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

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

Legal

"Not much of me left": Elton John's grim health confession

Elton John has made a blunt admission about his health battles. The 77-year-old singer opened up about his many health issues in a speech at the screening of his new documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, at the New York Film Festival on Tuesday. “To be honest with you, there’s not much of me left,” Elton told the audience. “I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix,” he continued, according to <a href="https://people.com/elton-john-jokes-not-much-of-me-left-listing-missing-organs-documentary-premiere-8721741" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a> magazine. “I don’t have a prostate. I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. “But I’m still here,” Elton continued. “And I can’t thank you [enough], you’re the people that made me.” The documentary is directed by his husband David Furnish, and American filmmaker R.J. Cutler. Throughout the years Elton has struggled with his health, and just last month he revealed he was recovering from a "severe eye infection" that affected his vision. This occured after he underwent knee and hip replacement surgery. The I'm Still Standing singer also got a pacemaker fitted in back in the 90s, and was hospitalised for influenza and a bacterial infection in 2009. In 2013 he had an abscess on his appendix, and three years later he had suffered from "gastric flu". In addition to all of these health woes he has dealt with hearing loss caused by years of touring. The singer also talked about his retirement from touring at the premiere of his new documentary, following a successful five years of performances and more than 300 shows worldwide. “As you know, I decided to stop touring because I’m 77 years of age,” he said. “I’ve done all there is to do, to play. I’ve succeeded. I’ve been there and I’ve done it.” The documentary explores his 50-year career leading up to his final North American show at Dodger Stadium in 2022. It is set to stream on Disney+ in the US on December 13. ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA-EFE/ Shutterstock Editorial

Caring

Maddie McCann suspect’s cellmate shares shocking confession

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann allegedly confessed to a former cellmate that he once took a child from an apartment in Portugal. Christian Brueckner, a convicted German paedophile, has never formally been charged with the abduction of McCann but has long been the main suspect in the case. Brueckner, who was in and around the Praia da Luz resort area on the Algarve coast at the time McCann disappeared on May 3rd 2007, has denied any involvement with her disappearance. The 47-year-old is currently serving a seven-year sentence for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005, while also being on trial for several unrelated sexual offences he is alleged to have committed between 2000 and 2017. In court on Wednesday, Brueckner's former cellmate Laurentiu Codin claimed he opened up about his past while they were confiding in each other at Braunschweig Prison. “He told me that in Portugal, he had stolen there,” Codin told Braunschweig Regional Court, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/30657247/madeleine-mccann-brueckner-admitted-snatched-girl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link-type="article-inline">The Sun</a> reported. “He was in an area of hotels where rich people live ... and when he went to the hotel area, there was an open window somewhere, he told me. And he would have entered this window for money and gold." “However, he did not find any money, but came across a child and took it with him.” He claimed Bruckner said he “left the area” and “took the child with him ... and drove away, while the place was full of police and dogs”. “He drove off in the car and he was gone. He asked me if the DNA from a child could be taken from bones under the ground.” After the witness said Brueckner was clever, the defendant’s lawyer asked whether he thought it was clever to tell someone in prison about such crimes, to which Codin said: “Perhaps ... he misjudged me.” McCann disappeared from her bedroom on May 3, 2007, during a family holiday while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the resort of Praia da Luz. German police said in June 2020 that McCann was presumed dead and that Brueckner was likely responsible for it, however, he has not been charged with any crime related to her disappearance. Image credits: MGG/Shutterstock Editorial

Legal

99-year-old woman declared accessory to over 10,000 murders

A court in Germany has upheld the conviction of a 99-year-old woman who, during the Second World War, was the secretary to the SS commander at a Nazi concentration camp. The Federal Justice Court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of Irmgard Furchner, who was convicted of being an accessory to more than 10,000 murders and was given a two-year suspended sentence in December 2022. Furchner was accused of being a key part of the apparatus that helped the camp near Danzig, now the Polish city of Gdansk, function, and was subsequently convicted of being an accessory to murder in 10,505 cases and an accessory to attempted murder in five cases. At a federal court hearing in Leipzig in July, Furchner's lawyers cast doubt on whether she really was an accessory to crimes committed by the commander and other senior camp officials between 1943 and 1945, and on whether she had truly been aware of what was going on at Stutthof. The court said that judges were convinced that Furchner “knew and, through her work as a stenographer in the commandant’s office of the Stutthof concentration camp from June 1st 1943, to April 1st 1945, deliberately supported the fact that 10,505 prisoners were cruelly killed by gassings, by hostile conditions in the camp,” by transportation to the Auschwitz death camp and by being sent on death marches at the end of the war. Germany's main Jewish leader welcomed the ruling. “For Holocaust survivors, it is enormously important for a late form of justice to be attempted,” Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews, said in statement. “The legal system sent an important message today: even nearly 80 years after the Holocaust, no line can be drawn under Nazi crimes,” he added. During the original court proceedings, prosecutors said that Furchner’s trial may be the last of its kind, however, a special federal prosecutors’ office in Ludwigsburg tasked with investigating Nazi-era war crimes says three more cases are pending with prosecutors or courts in various parts of Germany. With any suspects now at a very advanced age, questions increasingly arise over suspects’ fitness to stand trial. Image credits: Sky News

Legal

Shocking theory behind grandma's broad daylight murder-suicide

Warning: This article contains distressing content that some readers may find upsetting. Court papers have revealed the sinister reason behind why a grandmother allegedly killed her daughter-in-law before killing herself. Terminally ill ex-probation officer Kathleen Leigh, 65, fatally shot 45-year-old Marisa Galloway, who shares a child with Leigh’s son, Zachariah Reed, on a New York street before taking her own life. Now Ms Galloway’s grieving parents, Nancy and John, have filed an emergency court petition claiming Mr Reed has run off to his “multimillion-dollar home” in Chicago with their grandchild Lili under the pretext of “mourning” his mother’s death. He has also barred the Galloways from any contact, either in person or via technology, with the child. “Clearly, [Mr Reed’s] mother had a deliberate plan to kill Marisa in order to provide custody for her son,” the court papers charge, according to an exclusive report by the <a title="nypost.com" href="https://nypost.com/2024/08/18/us-news/killer-nyc-granny-carried-out-slay-suicide-to-give-son-full-custody-of-child-heartbreaking-suit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. “Unfortunately, [Mr Reed] has demonstrated an absolute intention to further those same goals of his mother as he has refused to provide us with any access to Lili at all in almost 3 weeks.” According to legal papers filed on Friday, the grandparents, who live a 12 hour drive away in New Jersey, are asking a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to pass on Marisa’s parenting time, hashed out in a 2022 custody agreement with Mr Reed. They are also asking that Mr Reed be forced to live in the New York until Lili is 18 so that she can keep a close relationship with her grandparents and with her half-sister, Mariel, the 1-year-old daughter Marisa had with a sperm donor who currently lives with the grandparents. “While Marisa was always the best mother, we would love to be involved with all aspects of taking care of an infant, toddler, and ultimately the little girl that Lili currently is,” Nancy wrote. Nancy said she is “extremely uncomfortable” being forced to file the petition but worried Lili would become estranged from her mum’s side of the family if they didn’t intervene. The grandmother laid out the history of Marisa and Mr Reed’s “tumultuous relationship” since the pair split and their “contentious” custody battle while she also claimed the pair dated before Marisa became pregnant but said their relationship ended “driven by the interference of [Mr Reed’s] mother.” On the day of the heinous crime on July 26th 2024, Marisa was loading her car and had put Mariel in her seat with plans to visit her parents for a few days. She was approached by Leigh while she was putting something in the boot, and shot her once in the back of the head and again in the back before taking her own life. Before her heinous crime, Leigh scrawled a seven-page letter “For Police” describing how she felt Marisa was trying to alienate Lili from her dad and saying she suspected Marisa of abusing Lili, despite child services clearing Marisa in two probes launched by Mr Reed. “She took away the child’s mother in order to make her son happy … it’s shocking,” a law-enforcement source had told the New York Post of Leigh right after the alleged murder-suicide. Image credits: Manhattan Supreme Court

Legal

Teenager charged with murdering school girls at dance class identified

A court in the UK has identified the 17-year-old boy accused of going on a stabbing rampage at a <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/taylor-swift-in-shock-after-three-young-girls-killed-at-dance-class" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dance class </a>and killing three young girls. The court released the information on Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, a 17-year-old born in Cardiff, in order to stem the flow of misinformation about the suspect that ignited riots around the UK. The court said that while Rudakubana would not normally have been publicly named due to the fact that he is still a minor, they made an exception to quash the riots, while also taking into account that he is just days away from his 18th birthday. Unrest has been seen outside mosques as protesters target Muslims in the wake of the tragedy, causing police to again confirm that the teen was born in the UK. Police said his family are of Rwandan descent where 92 per cent of people identify as Christian, while only 2 per cent of Rwandans are Muslim. The horror began at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday in Southport, just north of Liverpool in England’s north west, when Rudakubana targeted the young girls and their families. Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar died after the knife rampage, while eight other children suffered stab wounds and five were in fighting for their life, alongside two adults who were critically injured. Following the tragedy, large crowds fought with police in the town close to where the tragedy had happened including outside a mosque after false reports emerged that the attacker was Muslim. Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff in Wales but lived in the town of Banks in Lancashire, close to Southport, has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and a knife possession charged. Image credits: Merseyside Police

Legal

Man arrested after BBC presenter's wife and children murdered

British police have apprehended the man they believe is responsible for a brutal crossbow attack on the wife and two children of a well-known BBC radio presenter. In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon (early Thursday AEST), Hertfordshire Police said 26-year-old Kyle Clifford had been located in the Enfield area of north London and that he was receiving medical treatment for injuries. The BBC confirmed that the women killed were the family of its well-known radio racing commentator John Hunt — his 61-year-old wife Carol Hunt and their daughters Louise and Hannah, aged 25 and 28 respectively. Their tragic death prompted a major manhunt for the 26-year-old, as the public were urged not to approach Clifford. "Following extensive inquiries, the suspect has been located and nobody else is being sought in connection with the investigation at this time," Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit said. "This continues to be an incredibly difficult time for the victims' family and we would ask that their privacy is respected as they come to terms with what has happened." A colleague of Hunt's and BBC 5 Live's lead presenter Mark Chapman struggled to hold back the tears as he expressed everyone's shock and pain. "We have a football match to bring you tonight ... and we will start our buildup to it shortly but this has been a heartbreaking day," he said as he opened Wednesday's coverage on 5 Live of England's semifinal match against The Netherlands in soccer's European Championship. "John Hunt is our colleague and our friend, not just to the current 5 Live sport team but to all of those who've worked here with him over the past 20 years, and also to all of you who have enjoyed his superb commentaries," Chapman said. "So on behalf of everyone connected to 5 Live Sport, our love and thoughts and support are with John and his family." Police were first alerted to the violent killings on Tuesday evening when emergency services were called to a house in Bushey, a residential area in north-western London. Paramedics tried to revive the women, but they died at the scene. While police have yet to establish a link between the suspect and the family, some British media outlets have claimed Clifford, who served in the British Army between 2019 and 2022, was an ex-boyfriend of one of the daughters. Image credits: Peter Manning/LNP/Shutterstock Editorial/Hertfordshire Police

Legal

Ted Bundy cold case finally solved after 51 years

In March 1973 the half-naked body of Ann Woodward was found brutally murdered on the floor inside the pub that she owned with her husband. The 46-year-old mother's body was discovered between two pool tables, with her shirt unbuttoned and pants used to strangle her. Her murder has haunted the small US desert town of Moab, Utah for over half a century. While police were never able to find her killer, they believed Ted Bundy was the likely culprit, as he had raped and killed multiple women in the area around the time of her death. While Bundy admitted to thirty murders, his real victim count is unknown. However, they had not been able to prove that he was the culprit due to a lack of evidence, so police assumed she was just another one of his unnamed victims. 25 other men, including Douglas Keith Chudomelka, had also been of interest to police after the crime, as witnesses spotted Chudomelka's sedan parked near the victims car on the night of the murder. However, when Chudomelka was interviewed the next day, he denied being at the bar, and insisted that he was at a nearby tavern. His girlfriend at the time, a woman named Joyce, also backed his statement and said he was home at the time of the murder on March 2, 1973. A few months later, Chudomelka was arrested on a domestic violence charge, with an angry Joyce claiming he had been the one who killed Ann Woodward, but she soon retracted her statement. With no new leads, the case went cold, but forward-thinking Police Chief Melvin Dalton, decided to keep DNA evidence from both the victim and all potential suspects anyways, in hopes that one day the right technology would be used to identify the killer. In 2006, Dalton reopened the case, but had no luck until September 2023, when Detective Jeremy Dexler decided to uncover the two boxes of evidence collected from the initial investigation and send it to the crime lab. The DNA evidence had sat at the Moab police department's storage units for over 50 years and was not easy to locate as it had been moved to another building. The evidence was crucial in solving the cold case. When results from the crime lab came back at the end of May 2024, they confirmed that a substantial amount of Chudomelka’s DNA was on the inside of Ann’s pants and on all of the buttons of her shirt. This was enough to confirm that Chudomelka was the one responsible for Ann Woodward's murder. He was 36 when he committed the crime. Chudomelka was not known to the victim, but Detective Drexler believes that he may have played a game of poker with Ann when he visited the pub, and may have been angry at her for beating him. He added that it could have also been a crime of opportunity rather than rage as he had a violent history. Detective Drexler praised Dalton's forward-thinking for being the reason why they solved the case. “This case hinged on the hair Dalton pulled in 1973,” Drexler said. “I have no idea how he knew that we would be able to do that today. Dalton made this case very easy for us in that aspect.” Chudomelka passed away in 2002 at the age of 67 without ever paying for his crime, but County Lawyer Stephen Stocks believes that if he was still alive, he would've been found guilty of murder. “I hope today brings some closure to the family,” he said. “I truly believe had this been presented to a jury, Chudomelka would have been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the murder of Ann Woodward.” Images: Moab Police Department

Legal

Rebel Wilson's shocking weight loss confession

Rebel Wilson has confessed to using Ozempic to maintain her weight after dropping almost 40kgs in her "year of health" in 2020. While speaking to the Sunday Times about the release of her memoir, Rebel Rising, the Aussie actress confessed to using the drug, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes. The 44-year-old has previously referred to 2020 as her "year of health" after she lost a staggering amount of weight, and has now finally admitted to using Ozempic, but only to maintain her weight. She said, "Someone like me could have a bottomless appetite for sweets, so I think those drugs can be good." Rebel went on to clarify that she is no longer taking the drug, and is happy with her weight. The actress shared how wanting to have a baby kick-started her dramatic weight loss in 2020, but not everyone was happy about her plans for a drastic transformation. "Basically no one apart from my mum wanted me to lose weight," Wilson recalled. "People thought I'd lose my pigeonhole in my career, playing the fat funny character, and they wanted me to continue in that." Over the past four years, Wilson has admitted to gaining some of it back including 20lbs from "stress eating" leading up to the release of her book, with Covid lockdowns also playing a part in her fluctuating weight. "I know that my relationship with food is complicated," she said. "I feel strongly that young women shouldn't try to obsess over looking like Victoria's Secret models — they should just look like themselves." Image credits: Getty Images

Body

Woman allegedly murders great-aunt with spaghetti

Italian police are investigating the bizarre alleged murder of Maria Basso, 80. Paola Pepe, her young great-niece, was arrested for the alleged murder after she was believed to have force-fed Basso with spaghetti, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. Basso was vulnerable to choking if she did not eat finely chopped or pureed food, despite this Pepe still took out her great-aunt for a meal in a Sicily restaurant in December 2022. She allegedly bought Basso spaghetti, and two days later her great-aunt was dead, after some of the pasta allegedly got lodged in her airways. Her death initially looked like an accident, until Italian police launched further investigations and found that Pepe had amended her great-aunt's will just two days before the meal. The Corriere della Sera reported Pepe had taken an unusual interest in her great-aunt's finances in the months leading up to her death after she had unexpectedly turned up during Basso's 80th birthday, and spent hours alone with her. Pepe eventually moved Basso to a care home 1300 kilometres away, without telling her close family members, and reportedly did not take any of Basso's medication or personal belongings to the new home. Police alleged that after isolating her great-aunt, she managed to convince Basso to change her will so that Pepe was named sole beneficiary of Basso's estate, which was worth $775,000. Basso initially intended to give her estate to a charity, as she had no children according to local media. Pepe has denied all accusations and was bailed, but is wearing a police ankle bracelet while waiting for her trial. Image: Strettoweb

Legal

"I just don't like old skin": Jane Fonda's bizarre confession

Jane Fonda has made an unusual confession about her dating life, explaining why she would only date people of a certain age. The Hollywood legend, 85, has been married three times throughout her life: first to director Roger Vadim from 1965 to 1973, then to activist Tom Hayden from 1973 to 1990, and finally to CNN founder Ted Turner from 1991 to 2001. Fonda is currently single, but doesn't plan on staying that way. Despite being open to finding love, the actress has a very specific criteria for potential suitors to meet before agreeing to a date. On the Absolutely Not podcast, the Oscar winner initially suggested she was done with men for good, saying, “I’m done, I’m over, I’m [almost] 86 years old, even in the dark I wouldn’t want to be naked in front of anybody.” But she then went on to confess that there’s still a chance she could fall for a man, but they would just have to be substantially younger. “And here’s another thing, I’m ashamed to say this, if I were to take a lover, he’d have to be 20. Because I don’t like old skin,” said Fonda. She continued, “And consequently, I don’t want to foist that on anybody else. I assume other people are like me, I just don’t like old skin.” “I disapprove of 86-year-old men with 20-year-old women, so I’m not going to repeat it. I can ogle them, and I can’t pretend that I don’t get turned on if I see a certain kind of a person, but no, no, no, I don’t want to force that on anybody.” Her confession has been criticised on social media, with some suggesting the star would be “cancelled” if it was a man that had said the same about young women. “This is seriously weird,” tweeted one fan, while another said: “But an 85 year old man wanting to date a 20 year old woman is disgusting? Am I right?” Image credits: Getty Images

Relationships

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

Bruce Willis' wife's devastating confession

Bruce Willis' wife has shared a heartbreaking confession about caring for her husband as he continues to struggle with frontotemporal dementia. Emma Heming, who has been married to the A-list actor since 2009, shared a candid glimpse into her life as her husband's carer, admitting she often struggles with guilt. Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in early 2023, nearly one year after announcing his retirement from acting due to aphasia, which causes difficulties with speech. Since then, his family have frequently shared updates on his condition. Emma shared that since becoming a carer for her husband, she has been plagued with feelings of guilt. She told Sunday Paper, “I struggle with guilt, knowing that I have resources that others don’t." “When I’m able to get out for a hike to clear my head, it’s not lost on me that not all care partners can do that." “When what I share about our family’s journey gets press attention, I know that there are many thousands of untold, unheard stories, each of them deserving of compassion and concern.” Heming – who has daughters Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, nine, with Willis – went on to share that she hopes to continue to “be an advocate” for those also living her experience as a full-time carer. She added, “I see that what I share matters to others who may be struggling, and in a small way makes them feel seen and understood." “I want people to know that when I hear from another family affected by FTD, I hear our family’s same story of grief, loss, and immense sadness echoed in theirs… “It’s important to me to be an advocate on behalf of those families, who don’t have the time, energy, or resources to advocate for themselves.” Heming went on to add that despite her husband's condition continuing to deteriorate, she still has “hope” for Willis. She explained, “I have so much more hope today than I did after Bruce was first diagnosed." “I understand this disease more now, and I’m now connected to an incredible community of support. I have hope in having found a new purpose — admittedly one I never would have gone looking for — using the spotlight to help and empower others.” Image credits: Getty Images

Family & Pets

Why this pilot was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder

An off-duty pilot, identified as Joseph David Emerson, has been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder following an alleged attempt to crash an Alaska Airlines flight en route to San Francisco. The incident unfolded as Flight 2059, operated by Horizon Air, took off from Everett, Washington, shortly before 5:30pm local time on a seemingly routine Sunday evening. However, what transpired mid-flight left passengers and the aviation community in disbelief. Emerson, who was sitting in the cockpit's jump seat behind the captain and first officer, reportedly attempted to activate the jet's fire suppression system. This system, when triggered, would have closed a valve in the wing to cut off the flow of fuel to the engines. The consequences of such an act could have been catastrophic, potentially leading to a loss of engine power and a potentially fatal crash. The vigilant crew of Flight 2059, including the captain and first officer, quickly responded to subdue Emerson, preventing the activation of the fire suppression system. Their swift actions were pivotal in averting a potential disaster. The aircraft was forced to make an emergency diversion to Portland International Airport, where Emerson was taken into custody by the Port of Portland Police. Thankfully, no injuries were reported during this harrowing incident. The charges against Emerson are nothing short of severe. The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office has confirmed that he faces 83 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person, and one count of endangering an aircraft in the first degree. Emerson is currently held in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Centre in Portland, Oregon, awaiting arraignment. The investigation into this troubling incident is ongoing, with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies collaborating to determine the motive behind Emerson's actions. When interviewed by police, Emerson said he had a “nervous breakdown” after not sleeping for 40 hours and stated he had taken psychedelic mushrooms for the first time. “I didn’t feel okay. It seemed like the pilots weren’t paying attention to what was going on. They didn’t … it didn’t seem right,” Emerson told police, according to an affidavit. The affidavit does not state whether Emerson was under the influence of the mushrooms while on the plane, but he later added: “I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also become involved in the case, supporting investigations into the incident. The Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) commended the flight crew for their swift response, emphasising the priority of safety for the flying public and crews. ALPA noted that the airline pilot profession is one of the most highly vetted and scrutinised careers, with pilots undergoing continuous evaluations throughout their careers through training and medical exams. Emerson's pilot certification, which was updated just last month, underscores the importance of self-reporting any mental health conditions for aviators. This aspect of the case will likely be closely examined as part of the ongoing investigation. In a statement, the Portland office of the FBI assured the traveling public that there is no continuing threat related to this incident. While the shocking episode has left many questions unanswered, it serves as a testament to the professionalism and dedication of flight crews in ensuring passenger safety, even in the face of such extraordinary challenges. Images: Facebook / FlightAware

Travel Trouble

Adele's candid baby confession mid-concert

Adele has candidly revealed that she wants to expand her family with boyfriend Rich Paul. The Hello singer dropped the news during one of her shows in Las Vegas, when she spotted a fan who was 20-weeks pregnant. The fan shared that she was having a girl, but has yet to decide on a name and wanted Adele's help. “I really want to be a mum again soon, so every time I see a name I like, I write it down in my phone,” the singer said to the surprise of fans. The fan responded: “We have two names and we’ve been going back and forth. I can’t, for the life of me, decide. I like boy names for girls. The first name is Parker or Spencer.” The 35-year-old singer then mulled over the two options before she jokingly said: can’t say Parker because Rich likes that name. “I’ll say Spencer,” she concluded. Adele then gave a sneak peek into one of the names she likes. “I love Ray for a girl as well, spelled like the boy’s name,” she added. <div class="embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important; width: 603px; max-width: 100%;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7271648822659501355&display_name=tiktok&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40editsofadele%2Fvideo%2F7271648822659501355&image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2FowMuDRbnSIJFR8kEBF8Yn65hqBiAEDTkeBf7Qg%3Fx-expires%3D1693706400%26x-signature%3DkvzKhLZtGJ8sMZJLnQSpkH%252FBsQQ%253D&key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> The fan was over-the-moon when she found out they had a similar taste in baby names. "Stop - that’s (going to be) the middle name!” she said. Adele gushed that they were "so in sync". Footage of the sweet exchange has since gone viral with over 1.4 million views, and fans are delighted at the interaction. “Spencer Ray is actually nice but the fact that Adele picked it… come on, best name in the world,” wrote one fan. “’Adele named you' 😳 elite story,” another commented on the stories that the fan's future daughter could tell. “Imagine growing up and saying I was named by Adele 😂,” another said. Adele is already a mother to 10-year-old son Angelo, who she shares with ex-husband Simon Konecki. The star has been hinting about wanting to expand her family since February 2022, and has been in a relationship with Rich since early 2021. Images: TikTok

Family & Pets

Rob Lowe's West Wing confession

Rob Lowe has spoken candidly about leaving one of his most acclaimed TV shows. The 59-year-old actor has opened up about leaving The West Wing, which first aired in 1999 with Lowe playing the character of Sam Seaborn, the Bartlet administration's deputy communications director, on the very first episode of the show. The show ran for seven seasons and went off the air in 2006, although Lowe left the show during season four. Despite the show's popularity, Lowe said that leaving the show when he did was the best decision to make for him and his future career. Speaking candidly on the Stitcher Studios' podcast Podcrushed, Lowe was asked about why he left the show, and he summed up his departure with an analogy. He said, "I walked away from the most popular girl at school, but I also knew that it was a super unhealthy relationship, and it was the best thing I ever did." The unofficial story when Lowe left the show, as reported by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/24/west.wing.lowe/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:Daily Variety;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid_p="33" data-v9y="1">Daily Variety</a>, was that he was doing so because he couldn't get the salary that he wanted. As Lowe explained to Podcrushed hosts Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari, his decision had boiled down to one thing. "I felt very undervalued," said Lowe, the author of 2012's Stories I Only Tell My Friends. "Whenever I talk to actors who complain about, you know, their relationships on their shows, it happens. It happens in any workplace. You could be in an environment where people sandbag you, want to see you fail, don't appreciate you, whatever it is and whenever I share my stories, people are like, 'I will never share my own stories again.'" "They would make your hair stand up and there's some of them I wrote. I shared some of them in my book, but I purposely didn't share half of the other ones because it would make the people involved look so bad that I didn't want to do it to them." "So, I did not have a good experience. Tried to make it work and tried to make it work and tried to make it work and then what happened was my kids were getting to a certain age where I could see them having first girlfriends or friends and being in a relationship that was abusive and taking it," said Lowe, the father of sons John Owen, a 27-year-old actor, and venture capitalist Matthew, 29. "She's the popular girl, everybody likes her, she's beautiful, it must be great. All the things that people would say about making The West Wing to me. It's so popular, it's so amazing, it must be amazing, but I know what it's like and if I couldn't walk away from it, then how could I empower my kids to walk away from it?" When Lowe did leave the show, he issued a statement on why his character would be written out. "As much as it hurts to admit it, it has been increasingly clear, for quite a while, that there was no longer a place for Sam Seaborn on The West Wing," he said, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/24/west.wing.lowe/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:per CNN;cpos:5;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid_p="36" data-v9y="1">per CNN</a>. "However, Warner Bros. has allowed me an opportunity to leave the show as I arrived ... grateful for it, happy to have been on it and proud of it. We were a part of television history and I will never forget it." Image credits: Getty Images

5 juicy confessions from cruise crew members

As you can probably imagine, when living on the high seas you get to pick up a story or two. While while most of these tales don’t make it back to shore, for the first time ever a few of these interesting stories have made their way to land. Porthole Cruise Magazine has explored the industry to find five of the juiciest confessions from cruise crew members. You’ll never look at cruise staff the same way. And of course, the staff member’s names have been kept anonymous. 1. One shore excursions manager told about the time she was woken up by 3am as two colleagues burst into her cabin. She said, “They woke up my roommate and I and were shouting to get our lifejackets on and to abandon ship, and then they ran out of the room. My roommate and I started freaking out, bumping into each other trying to find our lifejackets. Then we ran out of the room down the hallway in our pyjamas — only to be met by an entire group of crew members taking pictures and laughing. That was just Part One of our initiation.” 2. A cruise gift shop manager told Porthole about a dispute between dining room staff and restaurant management which resulted in a strike. As a result, staff managers from the other sections of the boat had to fill in, everyone from the casino to the beauty shop. She said, “We were instructed to bring as many of our staff members as we could spare to help serve more than 500 hungry guests. So there we all went, in our respective uniforms, off to the dining room to be waiters for the evening. I’m not sure how we did it, but we did. All of the guests managed to get their rolls, salads, entrées, coffee, and dessert while being served by an eclectic staff in an assortment of uniforms. That was the essence of good teamwork if I’ve ever seen it.” 3. Another anonymous cruise staff member told of a game she played when greeting guests walking into the dining room. She and her offsider decided to make a game of inserting wacky words into conversation. She said, “One of the most memorable words that we actually pulled off quite well, and surprisingly without realisation or offence to the guests, was penis. How? Guest walks through the door…. cruise staff says ‘Good Evening! Have you just come from the lounge? They have an amazing penis playing up there and the sing-a-long is great fun!” Guest smiled and answered: “YES! The pianist is one of the best I’ve seen on ships!’” 4. A cruise casino dealer recalls, “One of the hardest things I had to do as a casino dealer was to keep a straight face. And I’m not necessarily talking about because we were in the middle of an intense game. I’m talking about the times when certain guests, well, smelled. One time a player sat at my table and was letting out such bad gas that other players began to slowly inch away and eventually left the area. Truth be told: No matter what sights – and smells – I encountered, it was always a challenge to remain neutral. Perhaps this is the true origin of the term ‘poker face.’ 5. A cabin steward told the story of cruisers who were continually complaining about bites. After three nights of complaints he, “Advised them to visit the onboard infirmary to see if they could identify the ‘bites’ and see if there was something that could be done for them. The nurse in the infirmary concluded that neither of them had bug bites, and that the red scratches on their arms were caused simply by their own fingernails. On the fourth day, the couple marched up to the front office and announced they had found the bugs and showed the guest relations manager a box containing the ‘bugs.’ When I was called to the front office to look at the bugs, everyone was laughing in disbelief. The guests had presented them with a small box full of lint.” Image: Shutterstock

Cruising

Murder charge levelled at children's book author

Author Kouri Richins wrote a children’s book on grief following the death of her husband in 2022. She is now being charged with his murder. Richins was arrested on May 7 in Utah and is accused of charging documents of poisoning her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in Kamas, a small mountain town near Park City. Prosecutors allege Richins called authorities in the middle of the night in March 2022 to report that her husband, Eric Richins, was “cold to the touch”. The mum-of-three told authorities she had made her husband a mixed vodka drink to celebrate him selling a home and then went to soothe one of their children in their bedroom. She later returned and found her husband unresponsive, which prompted her to call 911. A medical examiner later found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system. Additionally, Richins is facing charges involving the alleged possession of GHB - a narcolepsy drug typically used in recreational settings, including at dance clubs. The charges, which are based on officers’ interactions with Richins that evening and the account of an “unnamed acquaintance” who claimed to have sold her the fentanyl, come two months after Richins appeared on local television to promote Are You With Me, a picture book she wrote to help children cope with the death of a loved one. For a segment called Good Things Utah, Richins referred to her husband’s death as unexpected and explained how it sent her and her three boys spiralling. In terms of children, she said, grieving was about “making sure that their spirit is always alive in your home”. “It’s ... explaining to my kid just because he’s not present here with us physically, doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us,” she told the reporters, who commended her for being an amazing mother. Richins’ lawyer, Sky Lazaro, declined to comment on the charges. Image credit: Instagram

Legal

Family Feud contestant charged with wife’s murder

A former contestant on Family Feud has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and home invasion over the death of his estranged wife. Timothy W. Bliefnick, 39, was charged on March 13 in relation to the suspicious death of his former spouse, Rebecca Bliefnick, 41, who was found dead in her home on February 23, according to court documents. Bliefnick appeared on the game show in January 2020, and host Steve Harvey asked him, “What’s the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?” “Honey, I love you, but, ‘said I do,’” he responded, prompting a mixed reaction from the audience. “Not my mistake, not my mistake," he continued. ”I love my wife. I'm gonna get in trouble for that, aren't I?" After Fox News Digital discovered the clip, Bliefnick’s attorney said, "It's a game show. A silly answer to a silly question on a silly show doesn't make one a murderer.” KHQA-TV reported that Bliefnick and his wife were married in 2009, but at the time of her death the pair were undergoing divorce proceedings after having been separated for “several years”. After the couple separated they filed restraining orders against each other. Bliefnick’s attorney Casey Schnack told E! News that he plans to plead not guilty at his next court hearing. Image credit: YouTube

Legal

“This is disgusting”: Mural for murdered women defaced with graffiti

A street artist has been captured painting over a mural depicting the names and photos of women murdered across Australia in acts of domestic violence. The mural, plastered on Melbourne’s famous Hosier Lane, depicts some of the almost 80 women killed since the start of 2023, and the locations they died around Australia. The mural also shows the alarming statistics of domestic violence across Australia in data compiled by The RED HEART Campaign - an ongoing memorial project dedicated to tracking the known women and children killed in acts of gendered violence. The mural was painted in the lane on International Women’s Day (March 8th), and was defaced just 10 days later. An unknown street artist was captured on video spray painting over the women’s faces, with the words “13 WOLF 69” covering most of the mural, as the beginning of a large orange text covering the southeast corner of the map. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> When murdered women are erased for the second time! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/femicide?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#femicide</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shematters?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shematters</a> <a href="https://t.co/TYpLQFmpCx">pic.twitter.com/TYpLQFmpCx</a> — Sherele Moody (Femicide Researcher) 🌈 (@ShereleMoody) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShereleMoody/status/1636880510269128705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></blockquote> The video, posted by the campaign founder Sherele Moody, then pans slowly to capture the artist still spraying the wall with orange paint – what seem to be the finishing touches to the large piece that stretches for metres toward Flinders Street. “That’s more important, that’s lovely,” someone can be heard sarcastically saying in the footage. “That’s not even art!” Sherele captioned the video as an example of “when murdered women are erased for a second time”. “The dude could have moved his scribble a few feet and not painted over the faces of murdered women,” she added. “The Lane is pretty big – there’s room for all of us!” Supporters of the campaign immediately reacted in disgust to the “selfish, heartless artist”, with many saying the disregard for the mural really “hurts”. “What the actual f,” one woman wrote. “This is disgusting. This is about murdered women and a memorial. When did we become so disrespectful.” While most of the backlash was in support of the advocates, others questioned whether the artist was even aware of what he had done or was partially covering. Others simply said it was the harsh nature of Melbourne’s internationally renowned street art culture. Image credits: Twitter

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“This is disgusting”: Mural for murdered women defaced with graffiti