
Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation
Giovanni Laulu, 21, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court Thursday after his arrest at a Melbourne home on Wednesday.
Police allege Laulu is one of three masked men who spread a liquid accelerant around the interior of the Adass Israel Synagogue then set it alight before dawn on Dec. 6. A worshipper preparing for morning prayers suffered minor burns.
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Yahoo
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Charges laid in kidnapping and killing of Abbotsford teen
Five people have been charged in connection with the kidnapping and homicide of an Abbotsford teenager in January. On Jan. 27, shortly before 2 a.m., police responded to a suspicious occurrence in the 2900-block of Victoria Street in Abbotsford. Witnesses reported seeing a man being assaulted before being taken away in a vehicle, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. About three hours later, the 19-year-old was located in the Crescent Beach area of Surrey with severe injuries. On Feb. 1, he died at the hospital and IHIT took over the case. The teen has not been identified by police. IHIT believes this was a targeted hit but not related to the ongoing gang conflict in the province. On Friday, five men were charged with criminal offences, four with first-degree murder and forcible confinement and one with forcible confinement. Charged with first-degree murder and forcible confinement are Ravdeep Gill, 21, a resident of Winnipeg, Harmandeep Gill, 26, a resident of Brampton, Ont., Jaskaran Singh, 20, of Surrey, and Bipanpreet Singh, 22, also living in Surrey. Inderpreet Khosa, 19, of Abbotsford has been charged with forcible confinement. ticrawford@ Related B.C. crime news: Police seek witnesses to woman's fatal fall from truck | Murder probe launched in Abbotsford kidnapping Man charged with second-degree murder in 2024 Langley homicide Maple Ridge victims of neighbourhood dispute were 'best couple ever,' devastated friends say
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Birmingham murderer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death dies in prison
A callous Birmingham murderer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death after she refused to get an abortion has died in prison. Evil Filmon Andmichaen had lured the victim to a secluded wooded spot off Freeth Street, in Ladywood, before killing her in August 2023. The 32-year-old had been in a relationship with Liwam Bereket, 26, who was six-months pregnant and looking forward to becoming a mum. READ MORE: Teen arrested after Tamworth stabbing and another man glassed READ MORE: Tributes to tragic Birmingham siblings who died in Spain as messages say 'RIP sweet angels' READ MORE: Parents warned over harmful online content and gangs targeting kids in summer holidays Andmichaen had demanded that Liwam have an abortion - but she refused. He was found guilty of her murder following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, which ended in November last year. He was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison. Now it has emerged that Andmichaen died while serving his sentence at HMP Full Sutton, a Category A and B men's prison, near Pocklington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The Prison and Probation Ombudsman are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death in custody, which happened on Tuesday, July 8. The investigation status of the case is "in progress". A Prison Service spokeswoman told BirminghamLive: "Filmon Andmichaen died on 08 July 2025. As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate." During the murder trial it emerged that almost two hours after stabbing Liwam, Andmichaen called the police and confessed to killing her, He had claimed it was an accident. Officers found Liwam with fatal injuries. Sadly, she and her unborn baby girl died at the scene. An investigation was launched and in the days that followed witnesses told police that they had previously seen Andmichaen assault Liwam in the street. Friends of Liwam's also described Andmichaen's treatment of her as "abusive and aggressive." CCTV captured Liwam and Andmichaen arriving at Freeth Street and disappearing towards woodland. It would be the last time Liwam would be seen alive. Speaking following the sentencing last year, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Colclough from West Midlands Police's Homicide Unit, said: 'It's just heart-breaking that a young woman who was looking forward to becoming a mum was killed in such a callous way. 'This was a very distressing investigation for my team, but they have been determined to get justice for Liwam and her family. Andmichaen has shown no remorse for his actions and has caused Liwam's family further pain by putting them through a trial."


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Teacher accused of Arkansas hiking murders bounced between 4 districts in 3 states
The 28-year-old teacher accused of stabbing a married couple to death in front of their children at Arkansas' Devil's Den State Park bounced between four districts in three states prior to the alleged murders, a report said. Andrew McGann – who was charged with two counts of capital murder in the killing Saturday of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41 – was once placed on administrative leave at an elementary school in the Dallas suburb of Flower Mound, Texas, in spring 2023 after concerns were raised about his classroom management, according to the Associated Press. A parent whose son was in McGann's fifth grade class in Oklahoma that year also told the AP that he remembers him being "reserved" and "not super friendly," and that McGann was "just off-putting" the first time they met. "He wouldn't look at me really, wouldn't talk to me. He would only really talk to the kids and he would just walk away," Kyle Swanson said. "I don't know, it was a strange interaction." McGann, who graduated in spring 2022 from Oklahoma State University-Tulsa with a Bachelor of science degree in elementary education, has active teaching licenses in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, according to each respective government certification website. No infractions or suspensions are noted on his public state licensures in any of those states, the AP reported. McGann was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 while he was employed at Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, "following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism," according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District. Sierra Marcum, whose son was in McGann's fourth grade class, told the AP that McGann came across as "pretty cold" and "disinterested in his students." Marcum said her son came home from school upset about some of McGann's behavior, which she reported to the school's principal. McGann resigned from the Lewisville posting in May 2023, the district said in a statement. The following school year, he taught fifth grade at an elementary school in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow before leaving to take another job at a separate Tulsa-area district, Sand Springs, from the summer of 2024 until May of this year. Officials with both Oklahoma districts said McGann passed all background checks. McGann was expected to start a new job at Springdale Public Schools in northwest Arkansas on Aug. 11, according to the AP. Then the murders unfolded on July 26 in what police have described as a seemingly "random" attack. McGann made his first appearance on Friday before an Arkansas judge, who ordered him to be held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center, assigned him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 25. Amy Labree, who knew Cristen Brink from a church in Miles City, Montana, told Fox News she had a beautiful voice and was involved in music at the church. "She got As in nursing school while raising babies and taking care of her family," Labree said. "I loved her so much and it just doesn't seem real. Just seems there should be something I could do to take all this terrible tragedy back. Sadly, they are gone."