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"I felt terrible": Robert Irwin owns up to dine and dash

<p>In what might be Australia’s most wholesome crime story of the year, wildlife warrior and all-round national treasure Robert Irwin has admitted to accidentally pulling off a classic dine and dash – and then publicly atoning like he just robbed a bank.</p> <p>The 21-year-old TV star and son of the late Steve Irwin took to Instagram with a red-faced confession after realising he had legged it from The Jetty Pavilion in Coffs Harbour without paying for his takeaway salad. Yes, a salad. Value: $26. Crime: Priceless.</p> <p>“I went in there, and there was a lot of people who, you know, saw me and said g’day, and wanted to have a photo,” Irwin explained, recalling the moment the selfie storm struck. “But it turned into a bit of a frenzy.”</p> <p>Caught up in the chaos of admirers and admirers-of-koalas, Irwin left with his Harvest Bowl in hand – but no transaction complete. “I just did the old dine and dash and didn’t even realise. I felt terrible,” he said, as every Australian over the age of five forgave him instantly.</p> <p>Ever the gentleman, Irwin reached out to the venue the next morning offering to settle up. But instead of sending him an invoice or calling the salad police, the owners had a different idea: “Just leave us a good review.”</p> <p>“I said, ‘I’ll do you one better!’” Irwin beamed, urging his eight million Instagram followers to support the cafe – effectively turning his accidental felony into a full-blown marketing campaign.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLvztD7Bmrd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLvztD7Bmrd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Robert Irwin (@robertirwinphotography)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Jetty Pavilion owners Kyle Miller and Ben Hemsworth were quick to assure the public they weren’t mad, just mildly starstruck and wildly grateful.</p> <p>“I was expecting just to see ‘Jetty Pavilion has a great salad’ on a Google review,” Hemsworth told <em>Today</em> on Monday. “Then I got a message from my daughter saying, ‘Oh my god, I saw the video!’ And my phone just lit up.”</p> <p>Miller cheekily pointed the finger at the restaurant’s staff for the oversight: “Some of the girls got a little starstruck and forgot to accept a payment… It’s not very common for us to get a world celebrity in the door, so we can’t blame the girls for that one. I guess he’s a good-lookin’ fella.”</p> <p>As for the Harvest Bowl at the centre of the scandal? It now has more media coverage than most federal budgets.</p> <p>So rest easy, Australia; Robert Irwin isn’t starting a life of crime. He’s just out there, unintentionally boosting small businesses and reminding us all that even our most beloved public figures are capable of a very polite whoopsie.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

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Jeep plunges into Swan River after wild Perth standoff

<p>A tense morning in Perth's western suburbs exploded into high drama as a police standoff ended with a man deliberately driving a Jeep off Claremont Jetty and into the Swan River, following hours of chaos, confrontation and confusion.</p> <p>The ordeal began around 9am local time (11am AEST), when a black Jeep was seen mounting the Claremont Jetty, its driver erratic and agitated. Within minutes, police had mobilised in force, positioning a squad car to block the only exit and deploying a full-scale response – including Tactical Response Group officers, police negotiators, the canine unit and a hovering police helicopter.</p> <p>Witnesses described a surreal and frightening scene as the driver shouted at police and bystanders, repeatedly revved the engine, and exited the vehicle several times to yell defiantly.</p> <p>“He was revving the car lots, shouting out at the police – I didn’t know what he was going to do,” said witness Cathy Greatrex. “Pretty scary, really.”</p> <p>The man’s mother arrived on the jetty and was seen pleading with her son from behind the police cordon, while officers attempted to de-escalate the situation. Behind the scenes, police had laid down a stinger device and reinforced their blockade with tactical vehicles.</p> <p>Tensions escalated just before midday when the Jeep suddenly lurched forward, ramming the parked police car and pushing it backwards, crumpling the front of the vehicle in a violent display of defiance.</p> <p>Minutes later, the vehicle's rear wheel slipped off the jetty’s edge as the driver reversed. Seizing the moment, he accelerated again – this time with no turning back. In front of stunned onlookers and dozens of officers, the Jeep launched off the end of the jetty and plunged into the Swan River.</p> <p>Within moments, officers rushed to the edge as the vehicle bobbed in the water, partially submerged. The man climbed onto the overturned Jeep before diving back into the water. Police with guns and Tasers drawn quickly surrounded the area.</p> <p>The Tactical Response Group moved in swiftly, pulling the man from the water and carrying him to a waiting ambulance. He was taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital under police guard. Authorities confirmed that while his injuries were not believed to be serious, he remains under observation.</p> <p>The motive for the dramatic standoff remains unclear. However, new CCTV footage from nearby Walter Street may offer some clues. Earlier that morning, the same Jeep was captured careening through a residential area.</p> <p>“He literally just came right up, ramped up, knocked my green bin again and missed me – went down this concrete path,” resident Carina Robert said. “I just stood here with my jaw hanging on the ground, and then he turned the corner and there were almighty screeches tearing down the road.”</p> <p>As night fell, questions lingered about what drove the man to such a reckless and dangerous act. No charges have been laid, and police continue to investigate the full circumstances leading up to the event.</p> <p><em>Images: Nine News</em></p>

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Secret lover of Claremont killer’s first wife breaks silence

<p>The flatmate who is blamed for destroying Bradley Robert Edwards' marriage has spoken out and admitted he feels sickened that his actions could have been for the trigger for the Claremont killings.</p> <p>The secret lover, who has kept his identity a secret due to legal reasons, has broken his silence on his affair with Edward’s first wide.</p> <p>While appearing on the<span> </span>Nine News Perth special, the man revealed a paternity bombshell.</p> <p>He had a daughter with Edwards' ex-wife 24 years ago and now wonders if the child could be his.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838057/sscott-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/d2121c5f86f4428f80b8f45e5f992adf" /></p> <p>Edwards' ex-wife always said the man was the girl's father, but then came revelations from his former partner on the stand.</p> <p>She told the court that while she was with the new man she had also been sleeping with Edwards.</p> <p>The secret lover admitted "I can't help but think, in the back of my mind, is this child mine?”</p> <p>The 60-year-old met Edwards' first wife towards the end of 1993.</p> <p>He had been going through a divorce and she was unhappy.</p> <p>"So I moved in. And it was awkward at first. I was trying to be more friendly towards him, hoping that the attraction with her would fade," he said.</p> <p>"I miss those times, playing softball, being friends with him."</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838055/sscott-3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a07f3eda7ac1474cbd7e649879312c52" /></p> <p class="first"><em>Sarah Spiers, Ciara Glennon and Jane Rimmer all disappeared from Claremont in the 1990s.</em></p> <p class="first">A man already accused of killing Jane Rimmer</p> <p>He said the Telstra technician was unaware that his wife would sneak into his room on Sunday mornings.</p> <p>"When we got caught kissing, I thought nup, I'm not hanging around here.</p> <p>"It's the fear of what he had under the bed.”</p> <p>The rival lover revealed it was a rifle and a baseball bat.</p> <p>He said: "I just didn't want to not wake up in the morning. You just can't sleep with that kind of fear."</p> <p>Edwards told him to stay, but he moved out within weeks.</p> <p>She soon followed.</p> <p>The same night, the usually mild-mannered Edwards made an explosive phone call and it would be the last time they spoke.</p> <p>"He said, "You're having an affair with her." I said, "You're stupid. You know I am".</p> <p>“He said, I know where you live, and I'll come and kill you, he said."</p> <p>Not long after, Edward’s wife fell pregnant to her new lover.</p> <p>Prosecutors claimed Bradley Edwards attacked women he didn't know when his life was in turmoil.</p> <p>His marriage broke down around the time Sarah Spiers vanished.</p> <p>Around the time of Jane Rimmer’s murder, Edward’s ex-wife dropped her pregnancy bombshell.</p> <p>But despite that, and despite the decades old threat to kill, the 60-year-old believes Edwards is no killer.</p> <p>"I don't think so. I really, deep inside, really don't think it was him," he said.</p>

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Face of mystery driver revealed in Claremont serial killer trial

<p>A mystery driver’s face who was seen creeping around a young woman the same night Sarah Spiers vanished, has been revealed to the jury in the Claremont serial killings trial.</p> <p>The never-before-seen composite was a description given to police over 21 years ago by Julie-Anne Johnstone.</p> <p>The man accused, Bradley Robert Edwards, sat just metres away from the woman during his trial after prosecutors accused the now 50-year-old of the murder of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon in the mid 1990’s.</p> <p>The former Telstra electrician has plead not guilty.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7833126/claremont-killer-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a0aaaab1db8a48a9b07bf13b7a2d97b5" /></p> <p>Ms Spiers was last seen after calling a taxi from a phone box in Claremont, Western Australia, just one day after Australia day in 1996.</p> <p>The 18-year-old’s body has never been found.</p> <p>Julie-Anne Johnson, now 45, was just like Ms Spiers the night before when she left Club Bayview in the early hours of the morning to find a taxi by herself.</p> <p>Ms Johnson told the court she had been waiting on Stirling Highway when a white sedan pulled up in front of her.</p> <p>She says the male driver “leaned over the passenger’s side” and stared at her for 10 to 30 minutes.</p> <p>The woman admitted she wasn’t the best with distinguishing car models but determined the vehicle the man was driving looked like a Toyota Camry sedan and had a Telstra logo on the side of the door.</p> <p>Edwards was assigned the same model of car for his Telstra job at the time. </p> <p>Ms Johnson is one of a few several apparent “living witnesses” who survived Edward’s offering of lifts in the mid 90’s, prosecutors say.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7833127/claremont-killer-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/505a82c23aa146dc995bd0d9a319c7e8" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Bradley Robert Edwards</em></p> <p>Annabel Johnson, 45, is another woman who says she was a passenger of a mystery man’s car.</p> <p>She says she had a “strong instinct” to force herself out of the vehicle after accepting a ride.</p> <p>Both she and her friends Trilby Smith hitched a ride after a night out in Cottesloe, Western Australia in December 1996, when a white station wagon approached them on Eric Street.</p> <p>She told the court they were walking home from the Ocean Beach Hotel when the white station wagon in question slowed down to them on Eric Street, and returned from the other direction sometime later.</p> <p>The court claims the driver offered them a ride which they accepted.</p> <p>Ms Bushell said the vehicle looked like a Commodore or Camry and had a large Telstra logo placed on the bonnet.</p> <p>She says she remembers approaching a traffic lights on Stirling Highway in Claremont and “just wanting to get out,” so made an excuse to quickly exit as she dragged her drunk friend out of the back seat.</p> <p>Trilby Smith’s memory differs to her friend who described the vehicle as an “electrical van” and getting out at a different part of Claremont.</p> <p>Ms Bushell said they'd had 15 to 29 middies of beer between them that evening, but her friend was more drunk than her and had fallen asleep. </p>

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