Latest news with #HomicideInvestigationUnit
9 News
5 days ago
- 9 News
Pheobe Bishop's housemate released without charge after questioning by police
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here The housemate of a missing Bundaberg teenager has been released without charge after being questioned by police. Queensland Police yesterday took 34-year-old James Wood into custody over the disappearance of 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop three weeks ago. Queensland Police said they have released 34-year-old James Wood after questioning. (Nine) Bishop disappeared three weeks ago. She lived with Wood and his partner Tanika Bromley in a share home in Gin Gin. They were the last people to see her after they dropped her off at Bundaberg Airport to fly to Western Australia via Brisbane about 8.30am on May 15. Pheobe was meant to visit her boyfriend in Western Australia but, according to police, never checked in for her flight or entered the terminal. Pheobe was meant to visit her boyfriend in Western Australia but, according to police, never checked in for her flight or entered the terminal. (Queensland Police) Police, with the help of the Homicide Investigation Unit, are continuing to investigate Pheobe's suspicious disappearance. Last week, police suspended their search of the Good Night Scrub National Park, about an hour away from where Pheobe was last seen, which had been a focus in the investigation. They said they found evidence linked to the teen's disappearance but have not said what they found. Detectives also said they believe evidence had been moved from the bushland prior to their search. Pheobe's housemate's grey Hyundai ix35 with registration 414EW3. (Queensland Police) Two crime scenes have been declared — the home in Gin Gin and her housemate's grey Hyundai ix35 with registration 414EW3. A search of the car led police to allegedly find a shortened firearm, ammunition, and two replica handguns. More ammunition was allegedly found at a home in Gin Gin. Bromley and Wood have since been charged with unrelated weapons offences. They remain before the courts on the weapons charges. national queensland bundaberg CONTACT US
SBS Australia
08-05-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
The death toll rises from a suspicious fire in Toowoomba
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . TRANSCRIPT: The death toll rises from a suspicious fire in Toowoomba; Anthony Albanese throws down the gauntlet to the Greens ahead of a new second term parliament; Western Australia signs a deal for an NRL team in Perth. [[A WARNING THAT THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRESSING FOR SOME LISTENERS]] Three children have now died in a house fire in the Queensland city of Toowoomba. The two children died in hospital after being rushed there in a critical condition, following their escape from the blaze with a woman and a man. The body of another child - believed to be a nine year old boy - had already been located in the home. Detective Superintendent George Marchaseni says a woman is under police guard in hospital as the investigation into the cause of the blaze continues. "What we know so far is that we are treating this matter as suspicious. We have detectives from the Darling Downs district along with the Homicide Investigation Unit assisting this investigation. We have also brought in other specialist teams to assist, and some of that takes part with the forensic and scientific investigation at the scene. As part of our investigation we'll be looking at any interaction or communication from the family with police prior to this incident." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued an ultimatum to the Greens who will be part of the senate in the new Parliament, telling them they need to be cooperative during Labor's second term. There has been a testy relationship between Labor and the Greens after the minor party blocked several of their bills in the first Albanese term. The Greens have kept their 11 Senate seats to become the likely sole balance of power in the upper house, even as the party faces losing three out of their four lower house seats - including that of party leader Adam Bandt. Syria is holding indirect talks with Israel in a bid to keep tensions from spiralling across the region. Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on parts of Syria last week, saying it was aiming to protect the country's Druze minority from coming under attack by pro-government gunmen. The attacks followed clashes between forces loyal to the President and fighters from the minority Druze sect that left nearly 100 people dead. Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa says they don't want the situation to get any worse. "As for the indirect negotiations with Israel, these negotiations came through intermediaries as an attempt to contain the situation and prevent it from spiralling out of control for both parties. The Israeli interventions are random and have violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Since our arrival in Damascus, we have declared to all relevant parties that Syria remains committed to the 1974 Agreement." Several hundred people have attended a rally in Pakistan's capital Islamabad to show support for the country's military amid continuing tensions with India. The rally has been organised by the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League political party, days after military exchanges between Pakistan and India, with both sides making competing claims about the events. The party's deputy information secretary Saleem Ilyas says the rally has shown the public's support for retaliating against India. "The main purpose of today's rally was to express solidarity with the Pakistan army and to assure it that the Pakistani people stand with it. This rally also sent a message to India that not only the Pakistani forces but also the people of Pakistan are here to give a befitting reply. We believe that the attack on mosques and educational institutions by India last night was a cowardly act." New South Wales will hold a parliamentary inquiry into the state's illegal tobacco trade, amid concerns of links with organised crime syndicates. The inquiry follows moves by Health Minister Ryan Park last year to introduce tougher laws for retailers to combat a growing tobacco black market. But Opposition Leader Mark Speakman says the government has overall not been doing enough. "There is a crisis in New South Wales when it comes to the illegal tobacco trade. It's not just a health crisis. It's a criminal crisis. We're seeing arson attacks across New South Wales. We're seeing small businesses doing the right thing struggling because of the illegal tobacco trade. And we're seeing for the first time a rise potentially in tobacco consumption in New South Wales" The critically endangered mountain pygmy-possum is showing signs of recovery in the Kosciuszko National Park. The Department of Climate Change and Environment has counted 107 marsupials at a single site – the highest on record - with almost 78 females carrying young in their pouches. The numbers of the pygmy possum had been ravaged by the 2019 summer bushfires, which were already under threat from drought that had impacted their main food source of bogong moths. The Western Australian government has officially signed a deal with the Australian Rugby League Commission to establish a team in Perth. The Bears entry to the competition has been rubber-stamped to happen as early as 2027. The agreement ends more than a year of speculation over Perth's admission as an expansion franchise, which has routinely appeared locked in before regular setbacks.
7NEWS
07-05-2025
- 7NEWS
Two more children dead after horrific house fire in Toowoomba
Two sisters have died in hospital following a ferocious house fire which also killed a young boy and injured several family members. Just after midnight on Wednesday a home on Merritt St in Harristown, Toowoomba, became engulfed in flames. Six people, including four children, managed to escape as the fire took hold however a fifth child did not make it out in time. Following a search of the property firefighters located a body believed to be that of a nine-year-old boy near the front door of the home. He has not yet been formally identified. Five family members were injured in the blaze — including two sisters aged four and seven who were taken to Queensland Children's Hospital. On Thursday morning police confirmed the girls had died overnight. A 36-year-old woman who was airlifted to Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital with serious injuries remains in a critical condition under police guard. A 34-year-old and 18-year-old man were hospitalised but have since been discharged. An 11-year-old boy was uninjured. Police won't confirm if there was any history of domestic violence within the family or if they'd been called to this house before. The fire is being treated as suspicious. 'The house remains a crime scene and is currently being forensically examined as part of Operation Xray Paxton with assistance from the Homicide Investigation Unit,' police sad.'Police are continuing to treat the fire as suspicious, are not looking for anyone else in connection to this incident at this time.' Acting Superintendent Scott Stahlhut said investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing. 'We are in the early stages and working closely with forensics and scientific teams to get a clear picture of what happened,' he said. 'We are deeply saddened by this incident.' 'Our hearts go out to the Toowoomba community and to the family and friends involved.' Queensland Fire Department station manager Neil Goodman said crews who arrived at the scene first were greeted by a 'wall of flame and heavy smoke'. The front area of the house was mostly impacted. 'The guys had quite ... a difficult time making access and getting in to conduct a primary search,' Goodman said. He said he spoke to one of the family members who was 'hysterical' and told crews where the missing child might be. 'We're all fathers, we've all got children, so it's always hard, it's a little bit harder when it's sort of similar to your own situation,' Goodman said. Neighbour Jennifer Smith described the blaze as 'intense'. 'Little children were burnt and they were taken away in the ambulance,' she told 7NEWS. She said the family were always friendly and the children often played in the front yard. Anyone who has any information or relevant dashcam or CCTV vision has been urged to come forward.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Moment That Showed Luigi Mangione is Bigger Than Trump
During the porn star hush money case, one or two dozen members of the public would line up in the dimly lit hallway outside the 15th-floor Manhattan courtroom for a chance to watch the proceedings. That was on days when porn star Stormy Daniels or onetime fixer Michael Cohen testified. On some days, when the only draw was Donald Trump, there were no spectators at all. But several hundred people filled the hallway outside that same courtroom Friday afternoon, hoping to see Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown sidewalk two months ago. All but a few in the crowd were young and female. One of them sported a red and white scarf with the message 'Free Luigi.' Their voices combined to an excited buzz, as if they were teen fans hoping to see a pop idol. 'We're here to keep spreading Luigi's message,' a young woman said. Among them was Chelsea Manning, the ex-soldier and transgender woman who served seven years for leaking classified material. 'I'm just expressing my Sixth Amendment rights,' Manning said. The courthouse gloom then suddenly filled with cheers. A figure in a black suit had stepped off an elevator, and the crowd immediately recognized her as Karen Friedman Agnifilo, their hero's lead defense attorney. Friedman Agnifilo had spent much of her career as a prosecutor, and served as chief assistant district attorney in this same building. She had previously been deputy chief of the Sex Crimes Unit. She had also worked with the Homicide Investigation Unit, the Family Violence and Child Abuse Bureau, and the Asian Gang Unit. Neither she nor Trump's lawyers nor any other attorneys in recent memory had received such a welcome in this building. Friedman Agnifilo's shoes clicked evenly on the floor as she continued into the courtroom. She turned left toward the defense table where she would have turned right in her days as a prosecutor. The press had been admitted first, which left room at the back for only two dozen fans, three of them male. They entered silently and remained so as the big moment came. Mangione arrived on the 15th floor through the same black-tinted double doors at the end of the hallway that Trump had used. He was model handsome, and had this been a fashion shoot, you might have said he really knew how to wear those shackles and a heavy bulletproof vest over his green sweater and off-white shirt. Not that there was anything preening or strutting about him. He was simply composed under what had to be extremely stressful circumstances. The hush deepened among those who had cheered Friedman Agnifilo a few minutes before. Some continuing shouts either from the far end of the hallway or the street reached the courtroom, but those inside continued to bear silent witness. The Dec. 4, 2024, killing of Thompson as he headed for an investors' meeting shined a light on an anger against health insurers that was of surprising breadth and intensity. One thing Mangione shares with Trump is an instinct for rousing pervasive, but unexpressed, grievance into fury. People who normally decried violence of any form said they did not really believe in killing, but… Yet these supporters in the back rows, and the many who did not get into the courtroom, were generally too young to have health insurance issues. They may have older family members who were denied care, but their devotion to Mangione does not seem to arise from personal health insurance horrors. They appear to be people in need of a hero, and for them that was certainly not going to be the president who had sat in the same spot at the defense table now occupied by Mangione. Friedman Agnifilo began by asking Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro to order the shackles removed. She reported that he was never in chains during the many times she visited him at the Manhattan Correctional Center. 'He's a model prisoner,' she reported. 'For security reasons, I'd like him cuffed,' the judge said. The shackles stayed on, and an observer able to peer under the table noted that the ankle cuffs rested on bare skin between his light colored chinos and his brown leather loafers. There would be much online talk later that the hero wore no socks—as if that purported fashion crime were more acceptable than homicide. One purpose of the hearing was to check how the prosecution was progressing in turning over the voluminous evidence to the defense. Friedman Agnifilo told the judge that New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD chief detectives had appeared in an HBO documentary that week—'hair and makeup done'—and discussed evidentiary materials that the defense had not yet received. That included a purported manifesto that an actor had read aloud as if he were Mangione. 'It doesn't sound anything like him by the way,' Friedman Agnifilo added. At another point in the hearing, there was discussion whether Mangione should be moved to state custody. He is now being held by federal authorities, which also intend to bring charges connected to the killing. 'They're still deciding whether to seek the death penalty against Mr. Mangione,' Friedman Agnifilo said. 'That obviously is a very important matter.' The judge said he was under the impression that Mangione had consented to being lodged in the federal facility. 'When they're holding the death penalty over your head, you have no choice but to consent,' Friedman Agnifilo said. The matter went unresolved, and Mangione remained in federal custody when the time came for him to be led back out of the courtroom. The supporters in the back rows seemed profoundly sobered by the sight of this beautiful young man in trouble so deep it could end his life. Some of the people who had failed to get into the courtroom had joined a few dozen protesters in the park across from the courthouse. At least one of them, a 42-year-old man from the Bronx who would only give his first name, Church, had a health insurance grievance. 'My partner can't walk and she has waited three months for an MRI,' he said as he sat on a folding chair before a sign reading: 'Health Care Reform Now. We Are Dying.' Two trucks with 'Free Luigi' on the side had been cruising around the courthouse. One of them passed with a rendering of him as a haloed Christ on the back. But no talk was heard either in the park or up on the courthouse's 15th floor of yesterday's Wall Street Journal report that UnitedHealth Group was being investigated for raking in billions of dollars in Medicare Advantage payments for questionable diagnoses, even as it was an industry leader in denying claims. The investigation is civil, but you have to wonder why there is no criminal probe in such multi-billion-dollar cases when people not of the executive class arrested for minor theft are brought in handcuffs before a judge in the arraignment part of the courthouse. Mangione and Friedman Agnifilo are due back in court on June 26. They should by then have the material an actor read aloud on HBO, as if Mangione enjoyed no presumption of innocence.
