Natasha blew five times the legal drinking limit during school pick-up... she has walked free from court after offering a simple explanation
Natasha Jansen, 49, fell asleep in her car outside the Northbridge playing fields of Shore School, on Sydney 's lower north shore, on the afternoon of July 23, 2024, causing a long queue.
Suspecting she may have been drinking, police administered a breath test which returned a reading of 0.243 - nearly five times the legal limit of 0.05.
She was charged with high-range drink-driving after being taken to Chatswood Police Station, where the private school mum returned a reading of 0.193.
Constable Oliver Taylor told Hornsby Local Court he had only seen three people above the level of Ms Jansen's first reading during his time on the force, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Despite the staggering reading, Ms Jansen was found not guilty on Monday after Magistrate Margaret McGlynn dismissed the charge.
Her lawyer, Michael Bowe, argued Ms Jansen had been drinking liquid chlorophyll as part of her skin regimen which, combined with her reflux condition, had contributed to an inaccurate reading.
Ms Jansen had consumed two 500ml bottles of Grants liquid chlorophyll, available at supermarkets, while waiting outside the school, the court was told.
Mr Bowe argued his client had recently switched over to the beverage and did not know it was 5.4 per cent alcohol.
Neuropharmacology expert Professor Macdonald Christie testified the amount Ms Jansen consumed should have left her with a blood alcohol reading of 0.12 or less - below the legal limit.
The court was told Ms Jansen suffered a reflux condition which a police breathalyser expert admitted could have contributed to an inaccurate reading if it caused her to regurgitate the chlorophyll into her mouth.
The breathalyser may have reflected the alcohol content in Ms Jansen's mouth, rather than in her bloodstream, the court heard.
On these grounds, Mr Bowe argued his client's condition made it impossible for the court to determine her precise blood alcohol content.
The court was also shown police footage that showed Ms Jansen was steady on her feet and not appearing to be exhibiting the behaviours of someone so drunk.
As to why she had fallen asleep in the queue, Ms Jansen gave evidence she was tired from not sleeping well at night.
Daily Mail has contacted Ms Jansen and Grants of Australia for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
A husband opened up his LinkedIn DMs - and found a devastating bombshell from a porn star that threatens to blow up his marriage: 'Your wife has been sleeping with Mark Latham'
Mark Latham's ex has allegedly tried to wreck a love rival's marriage by messaging the woman's husband on LinkedIn. The Daily Mail has obtained an extraordinary direct message Nathalie Matthews allegedly sent the husband of a second woman who became the politician's 'confidante' late last year. In the DM, sent at 12.12am on Friday, Ms Matthews's LinkedIn account says, out of the blue: 'Your wife was sleeping with Mark Latham. 'I am not scorned, I have been abused by him.' On Saturday afternoon, the husband received a second, further message from an anonymous email address. The email repeated Ms Matthews' alleged claim in similar language. It added: 'We know it's true, seen naked photos and their dirty texts and been there after she left the Fullerton Hotel where she would sleep with him. 'I wish you no harm. I hope that a peaceful life is around the corner for us all.' Pictured is the LinkedIn message Ms Matthews sent to the unnamed woman's husband The bombshell messages were sent to the husband over the weekend after his wife's relationship with Latham was first revealed by the Daily Mail. The email also included a link to a previous article by the Mail exploring the unnamed woman's relationship with Latham. It also had an unblurred version of a blurred photograph included in the article, in which the woman is pictured sitting on Latham's lap at a racecourse. Ms Matthews, via her lawyer, denied having any connection to the anonymous email address. But Latham told the Daily Mail on Monday that he also believed Ms Matthews was allegedly responsible for it. He said the photo had been obtained from his laptop without his permission. '(Ms Matthews) is the only person I know of who has them, other than the person who took them,' he said. The second woman is also convinced Ms Matthews sent the email, claiming she was the only one in possession of the unblurred image and who knew of her 'brief friendship' with Latham. She said she planned to report the messages to the police on Monday afternoon and her husband would apply for an AVO against Ms Matthews if she messaged him again. It marks the latest twist in the dramatic fallout between the former Labor leader and Ms Matthews, a Sydney businesswoman and former Liberal political hopeful, who is applying for an AVO against Latham on abuse grounds he firmly denies. The Daily Mail previously received an email from the same address that supplied the explicit image to the woman's husband, claiming the unnamed woman had 'frequent sexual encounters' with Latham. 'My friend (name removed) admitted that she was also mistreated (s*** on her) by Mark Latham,' the message read. 'They were together at the Fullerton Hotel. Despite being married, she was very jealous of Nathalie.' The unnamed woman admitted visiting the Fullerton Hotel once with Latham but denied ever being abused by or having sex with him. 'Nothing ever went anywhere as I'm happily married, it was a flirtation and nothing happened,' she said. She added that Ms Matthews 'judges others ... thinking everyone is having sex everywhere. We aren't!' Ms Matthews' ex-husband, Ross, who is himself the subject of an AVO application brought on Ms Matthews' behalf, also believes Ms Matthews sent the email. Mr Matthews, who has previously declined to go on the record against his ex, told the Daily Mail the email was the 'straw that broke the camel's back'. 'What she's done to me, whatever, I'll defend it in court. I don't really give a s*** and what she's done to Mark, I mean, he's a politician, he can look after himself,' he said. 'But now she's out there just destroying civilians who have never done anything wrong to her, just because she f***ing lost the plot, so I've had enough of it. Mr Matthews has pleaded not guilty to one count of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend against Ms Matthews which he plans to defend in court. Ms Matthews is also applying for an AVO against Latham in the NSW Local Court, accusing the politician of engaging in a 'sustained' pattern of abuse. Latham has denied abusing Ms Matthews, claims he has previously referred to as 'complete rubbish'. The matter will return to court next month.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Sad story of the ‘Mario Balotelli of darts' who had run-ins with the law and lost tour card when he couldn't get a visa
IN the years before Luke Littler burst onto the scene, Corey Cadby was the young star tipped to be a future champion. The Australian had the world at his feet after beating legend Phil Taylor at the age of 21 in 2016. 3 3 But troubles away from the oche ruined his career and he has been compared to footballer Mario Balotelli. The former Manchester City and Liverpool striker was a maverick, capable of going from sheer brilliance to utter madness. Throwing darts at a youth-team player, letting off a firework in his house the day before scoring against Manchester United and being labelled "unmanageable" by Jose Mourinho, Balotelli was never far away from the headlines. Despite winning the Premier League with City and Serie A with Inter Milan, there will always be a feeling that Super Mario never met his potential due to off-field troubles. And the same can be said about Cadby. Nicknamed "The King", he announced himself to fans by beating Taylor and then becoming world youth champion nine years ago. A run to the UK Open final and a win over Rob Cross followed. But run-ins with the law saw him disappear from the darts scene by 2020. There were visa problems over him travelling to Europe for major events as Cadby reportedly had a criminal record. An arrest warrant was even put out after he missed a court appearance after an alleged driving offence. The Darts Draait Door Podcast reflected on his career, with host Damian Vlottes seeing a similarity between him and Balotelli. Vlottes said: "That one has everything but brains. I feel the same about Cadby. Former pro Vincent van der Voort added: "Such a shame. He had everything to become a world-class player. "He had character and wasn't afraid of the big stage. "I really thought he was a very good player. "It's a real shame he ended up sabotaging himself. "He had multiple run-ins with the law and personal troubles in Australia that prevented him from entering England." Cadby once refused to play in a World Series of Darts tournament. Opening up in an old interview last year, he said: 'It is a disgrace, especially when I've been asked to go and represent the PDC. "I did let a lot of people down at the end and I'm totally ashamed of that. 'Each day was so hard and that obviously led to alcohol. I was never one bit happy, I was actually depressed every day. I didn't want to wake up and to be honest, there was thoughts of suicide on my mind.' Cadby made a brief comeback in 2023 and won back his tour card at Q-school. But he never participated in a PDC event and his card was eventually removed. As for Balotelli, he is currently a free agent after recent spells at Turkish side Adana Demirspor and Italian club Genoa. 3
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Sydney pub shooting: man dead and another wounded outside Harold Park hotel in Forest Lodge
One man is dead and another is in hospital with serious wounds after a shooting outside a Sydney pub which police described as 'outrageous' and 'brazen'. Emergency services were called to the Harold Park hotel on Ross Street in Forest Lodge in Sydney's inner west at about 6.40pm on Sunday. New South Wales police said two people had been shot multiple times by unknown assailants who left the scene by car. One man died at the scene while a second was treated by paramedics for gunshot wounds. He was in a critical condition on Monday morning after finishing a second round of surgeries. In a press conference on Monday, Det Supt Alfio Sergi of the Leichhardt Police Area Command said 'numerous' shots were fired outside pub, with some being described as 'whizzing by' by a woman working there while she was picking up glasses outside. Sergi said it had been an 'extremely dangerous' situation, and although the investigation was in its early stages, he believed it was a 'targeted attack'. 'Obviously we'll be looking at [any] links with organised crime networks, that will be a focus of our investigation,' he said. Sergi told 2GB on Monday morning the two victims had been walking from the pub to their car when they appear to have been 'ambushed' by one or more gunman. A 39-year-old man was shot. Despite being treated by police, whom Sergi said were 'nearby', as well as paramedics and a local doctor, he died at the scene. Sergi said the other victim, a 31-year-old man, was 'chased by the offender, he was shot a number of times, he slumped at the back of the hotel, again police rendered first aid assisted by some medical students who were in the hotel'. He described the shootings as an 'outrageous, brazen, callous attack', adding that a bullet hit one of the pub windows and 'narrowly missed' a female staff member. Sergi said police were searching for a dark-coloured vehicle and appealed for witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage of the incident to come forward. Sign up: AU Breaking News email One eyewitness told the ABC she heard more than a dozen shots ring out. 'It was such rapid fire I actually thought it was firecrackers, until I saw a family running down the street and screaming,' she said. Another told the Sydney Morning Herald she saw a man being shot 'at least six times' in the neck, chest and legs. Police have established a crime scene, and Leichhardt detectives – with assistance from the homicide squad – are investigating the incident. – Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
