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7NEWS
7 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Murder accused Graeme Davidson on bail after wife's drowning death while kayaking on Lake Samsonvale in Queensland
A former army major who allegedly joked about killing his wife has been granted bail after being accused of murdering his spouse during a kayak trip. Graeme Davidson, 55, was charged with murder in May after a police investigation raised doubts his wife Jacqueline, 54, had died by accident. Davidson's wife died while kayaking with her husband at Lake Samsonvale, north of Brisbane, in November 2020. Justice Tom Sullivan handed down his decision to grant bail on Friday following three days of hearings in Queensland Supreme Court. Sullivan said the prosecution had so far put forward a circumstantial case alleging Davidson's wife was murdered by her husband in a remote part of Lake Samsonvale during calm and clear weather conditions. Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said Davidson, who moved to Thailand and remarried after 2020, had joked about planning to kill his wife in circumstances that would later mirror allegations against him. 'This was made about three years prior to Jacqueline's death,' Marco said. 'Davidson told (another man) if the deceased ever sought a divorce and made a claim to his military pension he would kill her and move to Thailand, which is of course what he allegedly did.' Defence barrister Craig Eberhardt said Davidson's comment had no sinister implication in its full context. Sullivan heard Davidson — a former Australian army major and British army captain — had no history of domestic violence or prior criminal record. Eberhardt said Davidson had seen his wife fall into the water while they were paddling separate kayaks and he had been prevented from finding her for multiple minutes due to the dark and murky water. Police have accused Davidson of fraud by making a life insurance claim and attempting to make another after his wife's death to the combined value of more than $1 million. Eberhardt said the life insurance policy was set up by the couple's financial planner and it would have been suspicious for him not to make a claim. Davidson applied for bail last week with Eberhardt telling Justice Sullivan the case against his client was 'desperate' and weak. Marco had opposed bail, saying Davidson was a flight risk as he no longer had strong ties to Australia. 'The risks in this case can be sufficiently ameliorated by appropriate conditions,' Sullivan said. 'If he were to flee, he would lose access to his (Australian and British military) pensions.' Davidson's strict bail conditions include reporting to police daily, wearing a tracking device and an overnight curfew starting at 8pm. He will be prohibited from being closer than 5km from international airports and cruise ship terminals. Sullivan said Davidson had access to up to $850,000 in funds but said that sum would not last while living in a country that did not have an extradition treaty with Australia. 'The nature of this alleged murder and the alleged motive ... does not raise the prospect of reoffending in a similar way,' Sullivan said. Davidson's daughters and de facto son-in-law offered $250,000 as surety in an attempt to have him released on bail following the murder charge.
The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Teenager rises to 25th in the world after first WTA win
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will jump from 85th in the world to 25th after beating former world No.1 Naomi Osaka to secure her maiden WTA title. The local favourite, who started the year outside the top 300, overcame a slow start in the National Bank Open final to beat the Japanese star 2-6 6-4 6-1. The 18-year-old Mboko also joins Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era. Mboko dropped to her knees after Osaka fired a shot into the net as a raucous packed house burst into cheers around centre court. She ran to hug her family and coaches in the courtside box. The crowd was so rowdy, the umpire repeatedly asked fans to "please be quiet during the points." "It's been an incredible week here in Montreal," Mboko told the crowd. "Montreal, je vous aime!" After the match, when the crowd applauded Osaka with some yelling mixed in, she said: "Thanks, I guess," and did not congratulate Mboko. Osaka later declined to speak to the media. There were 13 service breaks in 25 games, with Mboko converting eight of nine break points. Fighting a wrist problem after a fall Wednesday, Mboko had 13 double-faults. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, Mboko grew up in Toronto. She beat four majors champions in the hard-court event, routing top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 and also topping Osaka, Sofia Kenin and Elena Rybakina. Osaka, the four-time grand slam champion, had her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since also reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped away for 15 months towards the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. She has been winless since the 2021 Australian Open. Mboko is the third wild card to win a WTA 1000 title event, following Maria Sharapova at Cincinnati in 2011 and Andreescu at Indian Wells in 2019. Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will jump from 85th in the world to 25th after beating former world No.1 Naomi Osaka to secure her maiden WTA title. The local favourite, who started the year outside the top 300, overcame a slow start in the National Bank Open final to beat the Japanese star 2-6 6-4 6-1. The 18-year-old Mboko also joins Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era. Mboko dropped to her knees after Osaka fired a shot into the net as a raucous packed house burst into cheers around centre court. She ran to hug her family and coaches in the courtside box. The crowd was so rowdy, the umpire repeatedly asked fans to "please be quiet during the points." "It's been an incredible week here in Montreal," Mboko told the crowd. "Montreal, je vous aime!" After the match, when the crowd applauded Osaka with some yelling mixed in, she said: "Thanks, I guess," and did not congratulate Mboko. Osaka later declined to speak to the media. There were 13 service breaks in 25 games, with Mboko converting eight of nine break points. Fighting a wrist problem after a fall Wednesday, Mboko had 13 double-faults. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, Mboko grew up in Toronto. She beat four majors champions in the hard-court event, routing top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 and also topping Osaka, Sofia Kenin and Elena Rybakina. Osaka, the four-time grand slam champion, had her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since also reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped away for 15 months towards the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. She has been winless since the 2021 Australian Open. Mboko is the third wild card to win a WTA 1000 title event, following Maria Sharapova at Cincinnati in 2011 and Andreescu at Indian Wells in 2019. Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will jump from 85th in the world to 25th after beating former world No.1 Naomi Osaka to secure her maiden WTA title. The local favourite, who started the year outside the top 300, overcame a slow start in the National Bank Open final to beat the Japanese star 2-6 6-4 6-1. The 18-year-old Mboko also joins Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era. Mboko dropped to her knees after Osaka fired a shot into the net as a raucous packed house burst into cheers around centre court. She ran to hug her family and coaches in the courtside box. The crowd was so rowdy, the umpire repeatedly asked fans to "please be quiet during the points." "It's been an incredible week here in Montreal," Mboko told the crowd. "Montreal, je vous aime!" After the match, when the crowd applauded Osaka with some yelling mixed in, she said: "Thanks, I guess," and did not congratulate Mboko. Osaka later declined to speak to the media. There were 13 service breaks in 25 games, with Mboko converting eight of nine break points. Fighting a wrist problem after a fall Wednesday, Mboko had 13 double-faults. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, Mboko grew up in Toronto. She beat four majors champions in the hard-court event, routing top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 and also topping Osaka, Sofia Kenin and Elena Rybakina. Osaka, the four-time grand slam champion, had her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since also reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped away for 15 months towards the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. She has been winless since the 2021 Australian Open. Mboko is the third wild card to win a WTA 1000 title event, following Maria Sharapova at Cincinnati in 2011 and Andreescu at Indian Wells in 2019. Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will jump from 85th in the world to 25th after beating former world No.1 Naomi Osaka to secure her maiden WTA title. The local favourite, who started the year outside the top 300, overcame a slow start in the National Bank Open final to beat the Japanese star 2-6 6-4 6-1. The 18-year-old Mboko also joins Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era. Mboko dropped to her knees after Osaka fired a shot into the net as a raucous packed house burst into cheers around centre court. She ran to hug her family and coaches in the courtside box. The crowd was so rowdy, the umpire repeatedly asked fans to "please be quiet during the points." "It's been an incredible week here in Montreal," Mboko told the crowd. "Montreal, je vous aime!" After the match, when the crowd applauded Osaka with some yelling mixed in, she said: "Thanks, I guess," and did not congratulate Mboko. Osaka later declined to speak to the media. There were 13 service breaks in 25 games, with Mboko converting eight of nine break points. Fighting a wrist problem after a fall Wednesday, Mboko had 13 double-faults. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, Mboko grew up in Toronto. She beat four majors champions in the hard-court event, routing top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 and also topping Osaka, Sofia Kenin and Elena Rybakina. Osaka, the four-time grand slam champion, had her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since also reaching the Miami final in 2022. She stepped away for 15 months towards the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. She has been winless since the 2021 Australian Open. Mboko is the third wild card to win a WTA 1000 title event, following Maria Sharapova at Cincinnati in 2011 and Andreescu at Indian Wells in 2019.
The Advertiser
8 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Pick and stick': Mortlock wants Wallabies consistency
Rugby great Stirling Mortlock is urging Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to adopt a "pick-and-stick" selection approach and consider throwing Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on the wing for a short-term educational stint. A legend of the glory days when Australia held the World Cup and Bledisloe Cup, Mortlock reckons it's no coincidence the Wallabies dominated when Rod Macqueen and Eddie Jones used the same tried-and-trusted stars week after week. The George Gregan-Stephen Larkham-Mortlock-Matt Giteau midfield axis played upwards of 40 Tests together, not to mention many more at the benchmark ACT Brumbies, building unmatched chemistry and cohesion at Test and Super Rugby level. Mortlock has grown frustrated with the constant chopping and changing of Wallabies line-ups, insisting combinations and trust in a backline at international level takes months and sometimes years to build. "Players can run the same lines but nothing can replace chemistry and connection," he told AAP. Currently sixth, the Wallabies have slumped to as low as ninth in the world rankings over the past decade - and Mortlock believes endless team changes is partly to blame. Schmidt's side showed what they were capable of in last week's stirring 22-12 victory over the British and Irish Lions and Mortlock hopes the performance proves the benchmark for both the Wallabies' mongrel style and consistency in selection. "If Joe Schmidt thinks this is his best side then, barring injury, I'd like to see him pick and stick," said Australia's 2007 World Cup captain. "Teams need at least five to 10 Tests together, minimum, to start to gel. "Nothing beats time the saddle and playing games together. "Training can help slightly but playing together, going through some hard times together and learning as a group is invaluable and builds up trust and all the things you need at the DNA of a world-class team. "So this whole notion of rotating players and subbing off players because they need a rest, I just don't get it. "I would always take a battle-hardened team that may be a little bruised and sore over a fresh team with less combinations." Hence why Mortlock was chuffed to see Schmidt keep the faith with his Wallabies throughout the Lions series. "Because they're a pretty green team, and also their combinations are pretty fresh too," he said. "So the worst thing you can do with with new combinations and a young team, especially when they don't play well, is to cut them and they don't get a chance to grow and develop and learn." One of Australia's all-time great No.13s, Mortlock believes one tweak Schmidt could potentially make is shifting Suaalii from outside centre to the wing. Despite watching Suaalii since Year 10 at The King's School, where his two sons also attended, carving up at 13 "like it was men against boys", Mortlock believes Australia's attacking trump could benefit from a positional switch. "He's not going to like this," Mortlock said. "But when I first came through, I ended up having two full seasons on the wing. I didn't like it at all. I hated it. "I was playing provincial rugby for the Brumbies at 13 but those two seasons on the wing gave me a great opportunity to understand what wingers need from a 13, from a voice and connection and combination wise. "Then, probably more importantly, 13 is your spiritual leader in defence so there's a lot of communication that is required and linking that you do in multi-phase and off set piece. "So there's a lot of decisions that you have to make and, when you're on the wing, you learn very quickly what you need from that 13 and that helped my development as a 13 massively. "So you don't lose much if you put him on the wing and, in particular, what you do get is his aerial skills. He's unbelievable with the high ball and cross kicks. "So I'm not saying Joseph isn't an outside centre but, if he ended up on the wing for a while, it'd also be great because he's got all the attributes to be an amazing world-class 13 for the Wallabies long term, if he doesn't already have them." Rugby great Stirling Mortlock is urging Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to adopt a "pick-and-stick" selection approach and consider throwing Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on the wing for a short-term educational stint. A legend of the glory days when Australia held the World Cup and Bledisloe Cup, Mortlock reckons it's no coincidence the Wallabies dominated when Rod Macqueen and Eddie Jones used the same tried-and-trusted stars week after week. The George Gregan-Stephen Larkham-Mortlock-Matt Giteau midfield axis played upwards of 40 Tests together, not to mention many more at the benchmark ACT Brumbies, building unmatched chemistry and cohesion at Test and Super Rugby level. Mortlock has grown frustrated with the constant chopping and changing of Wallabies line-ups, insisting combinations and trust in a backline at international level takes months and sometimes years to build. "Players can run the same lines but nothing can replace chemistry and connection," he told AAP. Currently sixth, the Wallabies have slumped to as low as ninth in the world rankings over the past decade - and Mortlock believes endless team changes is partly to blame. Schmidt's side showed what they were capable of in last week's stirring 22-12 victory over the British and Irish Lions and Mortlock hopes the performance proves the benchmark for both the Wallabies' mongrel style and consistency in selection. "If Joe Schmidt thinks this is his best side then, barring injury, I'd like to see him pick and stick," said Australia's 2007 World Cup captain. "Teams need at least five to 10 Tests together, minimum, to start to gel. "Nothing beats time the saddle and playing games together. "Training can help slightly but playing together, going through some hard times together and learning as a group is invaluable and builds up trust and all the things you need at the DNA of a world-class team. "So this whole notion of rotating players and subbing off players because they need a rest, I just don't get it. "I would always take a battle-hardened team that may be a little bruised and sore over a fresh team with less combinations." Hence why Mortlock was chuffed to see Schmidt keep the faith with his Wallabies throughout the Lions series. "Because they're a pretty green team, and also their combinations are pretty fresh too," he said. "So the worst thing you can do with with new combinations and a young team, especially when they don't play well, is to cut them and they don't get a chance to grow and develop and learn." One of Australia's all-time great No.13s, Mortlock believes one tweak Schmidt could potentially make is shifting Suaalii from outside centre to the wing. Despite watching Suaalii since Year 10 at The King's School, where his two sons also attended, carving up at 13 "like it was men against boys", Mortlock believes Australia's attacking trump could benefit from a positional switch. "He's not going to like this," Mortlock said. "But when I first came through, I ended up having two full seasons on the wing. I didn't like it at all. I hated it. "I was playing provincial rugby for the Brumbies at 13 but those two seasons on the wing gave me a great opportunity to understand what wingers need from a 13, from a voice and connection and combination wise. "Then, probably more importantly, 13 is your spiritual leader in defence so there's a lot of communication that is required and linking that you do in multi-phase and off set piece. "So there's a lot of decisions that you have to make and, when you're on the wing, you learn very quickly what you need from that 13 and that helped my development as a 13 massively. "So you don't lose much if you put him on the wing and, in particular, what you do get is his aerial skills. He's unbelievable with the high ball and cross kicks. "So I'm not saying Joseph isn't an outside centre but, if he ended up on the wing for a while, it'd also be great because he's got all the attributes to be an amazing world-class 13 for the Wallabies long term, if he doesn't already have them." Rugby great Stirling Mortlock is urging Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to adopt a "pick-and-stick" selection approach and consider throwing Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on the wing for a short-term educational stint. A legend of the glory days when Australia held the World Cup and Bledisloe Cup, Mortlock reckons it's no coincidence the Wallabies dominated when Rod Macqueen and Eddie Jones used the same tried-and-trusted stars week after week. The George Gregan-Stephen Larkham-Mortlock-Matt Giteau midfield axis played upwards of 40 Tests together, not to mention many more at the benchmark ACT Brumbies, building unmatched chemistry and cohesion at Test and Super Rugby level. Mortlock has grown frustrated with the constant chopping and changing of Wallabies line-ups, insisting combinations and trust in a backline at international level takes months and sometimes years to build. "Players can run the same lines but nothing can replace chemistry and connection," he told AAP. Currently sixth, the Wallabies have slumped to as low as ninth in the world rankings over the past decade - and Mortlock believes endless team changes is partly to blame. Schmidt's side showed what they were capable of in last week's stirring 22-12 victory over the British and Irish Lions and Mortlock hopes the performance proves the benchmark for both the Wallabies' mongrel style and consistency in selection. "If Joe Schmidt thinks this is his best side then, barring injury, I'd like to see him pick and stick," said Australia's 2007 World Cup captain. "Teams need at least five to 10 Tests together, minimum, to start to gel. "Nothing beats time the saddle and playing games together. "Training can help slightly but playing together, going through some hard times together and learning as a group is invaluable and builds up trust and all the things you need at the DNA of a world-class team. "So this whole notion of rotating players and subbing off players because they need a rest, I just don't get it. "I would always take a battle-hardened team that may be a little bruised and sore over a fresh team with less combinations." Hence why Mortlock was chuffed to see Schmidt keep the faith with his Wallabies throughout the Lions series. "Because they're a pretty green team, and also their combinations are pretty fresh too," he said. "So the worst thing you can do with with new combinations and a young team, especially when they don't play well, is to cut them and they don't get a chance to grow and develop and learn." One of Australia's all-time great No.13s, Mortlock believes one tweak Schmidt could potentially make is shifting Suaalii from outside centre to the wing. Despite watching Suaalii since Year 10 at The King's School, where his two sons also attended, carving up at 13 "like it was men against boys", Mortlock believes Australia's attacking trump could benefit from a positional switch. "He's not going to like this," Mortlock said. "But when I first came through, I ended up having two full seasons on the wing. I didn't like it at all. I hated it. "I was playing provincial rugby for the Brumbies at 13 but those two seasons on the wing gave me a great opportunity to understand what wingers need from a 13, from a voice and connection and combination wise. "Then, probably more importantly, 13 is your spiritual leader in defence so there's a lot of communication that is required and linking that you do in multi-phase and off set piece. "So there's a lot of decisions that you have to make and, when you're on the wing, you learn very quickly what you need from that 13 and that helped my development as a 13 massively. "So you don't lose much if you put him on the wing and, in particular, what you do get is his aerial skills. He's unbelievable with the high ball and cross kicks. "So I'm not saying Joseph isn't an outside centre but, if he ended up on the wing for a while, it'd also be great because he's got all the attributes to be an amazing world-class 13 for the Wallabies long term, if he doesn't already have them."
