Man, 51, charged after body found in Devon flat
A man has been charged with preventing the lawful burial of a woman after a body was discovered in a Devon flat, police have said.Jamie Stevens, 51, from Reddenhill Road, Torquay, was charged of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body in Torquay between 21 May 2022 and 28 May 2025, said Devon and Cornwall Police.He was also charged with committing an act or series of acts with intent to pervert the course of justice between 10 April 2025 and 28 May 2025, the force said.Detectives said they launched an investigation after a missing person's report was received last month.
The force said officers went to a flat on Upton Road on 27 May where the body of a local woman in her 30s was found.It said formal identification was yet to be completed, within inquiries continuing to inform the woman's next of kin.A forensic post-mortem examination was due to take place later this week and the death was currently being treated as unexplained, said police.It said police would remain at the scene over coming days.Mr Stevens appeared in Plymouth Magistrates' Court earlier.
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Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Cops make bombshell admission about search for Pheobe Bishop as detectives have yet to visit a key witness in teenage girl's mysterious disappearance
Queensland Police have confirmed they have yet to visit a key witness in the tragic disappearance of Pheobe Bishop. Pheobe, 17, was last seen on May 15, leaving a rundown home in Gin Gin near Bundaberg where she had been living with couple Tanika Bromley and James Wood. Queensland Police believe the pair drove Pheobe the 40 minutes to Bundaberg Airport, where she was supposed to board an 8.30am flight to Brisbane and then onto Perth, where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend. The 17-year-old didn't check into her flight and her high school sweetheart was left waiting in vain at Perth Airport as flight after flight arrived without her on board. Queensland Police have confirmed to Daily Mail Australia they have not travelled to Western Australia as part of their investigation. 'Police continue to speak to people who know Pheobe,' a spokeswoman said. Officers previously confirmed they had spoken to Pheobe's boyfriend and the teen is not believed to be a suspect in the case. As Pheobe was being driven to the airport, the teen rang her boyfriend but he was unable to hear anything before it cut off. The boyfriend - who Daily Mail Australia is not naming because of his age - told friends he did not realise anything was wrong and went to the airport to meet her as planned. Queensland Police are 'quite confident' that Pheobe didn't make it to the airport. Detectives said they believe Bromley and Wood were the two people who drove her to the airport, in Bromley's Hyundai ix35 SUV, which was subsequently seized by police and declared a crime scene. Both have since been charged with unrelated weapons offences. No charges have been laid over Pheobe's disappearance and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Bromley or Wood were involved. Pheobe's childhood sweetheart has told friends in Western Australia how he blamed himself for her disappearance. The couple had reportedly dated throughout their high school years in Queensland before his family relocated for work. They had only recently rekindled a long-distance relationship. Messages sent by Pheobe in the lead-up to her disappearance revealed she was looking forward to being reunited with her high school sweetheart. 'I've been better but I focus on the good s***,' Pheobe said in response to a friend checking in on her. 'I take of (sic) to WA in three days! Get out of this s*** home for a bit so that will be good, just packing atm. Asked how long she was going for, Pheobe replied: 'Ten days beautiful x'. On May 16, the day after Pheobe was last seen, the teenager shared two haunting quotes to his social media account as he struggled with his guilt over her no-show. 'Maybe I deserve all the pain I am feeling right now, I mean it is my fault, I should have done better,' he posted the day after his girlfriend disappeared. 'Me staring at her dry texts wondering if I did something wrong and not asking cuz I don't wanna be annoying.' Pheobe's bank account has not been accessed since May 14 and her social media remains untouched. Her phone switched off shortly after the last call to her boyfriend on her way to the airport. Thursday May 15 It began when Pheobe failed to check in for her flight from Bundaberg via Brisbane to Perth, where she was planning to meet her boyfriend. She was being driven there by her housemates, Tanika Bromley, 33, and James Wood, 34, in Tanika's 14-year-old silver Hyundai ix35 SUV. She had been living with them at their ramshackle home after recently moving out of her mother's family farmhouse just outside of town. Pheobe used her phone for the last time during the trip in a call to her boyfriend at 8.30am, who later told a friend he was unable to hear anything before the call cut out. He later revealed how he waited for hours at Perth Airport for her to arrive, but flight after flight touched down without her. Friday May 16 When she failed to appear in Perth, the alert was raised and on Friday, Pheobe was declared a missing person. Mother Kylie Johnson made her first public appeal for help in the search and work began on sending out hundreds of flyers around town. Her worried mum insisted that the teen's disappearance was out of character. Bromley and Wood told police they dropped her off with her luggage at the airport. Pheobe was described as carrying luggage and wearing a green tank top and grey tracksuit pants. Saturday May 17 Housemate James Wood told a friend he had been printing flyers and admitted 'cops basically asked me if I did her in or hurt her at I was one of the last people to see her alive.' Wood is divorced and only moved to Gin Gin from Emerald, 500km west in Queensland's Central Highlands, around six months ago after the end of his marriage. Bromley is a mother of two and Gin Gin local with family believed to be in the Canberra area. The couple are said to have moved in together earlier this year. Police questioned both over Pheobe and released them without any charges in connection with her disappearance. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Wood or Bromley were involved in Pheobe's disappearance. Wood also took to social media offering his 5m tinnie fishing boat as a reward for any information about Pheobe's whereabouts. Monday May 20 Police searched Airport Drive but couldn't find any of Pheobe's belongings. They also failed to locate any CCTV of Pheobe at Bundaberg Airport. A nearby resident supplied CCTV footage of the Hyundai allegedly on Samuels Rd, just west of the airport, around 10.30am, two hours after Pheobe was due at the airport at 8.30am. Tuesday May 21 Reports emerge that Pheobe may have had an argument while being given a lift to the airport and was 'kicked out' of the car. Wednesday May 22 Detectives sealed off Bromley and Wood's rented Gin Gin property, and officers in forensics gear could be seen poring over the house, just off the main road in the centre of town. They were also seen combing areas around Samuels Rd, including a search beyond the perimeter of a local dump. Bromley's Hyundai was also seized by police, with forensic experts examining it at a facility in Bundaberg. Pheobe's last posts to social media before her disappearance also came to light, including an eerie March post to TikTok where she described having a conversation with her younger self. She said she did not 'see nor talk' to her mother any more 'but it's better like this'. Pheobe also wrote that she had been 'in and out' of home for years, but 'this time we're not going back'. Thursday May 22 Daily Mail Australia identified that Wood and Bromley were the couple Pheobe had been living with at the Gin Gin house. The couple's neighbour, Shari Loughland, said Pheobe had only been living there 'for a few weeks, up to a month or two'. Living next door to the couple had become 'horrible' because it was cluttered with rubbish and there had been noise from parties and a howling dog, Ms Loughland said. A stomach-churning stench surrounded the home and Ms Loughland said the remains of up to 11 dead dogs had been found at the property during police inquiries. Daily Mail Australia also revealed Bromley was on bail and facing unrelated charges for possessing a sawn-off shotgun and a flick knife in public. She had been charged back on February 24 after police allegedly discovered the weapons on her on the Capricorn Highway in Emerald, Queensland. Friday May 23 Pheobe's despairing mum made an impassioned plea for the teen to get in touch. 'As each day goes by, it gets harder to breathe. I feel numb, not knowing where you are or if you're okay,' Ms Johnson said. The police search has now expanded into new rural areas for any trace of the teenager, and called in divers to search local waterways. Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson confirmed that officers are focusing on various locations for any signs that could lead to Pheobe's whereabouts. 'We are searching for any evidence or information that could help us find Pheobe,' Detective Thompson said. Saturday May 24 Police and SES volunteers began conducting a land, water and aerial search of the Good Night Scrub National Park, 40 minutes south of Gin Gin. Pheobe's final posts to social media before she disappeared were revealed and suggested the teen had fallen out with her mother, and would not return home. Ms Johnson addressed her daughter directly in a post on Facebook, which also featured a child's drawing of a rainbow and the words 'thinking of you'. 'Phee Phee we won't stop looking for you 'til your home. I urge everyone in Gin Gin to keep their porch lights on tonight and guide our girl home,' she wrote. Sunday May 25 The seach for Pheobe took a dark twist as detectives brought in cadaver dogs in their search of the scrubland park. A former friend revealed she had cut off all contact with one of Pheobe's housemates in recent months over his behaviour. Monday May 26 Detectives said they had recovered items potentially linked to their investigation - but they also believed some evidence may have been moved from the park before they arrived. Police also revealed Bromley had been charged with further unrelated weapons offences, after they allegedly found a shortened firearm, replica handguns and ammunition during their search of the Hyundai. The 33-year-old had been arrested at Milbank the day before and spent a night in jail before she appeared in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Monday. During the appearance, Magistrate John McInnes told Bromley she appeared to have an 'unhealthy interest in in short firearms'. But he added that she was a victim of domestic violence and 'I suspect you might not be the prime mover here'. Bromley was granted bail with strict conditions, including that she not see Wood, and that she check in at the Gin Gin police station three days a week. Tuesday May 27 Bromley's Hyundai was released by police and was spotted in Bundaberg, sporting a makeshift fake rego plate and the Hyundai logo altered to look like a Toyota symbol. Using tape, white paint and a permanent marker, the numbers of the car's Queensland registration 414-EW3 had been tweaked to be a fake NSW plate 474 BW8. Wednesday May 28 Police suspended their search of Good Night Scrub National park, but said their probe was ongoing and they remained focused on the greater Gin Gin area. Bromley also visited the local police station as part of her bail conditions, trying to hide her face and shunning questions from reporters. That night, police confirmed that Wood had also been charged with unrelated weapons offences over the guns allegedly found in the Hyundai when they searched it. Thursday May 29 Daily Mail Australia witnessed Wood being confronted by an irate local as he slept in the driver's seat of his car under a tree in a local park. Wood appeared to have been living in the Hyundai since police released it to him. 'He's here, he's hiding here,' the local yelled, prodding the 34-year-old with a beach umbrella before he sped away. His bizarre public appearance came as Pheobe had been missing for two weeks, and a bitter rift erupted among members of the teen's family. Pheobe's mother Kylie and her sister Kaylea hit back at her aunt who went on TV to share disturbing texts from the missing teen, and blasted her claims about the youngster's upbringing. Caz Johnson - sister of Pheobe's mum Kylie Johnson - made her allegations about the 17-year-old's tumultuous family life on Network Ten's The Project on Wednesday night. Her aunt revealed Pheobe sent text messages out of the blue on April 26 to say her mother had told her to 'get out', but didn't want to talk about the matter as it was 'a long story'. 'I'm flying the f*** out of here to see my boyfriend,' she wrote, in texts shown on Ten. 'If it goes to plan I'm not coming back. I can't do s*** anymore. I need to get out of this hell hole.' Caz claimed Pheobe had an unsettled childhood, regularly changing schools and having to deal with new stepdads coming in and out of her life. But Pheobe's mother reacted immediately on social media after The Project segment aired, saying her sister knew 'nothing' about her daughter. Saturday May 31 Daily Mail Australia revealed that Bromley was once good mates with Pheobe's mum Kylie and even worked for her NDIS support company. Friends said the pair fell out, with Ms Johnson making Bromley redundant from her role at Smileys Support Coordination last year. On the unrelated weapons charges, Wood is due to appear in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on June 13, while Bromley is due to appear on June 23. Pheobe's grief-stricken mother admitted the 'worst case-scenario could have happened' in a harrowing video released by Queensland Police. She begged the public to share any information about her disappearance with police as Kylie Johnson's voice wavered in front of the camera. 'This investigation will not be over for me until we find Pheobe,' she said. 'The search for Pheobe goes on. I still hold hope that Pheobe will come home but I have to consider the possibility that she also won't. 'If the worst-case scenario has happened, I at least need to know where she's resting. I need to know where Pheobe is. 'My daughter wouldn't just disappear. Someone knows something. 'As a mum, I'm asking you to come forward with your information. 'Please speak to police if you have any information, big or small. You can report information to police anonymously, via PoliceLink or CrimeStoppers.' Pheobe's mum posted statement online furiously hitting back after her public plea for help to find her daughter was ripped apart by trolls. 'People wanted a statement, they got one yet still question me as a mother,' her post read. 'I'm sorry that I'm currently an emotional wreck, trying to protect our other children from the media and the trolls, trying to continue to breathe while your world shatters around you! 'If anyone would like to be in this position please step in and show me how to do this. 'Show me what a perfect parent looks like? Show me how to navigate this? Show me how to deal with the unknown and the uncertainty? 'Show me how to use perfect language and emotion in a situation that NO parent ever wants to be in?'
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Doctor warns of 'highly toxic' effect of popular natural remedy - after it puts toddler in a coma
Ingesting tea tree oil could result in life-threatening organ damage, seizures and even a coma, a GP has warned. According to Dr Sermed Mezher, a UK based doctor, swallowing tiny amounts of the essential oil can result in serious poisoning 'within a minute'. In an Instagram video that has so far been viewed over 2.1million times, Dr Mezher explained the risks in response to a video of a young boy who ended up in a coma after swallowing it. Dr Mezher said: 'Swallowing tea tree oil can be highly toxic due to its potent chemical composition, which includes terpinen-4-ol, cineole, and other volatile compounds.' Terpinen-4-ol is the most abundant compound in tea tree oil—extracted from the Melaleuca alternifolia tree—which posses antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. However when ingested, the oil can rapidly affect the nervous system, leading to drowsiness, loss of coordination and seizures. In 2022 alone, the US poison control centre treated more than 2,200 cases of toxicity linked to tea tree oil. 'One of them was a 23-month-old boy who drank just 10mls which put him in a coma for five hours until he thankfully recovered,' Dr Mezher explained. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sermed Mezher (@drsermedmezher) He added that its supposed benefits for skin health may also be bogus. 'Tree oil has been sold as a miracle cure to multiple skin conditions, and yet there's very little evidence that it works,' he said. A 2023 study found that tea tree oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that helped treat teenage and adult acne—though researchers cautioned it was not possible to draw conclusions on its safety. The poison control centre treated twice as many cases of toxicity caused by tea tree oil compared to any other essential oil, including cinnamon, clove and eucalyptus oil. 'I don't know about you, but I am not keeping this at home,' Dr Mezher cautioned. As well as attacking the nervous system, ingesting the 'horrifically toxic' product can also irritate the gastrointestinal tract, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 'Tea tree oil is also harsh on the liver,' Dr Mezher added. 'The body struggles to metabolise its toxic components, potentially leading to organ damage with repeated or high-dose exposure.' 'Because tea tree oil absorbs quickly into the bloodstream, poisoning symptoms can appear within minutes to a few hours. 'If ingestion occurs, immediate medical attention is essential to prevent serious complications.' The NHS warns against trying to make someone who has swallowed something poisonous and is unconscious sick, and recommends instead putting them in the recovery position until an ambulance arrives. Tea tree oil, a common ingredient in many skincare products, has previously been linked to a number of superbug infections including MRSA—a type of bacteria that is resistant to treatment and causes life-threatening infection. US scientists discovered that repeated low-dose use of the essential oil made the MRSA bacteria, as well as and salmonella, more resistant to antibiotics. Professor David McDowell, from the University of Ulster, warned that people who use tea tree oil on their skin repeatedly to treat acne, could be 'stressing' the bacteria on the skin rather than killing it—increasing their resistance to antibiotics. 'Although tea tree oil may be an effective antimicrobial agent when appropriately used at high concentrations, its application at low concentrations may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens,' he warned.
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
White Brits will be a minority in the UK within the next 40 years, report claims
White Brits will become a minority race in the UK population within the next 40 years, a new report has claimed. A study into birth rates and migration levels has predicted that white British people will make up only 33.7 per cent of the population by the end of the century. The research conducted by Professor Matt Goodwin of Buckingham University says the projected change will come in phases: first falling from the current level of 73 per cent to 57 per cent by 2050, then into the minority levels by 2063. Professor Goodwin's report also suggests significant changes for foreign-born citizens and second-generation immigrants, who currently make up less than 20 per cent of the population. These groups, the report says, will comprise 33.5 per cent of the UK's population in the next 25 years. It also predicts a near three-times increase in the number of Muslims living in the UK, suggesting that almost one in five people living in Britain will be followers of Islam by the end of the century. By the year 2100, the report expects 60 per cent of people living in the UK to have at least have one immigrant parent. Professor Goodwin said his research, which was based on Office for National Statistics and census data, will 'spark anxiety, concern and political opposition' among voters who wish to 'maintain the culture of the traditional majority'. He added: 'By the end of the current century, most of the people on these islands will not be able to trace their roots in this country back more than one or two generations. 'This raises enormous questions about the capacity of our country and leaders to unify people around a shared sense of identity, values, ways of life, and culture, and avoid the very real risk of us becoming what Sir Keir Starmer referred to in May as "an island of strangers".' In the report titled 'Demographic Change and the Future of the United Kingdom', Professor Goodwin also warned of the UK's ability to 'absorb and manage this scale of demographic change'. He said: 'What these projections show is that the UK is currently on course to experience enormous and historically unprecedented changes in the composition of its population.' Professor Goodwin's projections were based on non-white ethnic groups having a higher fertility rate until the end of the century. The UK- born fertility rate used was 1.39 for those born in the UK , 1.97 for foreign-born people, for Muslims it was 2.35, and for non-Muslims 1.54. The report comes just days after 1,200 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in what was labelled 'a day of shame '. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer even faced criticism from one of his own ministers who said control of Britain's borders had been lost as a surge in dinghy crossings overwhelmed French and UK border patrol vessels. The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811. This is 42 per cent higher than the 10,448 at the same point last year and 95 per cent up from the same point in 2023, 7,610. It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022. But the total of arrivals for the year, 14,811, is the highest ever recorded for the first five months of a year since data was first recorded on Channel crossings in 2018. It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year - and n 2024 the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9, reaching 14,058. At Gravelines in northern France, more than half a dozen French police officers stood by and watched as migrants waded into the sea and scrambled on to an inflatable boat. French authorities said they rescued 184 people. One of Sir Keir's senior cabinet ministers admitted the scenes were 'pretty shocking' as he said the UK had 'lost control of its borders over the last five years'. Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky News that the latest crossings revealed a 'really big problem' - but insisted there was pressure being put on France for better co-operation and crackdowns ahead. Britain had agreed a deal in 2023 to pay France £480million over three years to stop the crossings, including £175million in the current financial year – more than £480,000 per day. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the latest Channel scenes 'a disgrace but sadly entirely expected' and 'a day of shame for the Labour Government'. He added: 'It's a shameful failure by the French to discharge their duties to stop illegal migration. The French are failing to stop these crossings by illegal immigrants. 'Over a thousand illegal immigrants in a single day, boats flooding the Channel, Border Force stretched beyond breaking point, and even fishing vessels drafted in because our maritime rescue services are overwhelmed.' And Richard Tice MP, deputy leader of Reform UK, said: 'It looks like we pay hundreds of millions to give French police officers photography lessons because they are certainly not providing any security. Frankly, the Government should be suing the French for our money back.' At least 18 migrant boats were seen leaving the French coast on Sunday, June 1, carrying more than 1,000 people - exceeding the previous daily record for 2025 of 825, set earlier last month. Mr Healey added: 'Pretty shocking, those scenes [on Sunday]. The truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years. 'The last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration. 'But I think that [Sunday] tells us a really big problem which is that you've got French police unable to intervene to intervene and intercept the boats when they are in shallow water. 'We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming round like a taxi to pick them up.' Mr Healey insisted there was 'new co-operation' with the French suggesting their officials would intervene in the water. When asked whether he was 'hacked off' with France for not doing so now, Mr Healey said: 'They are not doing it, but we've got the agreement that they will change the way they work. 'Our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.'
