Death of outback murderer hasn't killed hope of finding victims remains
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RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
Man arrested after 20-year-old dies in Hamilton brawl
The scene of the fatal stabbing in central Hamilton. Photo: RNZ / Victor Waters An 18-year-old man has appeared in the Hamilton District Court, in relation to a man who died after a fight in the CBD last weekend. Tyreece Te Pairi, of Hamilton, was injured in the incident in the central city just after midnight on Sunday and later died in hospital. Three other victims suffered injuries ranging from moderate to serious. RNZ understands the victims were stabbed. Detective Inspector Daryl Smith said the 20-year-old was fatally injured on Alexandra Street. "We know incidents like these are distressing for the wider community, and we will have a presence in the area while our investigation is ongoing," he said. "The information that is provided from the community is crucial in assisting in our investigation, and we urge anyone who has information and has not yet contacted us to please get in touch." Sources have told RNZ that the stabbing may have been linked to a club event in the central city. Smith appealed for anyone that saw the fight, filmed it, or have footage of it, to come forward. A web portal has also been set up for people to upload photos or footage taken on Alexandra Street and the surrounding areas, between 11.30pm on Saturday, 19 July to 11.30 the following morning. The arrested man has been remanded in custody. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
17 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Trump was told he's in Epstein files: report
United States Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May this year that his name appeared in investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. The disclosure about Trump's appearance in the Justice Department's case records threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. Some Trump supporters for years have fanned conspiracy theories about Epstein's clients and the circumstances of his 2019 death in prison. The White House sent mixed signals following the story. It released an initial statement characterising it as "fake news," but a White House official later told Reuters the administration was not denying that Trump's name appears in some files, noting that Trump was already included in a tranche of materials Bondi assembled in February for conservative influencers. Trump, 79, who was friendly with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, appears multiple times on flight logs for Epstein's private plane in the 1990s. Trump and several members of his family also appear in an Epstein contact book, alongside hundreds of others. Much of that material had been publicly released in the criminal case against Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 after her conviction for child sex-trafficking and other crimes. During her trial, Epstein's long-time pilot testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied being on the plane. Reuters was not able to immediately verify the Journal 's report. The President has faced intense backlash from his own supporters after his administration said it would not release the files, reversing a campaign promise. The Justice Department said in a memo earlier this month that there was no basis to continue probing the Epstein case, sparking anger among some prominent Trump supporters who demanded more information about wealthy and powerful people who had interacted with Epstein. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said their friendship ended before Epstein's legal troubles first began two decades ago. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement that did not directly address the Journal 's report. "Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts," the officials said. "As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings." MANY NAMES APPEARED The newspaper reported that Bondi and her deputy told Trump at a White House meeting that his name, as well as those of "many other high-profile figures," appeared in the files. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, to which he had pleaded not guilty. He was 66. In a separate case, Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a prostitution charge in Florida and received a 13-month sentence in what is now widely regarded as too lenient a deal with prosecutors. Under political pressure last week, Trump directed the Justice Department to seek the release of sealed grand jury transcripts related to Epstein. On Wednesday, US District Judge Robin Rosenberg denied one of those requests, finding that it did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret. That motion stemmed from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007, according to court documents; the department has also requested the unsealing of transcripts in Manhattan federal court related to later indictments brought against Epstein and Maxwell. Last week, the Journal reported that Trump had sent Epstein a bawdy birthday note in 2003 that ended, "Happy Birthday- and may every day be another wonderful secret." Reuters has not confirmed the authenticity of the alleged letter. Trump has sued the Journal and its owners, including billionaire Rupert Murdoch, asserting that the birthday note was fake. MAGA PUSHBACK Trump and his advisers have long engaged in conspiracy theories, including about Epstein, that have resonated with Trump's political base. The Make American Great Again movement's broad refusal to accept his administration's argument that those theories are now unfounded is unusual for a politician who is accustomed to enjoying relatively unchallenged loyalty from his supporters. Epstein killed himself in prison, according to the New York City chief medical examiner. But his connections with wealthy and powerful individuals prompted speculation that his death was not a suicide. The Justice Department said in its memo this month that it had concluded Epstein died by his own hand. In a sign of how the issue has bedevilled Trump and divided his fellow Republicans, US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday abruptly said he would send lawmakers home for the summer a day early to avoid a floor fight over a vote on the Epstein files. His decision temporarily stymied a push by Democrats and some Republicans for a vote on a bipartisan resolution that would require the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related documents. But a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday approved a subpoena seeking all Justice Department files on Epstein. Three Republicans joined five Democrats to back the effort, in a sign that Trump's party was not ready to move on from the issue. Trump, stung and frustrated by the continued focus on the Epstein story, has sought to divert attention to other topics, including unfounded accusations that former President Barack Obama undermined Trump's successful 2016 presidential campaign. Obama's office denounced the allegations as "ridiculous." More than two-thirds of Americans believe the Trump administration is hiding information about Epstein's clients, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.
RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
From ‘you're a joke' to ‘I've forgiven you': Families of Idaho murder victims address Bryan Kohberger at sentencing
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23 in Boise, Idaho. Photo: Kyle Green/Pool/AP via CNN Newsource By Eric Levenson , Dakin Andone , Maureen Chowdhury , Antoinette Radford , CNN The family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four University of Idaho students killed by Bryan Kohberger in 2022, called him a "joke," "loser," and "as dumb as they come" in a day of searing victim impact statements. "If you hadn't attacked them in their sleep , in the middle of the night like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your fucking ass," her sister Alivea Goncalves said to him, earning a round of applause from some of those gathered in the Boise, Idaho, courtroom. The impact statements from the victims' families were part of a dramatic sentencing hearing that represented the final opportunity for the families to speak in court and reflect on their loved ones, Kohberger and the case's controversial plea deal. Kohberger, too, had an opportunity to speak to the court and answer the question that remains frustratingly unclear: Why? Yet he was as unknowable as ever. Wearing an orange prison outfit, Kohberger kept a flat affect throughout the hearing and did not appear to react to any of the statements. And when he had his turn to speak to the court, he said only three words: "I respectfully decline." Earlier this month, the former criminology graduate student admitted to fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students - Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen - in their off-campus home during the overnight hours of November 13, 2022. He pleaded guilty to burglary and four counts of first-degree murder, and in exchange, prosecutors agreed to a sentence of life in prison, taking the death penalty off the table. Speaking directly to Kohberger, Alivea Goncalves said her sister would "call you exactly what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer." She called Kohberger "defendant" and asked a series of questions she said "reverberate violently" in her own head. "Sit up straight when I talk to you," she said. "How was your life right before you murdered my sister? Did you prepare for the crime before leaving your apartment? Please detail what you were thinking and feeling at the time." "If you were really smart, do you think you'd be here right now?" She dismissed him as a sociopath, a psychopath and a delusional and pathetic loser. He is "as dumb as they come," she said, adding that "no one thinks that you are important." "The truth is, you're basic," she said. "Let me be very clear: Don't ever try to convince yourself you matter just because someone finally said your name out loud. I see through you," she said. Steve Goncalves, the victim's father, turned the lectern to directly face Kohberger in his impact statement. "The world's watching because of the kids, not because of you. Nobody cares about you. … In time, you will be nothing but two initials, forgotten to the wind," he said. He called Kohberger a "joke" and described how easy it was to track him down. "Police officers tell us within minutes they had your DNA. Like a calling card. You were that careless. That foolish. That stupid. Masters degree? You're a joke. Complete joke," he said. Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen Photo: (Obtained by CNN) via CNN Newsource Bethany Funke, a roommate of the four slain students, wrote a statement - read aloud by a friend - about her survivor's guilt and her regrets about not immediately calling 911. "I was still out of it and still didn't know what happened. If I had known, I of course, would have called 911 right away," Funke wrote. "I still carry so much regret and guilt for not knowing what had happened and not calling right away, even though I understand, it wouldn't have changed anything." "That was the worst day of my life, and I know it always will be," she added. "Why me? Why did I get to live and not them?" Dylan Mortensen, who also lived with the victims, read aloud her statement through tears, describing what the perpetrator had taken away from all of them. "He didn't just take their lives, he took the light they carried into every room. He took away how they made everyone feel safe, loved, and full of joy. He took away the ability for me to tell them that I love them and that I'm so proud of them. "He took away who they were becoming, and the futures they were going to have. He took away birthdays, graduations, celebrations, and all the memories that we were supposed to make," she said. "All of it is gone. And all the people who loved them are just left to carry that weight forever." "He didn't just take them from the world, he took them from me. My friends, my people who felt like my home. The people I looked up to and adored more than anyone. He took away my ability to trust the world around me. What he did shattered me in places I didn't know could break." Mortensen said she has panic attacks "that slam into me like a tsunami out of nowhere" and send her heart racing. She also said she had a dream last year in which she was able to say goodbye to her slain roommates. "I told them I won't be able to see you again, so I need to tell you goodbye. They all kept asking why, and all I could say was I can't tell you but I have to," she said. "When I woke up, I felt shattered and heartbroken but also strangely grateful, like maybe in some way that dream gave us the goodbye we never got. Still, no dream can replace them, and no goodbye will ever feel finished." Scott Laramie, Mogen's stepfather, read a statement on behalf of him and Mogen's mother, Karen Laramie, saying their daughter was "our gift of life, our purpose and our hope." Laramie said the tragic loss of their daughter has left a "vast emotional wound" that will "never heal." "Since Maddie's loss, there's emptiness in our hearts, home and family. An endless void," Laramie said. "We will grow old grow without our only child." Ben Mogen, Mogen's father, said she was much more than his only child. "She was the only great thing I ever really did. And the only thing I was ever really proud of." He described struggling with addiction and substance abuse and how her daughter helped him. "When I wasn't wanting to live anymore, she was what would keep me from not caring anymore. Knowing that she was out there and was such a beautiful person kept me alive in a lot of rough moments," he said. Mogen's grandmother, Kim Cheeley, told a charming story about how Mogen, her first granddaughter, gave her an unusual nickname. Mogen, then a 1.5-year-old, called her grandmother the same way she mispronounced "banana" - "ba-deedle-deedle." From then on, Cheeley became known as "Deedle," she said. A couple of years before her death, Mogen bought Cheeley a necklace with "Deedle and Maddie" engraved on it, which has become one of her "treasured" possessions, she said. Following her granddaughter's death, Cheeley added an angel wing to the necklace, she told the court. "It's one of my treasured possessions," she said. Several members of the family now have an angel wing tattoo in honor of her granddaughter, Cheeley said. "I wanted mine where I could see and touch it often," she said, rubbing her left forearm. Kim Kernodle, the aunt of Xana Kernodle, said the loss of her niece at first spurred anger within their family but recently has brought them closer. "You united us with your actions," she said. "We have family and friends now that we never knew we had." Unlike many of those who spoke in court Wednesday, she offered Kohberger absolution. "Bryan, I am here today to tell you that I have forgiven you, because I can no longer live with that hate in my heart, and for me to become a better person, I have forgiven you," she said. "And anytime you want to talk and tell me what happened, you have my number. I'm here, no judgment, because I do have questions that I want you to answer. I'm here. I'll be that one that will listen to you, OK?" Jeff Kernodle, Xana Kernodle's father, offered his own regrets. On the night the students were killed, he said he almost went to his daughter's home but he had been drinking, and she told him not to drink and drive. Now, he said, he wishes that he had. "You would have had to deal with me," he told Kohberger. - CNN
