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“I hate him for what he did to my mummy”: Tragic statement from daughter of slain 23-year-old

Queenslander Gabrielle "Gabbie" Marshall, 23, moved to Tasmania to build a new life and hoped to be reunited with her daughter in the future. Her killer, Colin William Drake, 37, lived on the same street just 230m away, and would later on stab her in a frenzied attack while she slept on the floor of her friend’s house in the coastal town of Ulverstone. Although Drake had no clear motive for the attack on June 14, 2021, he had been arrested and appeared in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Wednesday after pleading guilty to murder. The Crown prosecutor Linda Mason SC, said that Gabbie suffered 17 stab wounds to her neck, arms and hands, in a desperate act to defend herself. In heartbreaking turn of events, Gabbie's parents Heidi and Rick Marshall paid tribute to their young daughter in court. “I saw two men approaching (our house) in suits. I knew they were detectives,” Heidi recalled the moment she found out about her daughter's death. “I instantly knew something had happened to Gabrielle and my heart just broke.” Heidi said that Gabbie felt the safest in Tasmania, after getting out of a bad relationship and would call her parents every night to tell them she loved them. “Before her death she was the happiest she had ever been,” Gabbie's dad said. “Just like that she was gone,” Heidi said. “You never think anything like this would happen to your family.” Gabbie's daughter, who was six at the time, was playing on the deck when the detectives arrived and overheard the conversation. She "still sleeps with one of Gabbie’s jumpers,” Heidi said. Gabbie's daughter, who continues to live with her grandparents, has written a heart-wrenching statement which was also read in court. “When I hug my mummy’s jumper at night I get to talk to her,” the statement read. “(She) won’t be there to see me finish school. I hate him very much for what he did to my mummy.” The court was told that Drake, who is set to be sentenced in December, has a mild intellectual disability and a low IQ, sitting at the bottom 0.4 per cent of the population. The Crown prosecutor said that there were several possible motives including sexual jealousy, desire, or that he entered the house to steal something. She added that this is due to the sexualised comments he had made about women he saw while walking with his carer a few weeks prior. He had no connection with Gabbie or her friend. Defence lawyer Greg Barns SC said Drake had indicated to his legal advisers that he had remorse, and maintained that he went to the house to get cigarettes. Images: 7News

Caring

"I can't wake Mummy up": Olympian dies at 43

A former Olympic swimmer has passed away suddenly at the age of 43 while on a trip with her family. Helen Smart, a British swimming champion who competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was found unresponsive by her four-year-old daughter Heidi when she tried to climb into bed with her parents. Heidi then woke up her father Craig Smart, saying, "Daddy, I can't wake Mummy up," before Craig discovered his wife lying next to him dead. Smart's mother confirmed the news of her passing, telling the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12413199/Ex-Olympic-swimmer-turned-headteacher-Helen-Smart-dead-four-year-old-daughter-heartbreaking-video-shows-mother-paddleboarding-hours-sudden-death-aged-42.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MailOnline</a>, "Heidi had woken up in the night and tried to get into bed with her. She said to her daddy, 'Mummy won't wake up''. He said, 'Oh, she must be very tired Heidi - you go back to bed'." "He put the torch on and he said later that when he looked he could tell." Linda continued, "We're distraught. They don't know what it is but they think it must have happened shortly after she went to bed. She just died in her sleep." Just hours before her sudden passing, Helen and her family had been paddle boarding in the north of England, while on a trip for her brother Robert's 40th birthday. Helen had not been suffering with any illnesses her family knew of. Linda said, "At midnight, she went to bed telling me: 'I'll go to bed now mum as I know I'll be woken at 6am by Heidi. I just want to get some sleep in as I've had a long day.'" Linda was then woken by Robert at 4am who said, "Mum, dad, you need to keep up - we think Helen's died." Smart's father John said he and his wife "can't comprehend how she could simply go to sleep and not wake up." Helen became a school principal after her retirement from swimming and was enjoying her new life. Craig Smart took to her school's Facebook page to say his wife "loved the school, staff, children and parents so much." "She was so proud to reach her goal of being Head Teacher," he continued. "She used to say to me all the time she could never see herself at another school. She was Worsley Mesnes through and through! I remember only last week she said her goal was to get the school to outstanding and that she had the right staff to achieve this!" "I hope you all keep learning like champions. Please learn from this and live your best life, no regrets, take lots of photos, make memories and keep smiling just like Helen always did!" he added. Image credits: Twitter / Getty Images

Caring

Obese yet malnourished toddler mummy sheds light on life in 17th century aristocratic Austria

In a creepy discovery published, a collaboration of German scientists have performed a ‘virtual autopsy’ on a mummified toddler’s body, found in a 17th century Austrian crypt. Buried in a wooden coffin that was slightly too small and deformed the skull, the young child’s body appeared to be both obese and malnourished. Researchers say the findings might provide a rare insight into historical Austrian aristocratic society. By using CT scanning, scientists were able to perform a ‘virtual autopsy’ on the mummy which was naturally mummified in the conditions of the crypt. Well-preserved soft tissue showed the child was a boy, overweight for his age, and radiocarbon dating suggests a date of death between 1550 and 1635 CE. By examining the formation and length of the body’s bones, plus evidence of tooth eruption, the researchers were able to estimate that the child was about one year old when he died. The bones also showed that despite being well-fed, the boy was malnourished, with his malformed ribs displaying signs of rachitic rosary. This condition presents in a pattern of prominent bony knobs at points where the rib joins cartilage and results from diseases associated with specific vitamin deficiencies such as rickets (vitamin D) and scurvy (vitamin C). Vitamin D is found in foods like salmon, tuna, mackerel and beef liver and egg yolks, but we typically only get around 10% of our required Vitamin D from our diets – the rest is made by our bodies when exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) from the sun. “The combination of obesity along with a severe vitamin-deficiency can only be explained by a generally ‘good’ nutritional status along with an almost complete lack of sunlight exposure,” said Dr Andreas Nerlich of the Academic Clinic Munich-Bogenhausen and lead researcher. The child appears to have died from pneumonia, judging by the evidence of inflammation in the lungs. Rickets is known to make children more vulnerable to pneumonia, suggesting that, sadly, not only was the child malnourished, but that this condition may have also led to his untimely demise. “We have to reconsider the living conditions of high aristocratic infants of previous populations,” said Nerlich. Relatively little is known about aristocratic childhood in the late Renaissance period, so these mummified remains give key insights into life in Europe of a period generally known for its fervent creativity and intellectual development. “This is only one case,” said Nerlich, “but as we know that the early infant death rates generally were very high at that time, our observations may have considerable impact in the over-all life reconstruction of infants even in higher social classes.” To understand more about this period, researchers scoured historical records of the crypt and the family to whom the crypt belonged. Curiously, the child was buried in a simple, unmarked, wooden coffin, although he was dressed in an expensive silk hooded coat. The unmarked coffin appeared to have been slightly too small for the body such that the skull became deformed and was the only infant buried amongst the identifiable adult metal coffins in the crypt. Historical records of renovations on the crypt confirmed the radiocarbon dating, indicating the child was likely buried sometime after 1600 CE. The crypt belonged to the Counts of Starhemberg and traditionally was kept exclusively for the burial of heirs to their titles, and their wives, making the body likely to be that of the first-born (and only) son, Reichard Wilhelm, of Count Starhemberg. “We have no data on the fate of other infants of the family,” Nerlich said, regarding the unique burial. “According to our data, the infant was most probably [the count’s] first-born son after erection of the family crypt, so special care may have been applied.” This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/toddler-mummy-17thcentury-austria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Clare Kenyon. Image: Andreas et al. (2022)

Travel Trouble

Prince Charles’ emotional tribute to “Your Majesty, mummy”

Prince Charles paid an emotional tribute to “Your Majesty, mummy” during the star-studded Party at The Palace concert. The Prince of Wales poured his heart out as he praised the Queen for being with Brits “in our difficult times”. Millions of viewers watching from home were deeply moved as he said: “You have met us and talked with us. “You laugh and cry with us and, most importantly, you have been there for us.” Directly addressing The Queen as “Your Majesty, mummy”, he said: “The scale of this evening’s celebration – and the outpouring of warmth and affection over this whole Jubilee weekend – is our way of saying thank you – from your family, the country, the Commonwealth, in fact the whole world. “On behalf of us all, I wanted to pay my own tribute to your lifetime of selfless service. “Your family now spans four generations. You are our Head of State. And you are also our mother.” And he said the Queen’s “strength and stay” – her late husband Philip, who died last year – is “much missed”. “I am sure he’s here in spirit,” Charles said. “My papa would have enjoyed the show and joined us wholeheartedly in celebrating all you continue to do for your country and your people.” He addressed the crowd only moments after his son, the Duke of Cambridge, took to the stage to speak about the Queen’s service, using this time to talk about the environment, praising his father Charles and grandfather Philip for their work. “While no one’s grandmother thanks them for talking about their age, my own grandmother has been alive for nearly a century,” he said. “In that time, mankind has benefited from unimaginable technological developments and scientific breakthroughs.” “And although those breakthroughs have increased our awareness of the impact humans have on our world, our planet has become more fragile. “Today, in 2022 – as the Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee – the pressing need to protect and restore our planet has never been more urgent.” However, he said he is an “optimist” and said the Jubilee has provided great “joy” to Brits. William was accompanied to the concert by wife Kate and their eldest children Charlotte and George. The family were seen laughing and joking together as they took their seats for the party at Buckingham Place and hundreds of thousands of people lined The Mall to celebrate. There were huge cheers as the Cambridges arrived, hours after a royal visit to Wales with their two eldest children. The Queen did not attend the festivities, although she recorded a hilarious clip with Paddington Bear, which was screened before the performances began. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8H3WJ2qRwiQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Images: Getty

Relationships

“Always listen to mummy”: Kid who refused to take off mask for school photos gets $30k

Image: Facebook If Nicole Peoples ever wondered whether her son followed her instructions when she’s not around, she now has her answer and a sweet photo as proof. Mason Peoples refused to take his face mask off, even for his school photos. His mother told him only to take it off to eat and he knows to: “always listen to his mummy.” Ms Peoples posted about the young boy’s exchange with the school photographer on her Facebook account. When it came time for his photo to be taken, the photographer encouraged the first-grade student to take off his mask even for two seconds, but he politely declined. “I said ‘No thank you, my mum told me I can’t’,” the boy told CNN proudly. “We had a conversation at the beginning of school about the importance of safety and how germs can be spread if he didn’t have his mask on, so he makes sure to have it on at all times,” his mother told CNN. “He’s very proud and he loves to show me how he’s followed the rules so that’s why he was so excited to come home and tell me about this picture story.” “You should be proud!” said one of the Facebook commenters. “It has to be hard to stand up to an adult, but he had the confidence to stand up for what he thought was right. Good job mama!” “What an incredible keepsake for this crazy era we’re living through” remarked another. Ms Peoples said many people have reached out asking her if they could send her money to reward Mason’s diligence with a treat, so she set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of $7. A total of AU$30,000 has been donated and will go towards Mason’s college fund. His mother was thankful at the “outpouring of love”. “Thank you for showing him honesty and integrity will make a big difference in this world,” she said. Ms Peoples told CNN that Mason was taught to take the virus very seriously, especially after the death of her grandfather in January due to COVID-19 complications. “He was a very significant part of our daily life, so Mason was impacted, they’ve seen it firsthand,” Ms Peoples said.

Caring

Archaeologists baffled by ‘mystical’ find in Scottish cave

Though mummies are mostly associated with ancient Egypt, archeologists have found evidence suggesting mummification also took place on Scottish shores. The team of researchers explored the Coversea Caves, just north of Inverness, with their exploits captured by the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary, <a rel="noopener" href="https://youtu.be/jV9dIhAn0Zg" target="_blank">Mystic Britain: Mummies</a>. The caves are among Scotland’s most impenetrable caverns, but evidence suggests that Bronze Age Britons made the “hazardous journey time and time again carrying the bodies of their dead”. “For prehistoric people to make the effort and to make the journey would have been really arduous to do,” said Dr Lindsey Buster, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh. “When archaeologists first started excavating here, the floor was strewn with human bones.” <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844377/mummies1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/cd4d07e5cece43f98dac6f01c7867e14" /> Image: Smithsonian Channel / YouTube Unlike bones previously found in Britain, these bones still had fragments of soft tissue on them. “It’s not something we expect when we’re excavating a site that’s 3000 years old,” Dr Buster added. “That’s a really significant find.” It is possible that these bones once belonged to a fully-fleshed corpse that had been preserved in the unique conditions in the cave. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844378/mummies2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/9b3a3dadecad4377b3c1c426a3dbaa70" /> Traces of ligaments can still be seen on the remains. Image: Smithsonian Channel / YouTube. The team also found evidence of fires being lit in the cave “at the same time presumably as bodies are being laid out”. “The smoke could actually probably have helped to preserve bodies and body parts,” Dr Buster said. Dr Buster suspects Bronze Age people came to the caves to purposefully mummify their friends and relatives. “I think once bodies began to be brought into the cave and were behaving in ways that they didn’t normally do on above-ground sites, those characteristics were probably well-noted and became a factory of people coming back again and again over centuries to deposit their dead.” Image: Smithsonian Channel / YouTube

International Travel

‘Creepy Mummy’ Jacinda Ardern doll proves a big hit

In the face of a growing COVID outbreak, New Zealand residents were given a reason to laugh on Monday when they were shown a ‘creepy’ doll version of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Ms Ardern’s partner Clarke Gayford took to Instagram to share a video of the disturbing hand-made doll, sent to them by someone unknown. In the video, Gayford says the doll has become one of their three-year-old daughter, Neve’s favourite toys and she calls it ‘Creepy Mummy.” Aware that everyone in New Zealand is in a strict lockdown, Gayford says on the video: "Well Hi everyone, welcome to Monday. Who doesn't want a 30-second distraction to try and help get them through the start of the week?" <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTLNkXZhlZq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTLNkXZhlZq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Clarke Gayford (@clarkegayford)</a> </div> </blockquote> "So, I give you this. We get given all sorts of wonderful hand-made arts and crafts here and when I say we — Neve," he continues, brushing the doll's hair with her facing away from the camera. "And there's some real talent in this country, some incredible talent, and she's a very lucky three-year-old. "Some of the things make their way into our home and into our three-year-old's heart," he said. "Including this wonderful dolly, which Neve has even given a name," he says, before dramatically revealing the doll's face. "She calls this dolly 'Creepy Mummy' and 'Creepy Mummy' would just like to say: 'Hang in there. You got this. Even though it's Monday.'" According to Gayford, the doll was sent to them without any details attached, but it's much loved by the smallest member of their family— despite the nickname. Fans loved the video, many agreeing it was the laugh they needed as New Zealand faces an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant. Image: Instagram

Family & Pets

Mummy blogger who "rehomed" adopted autistic son speaks out after backlash

The mummy blogger who “rehomed” her adopted son has been dumped by multiple brand deals after receiving huge backlash for the decision. Myka Stauffer was heavily criticised after revealing she and husband James had given up their son Huxley, four. The couple said the decision came after discovering he had “medical needs” that they weren’t aware of when they adopted him from China in 2017. Soon after justifying their decision, Stauffer defended their decision, saying her former son – who has autism and is non-verbal – “wanted” a new home and hinted at problems between him and their four other kids. Now, many brands have chosen to drop Stauffer. Stauffer who has a following of 162,000 on Instagram and 700,000 on YouTube, had formed partnerships with big-name companies like Big Lots, TJ Maxx and Danimals yoghurt. <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4S4hBJgwI_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4S4hBJgwI_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">My favorite Starbucks barista 🧜🏻‍♀️☕️ You hold such a special place in my heart sweet boy! 💚#happyhalloween #halloween2019 #halloweencostume</a> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/mykastauffer/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Myka Stauffer</a> (@mykastauffer) on Oct 31, 2019 at 12:54pm PDT </div> </blockquote> But according to People, many have dumped the mummy blogger over the incident. Stauffer hit a second wave of backlash when she responded to a critic in the comments section of her video titled “an update on our family”. “We would never just give up a child with special needs, this is a personal matter to Hux. It had nothing to do with he just had Autism,” Stauffer wrote, defending the backlash. “Multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children, and if these events happened with one of my biological kids, after all the help and after the behaviours we witnessed sadly we would have no other choice then to seek help and get their needs met.” She goes on to say Huxley “wanted this decision 100%” explaining she “saw” it when he was with his new “family” as the child was not able to communicate with speech. “He constantly chose them and signed and showed tons of emotion to show us and let us know he wanted this,” she said. However, not many were convinced, branding the defence as “disgusting”. “Oh yes. Non-verbal Huxley told you I don’t want to live with you guys no more send me to these strangers so that I can be traumatised even more in my little life,” one wrote. “It’s so disgusting. Why adopt a child you knew was going to have problems just to toss them away?” another said. “OMG she’s so delusional,” one scoffed. While one said: “Obviously having a child with disabilities is incredibly challenging and can certainly present difficulties with other children but to say that this kid is some kind of sinister, dangerous figure is so irresponsible.” Some of Stauffer’s subscribers accused her of using Huxley solely to gain a bigger following and earn more money on her YouTube channel. Some declared the decision “awful” for both Huxley and the pair’s four other children: Kova, Jaka, Radley and Onyx. “@MykaStauffer adopted an autistic child from China and after years of having him, she gave him up for adoption because he had ‘bad behaviour’ after using him for $$$ on her YouTube channel,” wrote one user. “What Myka Stauffer and her husband did is awful. You don’t just give a child back … “ one tweeted. “She adopted a child for views and then got rid of him and treated him like a brand deal,” another said. There are even calls to have the family’s sponsors pulled, with angry internet justice seekers calling to #cancelstauffers. In the video where the Stauffer’s talk about “rehoming” Huxley, the pair said the child had autism and brain damage. “Numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit. He needed more,” Stauffer says while fighting back tears in the video filmed in the couple’s bed. She added that an adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his “forever family.” “He’s thriving, he’s doing really well, and his new mummy has medical, professional training,” she added.

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“I hate him for what he did to my mummy”: Tragic statement from daughter of slain 23-year-old

"I can't wake Mummy up": Olympian dies at 43

Obese yet malnourished toddler mummy sheds light on life in 17th century aristocratic Austria

Prince Charles’ emotional tribute to “Your Majesty, mummy”

“Always listen to mummy”: Kid who refused to take off mask for school photos gets $30k

Archaeologists baffled by ‘mystical’ find in Scottish cave

‘Creepy Mummy’ Jacinda Ardern doll proves a big hit

Mummy blogger who "rehomed" adopted autistic son speaks out after backlash

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