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Woman launches true crime podcast to find her father's killer

21 years ago, Madison McGhee's father was shot in cold blood. Madison was just six years old when her dad, John "JC" Cornelius McGhee, died, and was originally told he had passed away from a heart attack. However, when Madison was in high school, she began to ask questions about what really happened that night. "When I was 16 I had a weird feeling that something else was going on, so I asked my mum about a weird connection between my cousin and the death of my father," Madison told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/today/ice-cold-case-podcaster-hoping-to-solve-fathers-21-year-murder-mystery/a873da03-0198-4e34-b65c-cc3ced6e8cca" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Today Extra</a>. "And that's when my mum told me that there was another side of the story and that my dad had actually been murdered and it was a cold case, completely unsolved." Madison's father, who was a recovering drug addict and police informant, was shot in the head in the early hours of July 11th 2002 at his home in Ohio. His 16-year-old daughter and Madison's half-sister, Alyssa, was home at the time and found her father's body on the ground with a bullet hole in a nearby wall. Police investigated his death, but failed to find any evidence that could convict someone of his murder. After Madison discovered the real nature of her father's death, she began digging into the cold case and decided to try and solve the crime herself. In her efforts to find her father's killer, she launched a podcast called Ice Cold Case. "I started asking questions, diving into it and that's when I realised it was much more layered than even I could have imagined," she said. One line of theory by investigators was that JC's death was a home invasion gone wrong, but Madison said things just don't add up to support that. "When you dive into the police files, it's very clear that this is suspicious," she said. "A home invasion to my knowledge is usually very quick and something of value is stolen, but nothing was taken and this home invasion lasted for over 30 minutes. "It just seemed suspicious that someone would feel so comfortable to break into a house and stick around for that long and not steal anything at all - it feels like it was planned and very intentional." Madison admitted that is has been jarring looking into the death of her father, especially when no one has been held accountable, but she has put her own fears aside in the hopes of finding out what really happened. "I do feel a little uneasy putting myself out there in this very public way, but I just feel like justice for my dad is so much more important than worrying about my own safety if his killer is still out there," she said. "But I really want to find out what happened for him and for my own closure, so I have sort of pushed that to the side." Image credits: Today Extra

Legal

Life behind bars for serial killer nurse

British nurse Lucy Letby has been handed a life sentence for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of six others in a neonatal ward located in Chester, England. Justice James Goss, adhering to the strictest punishment allowed by British law, issued a whole-life order, ensuring that 33-year-old Letby would spend the remainder of her life incarcerated, as capital punishment is not applicable in the UK. In a trial that spanned ten months, Letby was found guilty of killing five male and two female infants and causing harm to other newborns within the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. This conviction ranks her among the most prolific child serial killers in the UK's history. Despite her absence from the sentencing proceedings, Justice Goss emphasised the calculated nature of Letby's actions, stating, "There was premeditation, calculation and cunning." He further highlighted the malevolence and absence of remorse in her demeanour, emphasising that no mitigating factors were present. Prosecutors detailed Letby's disturbing actions during her tenure in the neonatal unit. As the hospital witnessed an alarming increase in unexplained infant deaths and health deteriorations, Letby was consistently on duty during these incidents. Prosecutors painted her as a constant, ominous presence when these infants experienced collapses or fatalities, using tactics that were difficult to detect. She even deceived colleagues into believing these incidents were normal. The anguish and outrage from the victims' families were palpable during the sentencing, compounded by Letby's absence from the proceedings, which is permitted under British legal protocol. The mother of a girl identified as Child I said in a statement read in court: "I don’t think we will ever get over the fact that our daughter was tortured till she had no fight left in her and everything she went through over her short life was deliberately done by someone who was supposed to protect her and help her come home where she belonged." Because of Letby's absence at the sentencing, calls for legal reform quickly emerged, urging that prisoners should be compelled to attend their sentencings. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his government's intention to address this matter. Medical professionals raised concerns about Letby's behaviour as early as 2015, but their apprehensions were not heeded by management. Some argue that had these concerns been acted upon promptly, lives could have been saved. An independent inquiry will delve into the hospital's response to the alarming rise in deaths and the actions of the staff and management. In conclusion, British nurse Lucy Letby's life sentence for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others has sent shockwaves through the nation. Her calculated actions, lack of remorse, and absence from the sentencing have ignited discussions about legal reforms and the responsibility of institutions to heed early warning signs. Images: Cheshire Constabulary

Legal

13 homemade weed killers that work

Don’t want to use chemicals on your garden? You don't have to! Mix up these handy helpers in the kitchen. 1. Boiling water Homemade treatments don’t come much cheaper than this. Put the kettle on, boil a pot of water and then pour it straight over the weeds – just make sure to avoid any surrounding plants. This works especially for small weed coming up through the cracks in pavement or in brickwork. 2. White vinegar Is there anything white vinegar can’t do? You can use regular old kitchen vinegar or get the heavy duty stuff from gardening stores. Spray directly onto the leaves of the weeds and watch them fade away. 3. Salt Another kitchen staple that can do double duty in the garden. You can either sprinkle rock salt or basic table salt directly around garden beds where weeds usually appear or create a 3:1 solution of water and salt to spray onto the leaves. 4. Salt & vinegar Combine the two and you’ll get even better results! Mix a cup of table salt with a litre of vinegar, then brush directly onto the leaves of the weeds. It’ll kill anything it touches, so avoid other plants. 5. Vegetable oil For bulbous weeds, like onion weed and oxalis, you can inject vegetable oil into the ground surrounding the bulbs. The oil will coat the bulbs so they suffocate and will then rot into the soil. 6. Cornmeal This won't kill existing weeds but is great for preventing them from sprouting in the first place. Cornmeal is a pre-emergent, meaning it stops seeds from growing, so it’s best for using around established plants. 7. Clove or citrus oil Mix 15 to 20 drops of clove or citrus oil with a litre of water and spray or brush directly onto the leaves. This works best on small, actively growing seedlings rather than more established weeds. 8. Rubbing alcohol Grab that bottle of rubbing alcohol out of the bathroom cabinet and mix two tablespoons with a litre of water. Pour it into a spray bottle and spray directly onto the weeds. The alcohol removes moisture so the weeds will quickly dry out and die. 9. Baking soda Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (essentially a salt), so increases the salinity of the ground to a point where the weeds cannot survive. Use around a teaspoon per weed to cover the entire plant, especially the stem. It’s also great for weeds in cracks. 10. Bleach This one couldn’t be simpler. Pour undiluted bleach straight over the top of mature weeds at the hottest part of the day, then let the sun do its work. You should be able to pull the dead weeds out the next day. Plus the bleach stays in the soil and prevents new growth. 11. Newspaper Rather than killing the weeds, you can smother them with leftover newspaper. Lay down at least four sheets (though the thicker the better) and the lack of sun means the weeds won’t be able to sprout. 12. Mulch Another one from the smothering camp, a good layer of mulch will keep your soil moist, healthy and weed-free. It also blocks out the sunshine weeds need to grow while leaving the surrounding plants untouched. Elbow grease Ok, so this isn’t actually something you put on the weeds, but it’s all you really need to get rid of most of them. Roll up your sleeves, put on some gloves and get pulling. Make sure you get the roots so they don’t grow straight back. Image: Unsplash / Josue Michel

Home & Garden

Dog lovers rejoice after "greedy" serial puppy farmer handed life ban

A serial puppy offender has faced sentencing over 17 charges of animal cruelty, with both a lifetime ban and thousands of dollars in fees included in her punishment. The 51-year-old woman from Bullsbrook, a northern suburb in Perth, had been breeding sick dogs in squalid conditions while charging their potential new owners thousands of dollars, and has now been banned from owning or breeding any more dogs for the rest of her life. For her cruel actions, the Perth Magistrates Court handed her a “10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, $25,000 in fines and an 18-month Intensive Supervision Order.” Additionally, the repeat offender - who has been in custody since April 14 after breaching the conditions of her bail - was also ordered to pay $24,279.11 in legal costs, as well as care and treatment costs totalling $18,241.01. The charges were in relation to 23 dogs who were seized from her property in June 2020 - with sought-after breeds including the likes of Maltese, shih-tzus, poodles, and cavalier King Charles spaniels among them. It wasn’t her first offence - instead her fourth - but her most recent was in 2014 when the RSPCA found 50 dogs at her former home, with 12 of the animals “hidden in a bunker three metres underground”. This time around, she had been trying to conceal her crimes. As the court heard in December, she has been moving the dogs between three different Bullbrook addresses in a bid to avoid detection. It was a display of “callous disregard or at least wilful blindness,” Magistrate Janie Gibbs said. RSPCA WA had launched their investigation into her after a member of the public reported their concerns - they had been trying to purchase a puppy through Gumtree, and had grown suspicious when they were informed they couldn’t visit the dog at home. From there, RSPCA WA seized 32 dogs from the woman’s property - of which there were four adult males, 19 adult females, and nine puppies - with the majority of them showing signs of being “underweight, unkempt, or unwell”, and nearly all of them suffering from “ear infections and/or dental disease and … matted, overgrown hair”. Two did not survive, and five of them were pregnant, giving birth to 22 more puppies in the weeks to follow. All have been in the foster care of RSPCA WA while the case went on. As RSPCA WA Executive Manager Animal and Enforcement Operations Hannah Dreaver explained, the woman responsible had been operating a profit-driven business, and had been placing her income well above the welfare of the dogs in her care. “This included using several locations to hide this operation from both authorities and potential puppy buyers,” she added. “All were popular breeds selling for thousands of dollars. These dogs were making her a fortune and she was treating them as nothing more than money-making machines, having litter after litter without proper care. “Please, if you want to get a dog, consider adoption from the RSPCA or another reputable rescue organisation first. If you do decide to buy a puppy, never buy online and never buy sight unseen. “Always meet your new puppy and its mum in the home where it’s being raised.” Images: RSPCA WA

Family & Pets

Attention plant killers: new research shows your plants could be silently screaming at you

If you’re like me, you’ve managed to kill even the hardiest of indoor plants (yes, despite a doctorate in plant biology). But imagine a world where your plants actually told you exactly when they needed watering. This thought, as it turns out, may not be so silly after all. You might be familiar with the growing body of work that <a href="https://theconversation.com/heard-it-on-the-grapevine-the-mysterious-chatter-of-plants-6292">provides evidence for</a> plants being able to sense sounds around them. Now, new research suggests they can also generate airborne sounds in response to stress (such as from drought, or being cut). A team led by experts at Tel Aviv University has shown tomato and tobacco plants, among others, not only make sounds, but do so loudly enough for other creatures to hear. Their findings, <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00262-3">published today</a> in the journal Cell, are helping us tune into the rich acoustic world of plants – one that plays out all round us, yet never quite within human earshot. <h2>Plants can listen, but now they can talk!</h2> Plants are “sessile” organisms. They can’t run away from stressors such as herbivores or drought. Instead, they’ve evolved complex biochemical responses and the ability to dynamically alter their growth (and regrow body parts) in response to environmental signals including light, gravity, temperature, touch, and volatile chemicals produced by surrounding organisms. These signals help them maximise their growth and reproductive success, prepare for and resist stress, and form mutually beneficial relationships with other organisms such as fungi and bacteria. In 2019, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/flowers-can-hear-bees-and-make-their-nectar-sweeter">researchers showed</a> the buzzing of bees can cause plants to produce sweeter nectar. Others <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15592324.2017.1368938">have shown</a> white noise played to Arabidopsis, a flowering plant in the mustard family, can trigger a drought response. Now, a team led by Lilach Hadany, who also led the aforementioned bee-nectar study, has recorded airborne sounds produced by tomato and tobacco plants, and five other species (grapevine, henbit deadnettle, pincushion cactus, maize and wheat). These sounds were ultrasonic, in the range of 20-100 kilohertz, and therefore can’t be detected <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10924/">by human ears</a>. <h2>Stressed plants chatter more</h2> To carry out their research, the team placed microphones 10cm from plant stems that were either exposed to drought (less than 5% soil moisture) or had been severed near the soil. They then compared the recorded sounds to those of unstressed plants, as well as empty pots, and found stressed plants emitted significantly more sounds than unstressed plants. In a cool addition to their paper, they also included a soundbite of a recording, downsampled to an audible range and sped up. The result is a distinguishable “pop” sound. The number of pops increased as drought stress increased (before starting to decline as the plant dried up). Moreover, the sounds could be detected from a distance of 3-5 metres – suggesting potential for long-range communication. <h2>But what actually causes these sounds?</h2> While this remains unconfirmed, the team’s findings suggest that “cavitation” may be at least partially responsible for the sounds. Cavitation is the process through which air bubbles expand and burst inside a plant’s water-conducting tissue, or “xylem”. This explanation makes sense if we consider that drought stress and cutting will both alter the water dynamics in a plant stem. Regardless of the mechanism, it seems the sounds produced by stressed plants were informative. Using machine learning algorithms, the researchers could distinguish not only which species produced the sound, but also what type of stress it was suffering from. It remains to be seen whether and how these sound signals might be involved in plant-to-plant communication or plant-to-environment communication. The research has so far failed to detect any sounds from the woody stems of woody species (which includes many tree species), although they could detect sounds from non-woody parts of a grapevine (a woody species). <h2>What could it mean for ecology, and us?</h2> It’s temping to speculate these airborne sounds could help plants communicate their stress more widely. Could this form of communication help plants, and perhaps wider ecosystems, adapt better to change? Or perhaps the sounds are used by other organisms to detect a plant’s health status. Moths, for example, hear within the ultrasonic range and lay their eggs on leaves, as the researchers point out. Then there’s the question of whether such findings could help with future food production. The <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/sitecollectiondocuments/abares/publications/Outlook2012FoodDemand2050.pdf">global demand</a> for food will only rise. Tailoring water use to target individual plants or sections of field making the most “noise” could help us more sustainably intensify production and minimise waste. For me personally, if someone could give a microphone to my neglected veggie patch and have the notifications sent to my phone, that would be much appreciated! Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/attention-plant-killers-new-research-shows-your-plants-could-be-silently-screaming-at-you-202833" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Home & Garden

Study reveals the star sign most likely to be serial killers

Keep your friends close and your Taurus friends even closer as a new study has revealed they’re the most homicidal zodiac sign. The Mirror conducted a murder astrological sign analysis and found the majority of serial killers are born between April 20 to May 20, making them a Taurus. “[Taurus] are devoted, patient and hard-working, traits which can make for a great personality in someone who is stable and good-natured, and an evil manipulator in someone who is not,” the paper reads. Several murderers share the Taurus sign, including America’s first modern serial killer H.H Holmes, Canadian child-killer Karla Homolka and London Mail Bomber David Copeland. Those who share the Cancer star sign were found to be the least likely to be serial killers. However, it's clear that killing is not exclusive to Taurses - here is a list of notable serial killers according to each sign. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Lee Boyd Malvo, Joel Rifkin, Luis Alfredo Garavito Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): John Wayne Gacy, Aileen Wuornos Aries (March 21-April 19): Alexander Pichushkin, John Reginald Christie Taurus (April 20-May 20): H.H. Holmes, Michael Ryan, Albert Fish, David Copeland, Levi Bellfield, Robert Black, Steve Wright, Orville Lynn Majors Gemini (May 21-June 20): Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz, Ted Kaczynski Cancer (June 21-July 22): Robert Maudsley Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Myra Hindley, Anatoly Onoprienko Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Ed Gein, Albert DeSalvo, Henry Lee Lucas Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Fred West, Beverley Allitt Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Moses Sithole, Robert Pickton, Fritz Haarman Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Ted Bundy, Dennis Nilsen, Rose West Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): John Allen Muhammad, Harold Shipman, Stephen Griffiths Treat your Taurus friends kindly, it’s not their fault they were born on such a “likely to be a serial killer” day! Image credit: Shutterstock

Mind

“Loving grandfather” ousted as serial rapist

A local Bondi grandfather has been ousted by police as a serial rapist - one of the worst in New South Wales. Following a long 40 years of investigations and using new technology for DNA as well as a shocking 12 crime scenes, Keith “Maggo” Simms has been identified as a serial rapist. Dubbed “The Beast of Bondi”, Simms is believed to have raped and terrorised more than 30 women in Sydney's eastern suburbs from 1986 to 2001. He died earlier this year on February 20 at the age of 66. When Simms was ready to attack a woman, he would wear a balaclava and approach them with a knife, putting a hand across their mouth and threatening to kill them. It was only in 2016, when police received a weak DNA match to a relative of Simms, that they were eventually able to tie the crimes back to him. Unfortunately for his victims, Simms died before police were able to question him and get them some form of justice. His family also had no idea and referred to him as a “loving family man”, and when his wife found out she was shocked. “His family had no idea at all … we met with his wife and she was absolutely shocked,” Detective Sergeant Shelley Johns, from Strike Force Doreen said, The Daily Telegraph reported. Sex Crimes squad boss Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty said that despite his death, it gives his victims a peace of mind knowing he’s not out there anymore. “It was important for the victim survivors and that is why we persevered. We wanted to let them know we were not just guessing it was him. It also meant we are not still looking for someone that is still out there,” she said. “So those women who are walking down the street and are still wondering: Is that him? They now know that person is deceased.” Images: The Daily Telegraph

Legal

Astronomers have detected another ‘planet killer’ asteroid. Could we miss one coming our way?

If you surfed the web this morning, you may have seen news of the latest existential threat to humanity: a “planet killer” asteroid named 2022 AP7. Luckily for us 2022 AP7 “has no chance to hit the Earth currently”, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/01/huge-planet-killer-asteroid-discovered-and-its-heading-our-way">according</a> to Scott Sheppard at the Carnegie Institution for Science. He and his international team of colleagues <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac8cff/pdf">observed 2022 AP7</a> in a trio of “rather large” asteroids obscured by the Sun’s glare (the other two don’t pose a risk). 2022 AP7 orbits the Sun every five years, and currently crosses Earth’s orbit when Earth is on the other side of the Sun to it. Eventually its movement will sync with Earth’s and it will cross much closer by, but this will be centuries into the future. We simply don’t know enough about 2022 AP7 to precisely predict the danger it may pose centuries from now. At the same time, we suspect there could be other “planet killers” out there yet to be discovered. But how many? And what’s being done to find them? What makes a planet killer? Asteroid 2022 AP7 is the largest potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) found in eight years, with a diameter between 1.1km and 2.3km. For context, an asteroid with a diameter more than 1km is enough to trigger a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_extinction_event">mass extinction event</a> on Earth. As well as having a diameter greater than 1km, an asteroid also needs to have an orbit that crosses Earth’s to be considered potentially dangerous. In the case of 2022 AP7, any threat is centuries down the track. The important point is it has been detected and can now be tracked. This is the best possible outcome. It is estimated we’ve already <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-world-first-nasas-dart-mission-is-about-to-smash-into-an-asteroid-what-will-we-learn-189391">discovered</a> about 95% of potentially hazardous asteroids, and that there are fewer than 1,000 of these. The work of Sheppard and colleagues highlights that hunting down the remaining 5% – some 50 asteroids – will be a massive effort. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492923/original/file-20221102-25180-74aqvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492923/original/file-20221102-25180-74aqvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492923/original/file-20221102-25180-74aqvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492923/original/file-20221102-25180-74aqvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492923/original/file-20221102-25180-74aqvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492923/original/file-20221102-25180-74aqvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492923/original/file-20221102-25180-74aqvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Statistically, there’s less of a chance of a larger asteroid colliding with Earth compared to a smaller one. NASA</figcaption></figure> What constitutes a near miss? NASA <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch">closely tracks</a> all known objects in the Solar System. But every now and again an object will catch us off guard. In 2021, we had a close call with an asteroid called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_UA1">2021 UA1</a>. It came only a few thousand kilometres from Earth, over the Antarctic. In cosmic terms, this is uncomfortably close. However, 2021 UA1 was only two metres across, and therefore posed no substantial risk. There are likely hundreds of millions of objects of this size in our Solar System, and it’s not uncommon for them to impact Earth. In these cases, most of the object burns up in the atmosphere and creates a spectacular light show, with little risk to life. In 2019 another <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-asteroid-just-buzzed-past-earth-and-we-barely-noticed-in-time-120972">asteroid</a> with a 100m diameter passed Earth some 70,000km away. It was publicly announced mere hours before it flew past. While it wasn’t as close, it was of a much more concerning size. These near misses reiterate how important it is for us to speed up the search for near-Earth objects. Blind spots The reason we haven’t already found every object that could one day pass nearby Earth is largely because of observational blind spots, and the fact we can’t observe all parts of the sky all the time. To find 2022 AP7, Sheppard and colleagues used a telescope at twilight soon after the Sun had set. They had to do this because they were looking for asteroids in the vicinity of Venus and Earth. Venus is currently on the <a href="https://theskylive.com/where-is-venus">other side of the Sun</a> to Earth. Making observations close to the Sun is difficult. The Sun’s glare overwhelms the weak light reflected off small asteroids – presenting a blind spot. But just before and after sunset, there’s a small window in which the Sun’s glare no longer blocks the view. Right now there are only about 25 asteroids known to have well-determined orbits that lie entirely within Earth’s orbit. More are likely to be discovered, and these may contribute significantly to the missing 5% of potentially hazardous asteroids. The Near-Earth Object Surveyor A recent NASA mission spectacularly demonstrated that humans can purposefully change the trajectory of an asteroid. NASA’s DART (<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/dart/dart-news">Double Asteroid Redirection Test</a>) mission collided a vending-machine-sized spacecraft into a 160m diameter minor-planet moon called Dimorphos. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492925/original/file-20221102-28436-f16d5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492925/original/file-20221102-28436-f16d5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492925/original/file-20221102-28436-f16d5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492925/original/file-20221102-28436-f16d5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492925/original/file-20221102-28436-f16d5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492925/original/file-20221102-28436-f16d5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492925/original/file-20221102-28436-f16d5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>The DART spacecraft successfully collided with Dimorphos, which itself was orbiting a larger asteroid named Didymos. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben</figcaption></figure> The collision altered Dimorphos’s 12-hour orbital period by more than 30 minutes, and was declared a resounding success. So it’s plausible for humans to redirect a hazardous asteroid if we find one. That said, we’d have to find it well in advance. Potentially hazardous asteroids are much larger than Dimorphos, so a bigger collision would be required with plenty of lead time. To do this, NASA has plans to survey for potentially hazardous objects using a telescope in space. Its <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/near-earth-object-surveyor">Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor</a>, scheduled to launch in 2026, will be able to survey the Solar System very efficiently – including within blind spots caused by the Sun. That’s because the glare we see while observing from Earth is caused by Earth’s atmosphere. But in space there’s no atmosphere to look through. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492932/original/file-20221102-26-zoxo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492932/original/file-20221102-26-zoxo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492932/original/file-20221102-26-zoxo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492932/original/file-20221102-26-zoxo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492932/original/file-20221102-26-zoxo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492932/original/file-20221102-26-zoxo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492932/original/file-20221102-26-zoxo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>The NEO Surveyor spacecraft won’t have the issue of observational blind spots when hunting for asteroids. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona</figcaption></figure> It’s very likely the Near-Earth Object Surveyor will reveal new objects, and help us characterise a large number of objects to greatly improve our understanding of threats. The key is to find as many objects as possible, categorise them, track the risks, and plan a redirection mission as much in advance as possible. The fact that all of these elements of planetary defence are now a reality is an amazing feat of science and engineering. It is the first time in human history we have these capabilities.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193709/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Steven Tingay. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/astronomers-have-detected-another-planet-killer-asteroid-could-we-miss-one-coming-our-way-193709" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine

Technology

‘Gone Girl’ fans can get their fix on killer-themed cruise

For fans of the author Gillian Flynn, the mind behind the thrilling novel Gone Girl, this cruise is for you. Flynn’s award-winning book, about a woman faking her own murder to frame her husband, earned actors Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike a string of accolades for their roles in the blockbuster adaptation. For those who can’t get enough of her stories, which include Sharp Objects and Dark Places, Flynn will be joining passengers on an eight-day cruise down the Danube River. “I am very excited about this,” Flynn told Today Extra. “Along the way I will be telling some stories and doing readings and answering questions about writing, anything about writing in general. “I’m always up to talk about books.” Flynn marked the ten-year anniversary of Gone Girl’s release in May, sharing with fans what a sequel could look like. “Today is the ten-year anniversary of Gone Girl. What am I thinking about?” she wrote on Instagram. “In Gone Girl chronology, Nick and Amy’s child would be close to 16 years old now. I keep wondering what a teenager raised by Amazing Amy would be like… and I’m chilled… in a good way.” Along with spending time with the acclaimed author, passengers on the cruise will be able to take part in various activities and day trips, as the cruise makes stops in Budapest, Visegrad, Vienna, Krems and Grein. The cruise, set to depart on September 15, will set passengers back $4,238 ($NZD 4,723) each and includes seven servings of breakfast and dinner, and six lunches. It is one of Avalon Waterways’ series of Storyteller cruises, with upcoming trips featuring comical novelist <a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/storybook-scenery-sarcasm-satire/WZA-T2/?season=2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christopher Moore</a> and musical group <a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/active-discovery-on-the-rhine-with-sister-hazel-northbound/WWA-T2/?season=2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sister Hazel</a>. To find out more about the killer cruise, head <a href="https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/europe-river-cruises/active-discovery-on-the-danube-gillian-flynn-WBLT?season=2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Images: @thegillianflynn (Instagram)

Cruising

Fresh heartache as Oatlands killer wins appeal

The drunk and drugged driver who ran over a group of children in Sydney’s north-west over two years ago has had his sentenced reduced on appeal. The Abdallah siblings Antony, Sienna and Angelina and their cousin Veronique Sakr died in February 2020 when Samuel Davidson ran them over on a footpath as they were walking to get ice cream. He pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the four children, as well as a raft of other charges. He was sentenced to a maximum of 28 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 21 years. Following an appeal, the maximum sentence was reduced by eight years taking it to 20 years, with a non-parole period of 15 years. Making him eligible for parole in January 2035. At the time of his initial sentence, Judge James Bennett said Davidson’s dangerous and aggressive driving showed a complete lack of care and concern for the safety of others. “The magnitude of the tragedy extended to the unimaginable” said Judge Bennett. Image: Instagram

Legal

"He should never be released": Ben Fordham speaks out against killer's parole

The heartbroken parents whose teenage daughter was brutally killed by a 16-year-old boy have spoken about her killer potentially being released on parole. Tania Burgess was on her way home from school on the Central Coast on July 19, 2005 when a 16-year-old boy followed and stabbed her 48 times before running off. The school girl named her killer in her dying moments, who was then found and sentenced to 22 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 17 years. The sentence was appealed and reduced by four years. The killer, known only as DL because he was a minor at the time of the murder, has been eligible for parole since 2018 and this is his last chance of it being granted. Tania’s parents Mandy and Chris spoke to 2GB’s Ben Fordham saying DL’s release would be a “shock”. “It’s hard to comprehend that, first of all, DL has never really admitted any kind of remorse. And yet his time is up. He may be set free,” Mandy said. “He will never own the crime that he did. He virtually is unnamed as DL. (He’ll) just wipe 17 years off and start a new life, yet we lost our daughter.” Fordham said the community would “be in danger from this person” as Mandy reflected on what her daughter’s life may have been. “You can only dream what kind of life she might have had,” she continued. “She was such a beautiful, caring, loving teenager. She could have maybe become a nurse, or some kind of health community worker. It’s hard to say. She loved her ballet. She might have been a ballerina. “You can only let your imagination run really wild. But she was taken away from us. She was just a girl. She was just starting to bloom at 15. She was stolen. “I try to block out those horrible images of what we saw that day, and remember Tania for who she was. Not what we saw, not what he did, but for what she was at the time. She was a beautiful, loving, caring girl, just starting her life.” “The reality is that he should never be released,” Fordham responded. DL’s case has two options - either he is granted supervised parole, or he can walk free at the end of his sentence without supervision. Mandy said it would probably be better that DL be monitored to see what he’s like in public saying it would be “frightening” to know if he was out there not being supervised. Images: Nine News

Legal

Charlise Mutten's alleged killer facing fresh charges

The man accused of murdering nine-year-old schoolgirl Charlise Mutten earlier this year has been hit with new charges. Jason Stein was <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/man-charged-with-murder-of-missing-9-year-old" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged with the murder of his fiancé’s daughter</a> in January, after the little girl’s body was discovered in a barrel near the Colo River, about an hour from the Blue Mountains where she had disappeared from. After his arrest, police conducted a search in the bushland near Mt Wilson - the area where Charlise was last seen - and found two firearms and ammunition, which was seized and forensically examined. Police then visited Silverwater prison and arrested the 31-year-old, charging him with two counts of possessing an unregistered firearm, two for possessing an unauthorised firearm, possessing ammunition without a licence or permit, and aggravated break and enter in company. Mr Stein has also been charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material for unrelated matters. Meanwhile, investigations continue under Strike Force Buena, which was established to investigate Charlise’s disappearance. Images: 9News / Twitter

News

Oatlands killer appeals severity of sentence

The drug and alcohol-riddled driver who killed four children after crashing into them on their way to the local shops has launched an appeal to decrease the severity of his sentence. On Monday, Samuel Davidson appealed the minimum 21-year sentence he was given for the manslaughter of Veronique Sakr, 11, and her cousins, siblings Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna Abdallah, 8, when they were struck by his car as they walked to get ice cream near Oatlands golf course in February 2020. When the accident occurred, Davidson was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and driving erratically before he mounted the footpath and struck the group of children. Davidson pled guilty to a host of charges around the deaths in October 2020, and was sentenced in April 2021. Davidson had no criminal history before the accident, a point his barrister Stephen Odgers used in Monday’s appeal to argue that his sentence was unreasonable. He also argued that Davidson’s diagnosis of ADHD, which he said made him prone to reckless behaviour, was not properly considered by the sentencing judge. At the time he was sentenced, Davidson was 30 years old and is not set to be released until he is at least 51. “That is a crushing sentence,” Odgers said. The parents of the Abdallah children were not present at the appeal hearing, however Veronique’s mother Bridget Sakr was in attendance at the court. “Our sentence is for the rest of our lives. Our suffering is every day,” she said. Bridget Sakr’s husband David Mackenzie said on Monday that the sentence sent an important message. “There are no comparable cases to our case, sadly,” Mackenzie said. “That’s why our case is so important. Because it sets a benchmark.” Image credits: Instagram / 7News

News

Hunt for Easter Show killer taken over by homicide squad

The investigation into the violent Easter Show murder of teenager Uati Faletolu has escalated to the homicide squad, with dedicated investigators taking charge of the case . The 17-year-old was taking a break from working on one of the carnival rides at the Easter Show when he was targeted in the brawl that ended in the <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/easter-show-chaos-one-teen-dead-one-in-hospital-one-arrested" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stabbing</a> and his eventual death en route to the hospital around 8pm on Monday April 11th. Forensic examiners have investigated the scene but have yet to find significant clues leading them in the direction of the killer. The dedicated homicide detectives, working in partnership with local police, are now focusing on video of the violent incident, calling on witnesses to submit any evidence to Crime Stoppers. Homicide Squad boss Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said investigators were working meticulously through hours of CCTV and other vision to identify those involved in the incident. “Of the vision we have already reviewed, we know there was a significant amount of people filming the incident, many of whom have not yet supplied the vision to police,” Det Supt Doherty said. “In our experience, it is likely that someone – or many people – has unknowingly captured a clear shot of something of relevance to the investigation.” He said investigators were often faced with silence as perpetrators or victims were often “misguided by loyalties or fear of retribution”. Friends of Mr Faletolu told police they believed the attackers were from the rival postcode of Mt Druitt (2770). Uati, 17, has since been linked to the Doonside gang known as 67 for its postcode 2767. Detectives have appealed to anyone who was in the carnival area at the time of the brawl and hasn’t yet spoken to police to come forward. Image credits: Instagram

News

"Rot in hell": Charlise Mutten's alleged killer attacked online

A Facebook post from 2020 announcing the engagement of Charlise Mutten's alleged killer, Justin Stein, and her mother, Kallista Mutten, has been inundated with death threats and violent messages. After a five-day search for nine-year-old Charlise, NSW Police confirmed the worst when her body was found in a barrel in bushland near the Blue Mountains where she went missing. Shortly after her body was found, Justin Stein was arrested for murder, but major questions still linger about the case. Police have been unable to interview Charlise's mother Kallista, who remains under medical supervision and remains "difficult to approach", according to police. As news of Justin Stein's arrest broke, a Facebook post from December 2020 sharing news of Justin and Kallista's engagement has been flooded with hateful messages, with many telling the 31-year-old man to "rot in hell". The post has attracted over 2,000 comments with people sending death threats and photos of nooses, all while seeking vengeance for the slain nine-year-old girl. One person wrote, “I hope you only know pure hell for the rest of your days!”, while another said, “Monster! Hope you rot in jail.” Others shared their sadness and disbelief over Charlise's death, with one person saying, “What a broken world! That poor precious girl deserved so much better in this world! Rest easy little one, no one will ever hurt you again.” A milestone post announcing the couple's new relationship, which began just one month before their engagement, has attracted a slew of similar comments. Charlise usually lives with her grandmother in the Queensland town of Coolangatta, but was spending time with her mother and step-father over the school holidays. Image credits: Facebook

News

Parents of accused killer break their silence

Image: 9News Justin Stein, who grew up among Sydney’s affluent elite, had a “tortured” life, his mum says, as her son remains behind bars, charged with murdering his stepdaughter. Annemie Stein said she had not approved of her son’s turbulent relationship with Charlise’s mother, ex-ice addict Kallista Mutten. They had been together for just over a year. “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink, or choose their partners, and sometimes it ends up in a headache like this one,” Ms Stein, 56, said from her home in Sydney’s inner-west. “Justin’s had a pretty tortured life.” “It would hurt anyone (to have a child go through this), it doesn’t matter who you are it would hurt you because parents know their children and, you know, as I said, the mother is the one they need to talk to.” Kallista Mutten remains under medical supervision in hospital. Kallista's mother said that Charlise was soon to be her step-granddaughter before she was allegedly murdered and her body stuffed in a barrel. She says was: “A lovely little girl and beautiful little girl and definitely didn’t deserve this.” Meanwhile, in rural NSW, Justin Stein’s father James Stein revealed he had not seen his son for some time. James Stein Snr, who split with Annemie Stein more than a decade ago, now runs an antique shop at Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains with his partner. It appears the family has been torn in two for a number of years. His oldest son, James Jnr, and his partner Keegan Buzza, are also understood not to have seen Justin since about 2016. Together the Steins still own the luxurious Wildenstein wedding venue where Charlise was staying for a holiday when she went missing. Having had little to do with his son in recent times, James Stein Snr said he had never met young Charlise, but was left “heartbroken” by her death: “Absolutely heartbroken. It‘s a tragedy. I’d never met her, so there you go. "I‘m a father... I hope you never have to go through circumstances like these.” Ms Mutten lost custody of Charlise in 2018 while she was serving a minimum of two years two months for dangerous driving causing death while high on ice.

News

Charlise Mutten's accused killer fronts court with two requests

The man accused of murdering his stepdaughter Charlise Mutten has made two requests via his lawyers, including that he be kept separate from other prisoners while in custody. Nine-year-old Charlise’s body was found on Tuesday night in a barrel near the Colo River - about an hour from where she disappeared on a private property in Mount Wilson, in NSW's Blue Mountains, last week. Justin Stein <a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.co.nz/news/news/man-charged-with-murder-of-missing-9-year-old" target="_blank">was arrested</a> by police that night, before appearing in Central Local Court on Wednesday morning. Mr Stein did not apply for bail, and it was formally refused. His barrister told Magistrate Robert Williams that the 31-year-old needed his medication for mental health issues while in custody, and that Stein was concerned for his own safety. “The other matter I’m instructed to raise relates to his concerns for personal safety in custody,” the barrister <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10419847/Charlise-Mutten-Stepdad-Justin-Stein-fears-safety-prison-charged-murder.html" target="_blank">said</a>. “He has asked the court to recommend a no association classification.” However, Magistrate Williams said Corrective Services could only separate the accused from other prisoners. The barrister also requested a 12-week adjournment from the court to seek a mental health assessment for Mr Stein, noting his “long-term medication”. The hearing comes after police alleged Mr Stein drove around Sydney with Charlise’s body in the back of a boat for hours while he tried to find a place to dump her, the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nsw/charlise-muttens-accused-killer-justin-stein-drove-around-sydney-with-her-body/news-story/79a4494a4ac0a842b010f7df7c3716a4" target="_blank">Daily Telegraph</a> reports. It is understood that detectives believe her mother Kallista Mutten had left Charlise in her fiance Mr Stein’s care on Tuesday night - the last time she was confirmed to be alive. Police will allege that Charlise was killed within 15 hours, sometime between 7 pm on Tuesday, January 11 and 10 am Wednesday, January 12. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846933/charlise1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/fc6373651a4841a2b9c62fa63db7d754" /> Dozens of volunteers from the NSW Rural Fire Service and SES joined police to search for Charlise Mutten before her body was found on Tuesday. Image: NSW Rural Fire Service (Facebook) The young girl was then reported missing from the Blue Mountains property where she was holidaying with her mother and stepfather on Friday morning. Her grandparents, who live in Coolangatta on Queensland’s Gold Coast, had full time custody of Charlise and have been notified. Detectives have said they are still waiting to speak to Ms Mutten because she is under “medical supervision” in hospital and is “difficult to approach”. “The mother is currently under healthcare and is difficult to approach,” Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson said. “She’s under medical supervision, but when doctors allow, we will be talking to her.” Mr Hudson also said it was too early to determine whether Mr Stein had an accomplice or acted alone, though police were able to trace Mr Stein’s movements using CCTV. The deputy commissioner said police were able to establish certain facts about Mr Stein’s movements after tracking a car they seized via CCTV. He allegedly bought five 20kg sandbags from Bunnings, fuelled up a boat, and attempted to launch it from a dock in inner Sydney. Police then allege that Mr Stein attempted to dump the barrel containing Charlise’s body in the Colo River after finding the boat was inoperable. However, they allege he was unable to roll it in due to the heavy sandbags, instead dumping Charlise in the scrub where she was later found. At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Mr Hudson said authorities will allege that Mr Stein discussed buying sandbags and boat fuel in “a number of telephone conversations” before he travelled to the riverbed where his stepdaughter was found. “(There were) a number of telephone conversations, to purchase a number of sandbags,” Mr Hudson said. Police were initially investigating a number of “anomalies” they claimed to find in Mr Stein’s initial testimony, including allegedly giving two separate versions of events leading up to Charlise’s disappearance. More details about the young girl’s death and final moments are expected to emerge in the coming days, after her post-mortem results are shared with detectives. Image: NSW Police / Facebook

Legal

Group of cold case investigators claim they’ve identified the Zodiac Killer

A group of 40 former law enforcement investigators that calls itself The Case Breakers is claiming to have discovered the identity of the Zodiac Killer. The group, which works independently from law enforcement agencies and focuses primarily on cold cases, said they discovered his identity using new physical and forensic evidence and information from eyewitnesses. According to a press release, the man in question is Gary Francis Poste, who they believe passed away in 2018. <a rel="noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/06/us/zodiac-killer-identity-law-enforcement-investigation/index.html" target="_blank">CNN’s attempts</a> to contact members of the family were unsuccessful. The group has reportedly filed court affidavits and secured decades’ worth of pictures from the man’s former darkroom. Their proof includes a furrowed forehead on the sketch artist’s drawing that matches Poste’s brow scarring, an allegation that one of the Zodiac’s mysterious ciphers could possibly be unlocked using Poste’s full identity, and claims that Poste may have killed a waitress named Cheri Jo Bates, an assumed (but not confirmed) Zodiac victim. Social media users have found traces of Poste online, including a memorial post made by a friend of his in November 2018 accompanied by a caption that includes ‘Zodiac?’, as well as a forum post also made in November 2018 by seemingly the same man, identifying Poste as the Zodiac killer. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> The funniest thing about them identifying the Zodiac killer is apparently some guy knew it was him and was just like hanging out with him <a href="https://t.co/ecjanXUjev">pic.twitter.com/ecjanXUjev</a> — Quinton Reviews 🎬 (@Q_Review) <a href="https://twitter.com/Q_Review/status/1445837540620218369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://t.co/kBPEI8GY6o">pic.twitter.com/kBPEI8GY6o</a> — Sibs (@SibsSwearsAlot) <a href="https://twitter.com/SibsSwearsAlot/status/1445844112188403713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2021</a></blockquote> In response to the news, the San Francisco Police Department confirmed to CNN that the investigation is still open, saying in a statement, "We are unable to speak to potential suspects as this is still an open investigation.” The FBI also did not acknowledge the claims, writing in a statement shared with CNN, "The Zodiac Killer case remains open. We have no new information to share at the moment.” Meanwhile, at least one Zodiac expert has called the identification ‘hot garbage’, with Tom Voigt, writer of Zodiac Killer: Just the Facts and owner of ZodiacKiller.com telling <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/zodiac-killer-expert-debunks-identity-theory-1238068/" target="_blank">Rolling Stone</a>, “It’s all bullshit, by the best way, simply to get that out of the best way. This is sizzling rubbish. I don’t know why it received any protection in any respect. It was principally a press launch.” The Zodiac Killer is believed to be responsible for at least five murders that occurred in Northern California between 1968 and 1969. He gained notoriety, including the nickname ‘Zodiac Killer’, by writing letters to police and local news outlets boasting of committing the murders, including letters written in code.

Legal

“I can never forgive you”: Sarah Everard’s parents face her killer in court

Warning: This story contains graphic content which may disturb some readers. Sarah Everard was murdered on the evening on March 3rd in London, after being pulled over by a police officer. That officer, 48-year-old Wayne Couzens, went on to kidnap, rape and murder 33-year-old Sarah in cold blood. Six months after the disturbing and heinous crime, Couzens had his day in court after <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/deeply-disturbing-police-officer-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murder" target="_blank">pleading guilty in July</a>. The in court room was Sarah's parents and sister, who demanded that Couzens face them as they read out their devastating victim impacts statements to the court. "Sarah died in horrendous circumstances," Sarah's mother, Susan Everard, told the court. "I am tormented at the thought of what she endured." "In her last hours she was faced with brutality and terror, alone with someone intent on doing her harm." "The thought of it is unbearable – I am haunted by the horror of it." Sarah's father Jeremy said he would never forgive Couzens for what he did to his daughter. "The horrendous murder of my daughter, Sarah, is in my mind all the time and will be for the rest of my life," he said. "Sarah was handcuffed and unable to defend herself. This preys on my mind all the time." "I can never forgive you for what you have done, for taking Sarah away from us." Before Couzens' sentencing began, Metropolitan Police, who Couzens had worked for at the time of Sarah's murder, released a statement saying the force was "sickened, angered and devastated" by his crimes and that he betrayed "everything we stand for". On the night of Sarah's murder, Couzens' had stopped Sarah as she was walking home from a friend's house in the south London borough of Clapham. While off duty, Couzens stopped her under the guise of her breaching COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown rules, when he then handcuffed Sarah and put her in the car. After he brutally raped and killed the innocent woman, he strangled her with his police belt sometime before 2:30am. He later burned her body and clothes inside an old refrigerator before putting her remains inside builders' bags and dumping them. Her body was found in woodland in Ashford, Kent, about 100 kilometres south-east of London, a week after she went missing. While in London's Old Bailey court, prosecutor Tom Little condemned his actions. "His movements were consistent with the defendant looking for, or hunting, for a lone young female to kidnap and rape, which is precisely what he did." Image credit: Metropolitan Police

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Serial killer too dangerous to set free

Known as the ‘Cowboy killer,’ Regina Arthurell will be supervised for another two years after a Supreme Court judge found it would be far too dangerous to set her free. Arthurell was jailed and served almost 24 years behind bars as Reginald Arthurell but recently she’s transitioned to a woman. Arthurell was sentenced to jail for bashing to death her fiancée, Venet Mulhall, at Coonabarabran in 1995. At the time, Arthurell was on parole for killing her stepfather and a sailor in the 1970s and '80s. As Arthurell came to the end of her sentence, she underwent a hearing and Justice Richard Button ruled: "In light of the established pattern of fatal harm being repeatedly inflicted by the defendant that began approaching 50 years ago, for her to be completely at liberty in the community would simply be far too dangerous." The state was seeking a three-year order but was granted two years. This judgement was made despite the fact Arthurell is now 75 years old and in poor physical health. "A frail, even physically disabled, person can inflict fatal harm once armed with a weapon," Justice Button said. Arthurell will be subject to 47 conditions, which include electronic monitoring and alcohol rehabilitation. "The defendant, as I have said, is leading a very difficult, lonely life," Justice Button said, adding: "It is not unrealistic to think that she might begin to seek solace in alcohol, with potentially disastrous consequences." Image: Twitter

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Serial killer too dangerous to set free

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Health

Lifestyle

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Entertainment

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Keep up to date

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Woman launches true crime podcast to find her father's killer

Life behind bars ﻿for serial killer nurse

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Attention plant killers: new research shows your plants could be silently screaming at you

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