logo
Workmate claims alleged killer planned to 'roofie' murder victim after she broke up with him

Workmate claims alleged killer planned to 'roofie' murder victim after she broke up with him

Daily Mail​16-07-2025
An accused murderer planned to drug his ex-girlfriend and crash her in a car so he could scare her out of taking their house, one of his workmates claims.
Benjamin O'Keefe told the Victorian Supreme Court that Lachlan Young shared his plan to harm his former partner Hannah McGuire on April 2, 2024.
'He started talking about wanting to roofie Hannah and take her out bush and scare her so she wouldn't take the house and other things from him,' Mr O'Keefe said in evidence on Tuesday.
Mr O'Keefe claimed Young asked him to act as a getaway driver, which he ultimately declined after speaking to his girlfriend.
Two days later, Mr O'Keefe said he received another message from Young asking him to meet at a nearby corner at midnight.
Mr O'Keefe told the jury he went to the designated spot without his phone but Young wasn't there so he returned home.
He then heard a car horn and went to his front lawn to see Young waiting inside an orange Mitsubishi Triton.
Mr O'Keefe told the jury he did not look inside the ute and instead just obeyed Young's instructions to follow behind in his vehicle.
He claimed they went out to remote bushland where Young drove the Triton into some trees and then ordered Mr O'Keefe to turn his car around.
Young then used a yellow blow torch to set fire to the front of the Triton, Mr O'Keefe told the jury.
After holding the blowtorch there for a few minutes, it's alleged Young then returned to Mr O'Keefe's car but told him to wait a minute.
'(We were) just watching the car to make sure it caught on fire,' Mr O'Keefe told the jury.
'That's what Lachie wanted.'
Mr O'Keefe claimed Young gave him $45 after the incident although he never explained why.
Young is accused of murdering Ms McGuire in the early hours of April 5, before driving her body in the Triton to remote bushland and setting the ute alight.
The 23-year-old has admitted to killing Ms McGuire but denies the charge of murder, claiming her death was a spontaneous and unplanned incident.
In his opening address, defence barrister Glenn Casement told the jury they should be critical of Mr O'Keefe's evidence, saying he was not a credible witness.
Mr Casement is expected to cross-examine Mr O'Keefe on Wednesday after senior crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill finishes her questioning.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Child molestation survivor revisits case of his father killing his accused abuser on live TV
Child molestation survivor revisits case of his father killing his accused abuser on live TV

The Guardian

time15 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Child molestation survivor revisits case of his father killing his accused abuser on live TV

A child abuse survivor whose father shot his accused abuser to death in plain view of television news cameras in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the 1980s says he suggests parents whose children are molested 'not to take the law into your own hands and put yourself in a position to be prosecuted'. Instead, 'I would advise [them] … to be there for their child,' Joseph Boyce 'Jody' Plauché remarked in a new interview that was recently published by People. Plauché's comments revisited the slaying of his karate coach Jeff Doucet at the hands of his father, Gary Plauché, which was once one of the US's most sensational criminal cases. Jody was 10 when Doucet became his karate coach and began molesting the boy, as Plauché recounted in a 2019 memoir. In February 1984, Doucet drove an 11-year-old Jody to a relative's home in Port Arthur, Texas, and then they took a bus to the Los Angeles area to visit Disneyland. Doucet and Jody were there for about a week, and authorities found them in a motel room after the man let the boy make a collect call to his mother. The boy was quickly brought home, and tests confirmed he had been sexually assaulted. Two deputies from the sheriff's office in Baton Rouge flew to California to bring Doucet back on charges of kidnapping and child sexual abuse, and Gary Plauché learned from someone at the Louisiana news station WBRZ when the karate coach was arriving at the local airport. Gary Plauché went to the airport in sunglasses and a baseball cap and lay in wait. As officers walked past him with a handcuffed Doucet, Gary Plauché aimed a handgun at the 25-year-old's right ear, fired point-blank and killed him as news cameras filmed. Video recorded one of the deputies who helped arrest Jody's father – and recognized him – as he shouted: 'Gary, why? Why, Gary? Why?' Gary Plauché – who instantly became a vigilante hero to many Americans at the time – eventually pleaded no contest to a manslaughter charge, spent five years on probation and avoided serving any time in prison. He died in 2014 at age 69. Jody, who would go on to title his memoir Why Gary Why?, later told the Associated Press how people constantly approached him to exalt his father long after the case fell out of the news headlines. Well into his adulthood, he would post cooking videos online – and rather than weigh in on his dishes, viewers would write comments commending his father. 'They won't comment: 'That gumbo looks great,'' Jody said to the AP. 'They'll just be like: 'Your dad's a hero.'' But in his recent conversation with People, the 53-year-old Jody Plauché said his father 'got lucky' that he didn't face a harsher sentence which would have taken him away from his son at a crucial time in his recovery from his sexual abuse. He said he even gave his father the silent treatment for a couple of months after Doucet's killing. 'I didn't want Jeff dead – I didn't want daddy to hurt Jeff,' Jody Plauché said to People of his state of mind at the time. 'I just wanted Jeff to stop doing what he was doing, which he never would've, but that was just the hope back then, the prayers I would say at night.' Jody Plauché said he forgave his father after seeing Gary and his mother 'getting along really [well]' in the aftermath of the deadly shooting. He had done that upon accepting that authorities would not come take Gary away at a time when his boy needed him, as Jody told People. During one of the rare conversations they had about Doucet's slaying, Jody recalled, 'I told him … 'I'm not mad at you no more. I understand why you did it.'' Jody said he remembered Gary responding with something to the effect of: 'I love you.' As Jody tells it, he later earned a general studies degree at Louisiana State University with minors in speech, communication and psychology. He worked in Pennsylvania as a sexual assault counselor for seven years, returned to Baton Rouge in 2005 after his father suffered a stroke, and took a job at his brother's transportation company. Jody Plauché has said that the purpose of Why, Gary, Why? is to give hope and knowledge to survivors and their parents, respectively. 'I wanted outsiders to get a general understanding about sexual violence and sexual abuse,' said Jody Plauché, now a vocal advocate for child molestation survivors. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

Former garda (39) jailed for impersonating colleague online and inciting men to rape her
Former garda (39) jailed for impersonating colleague online and inciting men to rape her

BreakingNews.ie

time15 minutes ago

  • BreakingNews.ie

Former garda (39) jailed for impersonating colleague online and inciting men to rape her

A former garda who impersonated a colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her has been jailed for seven years. Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. Advertisement He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7th, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. More to follow...

One of Australia's oldest and most elite private schools costing upwards of $45,000 a year is rocked by scandal involving principal
One of Australia's oldest and most elite private schools costing upwards of $45,000 a year is rocked by scandal involving principal

Daily Mail​

time15 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

One of Australia's oldest and most elite private schools costing upwards of $45,000 a year is rocked by scandal involving principal

The headmaster of one of Sydney 's most elite private schools has taken leave amid allegations he struck a student on the back of the head. Rumours of The King's School headmaster, Tony George, being incredibly blunt and cynical about 'victimhood' began shortly after he took on the top job in July 2017. However, those whispers of authoritarianism around the campus in Parramatta, western Sydney, took a new tone following an alleged incident in the last week of Term Two. Sources close to the school claimed the headmaster struck the back of a senior student's head during discussions in a biblical studies class at the historic Futter Hall. The description of the severity of the assault drastically differs, with some likening it to a 'clip' to the ears while others alleged Mr George descended from the stage to 'hit' the teenager. With students resuming classes for Term Three this week, the school sent a letter to parents informing them it was investigating the alleged incident. In the meantime, Mr George has taken a two-week leave after contracting shingles. The letter, seen by Daily Mail Australia, reassured parents 'the wellbeing of our students and the integrity of our learning environment are of paramount importance'. 'The school is aware of concerns regarding an interaction that occurred during a lecture attended by approximately 100 students and staff,' it read. 'The matter is being reviewed in accordance with the school's established procedures.' The King's School is one of Australia's oldest private schools, having been built in 1831. Fees at the institution start at almost $30,000 for kindergarteners and $47,000 for Year 12 students. Costs are significantly higher for children boarding at the school. Mr George has found himself in headlines several times over the years. Last year he drew attention for his response to negative media coverage of the attitude shown in Australia's elite private schools. 'Toxic masculinity has become a memetic cliché of progressive extremism,' he said. 'Unfortunately, genuine critical reflection and action has given way to movements of cancel culture. 'For example, 'wokeness', initially a call for heightened awareness and sensitivity to social and racial injustices, has evolved into a broader social movement of complaint and victimhood.' Mr George was also the centre of a financial scandal in 2022 after business class flights to London for he and his wife were covered by the school. The pair, alongside the school's deputy and his wife, flew to attend the world's most prestigious rowing event, the Henley Royal Regatta, where students competed. The King's School receives substantial funding from the government on top of its million-dollar profits. In 2024 alone, the school reported a surplus of $4million. In later 2022, the Department of Education launched an audit of King's following concerns it was misusing taxpayer money. The reports stemmed from the school council approving a request from the headmaster to build a plunge pool at his on-site residence. King's was ordered to stop construction of the pool after the government investigation determined it to be an improper use of the school's money. The school has since submitted plans for a $170million campus development. Construction includes a new science and technology building, nine staff townhouses and performing arts centre for primary students. King's also has 'concept plans' for a sports pavilion, new boarding and day boy houses, and an entrance through land owned by Tara Anglican School for Girls.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store