captured the moment a large group of men ran for cover as one of them was shot outside a cafe in Melbourne’s south-west overnight.
Police say the shooting, outside a cafe on Borrack Square in Altona North about 11.30pm yesterday, could be connected to an illegal tobacco trade.
A large group of people were sitting outside the Cafe Squared eatery when a white Toyota Hilux drove up and shots were fired into the crowd.
CCTV shows the moments the shots were fired and the men run into the building for cover.
A 49-year-old man, who was shot twice in the arm, and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Those involved fled the scene in a stolen silver Hilux with cloned plates, which was stolen from a Newport home in February.
Hours later, about 2.50am, the offenders torched the car and left it burning at the intersection of McArthurs and Chambers roads, about 800 metres from where the shooting took place.
The victim is known to police, but authorities are unsure whether he was the intended target.
“It may well be just a random shooting of that crowd of people to send a message,” Detective Inspector Graham Banks said.
“The conflict we see at the moment is seeing random acts of violence that are directed at people who they perceive are opposing people.
“At this stage we’re not ruling anything in or out as far as what the motive would be, as far as the people who were there or the location itself.”
Witnesses told 9News they have no connections to the illicit tobacco trade.
A crime scene was established and the investigation was ongoing, Victoria Police said.
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2026.3.16 Australian author Craig Silvey faces further child exploitation charges
Popular Australian author Craig Silvey has been charged with two further child exploitation offences, including allegedly producing child exploitation material.
Mr Silvey, 43, was charged in January with distributing and possessing child exploitation material.
The award-winning author has now been charged with another count of possession, as well as a new charge of producing child exploitation material.
On Monday morning, he appeared in Fremantle Magistrates Court and his bail conditions were continued.
2026.3.13 Woman’s trauma after student filmed her in toilet
The victim of a biomedical student busted for secretly filming women in public toilets is now fearful of her safety and can no longer use public restrooms.
The woman is among an unknown number of victims, who university student Bao Phuc Cao recorded without permission in intimate settings in public facilities.
The 23-year-old was found with more than 100 videos on his phone but authorities are unsure if they’re all of the same or different victims, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told today.
The woman had gone into the public toilets at Chipmunks Playland and Cafe Docklands on February 20, 2025, and saw there was one other person in an adjoining cubicle.
As she used the toilet, she noticed an iPhone being held close to the wall near the cubicle and that it was recording.
The woman became scared and panicked at the sight of the recording, leaving the toilets to call security who found Cao in the toilet cubicle.
Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz read the woman’s victim impact statement and described how Cao’s offending had a profound impact on the complainant.
“She remains anxious, unsurprisingly she is hypervigilant,” the magistrate said.
The woman’s sense of safety has been and continues to be affected, impacting her ability to use the restroom in the office and in public, she added.
“These concerns are the long-term effects of your offending,” Mykytowycz said.
On Friday, Cao was sentenced to a 12-month adjourned undertaking without conviction where he must be of good behaviour and comply with his previous community corrections order.
The offender had been sentenced twice before receiving a community corrections order — in July 2025 on the same matter and May 2025 relating to an incident in October 2024.
Under the principle of totality, the magistrate said his charge today should have been bundled with his previous sentencing as it would have been unlikely to have impacted his prior sentence.
Mykytowycz took into account his guilty plea, youth and that he has no family in Australia, but described the offending as very serious and the complainant was entitled to feel safe.
“Your offending was not of a physical nature but of the most intimate kind in a public toilet,” she said.
“Court has to send a message to the community that they denounce this offending and (reinforce) the protection of women who are entitled and must feel safe in public utilities.”
The court was told Cao’s phone used in the offending will be returned to him after authorities figure out how to delete all its contents.
He left the court a free man and was bundled away from the chasing media pack by the son of a man who was jailed in a separate case heard before Cao’s sentencing.
2026.3.12 Queensland coroner to probe whether death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs was preventable
A coroner will probe the interactions the Struhs family had with multiple Queensland government agencies, before their extremist religious views caused the “unusual” death of their eight-year-old diabetic daughter which garnered “widespread public outrage and condemnation”.
Elizabeth Struhs died at her Toowoomba home in January 2022, in the days after her insulin was withdrawn.
She succumbed to a painful death, surrounded by 14 adults, including her parents and older brother, who made up their home-based church.
At the time of her death, the members of the fringe Christian group were vehemently opposed to using medications or visiting doctors and believed that God would heal her.
Jason and Kerrie Struhs, their son Zachary, and the 11 others were found guilty of her manslaughter at trial last year and are serving various sentences in prison.
Now that the criminal proceedings are finalised, Elizabeth’s death will be examined at a coronial inquiry which has been set down for October.
On Wednesday, counsel assisting the coroner Simon Hamlyn-Harris told a preliminary conference in Brisbane the cause, and circumstances of Elizabeth’s death “have already been fully explored”.
“It’s not, in this inquest, intended to rehear the evidence that was given in the criminal trial or to reconsider the factual findings made by his honour,” he said.
Multiple agencies under scrutiny
Mr Hamlyn-Harris told the coroners court the inquest would look at decisions or actions made by varying government departments or organisations involved with the family.
“In particular Child Safety and the department of health but also to a lesser extent Queensland police, the department of education and the department of corrective services,” he said.
The court heard Child Safety had a brief involvement with the Struhs family in 2013, and were made aware of the mother’s religious views, but at the time it was not taken any further.
In 2019, the court heard, Child Safety became involved in a significant way when Elizabeth almost died.
The court heard, after Mr Struhs took his critically ill child to hospital, against Mrs Struhs’ wishes, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
After his child recovered, Mr Struhs agreed to ensure she would continue to receive her insulin injections at home, despite Mrs Struhs’ continued objection.
Mr Hamlyn-Harris told the court the decision by Child Safety to allow her to return to her family’s care at that point “was in the face of strongly expressed opposition” by medical staff.
“The advice … was given both verbally but also in emails,” he said.
One email written by a staff member and read to the court said “Elizabeth cannot safely be cared for in a home where her mother resides due to the strong beliefs that she is expressing.”
Mr Hamlyn-Harris told the court despite child safety being aware Mrs Struhs had made it clear she still opposed any medical treatment, Child Safety “did not agree with that assessment”.
“That presumably was because they were confident Jason Struhs could be relied upon to maintain her treatment as he had said he would,” he said.
“It would appear that Child Safety had underestimated the risk to [Elizabeth].”
Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard told the court Elizabeth’s death had attracted “enormous public curiosity and concern”.
“The unusual circumstances in which Elizabeth died, while in the care of a family who clearly loved her, have drawn widespread public outrage and condemnation,” she said.
“But at the heart of this intense public scrutiny is a little girl who, had she received medically recommended treatment, would have become a teenager turning 13 earlier this year.”
Coroner Kirkegaard acknowledged the lengthy period of time it had taken to reach a hearing, pointing to the criminal proceedings, and “the then understood” timing of reporting timeframes for the Child Safety Commission of Inquiry.
“Given public comment by the child safety minister back in May 2025, suggesting that Child Safety’s involvement with Elizabeth and her family would be examined in that forum,” she said.
“We now know that is not the case.”
Ms Kirkegaard told the court the inquest would try to determine whether there may have been an opportunity to have better protected Elizabeth “from the risk that manifested so tragically”.
“I’m particularly interested for the inquest to explore what has and what can still be learned in the multi-agency involvement with Elizabeth’s family,” she said.
“And the challenges of agencies who are working with parents or carers whose extreme views place children at risk of harm.”
The inquest will run for two weeks.
2026.3.10 Police hunt three young women after puppy stolen from outside shopping plaza
Police are searching for three women after a puppy belonging to a young family was stolen from outside a Melbourne shopping plaza.
Frank Wong tied his family’s 10-month-old cavoodle Dora to a pole outside Vogue Shopping Plaza at 670 Chapel Street in South Yarra about 3.25pm yesterday.
While Wong was doing the grocery shopping inside, three women allegedly untied Dora and walked away with the puppy in tow.
“Dora was not allowed inside the shopping centre, so I tied her up outside the mall for only about 15 minutes or so,” Wong said.
“It was utterly awful. We thought we lived in a safe and friendly neighbourhood so to see such an act is very awful.”
Sergeant Ryan Gilmore said the theft appeared opportunistic.
“The females were walking the street, they have taken notice of the dog, entered the centre and returned to steal Dora,” Gilmore said.
The trio were last seen walking with Dora north along Chapel Street towards Richmond.
Wong said he was desperate to reunite Dora with his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
“She misses Dora very much, they are like sisters,” he said.
“[Dora] means so much to her.”
Police have released images of the women, who are described as Caucasian, aged in their 20s to 30s, with long brown hair.
The first woman was wearing a grey crop top and black pants.
The second was wearing a dark tracksuit and a Nike T-shirt.
The third woman was wearing dark jeans and a dark-coloured hoodie.
Dora was wearing a pink collar, pink leash and is microchipped.
Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers.
Wong said all the family wants is to be reunited with their “very sociable, very friendly” puppy.
“We are happy to provide a reward, all we want is to have Dora back home with our family,” he said.
“If you want to take her to a vet or a shelter, just hand her over, that would be fine with us as well. Nothing matters more to us than being reunited with Dora.”
2026.3.6 WA woman who poked holes in housemate’s condoms found not guilty of intent to cause harm
A Bunbury woman who poked holes in her housemate’s condoms in a “fit of rage” has walked free after a court found her not guilty of acting with intent to cause harm.
Twenty-four year old Skye Palazzese Edwards faced a trial in Bunbury District Court this week, where she chose not to give evidence.
The jury was shown a recorded police interview from 2024 in which Ms Edwards admitted to tampering with her co-tenant and long-term friend’s condoms in July 2022.
She told police she felt jealous of her friend’s relationship and said the new partner had driven a wedge into their friendship.
“He would stay at our house basically all week every week,” Ms Edwards said.
“At first he was really nice, always making sure we were OK with him being there … but then it was kind of like he was trying to manipulate and turn people against each other in the house.”
Police told tampered condoms came from different stash
The court heard Ms Edwards telling police that she was home alone on the evening of 13 July 2022 and that she admitted to pricking condoms with a sewing needle.
“We really want to know what happened to the condoms you put a needle through,” police told Ms Edwards in the recorded interview.
Ms Edwards sat in silence for over a minute before saying: “I was sure I threw out the ones I did do it to.”
She told police she pricked holes in several condoms in a “fit of rage” but denied they were ever used, saying that she had thrown them out afterwards, along with photos and cards representing her friendship.
The defence claimed the accused did not cause the victim to be pregnant.
Defence lawyer Derek Hunter said while Ms Edwards admitted she put holes in condoms from the bathroom medicine cabinet, she did not put holes in the housemate’s bedroom stash, where the condom presented to police was found.
He said that hole could have been something else.
“Was it a cat’s claw or a pin prick?” he proposed to the jury in his closing statement.
Friend fell pregnant but miscarried
Her friend reported the tampering to police after falling pregnant and presenting to hospital with a miscarriage.
The court heard she experienced debilitating abdominal pain.
The housemate then saw a text exchange between Ms Edwards and a former partner in which the accused admitted to pricking the condoms with a sewing needle.
“I poked holes in half their condoms,” the text read.
“Gotta put those pregnancy tests to use somehow.”
Ms Edwards’s housemate then returned home to find at least one of her condoms with a hole through the package.
The court heard the targeted couple used condoms alongside other forms of contraception.
“One thing we all talked about before we all moved in was avoiding pregnancy because we didn’t have room for a baby or were financially ready for one,” Ms Edwards told police in her interview.
Prosecutors failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt her actions had resulted in harm to her friend.
2026.2.26 Two men charged over alleged kidnapping, murder of Sydney grandfather
NSW Police have charged two men over the alleged kidnapping and murder of Chris Baghsarian, after remains found on Tuesday were positively identified as the Sydney grandfather.
Baghsarian, 85, who disappeared from his North Ryde home shortly before 5am on Friday, February 13, was the victim of a mistaken-identity abduction, police say.
Daniel Stevens, 24, and Gerard Andrews, 29, were taken into custody yesterday morning and charged last night over the alleged murder and kidnapping. Police will allege in court that the men “participated in a joint criminal enterprise with other persons” that led to Baghsarian’s death.
The accused pair were previously known to police for “insignificant matters”, Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks said.
Police believe more people may have been involved in Baghsarian’s alleged abduction and murder.
Marks said investigators suspect there were “more than three” offenders linked to the alleged crime.
“I want to comment on the hard work of the detectives, the analysts, the forensic police, and all those who worked on this case around the clock to get the results we got today,” Marks said.
“I want to assure you that our work is not done and we will continue to identify those who are also involved in this horrible, horrible matter.
“We know that there’s others involved.”
Human remains were found in grassland near a golf course in the semi-rural Sydney suburb of Pitt Town on Tuesday morning.
The remains were identified as Baghsarian following forensic testing.
Police suspect Baghsarian died at an address in Dural, which was identified as the alleged kidnappers’ “stronghold”.
Marks said the grandfather was deceased at the time he was taken to the location in Pitt Town, about 9pm on February 14.
His cause of death was yet to be formally established and an autopsy is under way.
About 6.30am yesterday, police executed two search warrants in Kenthurst and Castle Hill.
Andrews was arrested at the Kenthurst address, and Stevens at the Castle Hill address.
Marks said both men were living at their parents’ homes.
They were both taken to Riverstone police station, where they were charged with murder and take/detain in company with intent to ransom, occasioning actual bodily harm.
They were refused bail to appear in Blacktown Local Court today.
Police also conducted a search at a third home in NSW’s Lake Macquarie and two electronic devices were seized for forensic testing.
One of the arrested men travelled to this address following Baghsarian’s alleged kidnapping, Marks said.
He confirmed police have spoken with a person who resides at the property but said they are not a suspect.
“I believe those two that were arrested today, they were probably waiting for us to come,” Marks said, adding that the parents were “shocked” by the arrests.
Marks said police believed the men were involved in a “joint criminal enterprise” but could not comment on whether overseas actors had organised the incident.
He also confirmed the intended kidnapping target would have held for ransom for $50 million.
“They are organised criminals, they hide behind encrypted devices,” Marks added.
“I have a number of names for them, but I probably couldn’t say it here today.”
Marks said the incident is “up there” among the worst cases he has ever seen.
Arrest vision shows police swooping on the home in Kenthurst, before using a battering ram to enter the property and arrest the older man.
Officers then arrived at another home in Castle Hill, about 10 kilometres from Kenthurst, and took the second man into custody.
Footage also shows the two men being led into Riverstone Police Station.
“We welcome the news of the recent arrests in relation to the kidnapping of our father and grandfather,” Baghsarian’s family said in a statement distributed by police.
“As we continue attempting to come to terms with this incident, we ask that media respect our privacy.”
The family said they would not be conducting interviews.
Police remained at the properties where the two men were arrested throughout the morning.
A car was towed from the Castle Hill address, while police removed bags of evidence from the Kenthurst property.
Officers at the latter also gained access to the roof cavity, and conducted line searches through the backyard and the dense bushland at the property’s rear.
‘No stone unturned’
Speaking on 2GB, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon backed the investigators to the hilt.
“They have left no stone unturned. They have been going been working with the community,” Lanyon said.
“They have been reviewing both electronic evidence and CCTV. So we’re very confident, obviously.”
Officers continued to comb the crime scene where Baghsarian’s suspected remains were found.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the discovery of Baghsarian’s remains was “an incredibly tragic development”.
Police said a car forensically linked to the 85-year-old was seen a day after his kidnapping near where his suspected remains were found.
“While formal identification is still underway, this is an incredibly tragic development, and our thoughts are with the friends and family of Mr Baghsarian at this heartbreaking time,” Minns said.
“This kind of brutality has no place in our community. Police will not stop until they capture those responsible and bring them before the courts. The full weight of the law must come down on these people.”
The human remains were discovered near a golf club in Pitt Town in the city’s north-west during the search for the 85-year-old.
A grey Toyota Corolla forensically linked to an abandoned stronghold in Dural was spotted in Pitt Town about 9pm on February 14, police said.
During a raid, officers seized evidence, including disturbing images of the missing grandfather with his alleged kidnappers.
Videos of Baghsarian have also been sent to police.
The car, which had cloned plates but is believed to have been stolen from Victoria, was found burnt out on Good Street in Westmead on February 16.
It had cloned plates of DVT007, and the Victorian registration 1UZ2BU.
Marks said information regarding the investigation led police to the golf course.
Baghsarian’s family were “deeply upset” by the discovery and asked for privacy.
Police will now focus efforts on identifying the offenders.
“The efforts that have gone in, and the response that has come from the public, we’re all outraged that this has happened to an innocent man,” Marks said.
“I am proud of the police and the efforts. Police have been working 24 hours a day since Friday the 13th.”
The search for Baghsarian
9News understands the remains were wrapped up in what appeared to be a carpet or towel.
Police searched dense bushland near Glenorie, about 15 minutes further east, earlier in the week.
Shortly before 9am on Tuesday, a number of police vehicles left that search base to travel to a patch of overgrown grassland near Pitt Town Bottoms Road.
Once they arrived at the location, a blue tent – signifying the location of the remains – was raised in minutes.
The overgrown piece of land is located in semi-rural surroundings, with businesses including turf farms nearby.
Police on the scene included tactical, general duties, and forensics officers as well as investigators.
Police have said the person they believe to have been the intended target of the kidnapping is safe and in no immediate danger.
The investigation continues, and anybody who has spotted any suspicious activity around Dural, or who has information or footage showing the car in question, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.
2026.2.25 Irma Palasics’s husband recounts her brutal murder in violent home invasion
The jury in the cold case murder trial of Irma Palasics has watched harrowing hospital footage of her husband Gregor recounting her death in 1999, shortly after he suffered injuries in the same attack.
Melbourne men Joseph Vekony and Steve Fabriczy are standing trial, charged with murder and other crimes related to the burglary.
A jury has found a man guilty of manslaughter for a second time over his unprovoked attack of a 73-year-old man at a service station.
Troy Maskell, 47, faced a retrial in Melbourne’s Supreme Court after successfully appealing his conviction last year.
He was accused of John Burke’s manslaughter at a Strathmerton service station, northern Victoria, in 2021.
Burke, 73, lived alone at the back of the town’s post office and would often pop into the service station to chat with the attendant.
Maskell was intoxicated on August 8, 2021, when he walked into the store around midnight with his partner and daughter, whom Burke greeted as he chatted to staff.
Maskell’s partner called Burke a pedophile, before Maskell picked up a one-litre bottle of sports drink and threw it into Burke’s head.
The jury was told the unprovoked attack continued, as Maskell walked over to Burke and kicked him as he lay on a tiled floor.
Burke died in hospital 11 weeks later from a brain injury.
Jurors took less than a day deliberating and returned with their “guilty” verdict for manslaughter this afternoon.
Justice James Elliott thanked jurors for their “very diligent” service as he sent them home.
“Please take Mr Maskell away,” he told custody officers.
Maskell will return to the Supreme Court tomorrow for a pre-sentence hearing.
He was jailed for eight years in 2023, with a non-parole period of five, after being found guilty of manslaughter in his first trial over Burke’s death.
However, Maskell successfully appealed this convictions with three Victorian Court of Appeal judges ordering he face a fresh trial in July 2025.
His conviction was set after the judges found there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice.
2026.2.25 Teenager first in SA to be prosecuted for allegedly creating deepfake images
A court order suppressing the identity of the first South Australian man to be charged with creating sexually explicit deepfake images has been lifted.
Netherby resident William Hamish Yeates, 19, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent — a federal offence introduced in 2024 to combat deepfake pornography.
The maximum penalty for each count is seven years behind bars.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed the case was the first prosecution of its type in SA.
The former Mercedes College student is also facing 12 counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of five years.
Mr Yeates’s defence lawyer, Tim McGrath, told the court that negotiations with prosecution were underway.
“An offer has been put to the [Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions] that acknowledges the conduct alleged in every offence before the court today,” he said.
Court documents allege Mr Yeates, who was 18 at the time, had “transmitted material” on the social media platform X and that he was “responsible for creating the material” between February 8 and February 13 last year.
It is also alleged that Mr Yeates used two different X accounts on 12 occasions between September 2024 and February 2025 in a way that “reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing harassing or offensive … in relation to [the alleged victim]”.
Mr Yeates did not comment as he left court.
The matter will return to court in April.
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2026.2.22 ‘Now or never’: Police offer $1M reward to solve 1981 cold case sex assault and murder
A rare $1 million reward is being offered to help solve the 1981 cold case sex assault and murder of a 25-year-old Melbourne woman.
Haroula Kipouridou’s body was discovered in a jammed lift about 2.30am on July 3, 1981, about 30 minutes after work friends dropped her to her mother’s home in Richmond’s commission flats.
Detective acting Sergeant Leigh Prados said the young singer had been bashed, strangled and left on the floor semi-naked.
“She had been violently attacked – whoever did this did it with a high level of brutality,” Prados said today.
The cold case detective is determined to solve the 45-year-old cold case for Kipouridou’s siblings, who are desperate for answers.
“The people who are left behind, who loved Haroula, that’s why we do it,” Prados said.
It’s one of several cases police are confident they’ll be able to solve.
“We have families out there who have lost loved ones who expect and want to know their investigations is still being looked at,” Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said.
Several suspects have been interviewed and police are not ruling out links to other similar crimes of the era.
But time is of the essence.
“It’s an appeal to a person’s conscience that after 45 years as people get older and we approach our own inevitable end, there may be witnesses who need to reflect on things they know, they saw, they heard or they were told, and to please come forward,” Prados said.
“It really is a case of now or never.”
The 25-year-old was engaged and working as a singer at a Greek tavern on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy at the time of her murder.
While the business no longer exists, investigators are hoping members of the public can cast their minds back to 1981, urging anyone who interacted with her on the night of her death to come forward.
“We will never, ever, stop trying to find you,” Prados said.
“We will keep looking for you, try to hold you responsible for what you did.”
2026.2.16 Accused Bondi terrorist Naveed Akram appears in court for the first time
Accused Bondi terrorist Naveed Akram has broken his silence in brief remarks to court.
The 24-year-old appeared via video link from prison to face Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on this morning on 59 charges, including murder and terrorism offences.
He is accused of carrying out Australia’s deadliest terror attack on December 14, when 15 people were killed and 40 injured during beachside Hannukah celebrations at Bondi Beach.
His father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police during the shooting.
The younger man spoke after a magistrate today continued suppression orders protecting victims and survivors of the attack, who have not chosen to identify themselves publicly.
“Did you just hear what I just said?” Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund asked the accused man.
“Yeah,” Akram replied.
Legal Aid solicitor Ben Archibold later asked for time to speak with his client.
“Mr Akram, your solicitor is going to give you a call after,” the magistrate said.
“Yep,” the accused terrorist replied.
Akram was dressed in a green prison-issued jumper, with his hands in his lap as he listened to the otherwise uneventful case mention.
His hair was freshly shaven, while he continued to sport the full-faced short beard he had during the December 14 mass shooting.
He and his father are accused of carrying out Australia’s worst mass shooting since 1996 by targeting the Jewish festival of lights at Bondi Beach.
After parking near a footbridge on Campbell Parade, the men allegedly tossed three pipe bombs filled with steel ball bearings and a “tennis ball bomb” into the Hannukah celebration at Archer Park before opening fire.
But none of the pipe bombs detonated, despite preliminary police analysis finding they were viable.
A box-like bomb was found in the boot of the car while two hand-painted ISIS flags were also in the vehicle.
Police allege 55 people were shot during the attack, including 15 fatally, such as 10-year-old Matilda, Holocaust survivors and a retired police officer.
A court suppression order allows victim-survivors to choose if and when they go public with their story and join other survivors such as Arsen Ostrovsky and hero tobacconist Ahmed Al Ahmed, who briefly disarmed Akram’s father.
Akram is next due in court on April 9.
The family of a waitress repeatedly stabbed in front of shocked leagues club patrons has paid tribute to the good Samaritans who “saved her life”.
Kitchen hand Cameron William Leslie Clark, 33, has been charged with attempted murder after being accused of attacking his 20-year-old female colleague.
Up to eight people overpowered Clark after he allegedly repeatedly slashed Zoe Samson-Wood at Brisbane’s Easts Leagues Club on Thursday hours after being stood down for stalking her.
Zoe’s sister said the 20-year-old would require reconstructive surgery after putting up a “hell of a fight”.
Ruby Samson-Wood claimed her sibling had been stabbed 15 times and paid special tribute to 61-year-old leagues club chef – identified in court documents seen by AAP as Craig Geddes – who was stabbed when he came to Zoe’s aid.
“My heart goes out to you all, especially the man who saved her life and was stabbed in the abdomen as a result,” Ruby wrote on social media.
“Thank you to anyone who helped, even if it gave Zoe an extra millisecond to get away, you saved her life.”
Clark was allegedly told at 2pm on February 12 he had been excluded from the club after giving “unwanted and unsolicited attention” to Zoe.
About three hours later, he is accused of arriving at the club with a large carving knife and attacking Zoe as dozens of people were dining.
He allegedly confronted her in a hallway before Geddes came to her aid, giving her time to escape.
However, Clark pursued Zoe and attacked her again in the busy dining area, inflicting hand wounds and 10-centimetre cuts to her head and wrist, Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham told reporters.
Clark was due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday after his February 13 appearance was adjourned due to him being in hospital.
But he was again unable to appear as he prepared for hand surgery, the court was told.
Clark was also charged with stalking along with acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawful wounding and going armed to cause fear.
He was remanded in custody to appear in court on Friday.
2026.2.13 ‘Far too severe to justify’: Central Islamic body calls for public apology for Town Hall protest
Calls for a public apology for the way police handled a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Sydney are growing from Labor MPs, the crossbench and Australia’s Islamic community.
But NSW Premier Chris Minns continued to defend police from accusations of excessive violence against protesters at Town Hall on Monday night, refusing to support an independent investigation.
The NSW Police Force on Thursday admitted a senior police officer had allowed a group of Muslim protesters to continue praying at Town Hall square on Monday evening.
Video of police dragging the men away in the middle of prayer sparked widespread outrage after thousands turned out for the Palestine Action Group protest in the Sydney CBD.
“The senior officer was attempting to relay that message to other officers who were carrying out a move on direction during what was a noisy, dynamic and fast moving situation,” a police spokesman said, in a statement sent to 9News.com.au.
“However some worshippers were moved on before the message from the senior officer was able to be relayed.”
NSW barrister and former police officer Mahmud Hawila told The Sydney Morning Herald, which first reported the police statement, that he had reached an agreement with acting superintendent David El-Badawi, the most senior officer at the square, that prayer could be finished before he helped them disperse quickly.
“El-Badawi is a hero. He did the right thing. It is a shame other cops failed to display the same professionalism,” Hawila said.
“The whole prayer only runs for less than five minutes.”
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the move-on direction was not targeting any religion and he’d “apologised for any offence taken for interfering with that religious process”.
But Australia’s central Islamic body on Thursday wrote to Lanyon demanding a full public apology for the way worshippers and other protesters were treated.
“We have called for the establishment of an independent inquiry into this incident and for officers to be held accountable and subject to disciplinary action for using disproportionate and unnecessary force against our community,” the Australian National Imams Council (Bilal Rauf) said in a statement.
“Many of the injuries sustained by protesters are far too severe to ignore and far too severe to justify as necessary action.
“We note that this abuse extended beyond the Muslim community, and was inflicted upon Australians from many different backgrounds who rallied together to express their concern over President Herzog’s visit, and the unfolding genocide in Gaza.”
ANIC senior adviser Bilal Rauf said it was “difficult to see what circumstances or context would have justified that level of intervention” from police.
“When one looks at the video it is very clear they are to the side and praying. Police come along part way through and while worshippers have their back turned, suddenly they are being picked up, thrown along and dragged,” he told ABC radio on Thursday.
The Greens have led calls in parliament for an apology and a full independent investigation of police actions but the four Labor MPs who attended the protest – Anthony D’Adam, Dr Sarah Kaine, Stephen Lawrence and Cameron Murphy – have also called for some form of inquiry.
Minns said he wished his MPs had not attended the protest and accused the Greens of “throwing fuel on the fire in a combustible situation” with “inflammatory language”.
“I do not support an independent investigation,” he said in Parliament on Thursday.
“I make it clear that I am not going to condemn the police for doing what we asked them to do: to keep the public safe.
“I am not going to throw the police under a bus.”
D’Adam explicitly called on the premier, police minister and police commissioner to apologise.
“I was shocked by the footage of members of the Muslim community being hauled away in the middle of prayer,” he said in parliament on Wednesday.
“We can say that, on the whole, the government’s position is that the protest was illegitimate and that the protesters got what they deserved. That seems to be the position being advanced by the police and the government.
“One can maintain that position and still recognise that what occurred was wrong. That particular instance was wrong. It was a mistake.”
Protesters have argued police powers stopping them from marching through the city – enabled by laws rushed through the parliament late last year – made matters worse.
Police and Minns have consistently said they acted appropriately and stressed that protesters were offered the chance to march at Hyde Park but could not in the CBD, due partly to Herzog’s visit.
“What must be understood in these circumstances – and I am determined to make this case over and over again – is that we had thousands of mourners in the city on that day. We had thousands of protesters in the city on that day,” Minns said on Thursday.
“We had a visiting head of state in New South Wales that the NSW Police Force was responsible for protecting. I am very grateful that protesters did not breach police lines. If they had breached police lines then the circumstances in our community would have been far worse.”
The Christian author behind a taboo “daddy dom” novel could face prison time after the book was found to contain child abuse material.
Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, 34, wrote Daddy’s Little Toy under the pen name Tori Woods.
The book is about an 18-year-old woman named Lucy who roleplays as a toddler with an older man.
Mastrosa was charged after the book sparked outrage, and today she was found guilty of three child abuse material charges at a Sydney court.
“The defendant has written a book that sexually objectifies children,” magistrate Bree Chisholm said.
“The reader is left with a description that creates the visual image in one’s mind of an adult male engaging in sexual activity with a young child.”
The 210-page book’s cover is coloured in pink pastel with the title spelled out in children’s alphabet blocks.
The magistrate found Mastrosa, who is from Sydney’s western suburbs, possessed, disseminated and produced child abuse material when writing and marketing her literary work.
Mastrosa issued a pre-release of the novel to 21 advance readers in March before a complaint about its content was made to police.
She was arrested after a search of her home, where officers found 16 hard copies of the offending novel.
The 34-year-old will be sentenced at a later date.
The final shift for sex worker Revelle Balmain was meant to have settled her debts and given her extra cash to splurge while following her dreams overseas.
Instead, she disappeared from the face of the earth.
The 22-year-old had grand plans on becoming a dancer in Japan when she vanished on November 5, 1994.
An inquest into one of Sydney’s most notorious cold cases resumed today where Balmain’s former boss Jane King has given evidence.
King and her now ex-husband Zoran Stanojevic ran the escort agency, Select Companions, at the time of the model’s disappearance.
Balmain was last seen by a client when he dropped her off at a hotel in Kingsford, in Sydney’s east, about 7pm.
She missed her next booking and has not been heard from since.
King said she called the escort’s flatmate the day after she missed the appointment.
“I was worried about her,” she told Lidcombe Coroners Court.
The former madam rejected suggestions by counsel assisting Matthew Johnston SC her primary reason for chasing up the escort was because she owed the business money.
The outstanding funds would have been taken out of what Balmain earned that night, King said.
“It wasn’t a huge amount of money and I didn’t have any reason not to believe her,” she told the inquest.
A missed pager message sent to Balmain the morning after she disappeared read “pls call Zoran to arrange settlement of your account”.
King told the inquest she didn’t remember if she sent the text.
She couldn’t remember what was discussed during a one-minute phone call to Stanojevic about 8pm on the Saturday night that Balmain disappeared.
“I could have been asking him to get me some takeaway or something,” King said.
She denied making any calls from the landline in her two-bedroom apartment to her husband, despite records showing five calls made that night and during the early hours of the following morning.
The former madam said the landline calls would have been diverted to the escort agency’s receptionist, known for legal reasons as Danielle.
King said she had been pregnant at the time and would have been in bed watching TV.
Her husband had returned home the following day with complaints about drama at work after Balmain missed her booking and his vehicle had a flat tyre, King told the inquest.
He told her not to call police as that would alert the model’s family, who did not know she was working as an escort.
“She’ll turn up, don’t worry, she always does,” he allegedly said.
When there had still be no word from the model on Monday, King contacted police.
A previous inquest in 1999 found Balmain had died at the hands of a person or persons unknown and the matter was referred to the Unsolved Homicide Unit.
A fresh investigation between 2007 and 2009 followed by a formal review in 2020 failed to produce any compelling evidence in the case.
Authorities offered a $1 million reward for information in 2021.
The inquest continues.
A 16-year-old girl opened fire on a primary school on January 29, 1979, injuring eight children and killing two adults.
Brenda Spencer’s home in San Diego was directly across the road from Grover Cleveland Elementary School.
As students lined up outside the school at the start of the day waiting for the principal to open the gate, she opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle.
With 36 shots fired from her home, she killed the school principal and a custodian who were rushing to pull students to safety.
Eight children were shot, as well as a police officer wounded in the neck. All survived.
Spencer then barricaded herself in her home.
As police negotiators waited outside, she answered a phone call.
A reporter from local paper the Evening Tribune had been cold-calling random telephone numbers in the neighbourhood to speak to potential witnesses.
When the reporter realised who he had on the phone, he asked her why she had done what she had done.
“I don’t like Mondays,” she replied.
“This livens up the day.”
For six hours, police were in a standoff with Spencer.
She eventually surrendered after being promised a Burger King meal.
Though still a minor, she was tried as an adult on murder charges.
While awaiting trial, one of her cellmates later began a relationship with Spencer’s father upon her release. They later married and divorced.
The day after her 18th birthday, Spencer was sentenced to life behind bars.
Spencer was denied parole for the seventh time last year.
“The shock of this brazen crime rippled through the community in San Diego at the time and it continues to hold a place of infamy in the history of mass shootings in our nation,” district attorney Summer Stephan said.
“While new laws are in place that can potentially speed up releases for individuals who were convicted as minors, as well as inmates who are over 50 years old, our position is that the totality of the horrific circumstances of this crime and this case do not warrant release and we are gratified that the parole board agreed with our position.”
She will be eligible for parole again in 2028.
Six months after the shooting, Irish pop band The Boomtown Rats released the song I Don’t Like Mondays, inspired by the shooting.
It was a massive hit in Ireland and the UK, but radio stations in San Diego refused to play the song.
“She wrote to me saying she was glad she’d done it because I’d made her famous,” lead singer Bob Geldof later said in an interview.
“Which is not a good thing to live with.”
2026.1.16 Amy Bowden’s mother calls for SA to introduce penalties for not calling emergency services
A mother is calling for urgent law reform in South Australia after her daughter died from a drug overdose that her boyfriend had tried to reverse by administering her methamphetamine.
Amy Bowden, 26, died in the early hours of February 8, 2024, from “mixed drug toxicity” at her Redwood Park home, in Adelaide’s north-east.
Her boyfriend, Ethan Lenny George Ross, now 29, of Redwood Park, has since pleaded guilty to one count of administering a drug to Ms Bowden on February 7.
Ross is not charged with causing Ms Bowden’s death.
The court previously heard Ms Bowden was unconscious for about 24 hours before Ross called an ambulance.
Outside court on Friday, Ms Bowden’s mother Michelle Sposito said she was calling on the South Australian government to introduce a law to hold people criminally responsible for not calling emergency services in a medical emergency.
“As it stands, the justice system is failing its victims,” she said.
“In other states and territories, we have specific laws that ensure perpetrators are held to greater account — including negligent manslaughter and fail to rescue.”
Ms Sposito also said she was calling on the government to “strengthen bail and home detention provisions”.
South Australia’s District Court heard in a pre-sentence hearing on Friday that Ross had written an apology letter to Ms Bowden’s family, but that they refused to read it.
“The maximum Ethan Ross can face for this charge is 10 years, yet all of us who stand here today have been handed a life sentence,” Ms Sposito said.
“Amy’s legacy will live on in all who truly loved her, not those who purported love but then showed none.
“Amy mattered to a lot of people, and it is the world’s loss that she is no longer with us. We will never stop fighting for justice for our beautiful daughter Amy.”
Judge Rauf Soulio said a toxicology report provided to the court showed that Ms Bowden had “an array of drugs” in her system, “including heroin, methadone and other drugs, and methylamphetamine”.
“The concentrations of the methylamphetamine would carry little risk of death through direct poisoning if they were the only drugs present,” he said, citing the report.
Prosecutor Amy Davis previously told the court Ross had sent several text messages to associates in the hours Ms Bowden was unconscious, which detailed different reasons as to why he administered the methamphetamine.
She said that one of the messages relating to the sourcing of the methamphetamine on February 7 said: “I’ll make sure this b**** is so grateful.”
Barrister James Marcus, for Ross, told the court that his client had prospects for rehabilitation and cited his personal circumstances, including that he had been exposed to drug use from a young age.
In a statement, a state government spokesperson said it “extends its deepest sympathies to Amy Bowden’s loved ones for their loss”.
“As the matter is currently before the Courts, we are not in a position to comment specifically on this case,” the spokesperson said.
“The Government will continue to closely monitor this matter.”
Ross will return to court later this month to be sentenced.
2026.1.16 Speculation about famous murder mystery after remains dug up in Victorian backyard
A homicide squad investigation is under way after tradies unsuspectingly dug up human remains in a backyard on Victoria’s Phillip Island yesterday.
There has been public speculation that the discovery of the human remains may be linked to the Victorian coastal town’s most famous murder mystery, however, police have not yet confirmed or ruled out a link.
The skull and bones were found yesterday in a shallow grave in Greg’s backyard.
The discovery sent the rumour mill in Phillip Island into overdrive, with many believing that the finding could be linked to the mum, who vanished in 1986.
“The phone was blowing up, our socials were blowing up,” homeowner Greg told 9News.
It’s been 40 years since local mother Vivienne Cameron vanished, with doubts surrounding the police theory of what happened to her.
The police theory, supported by coronial inquests, was that Cameron killed her husband’s mistress, Beth Barnard, then took her own life.
But her body has never been found.
Crime author Vikki Petraitis, who has written a book about Cameron’s disappearance, told 9News: “It’s essentially a closed case, but the only problem is nobody on the island believes this is what happened.”
“So when remains are found, it’s only natural that people think, well, if she didn’t jump off the bridge, she has to be somewhere,” Petraitis said.
The property was built on a vacant block sometime in the 1980s and was a holiday home for years, with plenty of visitors.
The mystery will be solved by forensic testing, expected to take months.
Police originally told the owners they’d be digging for several days, but were done in a matter of hours, saying they retrieved everything they needed.
“It would be nice if someone got closure, it really would,” Greg said.
2026.1.15 Homeowner’s ‘shock’ after tradies unearth human bones in Victorian backyard
A homeowner has told of his disbelief after tradies unearthed human bones while doing plumbing work at a holiday home on Victoria’s Phillip Island.
Plumbers were installing a septic tank in the backyard of the Hazelwood Court home in Silverleaves when they unearthed a skull and vertabrae around 8.30am.
Homeowner Greg and his wife bought the property on the small island three years ago.
“It’s our holiday home, and we love it. It’s a beautiful area, love it dearly,” he told 9News.
“It was pretty obvious what they’d found because, you know, we went into the backyard and saw what was going on.”
9News has been told the remains belong to an adult and may have been there for some time.
“To discover that someone’s lost their life here, in such a beautiful beach area, is really upsetting,” local resident Olympia said.
Forensic officers spent the day sifting through backyard soil on their hands and knees, while detectives from the homicide and missing persons squad went door-to-door searching for clues.
The state’s top detectives are now looking at whether the discovery could be linked to a high-profile cold case.
“You go through quite a range of emotions, from disbelief through to shock,” Greg said.
“I’m hopeful that it’s somebody’s very sad story, which will now come to closure.”
The area where the remains were found is not within a known Indigenous burial site.
The remains will undergo forensic testing, which could take weeks or even months.
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2026.1.13 Million-dollar reward over Melbourne girl’s disappearance 50 years ago
A $1 million reward has been announced for information about the disappearance of Melbourne girl Eloise Worledge 50 years ago today.
Eloise, then aged eight, was reported missing by her parents on the morning of Tuesday, January 13, 1976.
She was last seen in her bed at about 11.40pm at the family’s Scott Street home in Beaumaris, the previous night.
Her parents found the flyscreen on her window cut and rolled open, and nothing else seemingly taken from her room.
The eldest of three children, Eloise was described as a quiet, intelligent child who would not have left home voluntarily.
Her disappearance has always been treated as suspicious and over the past five decades, police have conducted an exhaustive investigation to try and determine the circumstances of her disappearance and who is responsible.
At the time of her disappearance, police conducted one of the then-largest search operations in Victoria.
More than 250 police were deployed over 18 days, conducting a systematic ground search of Beaumaris and nearby suburbs, including parks, reserves, vacant properties, and the foreshore.
Police also canvassed more than 6000 properties in the area.
No trace of Eloise was found.
Over the years, detectives have spoken with thousands of people, including undertaking multiple interviews of family, friends, neighbours and school contacts.
A taskforce was initially set up in 1976 to investigate Eloise’s disappearance and the investigation has remained active since that time.
There have been multiple reviews, including by the Homicide squad in the early 2000s, and the Missing Persons Squad in 2023.
An inquest in 2003 returned an open finding, with the coroner stating it was not possible on the evidence gathered to determine who was responsible for Eloise’s disappearance.
Since she vanished, there have been no confirmed sightings of Eloise and police believe she was murdered.
A reward of $10,000 was posted at the time of Eloise’s disappearance, which is now being increased to $1 million.
The reward is currently unique in Victoria as it also includes payment for information that leads to the location of Eloise’s remains, rather than solely identifying who was responsible for her presumed death.
The Director of Public Prosecutions may also grant indemnity to anybody who provides information about the perpetrator.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Eloise Worledge is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.
2026.1.13 Police offer $1m reward for information into disappearance of Eloise Worledge, 8, in 50-year-old cold case mystery
A $1m reward is being offered to help solve the mysterious disappearance of an eight-year-old girl who went missing from her bed half a century ago.
Police have offered a massive $1m reward for information related to the mysterious cold case disappearance of an eight-year-old Melbourne girl who vanished from her bed 50 years ago.
Eloise Worledge was the eldest of three children and was last seen in her bedroom at her family’s home on Scott St, Beaumaris, in Melbourne’s southeast, about 11.40pm on January 12, 1976.
When her family woke the following morning, she was missing.
Her parents found the flyscreen on her bedroom window had been cut and opened, with nothing else disturbed, and immediately reported her disappearance to police.
Detective Inspector Dave Dunstan, from Victoria Police’s Missing Persons Squad, said on Tuesday the disappearance had been treated as suspicious from the outset.
“An eight-year-old child can’t disappear and look after themselves in the community and leave no trace,” Inspector Dunstan said.
It sparked one of Victoria’s largest search operations involving more than 250 officers who canvassed over 6000 properties, nearby suburbs, parks, reserves, vacant properties and the foreshore around Beaumaris over 18 days.
No trace of Eloise was ever found.
Detectives have spoken with thousands of people interviewing family, friends, neighbours and school contacts multiple times and followed up information over the past 50 years, but no evidence has ever explained their girl’s disappearance or those responsible.
An ongoing task force, coronial inquest and cold case review have led authorities to believe Eloise is dead and murdered.
Speaking at a press conference, Inspector Dunstan said the $1m reward was unique in Victoria, as it could be paid for information leading to the recovery of Eloise’s remains, not just the identification and conviction of those responsible.
“This is the only reward of its kind in Victoria,” he said.
“Usually rewards are offered for the identification and conviction of the offender. We’re also offering this reward for information that leads to the recovery of Eloise’s remains.”
He said a $10,000 reward was offered shortly after Eloise disappeared, but police hoped the increased amount – announced on the 50th anniversary of her disappearance – would encourage someone to come forward.
“Fifty years is a long time, but it’s not too long for someone to come forward,” he said.
“People will know what’s happened. Allegiances change, partners change, and we’re hoping this announcement will allow people to tell us what they know.”
Inspector Dunstan said Eloise would have been 58 years old today.
“She’s missed out on growing up, and her family has missed her every single one of those days,” he said.
He also addressed longstanding speculation surrounding the case, making it clear police had never found evidence implicating Eloise’s parents.
The case was reinvestigated by the Homicide Squad in the early 2000s, with a renewed public appeal, forensic testing of available material and interviews with a number of persons of interest.
A 2003 coronial inquest was unable to determine who was responsible and returned an open finding.
In 2023, the Missing Persons Squad conducted another review, partly linked to a separate investigation into alleged historical sexual offending at Beaumaris Primary School, which Eloise attended.
Police were unable to establish any link between the two matters.
Asked whether there were currently any suspects, Inspector Dunstan said there was “no credible information or evidence to suggest any particular person” was responsible, but stressed police remained open to any new information from the community.
“This has been an extensive investigation spanning five decades,” he said.
“No stone has been left unturned … but if you do know something, please do the right thing and come forward.”
He said rewards had successfully led to breakthroughs in other cases and urged anyone with credible information to contact Crime Stoppers.
The $1m reward will be paid at the discretion of the Chief Commissioner and can be claimed even if the information provider is not seeking a conviction, with legal considerations to be assessed by the Director of Public Prosecutions if required.
In a statement, Eloise’s surviving family said their lives had been changed forever by their beloved sister’s disappearance.
They asked for privacy as they deal with the anguish of the 50th anniversary of their sister’s disappearance.
“My memories of waking up to find her missing are still very vivid and raw and the passage of time has not eased the pain of this loss,” her family said.
“Ella was and remains deeply loved, she was more than a missing person or a case file – she was a daughter, a sister, a friend, someone who mattered greatly to all who knew her.
“The ongoing public interest and constant suspicion surrounding my family – found to be unsubstantiated more than once – caused a lifetime of immense grief and pain.
“Despite this, somehow, we managed to find our own peace, however the anniversary brings up a multitude of emotions and causes a great deal of distress yet again.”
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2026.1.8 Rajwinder Singh, convicted of murdering Toyah Cordingley, files appeal
The man convicted of killing Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley has lodged an appeal against his conviction and sentence.
In December, a Supreme Court jury convicted former Innisfail nurse Rajwinder Singh of murdering the 24-year-old at Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns.
During a four-week trial, the court heard Singh, 41, stabbed Ms Cordingley repeatedly and cut her throat at the secluded beach, where she had gone to walk her dog on October 21, 2018.
The court heard Singh abruptly left Cairns the next day.
He also left behind his job at Innisfail Hospital and flew to his native India where he spent more than four years in hiding.
Singh was arrested in late 2022, three weeks after a record $1 million reward was posted for information leading to his arrest.
In early 2023, he agreed to be extradited to Australia to face trial.
His first trial earlier last year ended in a hung jury.
Singh denied murdering Ms Cordingley, claiming instead to have witnessed masked killers on the beach before fleeing the country in fear they would kill him too.
Behind bars in high security
Singh was sentenced to a mandatory term of life behind bars last month.
He has since been placed at Wolston Correctional Centre, a high-security prison on the outskirts of Brisbane where male protection prisoners are held.
Justice Lincoln Crowley ordered Singh not be eligible for parole for 25 years, after he was asked by prosecutors for a longer term than the mandatory 20-year minimum.
With time already served, the earliest Singh can apply for release on parole is March 2048, when he will be aged 63.
In sentencing, Justice Crowley branded Singh a “gutless coward”.
“You left without even saying a proper goodbye to your wife, your parents, your children, demonstrating that your only concern was to save your own skin, regardless of the consequences for your family,” he said.
“Your conduct offers some insight into the selfish and heartless individual you truly are.”
Singh had a month to file his appeal.
Four intruders stormed in with a gun, bat and hammer, and poisoned the dog.
A grandmother was held at gunpoint when four armed intruders stormed her home demanding drugs in what police believe was a terrifying case of mistaken identity.
CCTV footage showed the men — armed with a sawn-off shotgun, a baseball bat, and a hammer —jumping the front fence at Tambourine, in the Gold Coast hinterland, in the dark on November 22.
“Smashed that window right in front of me and just within two seconds they were through that window and had the gun to my head,” the 61-year-old, who asked not to be identified, told 7NEWS on Sunday.
Her dog, Batman, tried to protect her, biting one of the intruders on the leg, but the attack did not stop the men.
“They were swearing at me and calling me, ‘where’s the f*** drugs’ — they clearly came for drugs and had the wrong house,” the victim said.
The intruders ransacked the home for about 40 minutes, before eventually realising the woman did not have the drugs they were seeking.
The grandmother said she still lives in fear in her own home.
“Not good at all. Can’t stay home by myself at night,” she said.
“I am scared in my own home, they took that safe space away from me — something like that changes a person.”
Before fleeing, the men poisoned her dog with food they left behind.
“He’s OK but he was spewing up everything the next day and I found chicken out on the ground with stuff all over it,” she said.
The intruders are believed to have left in a silver Chrysler, taking cash and alcohol with them.
The victim said she has received few updates from police in the six weeks since the incident.
“I just don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” she said, urging the public to come forward to help the investigation.
Anyone with information should contact police or crime stoppers.
2026.1.2 A strangled man and failed pregnancy plot: The tragic tale of the last woman hanged in Australia
Warning: This story contains graphic details.
In the still air of a Melbourne courtroom, Jean Lee collapsed into the arms of the man who had betrayed her – her lover, her “Bobby”, and now, her accomplice – a hothead petty criminal called Robert Clayton.
It was March 1950, and Lee, Clayton and his army buddy, Norman Andrews, were on trial over the murder of William “Pop” Kent, an elderly bookie the group had met briefly during a drinking bender four months earlier.
Kent had been found dead inside his room, so badly battered his nose was completely flattened and two of his teeth had come loose. His thumbs had been tied with a piece of boot lace, and a sheet tied around his neck. He had been strangled with such force his Adam’s apple had been crushed on both sides.
The 73-year-old, who had a habit of flaunting wads of cash at the pub, had last been seen drinking with Lee, Clayton and Andrews at the University Hotel in Carlton, and later sipping wine and smoking cigarettes with the trio at his Dorrit Street home in the evening of November 7, 1949.
A jury panel of 12 men took less than three hours to reach a verdict. Lee, Clayton and Andrews, who were short on cash after blowing their money partying and at the horse races, were found guilty of murdering Kent during what police claimed was a botched robbery. They would be sentenced to death.
Struggling to stand, an inconsolable Lee issued one final plea for mercy from the dock: “I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.”
The courtroom then erupted into shambolic scenes.
“May your next feed choke you, you swine,” Clayton yelled before spitting at the jurors and being removed.
On February 19, 1951, Lee, a young mother from Dubbo, became the first woman in 56 years to be hanged in Victoria, and the last in Australia’s history.
Records about her case and execution at Pentridge Prison were made public by the Public Record Office of Victoria for the first time this week, after remaining sealed for 75 years.
The murder of William Kent
Jean Lee was the last woman executed in Australia. She was sent to the gallows at Pentridge Prison in 1951 over the brutal murder of SP bookmaker William ‘Pop’ Kent. This map retraces Lee’s steps and those of her accomplices
The documents, which span more than 500 pages and have been examined by this masthead, include photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, wills, and court records relating to the case.
They expose instances where the evidence was potentially compromised and legal discussions behind closed doors about whether a police statement should have been admitted.
The records also highlight lingering doubts about Lee’s role in the murder, and controversial interrogation techniques by detectives at the time, who questioned the trio without giving them a caution and shared Clayton’s statement with Lee and Andrews to elicit a confession.
‘And they call women the weaker sex’
Inside an interrogation room at the old police headquarters on Russell Street on November 8, 1949, Lee remained staunch she would not answer questions.
Police had been trying to get a confession for hours after arresting the trio as they were returning to their hotel on Spencer Street that morning.
Lee and Clayton, who had extensive criminal records spanning more than 32 offences between them, had come to Melbourne from Sydney a few weeks earlier. They met Andrews, Clayton’s buddy, at the Werribee races and became inseparable.
“I am not saying anything,” Lee told detectives over and over again.
Then, a break came in the interview room next door.
“Are you fair dinkum when you say that the chap is dead?” Clayton asked detectives. “If what you say is right, I will tell you all I know. I am not going to take the rap for what others do.”
Clayton said the group had headed to Carlton so that a cash-strapped Andrews could pawn his suit, and ended up drinking at the University Hotel in the afternoon.
There, Lee struck up a conversation with Kent. After the pub closed, the bookmaker invited them to his place.
Later that evening, Lee told Clayton that Kent had money stashed in his fob pocket, but that his belly “was too tight”. If she could not get it “the sweet way”, they would “do him over”.
Clayton told police: “When I left the room, Norman and Jean were still with Pop. I am completely innocent of any attack made on this old man.”
The officers marched into Lee’s interrogation room and showed her Clayton’s statement. Lee, who had been adamant her lover would not talk, asked the detectives to bring him over.
“So you made a four-page statement did you?” she asked Clayton.
Clayton replied he had, and broke down in tears.
“And they call women the weaker sex,” Lee snapped.
After Clayton was removed, Lee turned to the detectives and confessed.
“I love Bobby and I still love him, but if he wants it that way he can have it,” she said.
Lee said she had lost her temper and hit Kent in the head with a bottle and a piece of wood before tying his arms with a piece of sheet. “I knew he was dead when we left him.”
Asked by police what she meant by “we”, she hesitated.
“There was only me,” she said.
Her confession would be a miscalculation.
When Lee was found guilty, no woman had been hanged in Victoria for more than half a century.
Lee’s case file shows an anti-capital punishment movement was brewing. Advocates wrote to authorities asking for the trio to be spared the death penalty, which one described as “murder by rope”. One man even expressed plans to raise donations to fund the trio’s appeal.
After the execution, people wrote to newspapers condemning the decision, and called for capital punishment to be abolished. “This latest execution was a very sordid thing for a civilised country belonging to the dark ages,” one letter read.
Reporting by The Argus newspaper at the time suggests the decision by the state cabinet to stand by the execution had “sensational political implications”, with Labor and some Liberals opposed to Lee’s hanging.
By taking the blame for Kent’s murder, Lee perhaps erroneously assumed that she would be spared the death penalty and save Clayton and Andrews in the process.
Forensic evidence presented during the trial showed Kent’s killer would have needed to use considerable force to strangle him, which police admitted that Lee – with “her little hands” – was unlikely to have. The judge even told the jury that Lee’s confession was obviously concocted and that nobody “in his senses would believe that”.
Lee tried to walk back on her confession, telling the jury that she was “hysterical” after reading Clayton’s statement and admitted to the killing to get some “peace and quiet”. Clayton also told the court his statement was concocted, and he did not think it would throw Lee and Andrews under the bus because they were all innocent.
In the witness box, Lee, Clayton and Andrews claimed Kent had been in good health when they left his home at 7pm. Blood stains on their clothes and wounds to their hands had alternative explanations, they claimed.
Attempts by the defence to get the statement and Lee’s confession’s thrown out on the basis they had been improperly obtained failed, despite the trial judge conceding evidence had been obtained in an “undesirable way”.
The trial was also marred by other issues that would be unacceptable in today’s justice system, including the fact that the evidence of two key witnesses in the case – a man and a woman living with Kent at the time of the murder that placed the trio in the home – was potentially contaminated by allowing them to talk to one another and change their version of events.
Lee, Clayton and Andrews appealed against their conviction and were granted a retrial. After the win, Lee and Clayton hugged and kissed in the dock.
However, the Crown later appealed against the ruling and got the death penalty reinstated. Subsequent attempts by the trio to appeal against the High Court decision in the Privy Council in England failed.
The final Hail Mary
One minute after 8am on a drizzly February morning in 1951, Lee was hanged from the first floor of a corridor at Pentridge prison.
An ingenious scheme by Clayton to bribe prison guards to allow him to spend half an hour with his lover so they could claim Lee was pregnant and save her from the gallows failed.
Police cordoned off the roads leading to the side entrance to the prison, while about 30 officers remained stationed inside its walls, ready to jump at any sign of a disturbance. A handful of people gathered outside.
Seven journalists were invited to witness the executions by Victorian authorities who believed the publicity would deter potential murderers. “A criminal will respect the rope where he yawns at a gaol term,” the since-defunct newspaper Truth wrote at the time of the execution.
A seemingly unconscious Lee, who had been given a sedative the night before to help her sleep, had to be carried from her cell to the gallows by the executioner and his assistant, who had their faces obscured by large steel-rimmed goggles and felt hats.
Lee’s limp body was sat on a chair placed atop the trapdoor. Her head and shoulders were covered by a white hood. Her hands and ankles were bound.
Then, the door opened and Lee plunged to her death behind a brown curtain.
Bells tolled to mark the execution, but the sound was drowned out by the roar of planes passing overhead.
Clayton and Andrews were hanged together two hours later. They exchanged one final farewell above the trap door. “Goodbye Charlie,” Clayton said. “Goodbye Robert,” Andrews replied.
That afternoon, they were buried in sodden graves that had been dug by fellow prisoners.
As a 1950 assessment of the trio put it: “It is doubtful they would cold-bloodedly plan a murder and go through to it, but in this case, they saw a heaven-sent opportunity to replenish their empty pockets by robbing a sucker.”
2026.1.1 Double stabbing in popular dining strip in Carlton leaves two men in hospital
Police are investigating a double stabbing in Carlton on New Year’s Eve that left two people in hospital with serious injuries.
Police were called to the popular dining strip in Lygon Street about 11:45pm. Ambulance Victoria and Fire Rescue Victoria also attended.
Officers found two men, aged 20 and 18, with serious stab wounds, and they were taken to hospital.
Police said a group of up to seven males armed with knives and machetes attacked the men outside a restaurant before fleeing in vehicles.
Melbourne Crime Investigation unit detectives are investigating whether it was a targeted attack.
Tim Tulley, Victoria Police’s Acting Assistant Commissioner for the north-west metropolitan region, said the incident was concerning.
He said the two men in hospital were in a critical condition, but their injuries were not life-threatening.
“If you carry any edged weapon without any exemption whatsoever … you’re either going to jail, you’re going to hospital or you’re going to the cemetery,” he said.
The Victorian government introduced a ban on selling and owning machetes, unless carrying a valid exemption, last year.
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