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Commissioner speaks out after son's killer avoids jail

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has shared an emotional statement outside of court after the young man accused of killing his son had his sentence suspended. Dhirren Randhawa, 19, was sentenced at Adelaide District Court to 13 months in prison for driving without due care and leaving the scene of an accident after crashing into 18-year-old Charlie Stevens in 2023. Charlie was celebrating schoolies with his friends, before being struck and suffering irreversible brain damage, as he died in hospital just days later. Judge Joanne Tracey suspended the sentence with a two-year good behaviour bond and a 10-year suspension of his license, citing many reasons why he should not be placed behind bars. Justice Tracey said Randhawa’s youth, lack of prior offending, the circumstances of the offending, his genuine remorse and his guilty pleas were all factors in her decision. “You have accepted there was more you could have done to avoid this tragic outcome,” she said on Tuesday. “It is, of course, the case you had no intention to harm anyone that night." “It is an offence any one of us as road users may commit if we do not take proper care or drive without proper attention.” Speaking after the sentence, Commissioner Stevens he and his family were “grateful” the court process had finished. “The judge said in summing up today … no matter what happens in the courtroom today, it’s not going to change anything for our family, and I think that’s a very true statement,” he said alongside his wife Emma. “We’re grateful this part of the entire process is over. Each court date that has come up has been difficult, stressful and emotional for our family." “We’re grateful Dhirren chose to plead guilty to his offence because that brought this part of it to a conclusion much more quickly." “It is one of those things, we are continuing to learn how to live with every single day without Charlie. It’s not getting any easier, as I’m sure people who have lost a child would appreciate." “We’re very grateful for the support and the sympathy we’ve received from the South Australian community … there’s no way we can acknowledge or repay that in any other format other than thanking people for their support.” Image credits: SA Police / Facebook

Caring

Woman sentenced to life for murdering parents and living with their bodies

A British woman, who murdered her parents and lived with their bodies for four years, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday and is not eligible for parole for 36 years. When Essex Police raided Virginia McCullough's house in Great Baddow last September, the 36-year-old confessed that her parents' bodies were in the house and that she had killed them. She admitted to poisoning her father, John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication that she put into his drink, and then a few days later, beat her 71-year-old mother Lois McCullough with a hammer and fatally stabbed her. “I did know that this would kind of come eventually,” she said while handcuffed in body cam footage released by police on Friday. “It’s proper that I serve my punishment.” After McCullough was arrested, she told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy,” adding that “I know I don’t seem 100 per cent evil.” Further body cam footage showed her at the police station telling officers where to find the tools she used to kill her mother. She had pleaded guilty to murdering her parents at a previous hearing in June 2019. In the words of the prosecution, McCullough kept her father in a “homemade mausoleum” in his bedroom and study, in a structure that was “composed with masonry blocks stacked together.” She wrapped her mother's body in a sleeping bag and put it in a wardrobe on the top floor of the property. In the four years after the murder, she ran up £149,697 ($AU289,792) on credit cards in her parents’ names and continued to spend their pensions. The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and told doctors and relatives that her parents were unwell or away on a trip. Statements from her three unnamed siblings were also read in court, and one said: “our parents were completely blameless victims”. “Virginia always said Mum and Dad were fine and made up lie after lie about their daily activities," another said. Judge Jeremy Johnson said at the sentencing hearing on Friday that McCullough’s actions represented a “gross violation of the trust that should exist between parents and their children.” Judge Johnson said that she had maintained an “elaborate, extensive and enduring web of deceit” over months and years and that he was sure there was a “substantial degree of both pre-meditation and planning," that went into the murder. Essex Police said documents found in the home showed that McCullough was trying desperately” to keep her parents from discovering the poor state of her finances, and gave “false assurances” about her employment and future prospects. “She is an intelligent manipulator who chose to kill her parents callously, without a thought for them or those who continue to suffer as a result of their loss,” said Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby. "The details of this case shock and horrify even the most experienced of murder detectives, let alone any right-thinking member of the public.” Image: Essex Police/ 7NEWS

Legal

Thief gambles away $64k raised for alleged murder victim's family

A gambling addict has been sentenced to 400 hours unpaid community service after admitting to stealing $64,000 from a GoFundMe page intended for a grieving family. Lachlan Morganti, 26, was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a single charge of theft, as magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz sentenced him to a two-year community corrections order and 400 hours of unpaid work. The court was told that Morganti set up the fundraising page on behalf of the family of allegedly murdered woman Hannah McGuire, who <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/you-were-our-whole-damn-sky-tributes-flow-after-alleged-murder-of-young-teacher" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died</a> on April 5th this year. He had become acquainted with the family, who managed The National Hotel in Clunes, through their support of the Clunes Cricket Club where he played. “Hannah was known by many as a bright young woman and had a heart of gold,” the fundraiser read. “All proceeds will go towards funeral costs and other expenses the family may need during this tough time.” In just a few days, the GoFundMe page raised more than $64,000 in generous donations from the community. The funds dropped in Morganti’s bank account on April 24th, but he almost immediately began to gamble with it, losing the full amount in four to five days. After his arrest, Morganti told police he had an “uncontrollable” gambling addiction and internally justified it by believing he would only use a small portion to fix his mounting gambling debts. “I accept the act of creating the GoFundMe was meant as an altruistic act, that it was intended as a selfless act to benefit the grieving McGuire family,” Ms Mykytowycz said. “However, the temptation to use this money to recover previous debts became overwhelming and self-indulgent.” In a statement to the court, Hannah's mother Debbie McGuire said it was important to note no one from their family had asked for support or for Morganti to start the GoFundMe, adding that Morganti had the “audacity” to attend Hannah’s funeral among many of those whose contributions he had stolen. “Not only did the accused violate our trust, but he had a complete disregard of the trust and generosity of an entire community,” she said. Image credits: GoFundMe / news.com.au

Legal

Cleo Smith’s abductor learns fate

Terence Kelly has learned his fate after his lawyers attempted to have his sentence reduced. Kelly abducted Cleo Smith from her parents' tent at a remote West Australian campsite north of Carnarvon in late 2021, sparking a massive manhunt before she was found at his home by police 18 days later. The 37-year-old appealed to have his 13 year and six months sentence shortened, with the decision handed down in court on Monday that the sentence would stand. After being jailed in April 2023 following his admission that he kidnapped Cleo, his lawyers argued his mental impairments, including severe personality dysfunction, contributed to his decision to snatch the young girl. His lawyers also maintained the sentencing judge erred in finding Kelly's use of methamphetamine had a "significant and causal role in the offending". They also say the judge didn't give enough consideration to Kelly's childhood disadvantage and trauma. In sentencing, WA District Court Chief Judge Julie Wager said Kelly's actions were at the "highest level of seriousness" and that Cleo and her family would be "permanently impacted". In the court's ruling on Monday, the court accepted the sentence was "severe" but found it reflected the seriousness of the crime. "On any view, the appellant's abduction of such a young and highly vulnerable child from her parents, at night, and then holding her captive in his house for 18 days was extraordinarily serious," Justices Robert Mazza and Stephen Hall found. "As tragic as the appellant's background is, the sad fact remains that his risk of reoffending required that the sentence imposed upon him have regard to the sentencing objective of public protection." Kelly had faced a maximum of 20 years in jail but he got a 25 per cent discount of five years for his early guilty plea. Image credits: Getty Images / Instagram

Legal

Hunter Valley bus driver learns his fate

The judge has handed down his sentence to Hunter Valley bus driver Brett Button, who was behind the wheel of one of Australia's deadliest crashes that killed 10 people and injured 25 others. After a three-day hearing, Button, 59, was sentenced before Judge Roy Ellis at Newcastle District Court on Wednesday afternoon to 32 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 24 years beginning May 8th. He will be eligible for release on parole on May 7th, 2048. When the judge read his sentence, gasps were heard within the courtroom from survivors of the crash, while many victims' families broke down in tears. In sentencing, Judge Ellis said Button was under the influence of the opioid-based painkiller tramadol and had “abandoned his responsibility” to his 35 passengers at the time of the crash. “Words cannot adequately express the pain, anger, and sadness that permeated the first two days of these proceedings as victim impact statement after victim impact statement was read by and for absolutely distraught, depressed, and devastated family members of the deceased and survivors," Judge Ellis said. Judge Ellis said that in his 50 years in the justice system he had never “dealt with, seen, or even read about a case that involved anywhere near the same extent of extraordinary devastation”. “Surviving passengers described the trauma of their injuries and scenes of the crash, with unwanted memory of the carnage still present and easily triggered,” Judge Ellis told the court. Outside the courtroom after the sentence had been handed down, Leoni Bowey, who lost her sister Nadene McBride and niece Kyah McBride in the crash, said the family was surprised by the result but she didn’t “think there was ever an end to this”. “I don’t think closure ever happens,” she said. “Listening to the stories, I realised many of the victims that were on the bus that night are all living with trauma, depression, and anxiety - all things that will be with us for the rest of our lives." “I was having an anxiety attack because it was taking so long to get the numbers, and I had no idea what it all meant... but I will say I didn’t think we would get that sentence. I am really surprised.” <p style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Image credits: 7News

Legal

Russell Hill's daughter shares her outrage over Greg Lynn's sentence

Russell Hill's daughter has expressed her anger over the jury's verdict of former pilot Greg Lynn, who was found not guilty for Hill's murder. Greg Lynn faced a lengthy trial over the deaths of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay, but after a week of jury deliberations, was only <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/shocking-verdict-in-trial-of-murdered-campers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found guilty</a> for the murder of Carol and was cleared of charges relating to Russell's death. Following the shock verdict, Hill's daughter Debbi, said she was “angry” at the jury and that she felt her father didn’t get the justice he deserved. “It’s new, we’ve only just found out, but the more I think about it, the more angry I get at the fact that it didn’t have to be this way,” Ms Hill told 60 Minutes on Sunday. “My dad was not a violent person in any way. He wouldn’t have provoked anything.” Ms Hill went on to say that she thinks about what happened to her father every day. “I’m just really angry that he went camping that day, that time, that he is the person he is and he happened to be right there with my dad and Carol, and this is what happened,” she said. “I think it was just really bad luck for Dad and Carol that they were there at the time, but it wouldn’t have happened if he [Lynn] wasn’t such an awful person.” After the trial concluded, more information has come to light about Lynn's past after non-publication orders were lifted. His first wife Lisa Lynn, 34, was found dead in the front yard of her home in 1999, with a coroner’s report indicating a blood-alcohol level of 0.21 and high levels of anti-depression medication present in her system at the time of her death. No suicide note was ever found and Lynn was never charged over her death, however detectives are now looking to have the Victorian coroner conduct a full inquest into the 1999 death. Ms Hill said it was quite concerning to learn about Lynn’s history, saying, “I hope he doesn’t get away with this, but I’ve lost a bit of faith in the whole system.” “I’m not trusting of it now. We’ll have to wait and see. He’s just such a terrible person.” Image credits: Facebook / Victoria Police

Legal

Property tycoon sentenced to death over $27 billion fraud

A Vietnamese billionaire was sentenced to death on Thursday in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, an estimated $27 billion in damages - a figure equivalent to six percent of the country’s 2023 GDP. Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of embezzlement, after looting from one of the country's biggest banks, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) for over a decade. “The defendant’s actions... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the (Communist) Party and state,” the verdict read at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After a five-week trial, 85 others were also charged for their involvement in the fraud, with charges ranging from from bribery and abuse of power to appropriation and violations of banking law. Four were given life imprisonment, while others received jail terms ranging between 20 years and three years suspended. Lan's husband was Hong Kong billionaire Eric Chu Nap Kee, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Lan and the others were arrested as part of a national corruption crackdown. Lan was initially believed to have embezzled $12.5 billion, but on Thursday prosecutors have said that the total damages caused by the fraud now amounted to $27 billion. The property tycoon was convicted of taking out $44bn in loans from the bank, according to the BBC, with prosecutors saying that $27 billion of this may never be recovered. The court ordered Lan to to pay almost the entire damages sum in compensation. It is also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68778636" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that she is one of very few women in Vietnam to be sentenced to death for a white collar crime. “In my desperation, I thought of death,” Lan said in her final remarks to the court, according to state media. “I am so angry that I was stupid enough to get involved in this very fierce business environment -- the banking sector -- which I have little knowledge of.” Police have identified around 42,000 victims of the scam, and many of them were unhappy with the verdict. One 67-year-old Hanoi resident told the AFP that she had hoped Lan would receive a life sentence so she could fully witness the devastating impact of her actions. “Many people worked hard to deposit money into the bank, but now she’s received the death sentence and that’s it for her,” they said. “She can’t see the suffering of the people.” The resident has so far been unable to retrieve the $120,000 she invested with SCB. Police have said that many of the victims are SCB bondholders, who cannot withdraw their money and have not received interest or principal payments since Lan’s arrest. Authorities have also reportedly seized over 1000 properties belonging to Lan. Image: Twitter

Legal

"Impossibly sad": P-plater jailed over fatal crash

A southwest Sydney community is reeling after Tyrell Edwards was sentenced for causing the deaths of five children in a fiery crash last year. Edwards, 20, was driving recklessly at speeds of 147km/h in the suburb of Buxton when he crashed into two trees and struck five teenagers. Lily Van De Putte, Gabby McLennan, Summer Williams, all aged 14, Tyrese Bechard, 15, and Antonio Desisto, 16, were all killed in the devastating incident. Appearing in Campbelltown District Court on his 20th birthday, Edwards sentenced to 12 years in prison, and will be eligible for parole in seven years, after pleading guilty to five counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death at a speed more than 45km/h over the limit. The judge described the deaths of the five victims as “tragic and impossibly sad”. “The loss of these five young people diminishes us all,” he said. “Their deaths were completely avoidable and responsibility for them lies squarely at the feet of the offender.” Gasps were heard in the courtroom as the sentence was read, with families of the victims sharing their disappointment at the sentencing. Speaking outside court on Friday, family members of three of the teenagers hit out at the “unfair” sentence. Samantha McLennan said her heart “dropped” as she heard the ruling, while Exavan Desisto said he was “speechless”. “I knew the outcome wouldn’t be spectacular but to hear it was a big shock,” he said. “The justice system absolutely stinks.” John Van De Putte said he expected the sentence to be low, but felt it did not match the crime. “There’s five lives lost. Seven years in jail,” he said. “You’d get more if you killed someone with a baseball bat Mr Van De Putte had previously told the court there was “no excuse” for Edwards, a licensed driver, to have driven so recklessly and endangered the lives of his underage passengers. “No matter what you get, it will not bring back the five lives,” he told the 20-year-old. Image credits: Facebook

News

How a garden hose dispute between neighbours ended with a 30-year jail sentence

An Aussie man has been sentenced to 30 years in jail after shooting two of his neighbours, in a months-long dispute that began over a disagreement over a garden hose. Rodney John Lee, a 74-year-old from Melbourne's south-east, was sentenced to 30 years behind bars in court on Monday, after showing little remorse for pulling out a shotgun and murdering Saumoto Gasio and Tibor Laszlo, who lived in the same unit block. The dispute between the neighbours began several months ago, with tensions escalating quickly in the lead up to the shooting, which occurred on January 13th 2022. Lee had accused one neighbour's grandson of being a drug dealer, and was angry others would turn off a hose he used to water a communal garden. On the day of the killings, Lee left the hose running and went inside his apartment, later screaming in anger when he realised that the water had been shut off. According to court documents, Lee yelled to his neighbours, "You turn the hose off again you bastards, I'll f***ing kill you." Later that night, Lee confronted residents in the garden when he got into an argument with Mr Gasio, who told him he would ignore demands about the hose because he was wasting water by leaving the hose running unattended. Lee then went back to his apartment and armed himself with his grandfather's shotgun, before he headed back to the group and from close range fired at Mr Gasio, who was sitting on a bench. Other residents of the building fled the scene looking for safety, while a badly injured Mr Gasio stumbled into a neighbour's unit. As neighbours tried to help Mr Gasio, Lee came through the door and fired the shotgun again, this time hitting Mr Laszlo. Both men died at the scene. Before handing down the sentencing, Justice James Elliott described the killer's actions as "senseless and brutally violent". "Nothing could justify the disproportionate, senseless and brutally violent way in which you responded," Justice Elliott said. <div data-component="EmphasisedText"> "You murdered two people in their places of residence, where they were entitled to feel safe, in the presence of other residents of the unit complex." </div> "Both victims were completely defenceless against you." Lee is likely to die in jail, as he will be aged 97 by the time he is eligible for parole in early 2046. "You'll almost certainly be imprisoned for the remainder of your life," Justice Elliott said. Image credits: ABC News

Legal

Cleo Smith's mother speaks out after abductor's sentencing

Cleo Smith's mother has shared her thoughts on the jail sentence handed down to the man who abducted her four-year-old daughter. Ellie Smith was in Western Australia's District Court on Wednesday when Terence Kelly was <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/sentence-handed-down-for-cleo-smith-abductor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to 13 years and six months behind bars for abducting Cleo in October 2021. Shortly after the sentence was handed down, Ellie and her partner Jake Gliddon shared they will always feel "angry" towards Terence. "I think the anger always will be there," Ellie Smith told <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/terence-kelly-sentence-update-cleo-smith/6306636b-7c6d-4f6b-9b92-48dd3296dace" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nine News</a>. However, she added she "also feels contentment he is behind bars". "And we do have a number to hold with us of how long he is away." "But there is always going to be anger, always - how could there not be?" she added. While Ellie and Jake largely avoided the media outside the courtroom on Wednesday, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch was quick to condemn the kidnapper and suggested the 13-year-sentence was not long enough. "Early on in my career I spoke to a father of a victim of a serious crime. And he said to me, as a dad, a million years isn't enough and that's driven by emotion - and as a father I understand that," he said. "And I would expect that the community would never think that 13-and-a-half years is enough." Terence Kelly snatched Cleo from the Quobba Blowholes campsite, a remote coastal area in WA, as she slept beside her parents and baby sister on the night of October 16th, 2021. He then held her captive in his home in the rural town of Carnavon for 18 days before she was found by police. During the course of the sentencing hearing, new details came to light on <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/health/caring/frightening-new-details-emerge-on-cleo-smith-kidnapping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just what went on</a> during those 18 days of Cleo's captivity. Commissioner Blanch added that the investigation to track down and rescue Cleo was the "gold standard" for an operation of this type. "This is an evil crime. He committed a heinous crime. A parent's worse nightmare. As I said before, I'm Police Commissioner and I respect the rule of law, but as a father, that's something I could never forgive." Image credits: Nine News

Legal

Sentence handed down for Cleo Smith abductor

In the dramatic conclusion of the Cleo Smith abduction case that gripped Australia, her abductor has been handed his jail sentence. Terence Kelly, who took the then-four-year-old from a campsite in Western Australia, has been sentenced to 13 years and six months in jail. He will have to serve over 11 years before he is eligible for early release on parole. The sentence was handed down on Wednesday by Perth District Court Chief Judge Julie Wager, with Cleo's parents, Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, in court to hear the outcome. The Chief Judge of WA's District Court Julie Wager gave Kelly the full 25 per cent discount, or five years, off his sentence for his early guilty plea when he first plead guilty upon his arrest for the crime in January 2022. The 37-year-old snatched Cleo from the Quobba Blowholes campsite, a remote coastal area in WA, as she slept beside her parents and baby sister on the night of October 16, 2021. He then held her captive in his home in the rural town of Carnavon for 18 days before she was found by police. Her disappearance sparked one of the biggest searches in Western Australian history, and had the country gripped and hoping for her safe return. Image credits: Getty Images / WA Police

News

"Gross criminal neglect": Brisbane mum receives sentence for death of daughters in hot car

Queenslander Kerri-Anne Conley has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the deaths of her two young daughters. The 30-year-old woman from Logan pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter - of two-and-a-half-year-old Darcey-Helen and 18-month-old Chloe-Ann - in Brisbane Supreme Court this week, and today received her sentence from Supreme Court Justice Peter Applegarth. Initially, she had been charged with the murder of her daughter under a law that expanded the definition of the offence, including reckless indifference to human life. However, this Tuesday Kerri-Ann gave a guilty plea to the downgraded manslaughter charges, as well as to the possession of dangerous drugs and utensils. In November 2019, Kerri-Ann had taken her daughters Darcey-Helen and Chloe-Ann to her friend’s house, and then made the “deliberate decision” to leave the toddlers in their car seats upon returning home, before going inside to sleep. Both girls died of hyperthermia at their Waterford West home. "Your first, grossly negligent conduct was in deciding to leave your children in that vulnerable place, uncared for, unheard, and unobserved in the dark," Justice Peter Applegarth declared when handing down Kerri-Ann’s sentence. "Not checking on the children and securing their safety at 6am was another aspect of your ongoing, gross criminal neglect of your duty of care as their mother,” he went on to say. "One can only hope that these little girls slowly succumbed to the growing heat of the day much earlier that morning and faded into a deep sleep from which they never returned. "The alternative of them being awake, distressed, and trapped in their seats is too much to bear thinking about for too long." Kerri-Ann allegedly went to sleep at 6am, after spending time on her phone, and came to find the girls nine hours later. It is estimated that temperatures within the car reached up to 61 degrees Celsius through the day, and the children were lifeless as she pulled them from the vehicle. When paramedics arrived, the girls were hot to the touch, covered in blisters, and had skin peeling from them. They were tragically declared dead at the scene. The court also heard that before Kerri-Ann even contacted emergency services, she attempted to dispose of drug paraphernalia. Justice Applegarth was firm in the belief that "no child should have a parent who uses methamphetamine". Kerri-Ann later admitted to the police that she had taken ice the day before. Of Kerri-Ann’s “egregious breach of trust” against her defenceless children, Crown Prosecutor Sarah Dennis stated that “they were left asleep and presumably restrained in their car seats without the ability or means to free themselves or to seek assistance or to protect themselves from the searing temperatures.” “They were entirely dependent on the defendant, their mother, for their basic needs, one being to keep them protected from harm,” she added. “Rather than doing that, the actions of the defendant exposed them to harm.” Sarah Dennis went on to tell the court that the girls’ deaths could easily have been avoided, and that it wasn’t forgetfulness that had been the cause, but instead Kerri-Ann’s carelessness. “Her behaviour,” she said, “represented an apathy to her own children that was callous.” Justice Applegarth noted that Kerri-Ann had been the victim of an abusive childhood, and acknowledged her diagnosis in custody of a depressive disorder and guilt induced psychosocial stress. "I accept you are remorseful and not a day goes by that you don't think about the death of your daughters and the effect this had on others," he said. Ultimately, Justice Applegarth said that Kerri-Ann’s meth use had led to her daughters’ deaths, and that her previous drug convictions had done nothing to inform her parenting. It was reportedly not the first time she had left her children alone in the car. Kerri-Ann has already served over three years on remand - the majority of which was in custody - with Justice Applegarth having declared this as time served, and will be eligible for parole late November 2024. Images: 9News

News

“Give us the closure we need”: Chris Dawson's daughter's desperate plea

Chris Dawson’s eldest daughter has addressed her father with an emotional plea during a court hearing prior to his sentencing for murdering his wife, Lynette. Shanelle Dawson delivered a victim-impact statement during the hearing at the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday, where she pleaded with her father to “finally admit the truth”. <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/stunning-chris-dawson-verdict-handed-down" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dawson was convicted of Lynette’s murder</a> by Justice Ian Harrison in August after one of the country’s most high-profile trials. The former teacher wasn’t charged over the murder until 2018 and has always maintained that Lynette walked out of their family in the early 1980s. Fighting back tears, Shanelle told the court she had endured “41 years of deceit, silence, trauma and gaslighting” at the hands of her father. "The night you removed our mother from our lives was the night you destroyed my sense of safety and belonging in this world for many years to come," she said. Her father sat silently in the dock and looked at the floor while Shanelle told him he had “no right” to take away her mother. “You are not God”, she said. "I went to great lengths to keep the secret from my daughter… Unfortunately her friend told her. I had to explain to my beautiful innocent daughter why her grandfather killed her grandmother. "She kept asking, 'Why did he do that?' The same question which tortured me for years and years. "Why didn't you just divorce her? Because of money? For God's sake." Shanelle was four when her mother was last seen, and her sister was two. “Why didn’t you just divorce her, and let those who love and need her, keep her?” Shanelle continued. “It hurts me deeply to think of you in jail for the rest of your life but I also choose not to carry your burdens anymore.” The now 44-year-old said the thought of Dawson being in jail hurt because she had lost her mother and father too, and she asked him to reveal where her mother was. "Please tell us where she is," Shanelle said. "I hope you will finally admit the truth to yourself and give us the closure we need." The court also heard statements from Lynette’s siblings, Gregory Simms and Patricia Jenkins, which were read out on their behalf. Mr Simms wrote that Dawson had been accepted into the family but “repaid us by committing the ultimate betrayal”. He added that the years of lying to the Simms family and his own daughters showed that Dawson was a “conniving monster hell-bent on … getting what you wanted at any cost”. "To see you sitting there during the trial, showing no remorse or accountability ... confirmed in my mind that you are a coward and can only see things from your own perspective and gain," Mr Simms wrote. "We ask you to do the decent thing and allow us to bring Lyn home to rest, finally giving her the decency she deserves." Ms Jenkins wrote of her initial confusion of learning that her sister was missing and that a “black cloud” had been hanging over the family for 40 years. She said she had watched her sister be reduced from a “vibrant, caring, funny and intelligent” woman to one without confidence by Dawson even before her death. It comes after Justice Harrison found that Dawson was motivated to kill Lynette because of an “obsessive infatuation” with “JC”, the family’s teenaged babysitter who was a student at the school he taught at and his future wife. The judge said Dawson was “tortured” at the prospect of losing “JC” while he was “shackled with a wife” he wanted to leave. During his marathon judgement, Justice Harrison ruled that Lynette died on or around January 8, 1982, and was satisfied that Dawson’s claims of speaking with her after that date were “lies”. In Thursday’s hearing, Crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC argued that Dawson had planned the murder for at least six days. “The death of Lynette and the offender's subsequent campaign of disinformation left her parents and siblings in a state of anxiety and uncertainty for decades," he said. Greg Walsh, Dawson’s lawyer, said that the murder was an “isolated” and “precipitous” act and that Dawson had been receiving death threats <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/detailed-look-at-chris-dawson-s-first-day-behind-bars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in jail</a>, where inmates called him “The Teacher’s Pet”, in reference to the podcast that thrust the case into the spotlight. The hearing concluded with Justice Harrison reserving his judgement, with Dawson’s sentence due to be handed down on December 2. Image: Getty Images

Legal

Home and Away catfisher has jail sentence increased

A woman who posed as Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis to catfish online victims and stalk multiple women has had her prison sentence increased after losing her appeal. Lydia Abdelmalek, 32, was sentenced to four years imprisonment at the County Court of Victoria earlier this week, an increase of one year and four months on the original sentence handed down around three years ago. Judge Claire Quin said she regarded Lydia’s offences as a “very serious example of stalking” and material she had received from the victims demonstrated the “cruel, brutal and ongoing impact” it had on them and their families. “Despite the content of some of the material being reflective of a fictional soap opera, it was not fantasy. It was real and impacted real people,” Judge Quin said. “What may begin as lighthearted can quickly escalate and have significant consequences for the psychological wellbeing of those to whom the ruse is directed.” “It was persistent and malicious.” Judge Quin also noted that Abdelmalek showed no remorse for her crimes, even after one of her victims took her own life. Abdelmalek used various online personas over several years, including former Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis and British soap star Danny Mac, to catfish and stalk people online from 2011. Judge Quin suggested Abdelmalek’s offending may have been driven by a “number of complex personality factors”. “Her behaviour has been driven by a wish to seek relational intimacy and wish fulfilment on a background of perceived inadequacy,” she said. She was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison in the Heidelberg Magistrates Court back in June 2019. She was later released on bail after she appealed the conviction but failed to overturn the six counts of stalking earlier this year. Image credits: County Court of Victoria

Legal

Russian guard sentenced after doodling eyes on exhibit painting

A Russian security guard has been found guilty of vandalism after doodling eyes on an abstract painting by avant-garde artist Anna Leporskaya last December. According to the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/08/29/russian-museum-guard-yeltsin-centre-doodles-sentenced">Art Newspaper</a>, he must serve 180 hours of “compulsory labour” and undergo “psychiatric evaluation”. The painting, titled Three Figures (1932–34), was on loan to the Yeltsin Centre from Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery and valued at 75 million rubles (US$1.2 million). News of the vandalism broke when visitors alerted gallery staff of two crude eyes drawn on the painting’s faceless figures in a ballpoint pen. A police investigation revealed the culprit was 64-year-old Aleksandr Vasiliev, a security guard employed by a private company who was on his first day on the job. After the damage was deemed “insignificant”, it was restored and has since been returned to the Tretyakov Gallery. Vasiliev’s lawyer, Aleskei Bushmakov, shared a letter on his Facebook page that he sent to Zelfira Tregulova, the general director of the Tretyakov Gallery. He wrote that “taking into account the circumstances of the criminal case, the damage inflicted to the painting Three Figures” and “the high level of public attention in connection with the incident,” the museum considered closing the case “via reconciliation” but ultimately decided that it “does not regard it as possible to take such an appeal to the magistrate.” In an interview with Russian news site E1, Vasiliev said he believed the 20th-century work by Leporskaya was a “children’s drawing” and claimed he was goaded by teenagers to deface it. “I’m a fool, what have I done,” he said. Image credits: State Tretyakov Gallery / The Art Newspaper Russia

Art

News of Bali bomb-maker's sentence cut short sparks fury

The bomb-maker behind the devastating 2002 Bali bombings has been released early from Indonesian prison only days after his sentence was reduced by a further five months. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared this decision will add trauma to the victims’ families and says his diplomats are lobbying the Indonesian government regarding the reduction. This decision means that Umar Patek, the man who made the explosives that killed 200 people, including 88 Aussies in 2002, will have served only half of his original 20-year sentence. Indonesian authorities insist he has been ‘deradicalised’ but Mr Abanese has described him as ‘abhorrent’. The sentence had already been reduced by 18 months on a previous occasion, meaning his total reduction is now one year and 11 months. He would have been eligible for parole in January 2023 after serving two thirds of his sentence. Patek admitted making the suicide vests that went off at Sari Club and Paddy's Pub in Kuta but claimed he did not know what they would be used for. After nine years on the run in the Philippines and Pakistan, he was caught in 2011 and spared the death sentence after co-operating with police and apologising to victims' families. This coming October marks the 20th anniversary of the bombings. Images: Australian National Museum / Getty

Legal

Beauty and the Geek star sentenced

A former Beauty and the Geek star has avoided a jail sentence after admitting to stealing several credit cards from clients at bucks parties. Jordan Finlayson, 31, appeared at the Downing Centre Local Court via video link on Wednesday where she pleaded guilty to possession of identity information with the intention of committing fraud. Following an investigation, police found her in possession of several photos of credit cards and NSW drivers licenses of three men from bucks parties she was waitressing at between January 29 and February 2. She was arrested on February 17 where she remained in custody until Wednesday. According to court documents, guests at the bucks parties were told to keep their items in a separate room before heading to the event. Finlayson used the room to change and proceeded to take photos of three men’s credit cards and licenses, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/beauty-and-the-geek-star-jordan-finlayson-sentenced-for-credit-card-theft/news-story/3a954e8a70448f25c19ddf70357bbaba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a> reported. A few weeks after the events, the men began to notice unusual transactions on their cards. One man was informed from Centrelink that he received the $750 in Covid disaster payments and could not lodge his tax return because someone with the same name already filled it in. Another victim saw several transactions for coffee and Uber rides around the city. The former NRL cheerleader initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea when she found out she was going on trial. The court heard that she was already on parole when she was arrested and had breached her conditions. Her barrister Daniel Grippi asked the court not to give her more jail time and instead get treatment for her drug problem in a rehabilitation centre. Magistrate Alison Viney told the court that the crime Finlayson committed carries seven years’ prison. With that in mind, she sentenced Finlayson to a 12-month Community Corrections order telling her, “I sincerely hope that once admitted to a rehab program your path forward is a much more successful one”. Images: Instagram

Legal

"You opened the door to hell": Epstein victims address Ghislaine Maxwell as she is sentenced

Content Warning: This article discusses Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for recruiting and grooming four teenage girls who were sexually abused by her then-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein. At her sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court, the 60-year-old showed no emotion as she was sentenced early Wednesday (Australia time). Before learning the sentence, four of the survivors read out victim impact statements, describing the abuse they faced at the hands of Maxwell and Epstein, as well as the long term emotional impacts they have experienced as a result. “For a long time I wanted to erase from my mind the crimes that Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell committed against me … but I’ve had to acknowledge the long-lasting effects,” Annie Farmer, the fourth victim to take the stand, said, breaking into tears during her statement. “One of the most painful and ongoing impacts of Maxwell and Epstein’s abuse was the loss of trust in myself.” Sarah Ransome, Elizabeth Stein, and the accuser known as “Kate” also shared their statements, while the attorney for Virginia Giuffre read out her statement in court. Standing up at a Plexiglass-enclosed lectern, Maxwell described Epstein as a “manipulative, cunning and controlling man” who fooled everyone around him and said she was “sorry” for the pain his victims experienced. “It is my greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein,” she said. “I also acknowledge that I have been convicted of helping Jeffrey Epstein commit these crimes. “And despite the many helpful and positive things I have done in my life and will continue to do … I know that my association with Epstein and this case will permanently stain me.” However, she attempted to shift the blame onto Epstein, emphasising that he “should have been here before all of you”, echoing arguments her lawyers made that she had been scapegoated for Epstein’s crimes. This is despite her involvement as the person to introduce the victims to Epstein and statements from victims describing her abusing them as well. During sentencing, US Circuit Judge Alisan Nathan said Maxwell didn’t appear to express remorse or take responsibility for her actions. “Maxwell directly and repeatedly and over the course of many years participated in a horrific scheme to entice, transport and traffic underage girls, some as young as 14, for sexual abuse by and with Jeffrey Epstein,” Judge Nathan said. “The damage done to these young girls was incalculable.” The sentencing comes after Maxwell was convicted of five of six charges laid against her in December 2021, which followed a month-long trial and 40 hours of deliberation by jurors. Maxwell was convicted of: <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> sex trafficking, </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> conspiracy to entice individuals under the age of 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> conspiracy to transport individuals under the age of 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Transportation of an individual under the age of 17 with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, and, </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of individuals under the age of 18. </li> </ul> Prosecutors last week called Maxwell’s conduct “shockingly predatory” and said she deserved to spend at least 30 years behind bars, based on their interpretation of sentencing guidelines. Maxwell’s lawyers argued that she should be sentenced for no more than five and one-quarter years, due to her being scapegoated and the time she has already spent in prison since her arrest in July 2020. However, her official sentence is far lower than the maximum possible sentence of 55 years that she could have received. Judge Nathan calculated that the sentencing guidelines called for 15.5 to 19.5 years in prison, but delivered a higher sentence due to the victims’ disturbing testimony and Maxwell’s “direct and repeated participation in a horrific scheme”. “Miss Maxwell is not punished in place of Epstein,” she said. “Miss Maxwell is being punished for the role that she played.” Image: Getty Images

Legal

How to Murder Your Husband author sentenced to life in prison

The author who once penned an essay “How to Murder Your Husband” was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband at his workplace. Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, was found guilty of second-degree murder for shooting dead her chef husband Daniel Brophy, 63, back in June 2018. Following the seven week trial, Nancy was sentenced to life in prison on June 13 and will only be eligible for parole after serving 25 years in custody. Prosecutors told the court that Crampton Brophy killed her husband to claim her husband’s $1.4 million life insurance policy. They said that she was collecting gun pieces in the moments leading to Daniel’s death before killing him at the Oregon Culinary Institute. Footage presented to the Multnomah County courtroom showed that Crampton Brophy in fact owned the same make and model of the gun that killed her husband. She was also seen driving to and from the culinary institute when Daniel was killed and found by his students. Her defence team argued that she was collecting them for a new book she was writing - about a woman who slowly collected gun parts to complete a weapon and get back at her abusive husband. They said that Crampton Brophy and Daniel were in a loving relationship for almost 25 years. The jury of five men and seven women deliberated the case for eight hours before delivering the guilty verdict. One of Crampton Brophy’s attorneys, Lisa Maxfield said they are looking to appeal. Crampton Brophy is due to be sentenced on June 13. Images: Twitter

Legal

“No sentence will be adequate”: Judge delivers ruling on killer teen

The Queensland teenager who was drunk and high on cannabis when his stolen Landcruiser ploughed into expectant couple Kate Leadbetter and Matthew Field has finally learnt his fate before a judge. The learner driver crashed the stolen four-wheel drive, killing the engaged couple and their unborn child, changing their devastated families' lives forever. A tragedy was "almost inevitable" when the drug-fuelled teen began driving recklessly and dangerously in the stolen Landcruiser, a court has heard. It took only 20 minutes before the teen ploughed into Field and partner Leadbetter. The driver, who cannot be named because he was 17 at the time, will be released from custody six years to the day after the horror collision. "One episode of offending ... resulted about 20 minutes later in the heart-rending death of an innocent young couple," Justice Martin Burns said to the teen during sentencing on Wednesday. "[The teen] ... drove ... so dangerously over a sustained period ... without any regard for the safety of anyone ... that something like the terrible tragedy which unfolded must be seen to be an almost inevitable consequence." The teen ran a red light at Alexandra Hills, colliding with a truck before rolling and hitting the couple. Mr Field, 37 and Ms Leadbetter, 31, were killed instantly, suffering "catastrophic injuries". The teen fled with minor injuries, stealing keys from a nearby house before being caught by a resident before police arrived. He later appeared shocked he was responsible for the couple's deaths when interviewed by detectives. He had been drinking and using cannabis from about 10 am the day of the fatality and had a blood alcohol content of between 0.151 and 0.192% two hours after the crash. Earlier, he'd gone with a friend to Cleveland to get more cannabis and was found with almost $6000 when arrested. Justice Burns said taking into account the teen's protracted period of extremely dangerous driving that culminated in a grossly negligent final act, he regarded the manslaughter offences as "particularly heinous". But the teenager had to be <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/brief-stay-for-teen-charged-with-murder-over-fatal-car-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced as a child</a>, with the "grave nature of offending" balanced by his youth. The given sentence was also based on the teenager not intending to kill or do grievous bodily harm. The teen's upbringing was "marked by significant deprivation and neglect" with his mother being sent for psychiatric treatment and his father to jail, Justice Burns said. The teenager - who was first charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and a raft of other charges - stood stony-faced as he was sentenced. Justice Burns sentenced the teen to 10 years in detention, requiring him to serve 60% of that sentence. He will be released on Australia Day 2027, at the age of 23. However, Justice Burns added: "No sentence will be adequate ... [and] can't do justice to the suffering you have caused." Image: ABC

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"You opened the door to hell": Epstein victims address Ghislaine Maxwell as she is sentenced

How to Murder Your Husband author sentenced to life in prison

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