Latest news with #murderattempt
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
New IRA planned earlier attack on detective John Caldwell before he was shot, court told
Police have uncovered what they believe was a failed attempt to murder detective John Caldwell in the weeks before he was seriously wounded in a gun attack by dissident republicans, a court has heard. The details were revealed as two men appeared at Dungannon Magistrates' Court on charges linked to the attempted murder of the senior Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer in Omagh, Co Tyrone, on February 22nd, 2023. Mr Caldwell was shot several times while he was off-duty and with his young son, packing up after coaching a youth football team. The attack was claimed by the New IRA. Mr Caldwell has since retired from the PSNI on medical grounds. A number of people have previously appeared in court charged with offences linked to the shooting attack. Caoimhín Murphy (25), from Altowen Park, Coalisland, and Liam Robinson (45), of Ardstewart, Stewartstown, both Co Tyrone, are charged with preparation of terrorist attacks and perverting the course of justice. Both men appeared in court on Wednesday via videolink from Musgrave Street police station in Belfast. Neither responded when asked whether they understood the charges. A detective sergeant told the court he could connect both men to the offences. After the court was told there was a challenge to the alleged connections, a prosecution barrister said the investigation into the shooting of Mr Caldwell had been a 'complex, circumstantial case', pointing out that several people had already been charged. She told the court the case against Mr Murphy is that it is alleged he had moved a vehicle involved in the first failed attack, moved a vehicle involved in the later attack and had been involved in burning a car after the detective was shot. The case against Mr Robinson is that it is alleged he assisted in the recovery of a vehicle used in the first attempt, moved a vehicle in the second attempt and assisted in burning a car. The detective told the court the investigation uncovered what is believed to have been a failed attempt on DCI Caldwell's life on February 1st, when he was absent from Youth Sport, a location he routinely frequented, and where he was shot later that month. The officer told the court that on the night Mr Caldwell was shot, he had arrived at football training earlier than usual. He said police believe the attack had been planned to take place when he arrived at the sports complex, but was delayed because of his early arrival. Mr Murphy's defence solicitor Peter Corrigan told the court there was 'not one iota' of surveillance evidence linking his client to any of the vehicles used in the shooting. Mr Robinson's solicitor Gavin Booth said it was not part of the prosecution case that his client had taken part in the shooting of Mr Caldwell, and that he had been in Coalisland at the time of the attack. The prosecuting barrister said it was a 'circumstantial case in its truest form'. She said: 'One strand may be weaker than the other – that is what a circumstantial case is. 'But when they are all layered on top of the other, the consequences of those meetings, the prosecution says that there is sufficient material before the court to connect both accused to the charges.' District Judge Rafferty said he was satisfied both could be connected to the offences. Police objected to a bail application for Mr Robinson, with the detective sergeant stating it is believed he has a 'trusted role' in the IRA. He added: 'The New IRA have made a claim of responsibility for this terrorist attack. The judge denied bail to Mr Robinson. Both defendants were remanded in custody. Mr Robinson will appear in court again on September 2nd, and Mr Murphy will appear on August 20th to make a bail application. – PA
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
New IRA had planned earlier attack on detective John Caldwell, court told
Police have uncovered what they believe was a failed attempt to murder detective John Caldwell in the weeks before he was seriously wounded in a gun attack by dissident republicans, a court has heard. The details were revealed as two men appeared at Dungannon Magistrates' Court on charges linked to the attempted murder of the senior Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer in Omagh, Co Tyrone, on February 22 2023. Mr Caldwell was shot several times while he was off duty and with his young son, packing up after coaching a youth football team. The attack was claimed by the New IRA. Mr Caldwell has since retired from the PSNI on medical grounds. A number of people have previously appeared in court charged with offences linked to the shooting attack. Caoimhin Murphy, 25, from Altowen Park, Coalisland, and Liam Robinson, 45, of Ardstewart, Stewartstown, are both charged with preparation of terrorist attacks and perverting the course of justice. Both men appeared in court on Wednesday via videolink from Musgrave Street police station in Belfast. Neither responded when asked if they understood the charges. A detective sergeant told the court he could connect both men to the offences. After the court was told there was a challenge to the connections, a prosecution barrister said the investigation into the shooting of Mr Caldwell had been a 'complex, circumstantial case,' pointing out that several people had already been charged. She said: 'When the original individuals were charged that was subsequent to the attempt on DCI Caldwell on the 22nd February of 2023. 'Investigations obviously continued and through those investigations it was ascertained the case is there was a prior attempt on the 1st February 2023.' She said of the first attempt on the detective's life an Audi and a Volkswagen vehicle had been used and when he was later shot, two Ford Fiestas had been used. She told the court the case against Murphy is that it is alleged he had moved a vehicle involved in the first failed attack, moved a vehicle involved in the later attack and had been involved in burning a car after the detective was shot. The case against Robinson is that it is alleged he assisted in the recovery of a vehicle used in the first attempt, moved a vehicle in the second attempt and assisted in burning a car. The detective sergeant told the court: 'The investigation has identified what is believed to have been a failed attempt to attack DCI Caldwell on the 1st February. 'On this occasion DCI Caldwell wasn't at Youth Sport, which would have been his usual routine. 'At that time a Volkswagen Tiguan on false registration plates was observed on CCTV entering the youth sports site in similar fashion to the movements of the Fiesta number one on the 22nd, the evening of the attempt.' The officer laid out elements of the police investigation which stretched over events on a number of dates in February 2023 and included phone and CCTV evidence and what police believe are suspects taking place in 'walk and talk' conversations. He said the shooting of the detective is believed to have been 'a joint venture between a number of active service units', including Belfast and Tyrone New IRA. The officer told the court that on the night Mr Caldwell was shot, he had arrived at football training earlier than usual. He said police believe the attack had been planned to take place when he arrived at the sports complex, but was delayed because of his early arrival. He added: 'He was not shot until 8 o'clock that night, an hour and a half after what we would suggest was the planned attack.' Murphy's defence solicitor Peter Corrigan told the court there was 'not one iota' of surveillance evidence linking his client to any of the vehicles used in the shooting. Robinson's solicitor Gavin Booth said it was not part of the prosecution case that his client had taken part in the shooting of Mr Caldwell and had been in Coalisland at the time of the attack. The prosecuting barrister said it was a 'circumstantial case in its truest form'. She said: 'One strand may be weaker than the other, that is what a circumstantial case is. 'But when they are all layered on top of the other the consequences of those meetings, the prosecution says that there is sufficient material before the court to connect both accused to the charges.' Mr Corrigan: 'It is a circumstantial case, but it is a circumstantial case which fails at connection because there are alternative explanations. 'It is all based on speculation and conjecture and does not close alternative explanations.' District Judge Rafferty said he was satisfied both could be connected to the offences. Police objected to a bail application for Robinson, with the detective sergeant stating it is believed he has a 'trusted role' in the IRA. He added: 'The New IRA have made a claim of responsibility for this terrorist attack. 'In addition to trying to justify the shooting of DCI Caldwell as a senior Crown forces member, the group further claimed that Irish Republican Army intelligence are now in possession of security information regarding the out of bounds movement of Crown force personnel.' He added: 'The threat to the life of John Caldwell continues to this day with his name appearing on a bonfire in the Creggan estate as we speak along with cross-hairs indicating he continues to be a target.' He said the threat posed by the group was 'real and imminent'. The judge denied bail to Robinson. Both defendants were remanded in custody. Robinson will appear in court again on September 2 and Murphy will appear on August 20 to make a bail application.
The Independent
16-06-2025
- The Independent
Erin Patterson thought cancer lie ‘would die' with lunch guests, prosecution says
Prosecutors have accused a 50-year-old Australian woman of deliberately lying about a cancer diagnosis to lure her in-laws to a poisoned lunch that she thought they would not survive. The prosecution told the court on Monday that Erin Patterson deliberately lied to her in-laws about having cancer, fabricating medical appointments and test results. 'She knew how to tell convincing lies when it came to the cancer because she had put in the research,' chief prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC told the court. 'The prosecution says the accused put considerable thought and effort into this fake cancer claim and she deliberately set the trail in motion with Don and Gail.' She said that Ms Patterson had carefully crafted the false claim. According to the prosecution, Ms Patterson had no intention of ever being questioned about the lie, because she believed her lunch guests would not survive. 'Her lie would die with them,' Dr Rogers said, adding that Ms Patterson admitted in court she was never diagnosed with cancer. Ms Patterson has admitted that death cap mushrooms were in the meal but claimed they were added accidentally and denied any intent to harm her guests. On 29 July 2023, Ms Patterson had her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, and local pastor Ian Wilkinson and his wife Heather (Gail's sister) over for lunch. Ms Patterson served beef Wellington to the Pattersons and Wilkinsons, after which the four guests became ill with vomiting and diarrhea. By 30 July, all four were hospitalised, and within the next day they were transferred to Melbourne hospitals where doctors diagnosed them with death cap mushroom poisoning. On 31 July, Ms Patterson herself went to the hospital reporting she had eaten the same meal and felt unwell but discharged herself without treatment. Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died on 4 August, followed by Don Patterson on 5 August. Ian Wilkinson was released from the hospital on 19 September 2023 after seven weeks, most of which he spent in a coma. Ms Patterson is being tried for three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges. On Monday, in closing arguments, prosecutors in Ms Patterson's triple-murder trial outlined four calculated deceptions at the heart of their case: a fabricated cancer diagnosis used to lure her guests, the deliberate poisoning of their meal with lethal death cap mushrooms, a false claim that she too had fallen ill, and an ongoing cover-up to hide the truth. Dr Rogers called the alleged poisoning 'the critical deception' in the case. However, the prosecution argued she had full control over the lunch, from the guest list to the ingredients, and deliberately made individual beef Wellingtons instead of a single dish, suggesting she wanted precise control over who ate what. 'It is a control she exercised, the prosecution says, with devastating effect,' Dr Rogers said. Prosecutors also argued that Ms Patterson failed to help identify the source of the poisoning that left her family critically ill. Instead of aiding investigators, she gave inconsistent accounts about where she bought the dried mushrooms, claiming they came from an Asian grocer but offering vague and shifting details, Ms Rogers told the court. 'For the sake of your very ill family members ... you'd do everything you could to try and remember the store, but the accused sat on her hands while Don, Gail, Ian and Heather were all in comas,' she said. 'She was slow to respond to the Department of Health, even totally non-responsive at times. 'As time passed, her description of the Chinese food store [where she allegedly bought dried mushrooms] shifted and grew broader.' Dr Rogers told the jury: 'The evidence shows that the accused had the knowledge to locate death cap mushrooms, the opportunity to have sourced death cap mushrooms at a time proximate or close to the lunch, the knowledge, skill and equipment to dehydrate mushrooms, blitz them into powder and hide them into food.' 'She had complete control over the ingredients that went into the lunch,' she added. The prosecution alleged that Ms Patterson deliberately framed the lunch as a serious, adults-only gathering, even arranging for her children to be away at McDonald's and the cinema to avoid them being harmed. When her ex-husband Simon declined to attend, Ms Patterson tried to persuade him by stressing the lunch's importance and rarity, Dr Rogers told the court. 'This was an elaborate lie. The evidence shows the accused planted the seed of this lie far in advance, she told Don and Gail well before the lunch that she had been having medical tests on her elbow,' Dr Rogers said. 'She knew how to tell convincing lies when it came to cancer because she put in the research.' Prosecutors alleged that Ms Patterson deliberately laced individual beef Wellington parcels with lethal doses of poison on 29 July 2023. Though she claimed to follow a recipe from RecipeTin Eats, the court heard she altered it by preparing individual servings, allegedly to avoid poisoning herself, without informing her guests that she had used wild mushrooms. 'The sinister deception was to use a nourishing meal as the vehicle to deliver the deadly poison,' Rogers said. 'Why deviate so significantly from an unfamiliar recipe for a special lunch?' Dr Rogers said that computer records support the allegation that Ms Patterson accessed the iNaturalist website and looked up sightings of death cap mushrooms, suggesting she may have intentionally sought out the poisonous fungi. Another element of the alleged lunch deception, Dr Rogers said, was Ms Patterson's use of a food dehydrator just days before the meal. She reportedly did a 'test run' with button mushrooms, photographed the process, and shared it with online friends. Ms Rogers also pointed to survivor Ian Wilkinson's testimony, describing how Ms Patterson served the beef Wellington on matching grey plates for her guests, while plating her own meal separately on an orange-tan dish, suggesting an effort to avoid poisoning herself. 'You will have no trouble in being satisfied that he is a reliable witness and you can confidently accept what he told you about the details of the lunch, including the four grey plates,' Dr Rogers said. 'Ian was not the only person to notice the different plate. Heather said ... [she] saw Erin serve herself of a different coloured plate.' The third alleged deception, according to Dr Rogers, was Ms Patterson's effort to falsely present herself as a victim of death cap mushroom poisoning. Dr Rogers said Ms Patterson pretended to be 'very unwell' to family and medical staff, in an attempt to suggest she had eaten the same meal as her four guests, a move designed to deflect suspicion. 'She did this to disguise her crimes,' Dr Rogers said. The fourth alleged deception, Dr Rogers said, was Ms Patterson's ongoing cover-up to hide the truth. This included lying about giving her children leftovers from the lunch, the source of the mushrooms, disposing of the food dehydrator, and deliberately hiding her usual mobile phone from police. Dr Rogers pointed out that Ms Patterson's claim of feeding the leftovers to her kids was one of her first lies and contradicted witness evidence that she knew her lunch guests were hospitalised sick before reheating the dish for her children. Dr Rogers told the jury the children likely ate steak, mashed potatoes, and beans, not the mushroom-contaminated meal. 'People would more readily believe this was all a shocking accident if she'd fed it to her beloved children. This was a lie to help cover her tracks.' The trial continues.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Dumped boyfriend accidentally kills himself throwing bomb at ex-girlfriend's house after it bounces back and explodes in his face
A dumped boyfriend was accidentally killed himself when a bomb he threw at his ex-girlfriend's house bounced back and exploded in his face. Surapong Thongnak, 36, was furious when his former partner Kanonraphat Saowakhon, 28, refused to reconcile with him in Surat Thani, southern Thailand. The seething ex allegedly hatched a plan to kill Kanonraphat in a bid to prevent her from dating anyone else. The eyeliner-wearing boyfriend was understood to have barged into the house before waking up his sleeping girlfriend, begging for her to take him back. When she turned him down, he allegedly lost his cool and tried to stab her with a pair of scissors. Her screams alerted her family, who intervened and managed to stop the attack. Crazed Surapong then reportedly stormed off to his sedan to grab a grenade. He was seen standing outside the family's wooden home before pulling the pin on a grenade. However, the military device hit a concrete pillar on the property and rebounded. The jealous man picked up the grenade as it exploded in his hands, instantly killing him and injuring four others on May 25. Police arrived at the scene after being notified of the explosion at 8am. They found lifeless Surapong lying face down in a pool of blood while debris and shrapnel were scattered across the yard. Four people, including the ex-girlfriend, were wounded and rushed to a hospital where they were treated for minor injuries before being released. Police Major Chinnakrit Sawatdiwong of the Tha Chana Police Station said: 'The injured individuals were taken to the Tha Chana Hospital. 'All of them have been discharged except for Samart Janyang, 68, who suffered more serious injuries. 'He has been transferred to the Surat Thani Hospital for further treatment.' Residents said they were drinking coffee on the patio when Surapong arrived in a white car. Sayan Rodkird, the son of the homeowner, said: 'We ran away when he threw it toward the house, but it struck a pillar and bounced back toward him without exploding. Four people, including the ex-girlfriend, were wounded and rushed to a hospital where they were treated for minor injuries before being released 'He tried to pick it up, and that's when it detonated right in his face.' Surapong's mother, Ranjuan Timdee, 58, said the couple had only been dating for two months before breaking up. She said: 'Last night, he called to tell me he would try to patch things up with her. 'I was shocked to receive the news this morning that he had died. I couldn't believe he could be so violent.' Police said they seized half-a-kilogramme of meth from Surapong's car. They added they were investigating where he had obtained the grenade.
