Police declare crime scene after body found on Townsville street
A crime scene has been declared after a body was found on a Townsville street this morning.The body was found on Railway Avenue in Railway Estate just before 10am.
Police have closed Railway Avenue between Doorey Street and Queens Road as they investigate.
Officers are appealing for anyone with dash cam footage taken in the area since Wednesday to come forward.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

ABC News
40 minutes ago
- ABC News
Matthew Harley Gempton tells murder trial of Peter Nguyen-Ha his former friend fired fatal shots
A debt collector turned prosecution witness in a Perth murder trial has described how his former friend fired shots into a suburban home, killing an innocent man. Peter Nguyen-Ha is on trial, accused of murdering Ralph Matthews Cox, who was shot dead through the bedroom window of his Landsdale home in January 2022. The court had heard that Mr Nguyen-Ha and Matthew Harley Gempton had gone to the home looking for another man over stolen money. Gempton, who has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Matthews Cox, has taken the stand to give evidence for the prosecution in return for a reduced sentence. Gempton told the WA Supreme Court Mr Nguyen-Ha loaded a shotgun when they were driving to Landsdale, assuring him they were only "salt rounds". The court heard that when they arrived Mr Nguyen-Ha walked to the house, wearing a mask and carrying the shotgun. He told the court he heard someone say "who turned the power off" and "who's out the front". Gempton told the court Mr Nguyen-Ha called out "where's Anthony Prior" and then fired three times. He said he then heard a woman scream. He described the third shot as "definitely louder" than the others and said he saw "a big flame that lit up the front of the house". He told the court that when Mr Nguyen-Ha got back into the car, he said he "just shot at the window, the corner of the window" to scare them. Gempton maintained he did not find out until later that someone had died, when he saw it on the news. Police had said Mr Cox, who suffered fatal injuries in the shooting, had no involvement with crime and was an innocent victim. Gempton was a debt collector for drug money, telling the court he used to drive Mr Nguyen-Ha around in return for money and meth. The 36-year-old said he had been using methylamphetamine "more than once a day". He also told how he came to shoot himself in the leg after Mr Nguyen-Ha was assaulted, and had tens of thousands of dollars stolen in December 2021. He said he was driving someone else's car, searching for Mr Nguyen-Ha, who had asked him to go to a 7-Eleven in Wangara. Gempton said he looked around inside the vehicle for a weapon and found a rifle he did not know was there. "Pulled it out and sat it on my lap, and it went off," Gempton said. "Scorched all the nerve endings on one side. "Just pissing out blood on one side." He went to Joondalup Hospital, where he was interviewed by police but lied to them, claiming he was shot by a bikie. Gempton denied firing any guns on the night of the Landsdale shooting, or in earlier incidents in Girrawheen and Wanneroo which took place days earlier. In these, he and others, including Peter Nguyen-Ha, had allegedly targeted the wrong homes looking for Anthony Prior. Prosecutor Beau Sertorio asked Gempton why he had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges if he had never actually fired a weapon. The 36-year-old said he still "had a role to play", saying he did not call police after the first shooting at Girrawheen. He told the court that initially, he "thought it was just going to be a fight with Anthony Prior" and following that he "got told to go" to the other scenes. At Wanneroo and Landsdale he was "just driving", he said. The court heard Gempton's sentence was cut by more than five years and nine months, to 12 years, and he could be re-sentenced if he did not give full and truthful evidence. He is due to be cross-examined on Monday. The trial continues.

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Funeral for slain 17yo Pheobe Bishop will be held in Bundaberg on June 30
A funeral service for Bundaberg teenager Pheobe Bishop will be held 16 days after her remains were found in bushland following her disappearance. The 17-year-old was last seen on May 15, on her way to Bundaberg Airport to board a flight to visit her boyfriend in Western Australia. She was reported missing the following day. A major investigation began after it was discovered Pheobe failed to board her flight and she was not captured on CCTV inside the airport. The trip was a long-awaited reunion with her boyfriend Levi, who had moved across the country following a family tragedy. Police allege she was murdered by her flatmates James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, on the day she was last seen. The pair were arrested on June 5 following a failed search to find the missing teen. They were charged with murder and two counts of interfering with a corpse. Pheobe's body was discovered near Good Night Scrub National Park the following day. A funeral for the teen will be held with her family and friends in Bundaberg before a private cremation at the Springfields Crematorium at Elliott Heads at 2pm on Monday June 30. Messages have flooded the funeral notice offering their condolences to her family. 'It is so very sad you were taken from life as you were. You will remain forever young in the hearts of all who knew and loved you. May your soul rest peacefully,'one message read. 'My heartfelt condolences to Pheobe's family and friends, a young life cut short senselessly,' another said. 'Sincere condolences. Such a tragic end to a young life. May Pheobe rest peacefully,' a person said. 'BISHOP, Pheobe Jade 'Nanny McPhee'. Aged 17 years. Late of Gin Gin and formerly of Windsor, NSW. Beloved daughter of Kylie and Ray, Kevin and Stacey. Dearly loved sister of Jamie, Jesse, Kaylea, Ruby-Leigh, Aybel and sister-in-law to Janay. Loving aunty to Tallullah. Much loved niece, cousin and friend to many,' the funeral notice reads. Her family have asked for donations to be made to Pheobe's Go Fund Me page in lieu of flowers, which has already raised $7600. Tracey Berends organised the tribute on behalf of Ms Bishop's family saying their world was shattered when the bright, kind-hearted and deeply loved young woman was taken from them far too soon. 'Pheobe had a gentle soul and a generous spirit – always caring for others and standing up for what was right,' she told a vigil earlier this month. 'We want her legacy to live on and by paying it forward to the amazing volunteers and community.' Her mother Kylie Johnson said at the vigil she never expected a situation like that would happen to her. 'Now, unfortunately, we know that she is not going to come home to us,' she said. 'I have no words that could ever, ever describe what the last three-and-a-half weeks … it's just weighed us down.'

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Evil': Man sentenced to life after Perth bondage sex murder
A dad-of two who arranged to a meet a teenager for a bondage sex hook-up was hacked to death with an axe by the depraved 19-year-old, with the slaying described as 'an example of evil'. Former Australian beach handball coach and West Coast Eagles masseuse Patrik Weiss was killed in his Lockridge home on June 12, 2023. The 45-year-old father had agreed to meet Alexander Mark Sutton, then 19, and was waiting blindfolded with his hands and feet bound with rope and handcuffs. He left a key to the front door in a meter box outside, having chatted online with his would-be killer for six months on a fetish website. Western Australia's Supreme Court heard, however, that Sutton had created a fake online dating profile with the intention of finding someone to kill. Upon arrival he fatally struck the vulnerable Mr Weiss in the head with a pickaxe, fracturing his skull. The court heard Sutton had also fantasised about eating part of his victim. Sutton, now 21, was sentenced life in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years on Thursday after pleading guilty to murder. Prosecutor Paul Usher read out excerpts of the diary Sutton kept before the murder to the court, revealing references to cannibalism. 'If you are reading this, either I have been caught or I have been killed,' it read. 'My mission is to kill those who are parasitic scum. 'Maybe I will eat a part of him as well to see if I like it. 'I need to get rid of my anger ASAP.' Sutton also wrote about 'hearing voices' and mused about killing his father and sister 'with the same method'. Katherine Dowling, Sutton's own lawyer, told the court he had carried out 'one of the most depraved and monstrous murders that this state has ever seen'. 'His behaviours were horrifying and profoundly perverse,' she said. 'This must be as close to an example of evil as one could imagine.' Mr Weiss was born in Germany and moved to Australia in 2003, later becoming the coach of the men's national beach handball team in 2013. He also worked as a sports physiotherapist, acting as a soft tissue therapist for AFL powerhouse West Coast. The court heard his former wife found him dead after he failed to pick up his children from school on the day he died. She told the court in a victim impact statement about how Sutton had 'destroyed' the lives of her children. 'This was not just a crime against one person it was a crime that fractured an entire family.' She also read out a statement from their two kids, with one saying her father 'didn't deserve to die like that'. In imposing a life sentence, Justice Joseph McGrath said the offending was 'extraordinarily callous' and that he did not believe Sutton was truly remorseful.