Top Asian News 7:03 a.m. GMT
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A sequestered jury in Australia began deliberations Monday in the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson, accused of killing her estranged husband's relatives by deliberately serving them poisonous mushrooms for lunch. Three of Patterson's four lunch guests — her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson — died in the hospital after the 2023 meal at her home in Leongatha, at which she served individual beef Wellington pastries containing death cap mushrooms. She is accused of attempting to murder the fourth, Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who was gravely ill but survived. During the nine-week Supreme Court trial in the state of Victoria, Patterson gave evidence in her own defense.
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CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
Officials urge health screening for 1,200 children after Australian child care worker charged with rape, abuse
About 1,200 families have been urged by police in Australia to have their children tested for infectious diseases after a child care worker in Melbourne was charged with multiple sexual assault offenses againgst eight children. Joshua Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 offenses, including child rape and attempted rape and possession of child sexual abuse material, the Victoria Police said in a statement Tuesday. "The most important thing for our investigators was that we needed to identify the victims involved," Acting Commander Janet Stevenson of the Victoria Police's Crime Command said Tuesday. "These are some of the most vulnerable members of our community and the conversations police have had to have with their families were no doubt life changing in the worst possible way." Victoria state Police Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam, center, acting Police Commander Janet Stevenson, left, and Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan, appear at a news conference in Melbourne, Australia, July 1, 2025. Reuters/AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION The charges relate to eight alleged victims from one child care centre in the Melbourne suburb of Point Cook, between April 2022 and January 2023, but authorities fear more children may have been affected. Brown worked at more than 20 child care centers in the region between 2017 and his arrest in May 2025, according to the police. Detectives are investigating, "as a priority," evidence of possible further offenses by Brown during his time at another child care center in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon. In total, some 2,600 families whose children attended the two institutions during Brown's employment have been contacted, with authorities recommending 1,200 children be tested for certain diseases due to the "manner of the alleged offending," state health authorities said. "As a precaution, we are recommending that some children undergo testing for infectious diseases due to a potential exposure risk in that period," Victoria Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath said at a news conference on Tuesday. "We do believe it's a low risk, but we want to offer this to provide assurance to the parents about the health and wellbeing of their children." McGrath didn't specify which diseases the health department had recommended testing for, but said they could be treated with antibiotics. The police said they believe Brown acted alone, and only within the state of Victoria. He had a valid certification to work with children in the state, and was not known to police prior to his arrest in May, after detectives discovered he had child abuse material. Top Victoria state official, Premier Jacinta Allan, said in a statement Tuesday that she was "sickened by these allegations of abuse. They are shocking and distressing." "My heart breaks for those families who are living every parent's worst nightmare," she added. "As a parent I can only imagine the unbearable pain and distress the affected families are feeling." Brown, who has been in custody since May and has yet to enter a plea to the charges, is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sept. 15.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hundreds of children told to test for disease in Australia after childcare worker charged with child sex abuse
Parents of 1,200 children in the Australian state of Victoria are being advised to get them tested for infectious diseases after a childcare worker was charged with more than 70 offenses including sexual assault. Officials issued the call after Victoria Police announced the arrest of Joshua Dale Brown, 26, who is accused of sexually abusing eight children between the ages of 5 months and 2 years at a childcare center in Melbourne in 2022 and 2023. All of the offenses relate to the eight alleged victims, who attended one center, but police haven't ruled out other potential victims at 19 other childcare centers he's known to have worked since 2017. Victoria Police Acting Commander Janet Stevenson said Brown's name was being publicized so that parents could check if their child came into contact with him. 'It's very important to ensure that every parent out there that has a child in childcare knows who he is and where he worked,' Stevenson said in a news conference Tuesday. Brown is currently in custody and due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 15, police said in a news release Tuesday. CNN is working to confirm Brown's legal representation. Victoria Police's Sexual Crime Squad began investigating in May of this year after detectives discovered child abuse material, authorities said. Police then executed a search warrant at Brown's home, leading to his arrest. Police then worked to identify the alleged victims. 'Last week, we notified eight families that we had charged Brown with sexually offending against their children,' Stevenson said. 'As you could imagine, this was deeply distressing for the families to hear. We worked with our partner agencies to put all supports in place to assist them through this difficult period.' Brown had a valid 'Working with Children Check,' a compulsory screening for people engaging in child-related work in Australia, Stevenson said. Some of the childcare centers Brown worked at for 'a very short period of time.' Health authorities and police have identified and contacted around 2,600 families whose children attended the childcare centers where Brown worked, Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath said during the news conference. About 1,200 children are being recommended to undergo testing for infectious diseases, McGrath said. 'We are recommending that some children undergo testing for infectious diseases due to potential exposure risk in that period. We do understand that this is another distressing element to the situation, and we're taking this approach as a precaution,' McGrath said. He declined to say what diseases the children are being asked to test for but said they can be treated with antibiotics. Brown is accused of sexually assaulting children as well as producing and transmitting child abuse material, among other charges, according to authorities. The eight alleged victims attended the Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, a suburb of Melbourne. Police did not disclose the gender of the victims. Detectives are also examining evidence of possible offenses at another childcare center in Essendon, northwest Melbourne, 'as a priority,' according to the news release. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said she was 'sickened' by the allegations. 'They are shocking and distressing, and my heart just breaks for the families who are living every parent's worst nightmare, and as a parent too, I can only imagine the unbearable grief and pain the affected families are experiencing right now,' Allan said. CNN's Hilary Whiteman contributed reporting.
CNN
6 hours ago
- CNN
Hundreds of children told to test for disease in Australia after childcare worker charged with child sex abuse
Parents of 1,200 children in the Australian state of Victoria are being advised to get them tested for infectious diseases after a childcare worker was charged with more than 70 offenses including sexual assault. Officials issued the call after Victoria Police announced the arrest of Joshua Dale Brown, 26, who is accused of sexually abusing eight children between the ages of 5 months and 2 years at a childcare center in Melbourne in 2022 and 2023. All of the offenses relate to the eight alleged victims, who attended one center, but police haven't ruled out other potential victims at 19 other childcare centers he's known to have worked since 2017. Victoria Police Acting Commander Janet Stevenson said Brown's name was being publicized so that parents could check if their child came into contact with him. 'It's very important to ensure that every parent out there that has a child in childcare knows who he is and where he worked,' Stevenson said in a news conference Tuesday. Brown is currently in custody and due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 15, police said in a news release Tuesday. CNN is working to confirm Brown's legal representation. Victoria Police's Sexual Crime Squad began investigating in May of this year after detectives discovered child abuse material, authorities said. Police then executed a search warrant at Brown's home, leading to his arrest. Police then worked to identify the alleged victims. 'Last week, we notified eight families that we had charged Brown with sexually offending against their children,' Stevenson said. 'As you could imagine, this was deeply distressing for the families to hear. We worked with our partner agencies to put all supports in place to assist them through this difficult period.' Brown had a valid 'Working with Children Check,' a compulsory screening for people engaging in child-related work in Australia, Stevenson said. Some of the childcare centers Brown worked at for 'a very short period of time.' Health authorities and police have identified and contacted around 2,600 families whose children attended the childcare centers where Brown worked, Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath said during the news conference. About 1,200 children are being recommended to undergo testing for infectious diseases, McGrath said. 'We are recommending that some children undergo testing for infectious diseases due to potential exposure risk in that period. We do understand that this is another distressing element to the situation, and we're taking this approach as a precaution,' McGrath said. He declined to say what diseases the children are being asked to test for but said they can be treated with antibiotics. Brown is accused of sexually assaulting children as well as producing and transmitting child abuse material, among other charges, according to authorities. The eight alleged victims attended the Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, a suburb of Melbourne. Police did not disclose the gender of the victims. Detectives are also examining evidence of possible offenses at another childcare center in Essendon, northwest Melbourne, 'as a priority,' according to the news release. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said she was 'sickened' by the allegations. 'They are shocking and distressing, and my heart just breaks for the families who are living every parent's worst nightmare, and as a parent too, I can only imagine the unbearable grief and pain the affected families are experiencing right now,' Allan said. CNN's Hilary Whiteman contributed reporting.
