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Disgraced Olympian sentenced over failed drug plot

<p>An Olympic silver medallist and his younger brother, who tried to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of cocaine worth about $200 million into Australia, have been sentenced a second time. </p> <p>Nathan Baggaley, 48, a former champion kayaker and his brother Dru Baggaley, 42, faced Brisbane supreme court on Monday after pleading guilty to attempting to import a commercial quantity of drugs.</p> <p>Dru and another man were intercepted by the navy in July 2017, after he was found using a seven-metre inflatable boat to pick up 650 kilograms of cocaine from a ship near Australia's east coast. </p> <p>The inflatable boat, which was launched from Brunswick Heads on the NSW north coast, had been bought by Nathan and was registered in his name. </p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">The brothers were previously found guilty of </span>attempting to import cocaine by a Brisbane Supreme Court jury in April 2021. </p> <p>Nathan was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment and his brother 28 years, but they later won appeals against their convictions and were ordered to face the retrial that was supposed to start on October 28, but instead pleaded guilty to the same charge.</p> <p>On Monday, Justice Declan Kelly sentenced Nathan to 13 years in jail and his brother 15 years. </p> <p>With time already served, they are now eligible for parole. </p> <p>During their sentencing hearing, Justice Kelly said there was insufficient evidence to prove Dru knew he was importing cocaine, after the court was told he thought he was collecting tobacco. </p> <p>“Dru was reckless that there was a substantial quantity of a border-controlled drug but there is insufficient evidence that he knew the precise quantity,” Justice Kelly said.</p> <p>He said that Nathan didn't initially know that it was an attempt to import a border-controlled drug until July 30 2018. </p> <p>"From that point in time he was aware of the attempt to import a substantial quantity of a border-controlled drug but was reckless as to the identity of that drug," Justice Kelly said.</p> <p>“It cannot be shown that Nathan knew the drug was cocaine or the precise amount of the drug.”</p> <p>Kelly accepted a defence barrister's submission the facts were profoundly different” compared to their 2021 sentencing, but said that regardless, the importation size was a "“very relevant factor” in his sentencing.</p> <p><em>Image: Erik S Lesser/EPA/ Shutterstock Editorial</em></p>

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

<p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>“I did know that this would kind of come eventually,” she said while handcuffed in body cam footage released by police on Friday. </p> <p>“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”</p> <p>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.”</p> <p>Further body cam footage showed her at the police station telling officers where to find the tools she used to kill her mother. </p> <p>She had pleaded guilty to murdering her parents at a previous hearing in June 2019. </p> <p>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.”</p> <p>She wrapped her mother's body in a sleeping bag and put it in a wardrobe on the top floor of the property. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and told doctors and relatives that her parents were unwell or away on a trip. </p> <p>Statements from her three unnamed siblings were also read in court, and one said:  “our parents were completely blameless victims”. </p> <p>“Virginia always said Mum and Dad were fine and made up lie after lie about their daily activities," another said. </p> <p>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.”</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>“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. </p> <p>"The details of this case shock and horrify even the most experienced of murder detectives, let alone any right-thinking member of the public.”</p> <p><em>Image: Essex Police/ 7NEWS</em></p> <p> </p>

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Why Greg Lynn could walk free from prison

<p>Greg Lynn has applied to be freed from jail until his sentencing hearing over the murder of Carol Clay. </p> <p>The former Jetstar pilot, who was found guilty of murdering the 73-year-old while she was camping with her secret partner Russell Hill in March 2020, is appealing the guilty verdict which the jury came to after a weeks-long trial in June. </p> <p>The 57-year old appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday where Justice Michael Croucher heard the convicted killer had been the victim of prison attacks during his six-week trial. </p> <p>The court heard Lynn's barrister Dermot Dann KC is in the process of compiling submissions calling on Justice Croucher to hold of on sentencing his client until an appeal over his conviction can be heard by the Court of Appeal. </p> <p>If granted, the "stay" of sentence could allow Lynn to apply for bail while his appeal goes through the court. </p> <p>The court also heard that Lynn had been placed in isolation within the Metropolitan Remand Prison for his own safety since the guilty verdict was read, but now fears he will be targeted by inmates at whatever prison he ultimately ends up in. </p> <p>Mr Dann said a successful appeal could result in Lynn being set free altogether without the possibility of a re-trial, due to doubts over whether he could obtain a fair trial because of the significant publicity surrounding the case and the murder conviction. </p> <p>"The chances of a fair re-trial are non-existent," Mr Dann said. </p> <p>The experienced barrister said any potential jurors would have been "polluted or poisoned" by the "inadmissible evidence" that has "flooded" news sites since the guilty verdict was delivered.  </p> <p>The court heard Mr Dann believed his client had multiple reasons to push for an appeal over his verdict, including the "unfair" way in which he claimed the Office of Public Prosecutions carried out the trial. </p> <p>Mr Dann reiterated to the court that his client has always maintained his innocence, saying, "He maintains that he's never killed any person at any time, at any place, anywhere, ever."</p> <div data-component="EmphasisedText"> <p>"The long-term future of that guilty verdict must be seen as being in grave doubt."</p> <p><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;">The case was adjourned until a pre-sentence hearing on September 12th. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif;">Image credits: Facebook</span></em></p> </div>

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

<p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>“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 <em>60 Minutes</em> on Sunday. </p> <p>“My dad was not a violent person in any way. He wouldn’t have provoked anything.”</p> <p>Ms Hill went on to say that she thinks about what happened to her father every day. </p> <p>“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. </p> <p>“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.”</p> <p>After the trial concluded, more information has come to light about Lynn's past after non-publication orders were lifted.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.”</p> <p>“I’m not trusting of it now. We’ll have to wait and see. He’s just such a terrible person.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Facebook / Victoria Police </em></p>

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"I'm a prisoner in my own body": Rob Burrow's heartbreaking last message

<p>An emotional final message from rugby legend Rob Burrow has been released in the days after his death. </p> <p>The former footballer <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/health/caring/rugby-league-hero-dies-at-just-41" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died</a> at the age of 41 on Sunday after a lengthy battle with motor neurone disease, with his former club, the Leeds Rhinos, sharing the news of his passing. </p> <p>Before he died, Burrow was involved in the making of a documentary about his life by the BBC, titled <em>There's Only One Burrow</em>, only agreeing to appear in the program on the condition it only be used after his death.</p> <p>In the documentary, Burrow spoke of how the cruel disease impacted his life and how he hoped to raise awareness for MND research.</p> <p>"I want to live in a world free of MND. By the time you watch this I will no longer be here," he said in the video.</p> <p>"In a world full of adversity, we must still dare to dream. I'm just a lad from Yorkshire who got to live out his dream of playing rugby league."</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/C7xPgSxM6lY/?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/C7xPgSxM6lY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by BBC SPORT (@bbcsport)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>His pre-recorded final words were shown to his friends and family on screen, reacting to his words.</p> <p>"I'm a fighter, to be honest. I might not be able to tackle MND but I'll certainly be swinging, I'm not going to give in, not until my last breath," he said.</p> <p>"I'm a prisoner in my own body, that's the way MND gets you. The lights are on but no one is home."</p> <p>Recalling his diagnosis, he said, "My family told me I was slurring my speech a bit but I didn't take notice or believe them."</p> <p>In an emotional segment of the widow, Burrow's wife Lindsey spoke of how she learnt of her husband's devastating disease.</p> <p>"I remember that moment being told it's not good news. Asking how long and them saying two years. Rob said 'thank god it's me and not the kids'. That's all he was bothered about," she recalled.</p> <p>When asked about his children, Burrow became emotional, saying, "I had no idea how my family would cope. They've become a beacon of hope for families in the same situation as ours." </p> <p>"I have had such a great life. I have been gifted with the most incredible wife and three children. I hope they know how much I love them."</p> <p>Burrows finishes the piece, saying. "As a father of three young children, I would never want someone to go through this."</p> <p>"I hope I have left a mark on this disease. I hope you choose to live in the moment. I hope you find inspiration."</p> <p>"My final message to you is whatever your personal battle to be brave and face it."</p> <p>"Every single day is precious. Don't waste a moment. In a world full of adversity we must still dare to dream. Rob Burrow over and out."</p> <p><em>Image credits: BBC</em></p>

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“Turn his life around”: Paul Hogan’s grandson set to be released from prison

<p>The grandson of Crocodile Dundee is set to be released from prison after 57 days behind bars. </p> <p>Jake Paul Hogan, 34, broke down in court after learning that his father has moved to Sydney to support him in living a life without crime when he leaves jail.</p> <p>His father Todd Hogan, who is the son of the Crocodile Dundee star, flew back from New Zealand to support his son at the sentencing at the Downing Centre Local Court, which Jake appeared at via audio link. </p> <p>The younger Hogan was in custody on remand after his bail was refused in March, and was sentenced on Wednesday for breaking into apartment buildings to fund his “high-level drug habit” and for breaching a court order against an ex-girlfriend.</p> <p>Before falling into a life of drugs, Jake worked as a carpenter but soon became homeless after his drug addiction took hold.</p> <p>In order to fund his drug habit, the 34-year-old began sleeping in abandoned buildings, and stealing clothes and other items to sell for cash. </p> <p>Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund described Jake’s actions as a “sudden escalation of offending” after his life broke down, while also telling the court she was “comforted” by the fact he was supported by his father Todd and sister in court.</p> <p>“This is a young man that needs some scaffolding, he totally has the ability to turn his life around,” she said. “No doubt you were having difficulty seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and managing to find your way out of the hole.”</p> <p>The court was told Jake’s father was having trouble contacting his son during his difficult times, and had even flown to Sydney from New Zealand to find him.</p> <p>“Mr Hogan you are phenomenally lucky to have these supports,” Ms Freund said.</p> <p>She told the court Jake’s father is set to remain in Sydney to give him support when he leaves custody.</p> <p>Jake was convicted of all charges and sentenced to a community corrections order for two years, and an intensive corrections order for nine months.</p> <p>“I wish you good luck Mr Hogan,” Ms Freund said.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Facebook </em></p>

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Property tycoon sentenced to death over $27 billion fraud

<p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>“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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>Lan and the others were arrested as part of a national corruption crackdown.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>The property tycoon was convicted of taking out $44bn in loans from the bank, according to the <em>BBC</em>, with prosecutors saying that $27 billion of this may never be recovered. </p> <p>The court ordered Lan to to pay almost the entire damages sum in compensation. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>“In my desperation, I thought of death,” Lan said in her final remarks to the court, according to state media. </p> <p>“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.”</p> <p>Police have identified around 42,000 victims of the scam, and many of them were unhappy with the verdict. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>“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. </p> <p>“She can’t see the suffering of the people.”</p> <p>The resident has so far been unable to retrieve the $120,000 she invested with SCB. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>Authorities have also reportedly seized over 1000 properties belonging to Lan. </p> <p><em>Image: Twitter</em></p> <p> </p>

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Disgraced police officer Roger Rogerson dies

<p dir="ltr">Disgraced police officer and convicted murderer Roger Rogerson has passed away at the age of 83. </p> <p dir="ltr">The crooked ex-cop suffered a brain aneurysm in his cell at Long Bay prison in Sydney, where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of a 20-year-old, and died just days after. </p> <p dir="ltr">He was receiving end-of-life care at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick and died at 11pm on Sunday. </p> <p dir="ltr">Rogerson began his career in the police force at the age of 18 in 1959, and was known as one of the most decorated officers in New South Wales, before links to organised crime and corruption were uncovered. </p> <p dir="ltr">After rising through the ranks of the force and winning 12 commendation awards, he was found responsible for the 1981 fatal shooting of drug dealer Warren Lanfranchi, but was found to have been acting in the line of duty. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, Lanfranchi's girlfriend, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, afterwards claimed Rogerson deliberately killed him over a drug dispute.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rogerson was also charged with the attempted killing of undercover officer Michael Drury in 1984, who turned down a bribe in exchange for evidence tampering in a heroin trafficking trial.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rogerson was acquitted of the charges in 1989, but he had been dismissed from the police service by then for depositing $110,000 in bank accounts under a false name.</p> <p dir="ltr">He was then jailed for four years for perverting the course of justice over that matter, and was jailed for another 12 months in 2005 for lying to the Police Integrity Commission.</p> <p dir="ltr">In 2014, Rogerson, and his fellow former detective Glen McNamara, were arrested over the execution murder of 20-year-old student Jamie Gao.</p> <p dir="ltr">Both disgraced officers were both found guilty in 2016 over the killing and handed life sentences, with Rogerson's final appeal over that conviction failing last year.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Nine - Under Investigation</em><span id="docs-internal-guid-7cde412f-7fff-adaa-9f17-0c5ba1485575"></span></p>

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Aussie grandma and former Greens candidate jailed in Japan claims she was scammed

<p>Donna Nelson, a 57-year-old Perth grandmother, has found herself entangled in a nightmarish situation in a Japanese prison, accused of a crime she vehemently denies.</p> <p>Nelson, an Aboriginal health advocate and former Greens candidate, has been incarcerated for nearly a year without a trial date set, facing allegations of attempting to smuggle two kilograms of meth into Japan. However, her plight is not as straightforward as it may seem, and her family and legal team are tirelessly fighting to clear her name.</p> <p>The ordeal began on January 4, when Nelson was arrested at Narita Airport in Tokyo. Authorities claimed to have discovered drugs concealed within a false compartment in her luggage. According to the prosecution, a customs officer suspected her of acting suspiciously. But the narrative has taken a complex turn as Nelson's defence team unveiled a shocking revelation: she alleges she was deceived and manipulated by a Nigerian scammer who had groomed her for two years.</p> <p>Since her arrest, Nelson has been confined to Chibu prison, located an hour outside Tokyo. Her living conditions are appalling; she spends 23 hours a day isolated in her cell, showers are allowed only every three days, and communication with other inmates and visitors is strictly prohibited. This form of treatment is a reflection of Japan's infamous "hostage justice" strategy, aimed at coercing confessions from detainees.</p> <p>The only individuals granted access to Nelson are her lawyers, Australian embassy representatives, and a pastor. Legal representatives have identified a significant issue with translation throughout the case, and it could very well hinge on an inaccurate translation by the customs officer at the time of her arrest.</p> <p>Rie Nishida from Shinjuku International Law Firm, one of Nelson's lawyers, explained, "The main evidence from the prosecution is mainly a customs officer who said she acted suspiciously. There's a lot of mistranslation that's also the difficulty in this case."</p> <p>This mistranslation issue is not trivial; it extends to the messages exchanged between Nelson and the man she believed she had a romantic connection with, who ultimately turned out to be a scammer.</p> <p>Matthew Owens, another member of the legal team and a translator for the case, noted, "Some of them were completely wrongly translated, so we had to re-translate those messages and submit them back to the prosecutor."</p> <p>Nelson remains steadfast in her conviction that she is innocent of the accusations against her. Her lawyer,  Owens, relayed her message, saying, "Donna wants to say that she is going to be able to prove her innocence, she's 100 per cent confident of that, and she wants everyone in Australia and the world to know she is innocent."</p> <p>If found guilty, Nelson could face a harrowing 20-year sentence in a Japanese prison, a terrifying prospect for both her and her family. Her five daughters and grandchildren are distraught, but they are not giving up the fight to prove her innocence. They believe they have evidence to substantiate the claim that she was scammed and unjustly accused.</p> <p><em>Image: Australian Greens</em></p>

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Sitcom star jailed for 30 years

<p><em>That ‘70s Show</em> star Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping two women who were in the Church of Scientology with him in 2003. </p> <p>Masterson, 47, who was found guilty of raping victims Jen B and N Trout in his Hollywood home in June, received his sentence on Thursday, California time. </p> <p>The actor remained silent in court as he received 15 years for each count, which will be served consecutively. </p> <p>“One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedoe told Masterson,  according to the <em>New York Post</em>.</p> <p>The victims testified that they passed out after Materson gave them drinks, then he proceeded to violently rape them. </p> <p>Prosecutors claimed that Materson raped N Trout so violently that she threw up in her mouth. </p> <p>Prior to the sentencing, N Trout read out her victim statement, where she slammed the actor for his violent actions, but also forgave him and hoped that he would do better in prison. </p> <p>“You relish in hurting women. It is your addiction. It is without question your favourite thing to do,” she said, according to court reporter Meghann Cuniff.</p> <p>“Life is precious and fragile. Find your heart … Learn something. Read books. Listen to the brightness of nothing and get well. I forgive you." </p> <p>Jen B, on the other hand, reiterated the fact that there was no conspiracy to take down Materson or the Church of Scientology. </p> <p>This comes after the defence had previously argued that the sexual acts were consensual, accusing the women of co-ordinating their stories to discredit former Hollywood star.</p> <p>The victims also told the court that Scientology officials told them not to report the crime because Masterson was a high-ranking member of the church, and instead they were put through an ethics program. </p> <p>After an initial deadlock vote, the jury found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape, but could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count alleging that the former star also assaulted his ex-girlfriend  Christina Bixler.</p> <p>However, he was not charged with any counts of drugging as there were no toxicology evidence to back up the women's statement, which will likely play a role in  Masterson’s plan to appeal the verdict.</p> <p>The Church of Scientology also released a statement, criticising the notion that they tried to silence the complaints, claiming that the women's testimony were “uniformly false”.</p> <p>“The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone — Scientologists or not — to law enforcement,”</p> <p>“Quite the opposite, church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land.”</p> <p><em>Image: Lucy Nicholson - Pool/Getty Images</em></p>

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Miley Cyrus' mum marries Aussie Prison Break actor

<p>Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell and Tish Cyrus have tied the knot in an intimate Malibu wedding.</p> <p>The wedding was held by a pool in the backyard of a Malibu mansion with floral decorations and a few stars in attendance, including Tish's pop star daughter Miley Cyrus, cricket star David Warner and his wife Candice Warner. </p> <p>Miley, was reported to be the Maid of Honour and her siblings Trace, 34, and Brandi, 36, were also reportedly at the wedding. </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/p/CwLtHGwBPHK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/p/CwLtHGwBPHK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Mrs Candice Warner (@candywarner1)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"Oh what a night!!! Congratulations @dominicpurcell &amp; @tishcyrus on the most magical wedding. We love you," Candice wrote, with a series of images from the wedding. </p> <p>In a few <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12425597/Miley-Cyrus-Maid-Honor-Singer-looks-mom-Tish-marries-Prison-Break-star-Dominic-Purcell-Malibu-one-year-whirlwind-romance-shock-divorce-Billy-Ray-Cyrus.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aerial photos</a> from the wedding, Tish can be spotted donning a simple strapless A-line wedding dress and veil. Her two daughters and a few other bridesmaids matched the look with a light grey dress and white bouquet. </p> <p>The wedding comes just four months after Tish and Dominic got engaged. </p> <p>This is Tish's third marriage and Dominic's second marriage.</p> <p>Tish was previously married to Baxter Neal Helson from 1986 - 1989, who she shares  children Brandi and Trace with.</p> <p>From 1993 - 2021 she was married to singer Billy Ray Cyrus and shares Miley, Braison, and Noah with him. </p> <p>Dominic was previously married to Rebecca Williamson, who he shares four children with.</p> <p>The couple announced their engagement to Instagram back in May, with the caption:  "A thousand times... YES @dominicpurcell."</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p> <p> </p>

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

<p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>According to court documents, Lee yelled to his neighbours, "You turn the hose off again you bastards, I'll f***ing kill you."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Other residents of the building fled the scene looking for safety, while a badly injured Mr Gasio stumbled into a neighbour's unit. </p> <p>As neighbours tried to help Mr Gasio, Lee came through the door and fired the shotgun again, this time hitting Mr Laszlo.</p> <p>Both men died at the scene.</p> <p>Before handing down the sentencing, Justice James Elliott described the killer's actions as "senseless and brutally violent".</p> <p>"Nothing could justify the disproportionate, senseless and brutally violent way in which you responded," Justice Elliott said.</p> <div data-component="EmphasisedText"> <p>"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."</p> </div> <p>"Both victims were completely defenceless against you."</p> <p>Lee is likely to die in jail,  as h<span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">e will be aged 97 by the time he is eligible for parole in early 2046.</span></p> <p class="paragraph_paragraph__3Hrfa" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;">"You'll almost certainly be imprisoned for the remainder of your life," Justice Elliott said.</p> <p class="paragraph_paragraph__3Hrfa" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;"><em>Image credits: ABC News</em></p>

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"Most dangerous spy in US history" dies in jail

<p>The USA’s most notorious FBI agent has been found dead in his top security prison cell at the age of 79. </p> <p>Prison officials confirmed the news of Robert Hanssen’s passing, more than 20 years after he received a life sentence for selling classified US material throughout the 1980s and 1990s. </p> <p>While no cause of death has been revealed, a statement from the Bureau of Prisons revealed that staff at the facility took life-saving measures after Hanssen was found unresponsive in his cell, to no avail. </p> <p>Hanssen - who is now regarded as one of the most dangerous spies in US history - sold thousands of documents in exchange for the diamonds and cash over the course of his deception. According to the FBI, by the time of his arrest, Hanssen had received the value of more than $1.4 million. </p> <p>He first launched his career with the FBI in 1976, and it was only a few years before he began spying for the Soviet Union, sending classified information - on everything from human resources to counterintelligence - to the Soviet Union and Russia under the alias ‘Ramon Garcia’. </p> <p>It is believed that he was able to cover for himself through his role in the FBI’s New York counterintelligence department, where he was tasked with tracking down his own kind - spies. </p> <p>“As a result of his assignments, Hanssen had direct and legitimate access to voluminous information about sensitive programs and operations,” the FBI explained at the time. “As the complaint alleges, Hanssen effectively used his training, expertise and experience as a counterintelligence Agent to avoid detection, to include keeping his identity and place of employment from his Russian handlers and avoiding all the customary ‘tradecraft’ and travel usually associated with espionage.”</p> <p>Neither the FBI or CIA caught on to the fact there was a mole working within the system for years, but did eventually secure “original Russian documentation of an American spy”, according to the FBI and Forbes. </p> <p>According to reports, not even Hanssen’s Russian handlers knew his true identity, and he was not at the top of any suspect list. By all appearances, he lived a frugal life among Washington’s conservative Catholics, with a wife and six children. </p> <p>But Hanssen was caught in suburban Virginia at a ‘dead drop’, and his arrest came in 2001. He pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage, and was consequently sentenced to life behind bars without parole for “espionage, conspiracy to commit espionage, and attempted espionage”.</p> <p>“I apologise for my behaviour,” Hanssen said during his sentencing. “I am shamed by it.</p> <p>“I have opened the door for calumny against my totally innocent wife and children. I’ve hurt so many deeply.”</p> <p><em>Images: FBI</em></p>

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Kathleen Folbigg pardoned after 20 years behind bars

<p>Jailed in 2003 and considered at the time to be Australia’s most prolific female serial killer, Kathleen Folbigg has now been pardoned over the death of her four children and will be released without delay.</p> <p>Folbigg, 55, was convicted of killing her three children Patrick, Sarah and Laura, and was also found guilty of the manslaughter of her firstborn Caleb between 1989 to 1999.</p> <p>Her babies were aged between 19 days and 19 months.</p> <p>The historic convictions have not been quashed as that can only be done through the Court of Criminal Appeal.</p> <p>Folbigg has always maintained her innocence, insisting that her children had each died of natural causes, and as a result she has served 20 years of a minimum 25-year prison sentence.</p> <p>NSW Attorney General Michael Daley announced the pardon, saying Folbigg had endured “a terrible ordeal” and there was a possibility she could sue the government if the convictions were quashed, a legal step which goes beyond a pardon.</p> <p>"What is the difference between today and what has transpired in the past? New evidence has come to light," he said, referring to new scientific evidence submitted in an inquiry into the death of the babies.</p> <p>Former NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst KC is leading the inquiry and is now writing up a final report for the NSW governor.</p> <p>Daley said he had received a phone from Chief Justice Bathurst last week that "he had come to a firm view" about what the outcome of his report would be.</p> <p>Prosecutors argued Folbigg smothered her children during periods of frustration and insisted that some of her diary entries were admissions of guilt.</p> <p>New scientific evidence has now cast sufficient doubt on her guilt.</p> <p>Folbigg and her two daughters were found to carry a rare genetic variant, CALM2-G114R, which can cause cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death.</p> <p>According to cardiology and genetic experts, the genetic verity was a “reasonably possible cause” of Sarah and Laura’s death.</p> <p>The variant was not found in Caleb or Patrick.</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

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Prisoner and Neighbours star dies suddenly at age 58

<p dir="ltr">Maxine Klibingaitis, known for her role as Bobbie Mitchell in <em>Prisoner</em> and Terri Inglis in <em>Neighbours</em>, has passed away suddenly at the age of 58.</p> <p dir="ltr">The news was first announced on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Prisonerfanclub/posts/pfbid02GW3UszyDLAymgoCyE6eb6WZHed54Bfs1Rge3Sz1mLaFk9PRUpHjyueL4DGPUMJEMl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> by the<em> Prisoner</em> fan club <em>Partners in Crime</em> and was later confirmed by her agency in a statement.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We regrettably announce that actress Maxine Klibingaitis has passed away today," the post in <em>Partners in Crime </em>began.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Maxine played the much-loved character of Bobbie Mitchell in <em>Prisoner</em>, Terri Inglis in <em>Neighbours</em> and many other roles in Australian TV," the post continued</p> <p dir="ltr">"Maxine was only 58. We send our sincere condolences to her son, Zane and Maxine's family &amp; friends. RIP Maxine."</p> <p dir="ltr">The fan club admin then clarified in the comments that Klibingaitis’ sudden and unexpected death wasn’t a hoax and that a “very close friend of Maxine’s” had asked them to share the news with her fans.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hours later, Triple Talent Management confirmed the news through their own post.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Vale Maxine Klibingaitis,It is with a heavy heart that Triple Talent's Maxine Klibingaitis passed away yesterday,” the post began.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Maxine was a warm and loving person and she will be sadly missed," they concluded.</p> <p dir="ltr">Many fans have commented on the post in <em>Partners in Crime</em>, sharing their condolences.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Maxine was absolutely lovely to be around. Such a beautiful soul. You will be forever remembered. Sending Love to her family and friends RIP,” wrote one fan.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Absolutely heartbroken for her close friends and family at this time. She was such a treasure and an exceptionally talented actress,” commented another.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Australian actress landed her breakout role as Bobbie Mitchell on <em>Prisoner </em>in 1983, which she played until 1985, she then played apprentice plumber Terry Inglis on <em>Neighbours</em> that same year.</p> <p dir="ltr">She is survived by her son Zane Friedman, who she shared with husband Andrew Friedman.</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

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

<p>Cleo Smith's mother has shared her thoughts on the jail sentence handed down to the man who abducted her four-year-old daughter. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>Shortly after the sentence was handed down, Ellie and her partner Jake Gliddon shared they will always feel "angry" towards Terence. </p> <p>"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"><em>Nine News</em></a>. </p> <p>However, she added she "also feels contentment he is behind bars".</p> <p>"And we do have a number to hold with us of how long he is away."</p> <p>"But there is always going to be anger, always - how could there not be?" she added.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>"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.</p> <p>"And I would expect that the community would never think that 13-and-a-half years is enough."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>He then held her captive in his home in the rural town of Carnavon for 18 days before she was found by police. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>Commissioner Blanch added that the investigation to track down and rescue Cleo was the "gold standard" for an operation of this type.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Nine News</em></p>

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Sentence handed down for Cleo Smith abductor

<p>In the dramatic conclusion of the Cleo Smith abduction case that gripped Australia, her abductor has been handed his jail sentence. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>He will have to serve over 11 years before he is eligible for early release on parole.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>He then held her captive in his home in the rural town of Carnavon for 18 days before she was found by police. </p> <p>Her disappearance sparked one of the biggest searches in Western Australian history, and had the country gripped and hoping for her safe return.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / WA Police</em></p>

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

<p>Queenslander Kerri-Anne Conley has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the deaths of her two young daughters. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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. </p> <p>"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. </p> <p>"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.</p> <p>"The alternative of them being awake, distressed, and trapped in their seats is too much to bear thinking about for too long."</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>The court also heard that before Kerri-Ann even contacted emergency services, she attempted to dispose of drug paraphernalia. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.”</p> <p>“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.”</p> <p>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. </p> <p>“Her behaviour,” she said, “represented an apathy to her own children that was callous.”</p> <p>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. </p> <p>"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.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p><em>Images: 9News</em></p>

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Boris Becker freed from prison

<p>After spending eight months behind bars in a British prison, German tennis legend Boris Becker has been released. </p> <p>The 55-year-old ​​had been sentenced to 30 months in prison in April 2022 for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.</p> <p>He would normally have had to serve at least half of his sentence before being eligible for an early release, but was released under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals.</p> <p>He had been convicted by London’s Southwark Crown Court earlier this year on four charges under the Insolvency Act, including removal of property, concealing debt and two counts of failing to disclose estate.</p> <p>Becker “has thus served his sentence and is not subject to any penal restrictions in Germany," his lawyer, Christian-Oliver Moser, said in a statement.</p> <p>He did not give additional details about Becker's location in Germany.</p> <p>Becker first rose to stardom in 1985 at the age of 17 when he became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon singles title, before he rose to be the world number one player.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Aussie academic released from Myanmar prison after 650 days

<p dir="ltr">After spending 650 days in a Myanmar prison, Australian academic Sean Turnell will be returning to his family in Australia.</p> <p dir="ltr">The country’s military-controlled government announced that Turnell would be released and deported, along with a Japanese filmmaker, ex-British diplomat, and an American, on Thursday as part of a wider prisoner amnesty to mark National Victory Day.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2bc8307a-7fff-a126-287f-9bcdcffac00b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong shared the news on social media on Friday morning, writing that she had spoken to Turnell, who had confirmed he was now free and going home.</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/p/ClEBre8Phqr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/p/ClEBre8Phqr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Penny Wong (@senatorpennywong)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Wonderful news - Professor Sean Turnell is free and on his way home to his family. I’ve just had the chance to speak with him,” she wrote, shared alongside a photo of Turnell.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I thank everyone who worked tirelessly for his release, including @DFAT staff like our Head of Mission in Myanmar, Angela Corcoran, pictured here.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had spoken to Turnell on the phone after he landed in Bangkok on his way home.</p> <p dir="ltr">“People have been wonderful,” Turnell told him.</p> <p dir="ltr">Albanese described him as a “remarkable man”, sharing how Turnell would be given his food in buckets in prison, except when he received care packages from Australia in tote bags bearing the Australian crest.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He would eat it and he would put the tote bags at where the bars were on the cell in which he was being detained so that both he could see and the guards who were detaining him could see the Australian crest, so that he could keep that optimism," Albanese said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"And the Australian crest, of course, with the kangaroo and emu that don't go backwards.</p> <p dir="ltr">"They don't go backwards. It was very important for him."</p> <p dir="ltr">The PM said Turnell was “clearly counting” down the 650 days until his release and that he was in “remarkably good spirits” despite losing a lot of weight.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He was in really, really good spirits," Albanese said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-45400717-7fff-f078-ef7f-2699f9ed58f2"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">"He was making jokes. He is from my electorate and apologised for not voting at the election. I assured him he wouldn't be fined and that it was understandable."</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I just spoke with Professor Sean Turnell, who recently landed in Bangkok after being released from prison in Myanmar. He will soon be on his way to Australia to be with his family.</p> <p>— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1593222741536428033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Turnell was among 5774 prisoners released from Myanmar, as reported by state-run MRTV.</p> <p dir="ltr">The imprisonment of foreign nationals, which the rights monitoring organisation Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said totalled 16,232 people, had become a source of friction for Myanmar’s leaders and home governments since the democratically elected government was ousted in February last year.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to AAP, 13,015 of those arrested were still in detention as of Wednesday, while at least 2465 people have been killed by security forces.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tim O’Conner of Amnesty International welcomed the release of Turnell, saying that he and many others should never have been arrested or imprisoned.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Amnesty continues to call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained for peacefully exercising their human rights," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Thousands of people jailed since the coup in Myanmar have done nothing wrong."</p> <p dir="ltr">Turnell, an associate professor in economics at Sydney’s Macquarie University, was serving as an advisor to Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s former leader, when he was arrested at a hotel just days before the military takeover.</p> <p dir="ltr">In September last year, Turnell was sentenced to three years prison for violating Myanmar’s official secrets law and immigration law.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He's a remarkable man. And he was there doing his job as an economic policy adviser," Albanese said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He was doing his job, nothing more, nothing less. And he's very good at his job.</p> <p dir="ltr">"And he is a proud Australian. And today, I think we should all be proud of him."</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f5ce0eb1-7fff-0bc2-3b30-a3e69921d573"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

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