BREAKING NEWS Bradley John Murdoch dead at 67: Peter Falconio killer succumbs to throat cancer taking his evil secret to the grave
Murdoch, 67, was diagnosed with metastasised throat cancer in 2019 and spent his last hours surrounded by prison guards at Alice Springs Hospital in the Northern Territory.
His death means any hope of finding the body of British backpacker Peter Falconio has died with him.
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Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
MP's career in tatters after being found guilty of sexually abusing two men
A state MP is set to lose his seat after he was found guilty of sexually abusing two young men - one of whom was a teenager - during his time in office. Kiama MP Gareth Ward, 44, stood trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges. He was accused of inviting a drunk 18-year-old man - whom he had met a year prior - to his South Coast home in February 2013. The man told the jury that Ward plied him with drinks before indecently assaulting him three times in one night, despite his attempts to resist. Two years later, the long-time MP sexually assaulted an intoxicated political staffer after a mid-week event at NSW Parliament House in 2015. The man, who was 24 at the time but is now in his 30s, said Ward climbed into bed with him, groped his backside, and sexually assaulted him despite him repeatedly saying 'no'. After deliberating for two-and-a-half days, the jury on Friday returned unanimous guilty verdicts for the four sexual offences. A verdict on a fifth charge of common assault was not necessary because the jurors found the act amounted to an indecent assault. Ward will be sentenced at a later date. After the jury was dismissed, crown prosecutor Monika Knowles applied for Ward to be taken into custody. The application was adjourned until Wednesday but Ward will be restrained by strict bail conditions until then. He is required to report to police daily and notify officers when he is planning to move between his Sydney and South Coast homes. Ward didn't speak as he walked out of Darlinghurst Courthouse on Friday afternoon - a stark contrast to his usual smile at waiting photographers. His parliamentary position could become vacant as a result of the convictions, one of which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail. The NSW Constitution states MPs will have their seat vacated if convicted of offences punishable with a term of more than five years' imprisonment. But Ward still has time to lodge an appeal. A NSW government spokesperson said the justice system had delivered a decisive outcome and Ward should resign from parliament immediately. 'Should Mr Ward refuse to resign, the government will take steps to protect the Legislative Assembly's integrity,' the spokesperson said in a statement. Liberal Party leader Mark Speakman has called for Ward's resignation. 'The Member for Kiama must resign from Parliament. If Mr Ward does not resign, then upon its resumption the Parliament should swiftly take all appropriate steps to protect its integrity,' Speakman said. Ward denied the allegations against him, claiming the incidents either didn't happen or didn't amount to sexual abuse. But Ms Knowles said there were too many similarities between the accounts of the two complainants - who didn't know each other - to be a coincidence. They were emotionally vulnerable and had been drinking when Ward invited them over, plied them with more drinks and sexually abused them without consent while they were lying down, she said. 'You might think what happened to (the complainants) did not happen by random chance or just dumb luck,' Ms Knowles told the jury. 'Similar behaviour, similar setting, same man, same conclusion. This is not a coincidence.' The evidence showed Ward had a tendency to act on his sexual interest in young men less powerful than he was by committing sexual offences against them, the prosecutor argued. 'These people weren't overtaken by force, they were taken by surprise,' Ms Knowles said. Ward has held the Kiama electorate since 2011, winning three elections under the Liberal banner before securing the 2023 poll as an independent.
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
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Bec Judd slams ex-Premier Daniel Andrews as she continues crusade against crime: 'I've banded Victorians together'
Rebecca Judd has slammed former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews as she continues to rail against crime in her home state. The AFL WAG, 42, has been a flag-bearer for fighting Victoria's spiralling crime crisis and weak bail laws for several years. She appeared on Triple M's Friday Huddle this week and wasted no time in taking aim at the former Premier. Bec listened to Andrews' blunt response to her 2022 video, in which she first voiced her concerns about feeling 'unsafe'. Andrews shot down Judd's claims that not enough was being done to combat crime in her upmarket suburb of Brighton. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'I'm not interested in having an argument with Ms Judd,' he said at the time. 'I'm also obliged to point out though, I think there are more than 70 additional police in the Bayside area. The most recent crime statistics released by an independent agency would not support those sweeping assessments about patterns of crime.' After listening to the throwback clip, Judd slammed the former Premier as a 'liar'. 'Actually a pretty good actor isn't he?' she said. 'That was a flat out lie about the data and the extra police officers... a lie which has been proven. '[He is] probably the biggest liar Victoria has ever seen.' Judd added while she was initially trolled for her outspoken stance on Melbourne crime, Victorians have started to rally behind the influencer. 'There's a lot of: "how dare you have an opinion because you live in that suburb". I always get: "white privileged woman from Brighton", so therefore I'm not entitled to an opinion. 'There was a heck of a lot of trolling, just go and spend some more on private security and shut up.' 'Actually a pretty good actor isn't he?' she said. 'That was a flat out lie about the data and the extra police officers... a lie which has been proven. '[He is] probably the biggest liar Victoria has ever seen' She said that her continued efforts to highlight what she described as a 'huge problem' throughout the state have resulted in the trolls vanishing. 'All of a sudden the trolling has disappeared – I would say 100 per cent of my DMs are now: "you were right, keep speaking up about it,"' she said. 'The support has been insane – I don't think I get blowback from anyone now. I've had people apologise to me, I've had people say: "I was against you and now I'm not". Even people who didn't like me for whatever reason.' 'I feel like I've really banded Victorians together,' she said. 'The fact of the matter is we have a huge problem and this is killing our state.' It comes after Judd took aim at Andrews back in March, saying he could've saved lives if he fixed Melbourne's crime scourge while in power. She called Andrews 'the Dictator' in a social media post to her 750,000-plus Instagram followers after current Premier Jacinta Allan announced the government would implement harsher bail laws. 'Gee, this aged well,' Judd posted on Instagram with an accompanying image of a 2022 story in which she warned Melbourne has a crime crisis. 'Imagine the lives that could've been saved. Imagine the terror experienced by so many Victorians that could've been stopped if the Dictator had acted when I called this out. 'Today Jacinta Allan has announced the toughest bail laws in the country. Yes it is too late for so many but it is a start. 'And mark my words, if the government stuffs this up again, I will continue to let everyone know about it. 'I am a mum and proud Victorian who just wants my beloved Melbourne to go back to being the best city in the world where everybody feels safe to live their lives.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Slain grandparents' selfless final act to save their two-year-old grandson
Grandparents who pushed their two-year-old grandson out of the way before they were mowed down by a car have been praised for their final act of love. Vicky's parents were struck by a Toyota Yaris while walking along a footpath in Wantirna South, in Melbourne 's east, about 12.20pm on Thursday, July 10. They were on their usual walk home from a playground at Coleman Road Reserve with Vicky's toddler son, their grandson, in tow. The grandmother, 59, died at the scene. The grandfather, 60, was rushed to hospital in critical condition and died two days later from a traumatic brain injury. Miraculously, their grandson survived. He was found near the scene of the crash by a neighbour, Tracey Jean, with only scratches to his face. Vicky and her husband Ethan, both aged 35, are certain that their son survived the horror crash thanks to the final, desperate act of his grandparents. 'They had the pram in front of them. The second they saw the car, they didn't save themselves,' Ethan told The Age. 'They got my son out of the way.' Vicky sad her son had 'meant the world' to his grandparents. Her parents had relocated from China only months before the tragic incident with the sole aim of spending their retirement surrounded by family. It was at their insistence that Vicky decided to have a child. Now, her son and his miraculous escape is the reason she will continue to live. 'If it weren't for my son, I don't think I would have made it through this,' she said. 'Because of him, I need to keep going.' A 91-year-old woman was behind the wheel of the silver Toyota Yaris at the time of the collision. She suffered minor injuries and was 'horribly shaken' by the incident. Police said the Toyota approached the family from behind and continued driving for nearly 200metres after the fatal impact. It is not clear whether a medical episode caused the woman to come off the road, but police have suggested she may have been out of control for up to 50metres. Two weeks out from the loss of her parents, Vicky hopes the incident will encourage Victorian lawmakers to impose stricter rules on elderly drivers. Mandatory yearly medical and driving assessments for drivers over the age of 75 and a system to spot high-risk drivers are among the changes she has recommended. The 91-year-old woman was interviewed by police and released pending further enquiries. Police have not laid any charges.
