Latest news with #Westall
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
Cops reveal mystery ‘dog motive' in horror double murder after pregnant woman killed and husband's head put on spike
POLICE have revealed the mysterious double murder of a pregnant woman and her decapitated husband may have been related to a dispute over dogs. Athena Georgopoulos, 39, was found dead alongside her husband Andrew Gunn, 50, whose head is understood to have been stuck to a stick. 6 6 Ross Judd, a 34-year-old homeless man, was arrested at Westall train station in Melbourne, Australia, and was later charged with two counts of murder. Working to establish a motive for the brutal killings, cops have now revealed that the ordeal may have been related to an argument about dogs. The alleged quarrel took place between Matthew, who owned a german shepherd, and Judd, who was found with two dogs of the same breed when he was arrested. Matthew's dog was named Dragon, local neighbours reported. One neighbour alleged they heared loud arguing and shouting as well as continuous barking from dogs coming from the victims' home - only an hour before their deaths. Judd was reportedly spotted with two dogs when he allegedly visited a McDonald's about an hour after the bodies were found. Athena was five months pregnant when she died and was expecting a baby girl. The neighbour who made the harrowing discovery, Ben Scott-Sandvik, told the Herald Sun: "I mean, no one should have to come across what I saw down there." He added: "And nobody needs to live knowing that this sort of thing has happened to their families.' Cops dramatically swarmed the property the couple were in on Monday night after a neighbour heard screams and alerted police. Brit faces 20 years in jail as she pleads guilty to killing dad of two with e-scooter Suspected killer Judd appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday. A police prosecutor said: "It's a complex crime scene, a significant amount of DNA." Grim footage of his arrest reportedly showed the suspect dressed in a blood-stained white T-shirt while being gripped by an officer. The man appears on his knees before he is pulled to his feet on the station platform as another officer points at the ground. Police allege the accused murderer was known to the couple, and that one of the victims lived in the unit. An alleged motive for remains unclear - but it has been speculated the case may be drug-related. 6 6 Chilling graffiti sprayed across the couple's home read: 'Karma is not a menu.' Vegan slogans like 'meat is murder' were also plastered across the property wall, alongside haunting words like 'betrayal", "unpredictable" and "inevitable'. The messy graffiti, which was sprayed in luminous yellow, green and black paint also included derogatory and aggressive phrases like "U R Gay" and "Enough is Enough". A police spokesperson said: 'Police are aware of graffiti on the property in Mount Waverley where the bodies of two people were located last night. 'Homicide Squad detectives will work to determine if the graffiti is relevant to the murder investigation.' Local inspector Dean Thomas said the arrested man was known to the pair. He said on Tuesday morning: "We believe that there is a link between our suspect and the address." The officer added: "Police were called at about 9.20pm in relation to a welfare check at the address based on some yelling that was heard from the property. 'A second call was then made that suggested it was perhaps more urgent than what the first call was and police arrived minutes later, and obviously they found the male and female inside the premises deceased. 'We believe he [the suspect] may be of no fixed place of abode. 'It appears to be targeted and our suspect is known to the address.' Judd is due to face court again on January 13, 2026.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SLO County teens signed up to pick lemons in Ventura. But melons in Bakersfield? No thanks
To paraphrase the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner, California is like the rest of the United States — only more so. With the Gold Rush, California became an instant state, comprised of immigrants from throughout the world. The Native American and Hispanic population were overrun by fortune seekers. Within a few short months, the state went from territory to full-fledged statehood. California has always needed labor. The Spanish built the missions and ran the ranches with labor from Native Americans. Later waves of immigrants have taken on the role of builders. Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Hispanic communities have been some of the notable waves of labor. Often immigration has been followed by targeted anti-immigrant backlash. Like California, United States has also long been an attractive beacon to immigrants from all over the world because of its relative economic and political freedom. But entry level work is hard and low paying. People who have options because of education or economic status, generally don't want entry level jobs. This column previously published the story of the A-TEAM, an unsuccessful attempt in 1965 to establish students as summer farm labor. The U.S. Department of Labor came up with an acronym A-TEAM, which stood for Athletes in Temporary Employment as Agricultural Manpower. A Merced tomato-picking job was documented in a June 30, 1965, story — but the program was troubled from the start. This article written by Bill King ran during recruitment phase on June 25, 1965. Three meetings with high school students Thursday on summer farm work proposals produced both good and bad news. At San Luis Obispo High School the news was good as nearly 100 students and parents showed up to consider a job offer to pick tomatoes in Merced County for eight weeks. After hearing details of the proposal, 43 students signed up for the work with their parents' consent. They will leave by bus Sunday and start work Monday. However, things were different at Atascadero and Paso Robles. The question of whether 18-24 students at Atascadero High would have summer farm work was still undecided this morning, and at Paso Robles High students turned thumbs down on melon work offered during a meeting Thursday afternoon with William Westall, representing growers in the San Joaquin Valley. Westall met first with the San Luis Obispo students, offering the tomato jobs, but by the time he got to Atascadero for the second meeting the only work available was in melons. He said they could start work July 1 and work about five weeks in the melon fields near Bakersfield. About 14 Atascadero students indicated they would take the work, not enough for a full crew of 30. Then Westall proceeded to Paso Robles, hoping to find enough students to add to the Atascadero work force to form a full crew for melons. In Paso Robles, however, only eight students indicated they still wanted summer work. But after hearing Westall's offer of melon work, clouded by uncertainties, the students pulled out of the program entirely. Oliver Tanquary, head counselor at Paso Robles High, said the students were very upset about the new development and confusion. Originally 33 Paso students had signed up for Ventura lemon picking jobs which were abruptly canceled. A week ago Westall told students at three schools that 400 jobs were available in the Merced tomato fields and he could use all the students he could get. With Paso out of the picture, the picture was changed for Atascadero students. The situation there this morning was that the melon jobs are out and now Westall is apparently trying to line up tomato jobs in the Salinas or Merced area. Students there were still awaiting word from him today. School officials at Atascadero were wondering why Westall didn't better coordinate the recruitment at Atascadero and Paso Robles to come up with an adequate crew. Gary Kuhn, adult supervisor who is to accompany the Atascadero work force, indicated that Atascadero could have come up with enough students, combined with Paso Robles, to have the minimum number required for a melon crew. The San Luis Obispo students will receive a minimum pay of $1.40 an hour during the green tomato harvest and then some time in August go on a piece work basis during the canning harvest. They will live in barracks under adult supervision.
