Rushton fire: What we know so far
Fire investigators are still combing through what remains of a converted railway station building, five days since the blaze that killed three people inside. Here is what we know so far about the fire at the Grade II listed property in Rushton, Northamptonshire.
Who are the victims?
The three victims of the fire have been named as Mayci Fox, four, her mother Emma Conn, 30, and Louie Thorn, 23.Mayci Fox and Emma Conn were from Desborough, while Louie Thorn was from Rushton.Formal identification has yet to take place, but the police have released the victims' names with the agreement of the coroner's office and the support of the families.A date has yet to be set for the opening of the inquests into the deaths.
What caused the fire?
An investigation into how the blaze may have started is now under way.The fire happened at about 22:30 GMT on Friday.The property was previously the Glendon and Rushton railway station before it was converted for residential use.Specialist fire investigators and investigation dogs are still at the scene.
Have there been any arrests?
A 54-year-old man from Kettering was arrested on suspicion of murder but was released with no further action, police said.The police have since said they do "not believe there is any evidence of criminal wrongdoing".
How has the community reacted?
One villager told the BBC they had been "traumatised" by the incident.Kevin Abraham, a churchwarden of All Saints' Rushton in the parish, said the close-knit community had been "knocked for six" by the blaze."It's probably one of the worst things in living memory that has happened," he added.Mike Brightman, vice chairman of Rushton Parish Council, said it had been a "very sad day for the village, losing some of our residents in such a horrific way".The MP for Kettering, Rosie Wrighting, said she was "saddened by this tragic fire" and said her thoughts were with the "family and friends of those involved and everyone in the Rushton community".Mourners have left flowers, cards, and tributes near the house behind a cordon. One message to the 23-year-old victim called him a "sweet, beautiful boy" and "the biggest shining star".
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Scottish Sun
28 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control
Ben's mum was lured into the cult and gave her son up to be part of a 'master race' CULT OF BLONDE My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control BEN Shenton was just 18 months old when his mother gave him up to a well-spoken blonde woman who swore she'd give him the best life possible. Little did she know her decision would put Ben through years of abuse at the hands of a woman who believed she was Jesus Christ reborn. 9 Ben Shenton was handed over to a cult leader Credit: BBC 9 Anne Hamilton-Bryne's 'children' were forced to bleach their hair and wear matching clothes Credit: BBC Handout 9 Anne believed she was Jesus Christ reborn and became the leader of the notorious Australian cult Images of Ben show a happy young boy, but the reality was entirely different - as the youngster was forced to become part of a notorious cult known as 'The Family'. Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who Ben would grow up to know as his mother, became the leader of the cult based in Australia, which drugged and beat him. He had no idea of his life before Anne, as she went to great lengths to keep his adoption a secret, even bleaching his hair platinum blond like hers and his new 'siblings'. Despite abusing more than 20 children, including Ben, Anne and her husband and cult co-leader, Bill Hamilton-Byrne, never faced justice. Now, over four decades on from the abuse, Ben shares his story of growing up in the "Kai Lama" compound, where children were locked in with barbed wire and tortured. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Anne first started out as a yoga teacher before turning to a more 'spiritual life' and eventually believing she was Jesus Christ reincarnated. She was born with the name Evelyn and had three marriages in total - the first coming to an end when her husband died in a car crash, which led to her 'spiritual awakening.' She met English physicist Dr Raynor Johnson in 1963 and the following year, they set up a group dedicated to spreading a surreal combination of Christianity and Hinduism, with Hamilton-Byrne at its centre. Her final husband, Bill, became the person who led the doomsday cult with her in the 1960s, when the world faced existential threats like nuclear warfare, the Vietnam War and the spread of communism. Anne was able to rope people into the cult through yoga lessons, meetings at her house once a week, and then three times a week, until she built the compound on land near her house for them to move into. Inside a 'mind-controlling' CULT which 'forced mum and daughter to hit each other' and chose Fiji as the 'promised land' Anne came across as beautiful, well-spoken and nurturing, so it's no surprise Ben's mum was easily convinced he'd have a better life with her. Ben said Anne manipulated his mother into giving him up in 1970, convincing her that 'only she could give me the best life possible'. The pair consistently preyed on vulnerable people like Ben's mum, Joy, who had suffered a back injury and felt she could not look after him anymore. They also started recruiting people into their cult by approaching patients from Newhaven Hospital in Kew, a private psychiatric facility run and operated by various members of The Family, who targeted vulnerable patients, subjecting them to heavy doses of LSD and electroshock therapy. She and husband Hamilton-Byrne took children through illegal adoptions, allowing the cult to grow in numbers before imprisoning them in a strict home-schooling environment at a rural property near Eildon in Victoria. 9 At one point, Anne had 28 children in her care Credit: Label Distribution 9 She convinced parents to give her their children Using lawyers, social workers, and doctors to forgo official channels, they were able to forge birth documents and raise over a dozen children to believe they were the birth children of the Hamilton-Byrnes. When children were born inside the compound to cult members, they were raised to believe their birth mothers were instead among a handful of 'aunts', who gave out brutal punishments for whatever they saw fit. PICTURE PERFECT FAMILY From the outside, the family looked picture-perfect as they lived on their compound in Victoria, Australia. Life at Kai Lama seemed healthy and even advanced for its years; it featured yoga, exercise, vegetarian meals, meditation and education. Ben lived on the remote property and was raised alongside dozens of other children for 13 years and recalls living with 28 other kids at one point. "Growing up, it was Anne and Bill, they were mum and dad; and then there were foster kids, and they were kids of other sect members, who would either come up on weekends or stay there for stints of a couple of years," Ben, told the BBC. "The greatest amount of kids at any given stage was 28," he added. Anne and Bill brought up the children as their own, even dressing them in matching outfits and dying their hair bleach blond to appear like a real family. I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. Anne Hamilton-Byrne "We were her children. We were different ages. We'd line up von Trapp style (like) The Sound of Music, which we'd watch, dressed in outfits that matched and that was just what we were asked to do," he told the True Crimes Conversation podcast. "You look back on that and you see it's choreographed. "It crafted a belief that she had these children, which she didn't. We were all either adopted or handed over." In an interview years after the children were finally taken from her, Anne said: 'I wanted them to look like brothers and sisters - I must admit this. 'I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. It was beautiful - it was lovely to see.' Asked why she imprisoned 28 children over two decades, she responded: 'I love children.' 9 Ben Shenton pictured after being removed from the cult Credit: Ben Shenton 9 Ben (pictured front right) and his 'silbings' were the targets of abuse for years Credit: BBC UNDER WRAPS But in reality, the children were subjected to years of beatings, mind games, isolation, and forced to take drugs by the cult leader, who had convinced more than 500 people she was Jesus Christ. The couple had convinced their followers they were making a 'master race' while teaching a mixture of Christianity and Hinduism. Ben recalls one form of torture Anne liked to perform on the children was waterboarding. It's a method of torture that creates such horrific psychological pain that its use has even been banned in the US military. "We were all lined up. We were belted. Our head held under the bucket of water, interrogated," he said. "Held there until you thought you were suffocating, brought back out again. "Horrendous experience. It caused nightmares. "These things shape your personality." Ben recalls seeing his siblings being beaten with a belt, and says they were given LSD 'as part of an initiation ritual.' 'I was watching her being belted with a buckle and she's being beaten to the point where she's wriggling out of her clothes,' he said of his sister, Sarah. 'Hearing her body smash across the balustrades - it was horrendous to know they had the power to do that and would do it,' he told the MailOnline. She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative. Ben Shenton Ben says Anne's most effective tactic was to keep the children from forming bonds with each other to keep them all in line. To weed out misdeeds in the children, Anne would perform group interrogations by beating them until someone came clean. Ben said he stayed compliant to avoid punishment. "This was the evil genius of her. She understood that if she could separate us, isolate us, make it so that we couldn't build relationships with one another and punish us, then she could control us," he said. "Anyone who's lived under domestic violence will know the living with fear, the walking on eggshells, the currying favour of those in authority, or the absolute rejection of them, the hatred of them, the love-hate relationship. "It's domestic abuse on steroids," he said. Now, Ben believes Anne was a sociopath or psychopath. "She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative," he said. 'The Family' Cult Timeline 1968 The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. 1974 An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. 1978 Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. 1983 Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. 1987 (14 August) Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. The children are removed from the sect and placed into care. 1987 (Oct/Nov) Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. 1987 (12 December) Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. 1989 (about June) Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. 1989 (11 December) Operation Forest Task Force commences. Operation Forest Task Force commences. 1993 (4 June) Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. 1993 (17 August) Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. 1993 (31 August) Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. 1994 In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. 2001 Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. 2019 At 97, Anne lives in the dementia wing of a suburban Melbourne nursing home. CAUGHT IN THE ACT It wasn't until 1987 that the cult was finally searched by 100 police officers and the children were rescued. At the time, a 15-year-old Ben was doing his scheduled yoga class when police stormed in. His sister, Sarah Moore, had managed to escape the cult at 17 and headed straight to the police to tell them what was going on. Not taking any chances, police stormed the property and rescued six children, including Ben. While he was reluctant to go with them at first, he soon realised this was his path to freedom. He recalls: 'I think I got this epiphanal moment, realising this is the ticket out of here. So I just I let go, and I went with them." It was only then that Ben found out he was not their biological son and was handed over by his mother Joy, who stayed in the cult as an 'aunt'. At the time, Anne was in Hawaii while Bill stayed on the compound, but he wasn't arrested. Later, he went to New York to meet Anne before the pair were arrested and extradited back to Australia. While many of the children came forward with claims of abuse, both Anne and Bill were only charged with conspiracy to defraud and perjury by falsely registering the birth of triplets. The pair were spared jail and fined just £2,300 each for the crime. Detective Lex de Man, who investigated the case, says evidence of abuse was unable to be taken to court despite multiple victims coming forward. Justice was not done. Ben Shenton Detective de Man recently told The Age: 'My only regret is she was never held totally to account for the misery she caused to the former cult children. 'I have no sympathy for the woman I consider the most evil person I ever met in my police career.' LIFE NOW Ben moved into foster care when he left the cult, and while lying on his bunk bed with fresh pyjamas and a meal in his tummy, he realised he'd never go back to The Family again "I realised then I (didn't) have to do this anymore, I'm free. I don't need to go back," he said. "That, to me, was when I shut the door." Four decades on, Ben is a proud husband to Rajes and a dad to Ellie and Callum, who live in Perth, Australia. He has written a book on his time in the cult, Life Behind the Wire, and runs the organisation, Rescue The Family, to raise awareness on cult manipulation. In 2019, Anne passed away while in a Melbourne care home at the age of 98 and Ben has reconnected with his biological mother. "What Anne did was evil. She used the name of Christ to give herself validity. She used a belief system," Ben said. "Justice was not done." 9 Now Ben educates others on manipulation after his own experience Credit: SBS Productions
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Ex-BBC star is fined £600 for leaving scene of an accident after her Range Rover crashed into Mazda which ended up in a ditch
A former BBC star has been fined £600 - but will keep her driving licence - after leaving the scene of a car crash that left a driver injured in a ditch. Karen Patterson, 54, was one of the most famous faces in Northern Ireland having spent 20 years at the Beeb including a decade as a presenter on Good Morning Ulster. But she left the corporation five years ago to become a dairy farmer. On March 16 last year, the Range Rover being driven by the former journalist collided with a Mazda MX5 sports car on the Newtownards Road in Comber - a town on the northern edge of Strangford Lough. The Mazda driver told police that as he was overtaking Ms Patterson's 4x4, she moved across and hit him, sending him off the road. Her victim suffered an injured wrist and some hearing loss after developing tinnitus. Ms Patterson pleaded guilty to the offences of careless driving, failing to report and failing to remain at the scene of an accident. The 54-year-old was sentenced at Newtownards Magistrates Court yesterday and handed handed £600 of fines plus six penalty points on her driving licence. But she contested a charge of causing grievous bodily injury by careless driving - and the judge in the case sided with her. Representing the former broadcaster, her defence lawyer Conan Rea told the court that the Mazda driver's injuries to his wrist and hearing could not constitute grievous bodily injury. Mr Rea said his client had seen the Mazda 'travelling at some speed behind her' - but then lost sight of the sportscar. The cars bumped but she drove on, however, she claimed that she then went back and could not see the Mazda or any sign of the crash so went home - without calling the police. The barrister said the former BBC breakfast host now realised that she should have called the Police Service of Northern Ireland, even though she could not locate the Mazda. Mr Rees said that she had very quickly admitted the offences of leaving the scene of the accident and to careless driving. District Judge Mark Hamill found her not guilty causing grievous bodily injury by careless driving. Judge Hamill said that while the case could go to civil court, in his view the injuries suffered by the Mazda driver 'do not come near to GBI.' He also spared her a driving ban, by giving her six penalty points on her licence. She had three points already, meaning the punishment kept her below the 12 points needed for a ban from the roads. Her barrister had told the court that she has to drive between her home and the family farm to milk the cows each day, meaning a driving ban would have caused her 'considerable difficulties', according to the Belfast Newsletter newspaper. The judge imposed £600 of fines, a £15 offender levy and six penalty points. Karen joined the BBC in 2000 after working for the Bangor Spectator and Downtown-Cool FM, where she covered the 1998 Omagh bombing. She then went to BBC Newsline and then Good Morning Ulster but left in 2020 to returning to her first love, farming. She said at the time that dairy cows had been in her family's blood. She grew up on a dairy farm in County Down, which her father had farmed since 1947. 'I'm quite excited about it, I've been here for 20 years and it's been an amazing journey, but just to be able to pick projects and do things at a bit of a different pace', she said at the time.
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
BBC Shetland fans told to binge new series following real Scottish island murder
The new documentary on Amazon Prime Video is a must-watch for fans of the BBC's Shetland Viewers who enjoy the BBC crime drama Shetland are advised to watch a forthcoming Amazon Prime Video documentary that delves into the real-life account of a murder in the Scottish islands. The Orkney Assassin: Murder in the Isles, a new feature-length documentary, will premiere on the streaming service later this week. The documentary recounts the shocking tale of a cold-blooded murder in Scotland and follows a family determined to secure their son Michael Ross's release from prison. According to Amazon Prime Video's synopsis: "One summer evening in 1994, a masked man walked calmly into the only Indian restaurant in the remote Orkney Islands and shot a waiter dead before disappearing into the night. "The murder remained unsolved for years, until new evidence emerged, resulting in an unexpected arrest that stunned the local community. "Featuring powerful new testimony, this twist-filled true crime documentary explores one of Scotland's most contentious cases." An exclusive preview shared with Reach hints at what's to come, with a "twist in the tale that nobody saw coming". The footage reveals that Michael Ross made a daring escape attempt from court in dramatic scenes, reports the Express. KC Brian McConnachie remarks: "I've been doing this for 40 years and I have never seen such a dramatic end to a trial." Former journalist Bob Dow adds: "It was so bizarre, it was so surreal, you couldn't make this up. "If you wrote this as a Hollywood movie script, no one would believe you. They would say it was unimaginable." While The Orkney Assassin is based on a real-life case and Shetland is purely fictional, BBC viewers may still find this series appealing due to its familiar themes and Scottish island setting. BBC's Shetland is a crime drama set predominantly on the eponymous archipelago, having first aired in March 2013. The series, adapted by David Kane, is based on the novels of Ann Cleeves and has previously bagged the award for Best TV Drama from BAFTA Scotland. The initial seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, while Ashley Jensen took on the role of DI Ruth Calder from series 8. Whilst a release date for series 10 hasn't been confirmed, Shetland is anticipated to return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.
