Former aide to Craig Kelly found guilty of sex crimes against four victims aged between 19 and 24 at time of offending
An aide to the former federal MP Craig Kelly used his position to lure powerless young women who he would go on to sexually touch and assault over a period of years, a court has been told.
Frank Zumbo pressured the women, who were looking to further their careers, into “kisses and cuddles”, touching them inappropriately and exposing himself to one victim.
Continue reading...Keli Lane, convicted of murdering newborn daughter in 1996, refused parole because she has not helped police find Tegan’s body
A woman convicted of killing her baby daughter in one of Australia’s most notorious criminal cases has been denied parole after more than 13 years behind bars.
Keli Lane, 48, was convicted in 2010 after a jury found her guilty of murdering her newborn daughter Tegan in September 1996.
Continue reading...Planned overhaul of Environment Protection Authority’s powers to be biggest since it began in 1991, government says
Penalties for the most serious environmental crimes would double and the New South Wales environmental watchdog would have powers to recall potentially contaminated products from consumers under major changes to environmental protection laws proposed by the Minns government.
The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the government was proposing the largest set of amendments to the Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA’s) powers since the regulator was established in 1991.
Continue reading...Emergency services called to the shopping centre car park in Hope Island found a man with life-threatening injuries
A 25-year-old man has been taken into custody in relation to a fatal assault in a Gold Coast shopping centre car park.
Emergency services were called to the car park along Santa Barbara Road in the suburb of Hope Island on Monday afternoon after reports a man had been seriously assaulted.
Continue reading...Board of inquiry’s report identified 109 alleged victims of four paedophile teachers at 24 schools dating back to the 1960s
Glen Fearnett says he doesn’t have the words to express how he feels about an inquiry’s report into the alleged historic child sexual abuse that occurred at his primary school five decades ago.
“There’s no joy. There’s no happiness. There’s no celebration,” he tells Guardian Australia.
Continue reading...NSW deputy commissioner further alleges accused police officer purchased angle grinder, padlock and weights from hardware store
New South Wales police will allege one of their own constables made “partial admissions” about an alleged double murder to an acquaintance before he turned himself in to police last week.
The deputy commissioner Dave Hudson said Sen Const Beau Lamarre – who was charged on Friday over the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies – wasn’t cooperating with investigators searching for the men’s bodies south-west of Sydney.
Continue reading...NSW police commissioner Karen Webb expresses ‘heartfelt condolences’ to the families and friends of alleged murder victims Jesse Baird and Luke Davies
New South Wales police are investigating whether murder-accused senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon was lawfully in possession of the police-issue handgun which they believe was fired at a Paddington unit where two men were allegedly killed.
Police continued the search on Sunday for the remains of Jesse Baird, a former Channel Ten presenter, and his partner, Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies.
Continue reading...Police said the guard was allegedly punched by a patron who had been asked to leave the venue
A security guard has died after he was allegedly punched in the head during an altercation at a hotel in Sydney’s south, and a man charged with assault occasioning death.
Emergency services were called to a licensed premises on East Parade in Sutherland about 2am on Sunday.
Continue reading...Bodies of woman, 41, and boy, 7, discovered in Lion’s Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy in North Parramatta after 39-year-old man found dead in Baulkham Hills home
A taekwondo instructor has been arrested over the “cataclysmic” deaths of a married couple and their seven-year-old son in Sydney.
New South Wales police said the 49-year-old man, a taekwondo master at a martial arts school in North Parramatta, went to Westmead hospital with stab or slash wounds to his chest, arms and stomach on Monday just before midnight.
Continue reading...Man who stalked 23-year-old Melbourne woman pretended he was experiencing psychosis when he killed her, psychiatrist tells court
A man who stabbed a young woman to death repeatedly faked symptoms of psychosis while being assessed for a mental impairment defence, a court has heard.
Luay Sako, 39, told three psychiatrists there was a being called “Isha” who encouraged him to kill 23-year-old Celeste Manno in the early hours of 16 November 2020.
Continue reading...SA government seeks legal advice on whether new laws criminalising concealing or interfering with human remains could keep inmate in jail
A man imprisoned for his involvement the Snowtown murders, one of Australia’s most notorious crimes, could be free within months.
Mark Ray Haydon was convicted for his role in the so-called “bodies in the barrels” murders in Snowtown, South Australia, in the 1990s. Eight of the 11 people killed were found in barrels in a disused bank vault in the town, which is 150km north of Adelaide. A 12th death was linked to the killers.
Continue reading...Judge tells court assault was ‘violent and degrading’ as former TV host ordered to serve 18 months on community corrections order
The former TV host Andrew O’Keefe has avoided jail despite being found guilty of “violent and degrading” domestic attacks.
The broadcaster was hit with three sets of charges over multiple incidents in 2021, including assault causing actual bodily harm, breaching a domestic violence order and possession of the synthetic stimulant drug mephedrone. O’Keefe denied the charges.
In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org
Continue reading...Former police officer was serving a life sentence for the 2014 murder of Sydney drug dealer Jamie Gao
Disgraced former New South Wales police officer Roger Rogerson has died in hospital aged 83.
Known as “The Dodger”, the controversial and charismatic tough cop turned killer was moved from Long Bay prison to Sydney’s Prince of Wales hospital last Thursday where he was receiving end-of-life care.
Continue reading...Maths teacher claims student made ‘constant calls’ to family home and says they tried to ‘put a stop to it’
A former elite Sydney high school teacher accused of unlawful sexual activity with a student didn’t start a relationship with her until the girl actively pursued the teacher after she left the school, a court has heard.
The mathematics teacher, who cannot legally be named, is on trial at Downing centre court for allegedly forming a sexual relationship with a minor after she became their pupil in 1984. The teacher has pleaded not guilty to one charge of carnal knowledge.
Continue reading...Court told teacher formed close relationship with student’s mother and took student out for dinner
A mathematics teacher at an elite Sydney high school started grooming a teenage girl almost immediately after meeting the student, a jury has heard.
The teacher, who cannot be legally identified, is on trial in the Downing Centre district court for alleged unlawful sexual activity with the student who turned 17 years old in 1984. The teacher has pleaded not guilty to one charge of carnal knowledge.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
Continue reading...Police arrest four men and a boy alleged to be connected to the Finks motorcycle gang and a series of arson attacks on tobacco stores
Police have arrested four men and a boy believed to be connected to the Finks outlaw motorcycle gang and a series of arson attacks on tobacco stores in Victoria.
The arrests are the latest example of police responding to the so-called tobacco wars, which have seen criminal gangs fight for control of the “significant source of income” generated by the sale of illicit tobacco.
Continue reading...Police allege the men are connected to fires at the Altona business, as well as an arson attack at a Croydon tobacco shop
Three men allegedly linked to a bikie gang have been arrested after a twice-targeted tobacco shop was destroyed by fire and another was set alight on Christmas Day.
The first blaze broke out at the shopfront on Pier Street in Altona just before 4am on Thursday.
Continue reading...Robert Farquharson’s name has been removed from the headstone of his three children, whom he murdered in 2005
Robert Farquharson has been stripped of his control over the gravestones of the three children he murdered when he drove a car into a dam in 2005, after a Victorian government intervention.
Farquharson is the first convicted person in Victoria to lose the rights over a family member’s gravesite after legislative changes in 2021. It comes almost two decades since he deliberately drove his three children into a dam in south-western Victoria, in an act of revenge against his ex-partner for leaving him.
Continue reading...Two men, including 26-year-old arrested in Cartwright, are expected to be charged with conspiracy to murder, drug and firearm offences
Police have arrested two men over an alleged plot to kill four members of western Sydney rap group OneFour.
A 26-year-old man was arrested in a raid at Cartwright in Sydney’s south-west early on Thursday, and was expected to be charged with a range of conspiracy, drug and firearm offences. The man was allegedly coordinating a criminal cell taking on contract work, sometimes from rival criminal networks, to carry out serious and violent crime such as murders and kidnappings, according to a NSW Police statement.
Continue reading...Queensland premier rejects opposition’s interpretation of numbers, as the total crime rate remains below mid-2000s levels
The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, says crime is “not clearly worsening” after the release of new police data that showed significant spikes in assaults and domestic violence offending.
The state opposition and several media reports have called the crime data the worst in two decades – highlighting raw numbers that showed more total offences committed in 2023 than any other year since 2000.
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