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The Review Geek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Better Sister – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained
Episode 8 Episode 8 of The Better Sister begins with Nicky telling Chloe what happened the night Adam was murdered. Who kills Adam and why? Nicky checks in on Debbie, Adam's mother, from time to time, and is at her place when Ethan calls. He tells Nicky about the fight and is scared for Chloe. Nicky panics as he reveals that Adam has been hitting Chloe often. She gets ready to confront Adam and Debbie randomly comments how Adam and Chloe have left them, suggesting there is no love lost between mother and son. Nicky shows up at the beach house and threatens to expose Adam. She wants to talk to Chloe but a drunk Adam grabs her and tries to make her leave. She fights back and he chokes her. She has a pocket knife and she stabs him. After she leaves, Ethan arrives home. He finds Adam and thinks Chloe has killed him. He stages a break-in and is about to leave when Adam moves. But instead of calling for help, Ethan lets Adam die. Meanwhile, Nicky rushes back to Debbie's and cleans up. The pills she grabs are antibiotics for her injuries. And that's what she takes when the cops call her. How does Chloe handle Adam's murder case? Nicky worries that Nancy may put her in prison even though it was self-defence. Chloe promises to fix things and takes the knife. As for the gun, we learn that Nicky was going to cause a scene if Ethan had been found guilty. Later, Jake shows up and confides in Chloe about the Gentry investigation for illegal construction. They are in trouble from Gentry as well as Olivero, since they won't stop till they get what they want. And it is the dirt that Adam has on Gentry Group. Chloe reports Olivero for sexual harassment and physical abuse. She then looks around and finds the Gentry files. There is also a recording in which Bill orders Adam to extort Gentry. She makes a copy and sends it to Matt. She then gives the originals to Bill as a peace offering. While he is distracted, she hides Nicky's knife, the murder weapon, in Bill's study. After she leaves, Matt gets a search warrant and finds the knife. He arrests Bill for corruption and suspicion of murdering Adam. Why is Nancy unable to catch Nicky? Nancy looks into Debbie who has a criminal record for fraud using Adam's social security number. They are estranged as Adam didn't like his parents' wayward lifestyle. The cop visits her and tries to trace Nicky's whereabouts. Debbie reveals that Nicky forgot her phone when she stepped out for a while on the day Adam died. When she returned, she told Debbie that Ethan had been stabbed. Once she realises that Nancy suspects Nicky, she shuts down. It is enough for Nancy to deduce that Nicky used her phone's location as her alibi. Nancy texts forensics to check Nicky's DNA against Adam's clothes. Unfortunately for her, McCabe finds out that Nancy beat up Eddy. However, Eddy isn't the trafficker. She beat up the wrong, innocent Black guy. Nicky gives the proof to Catherine who publicizes it. The Lieutenant is forced to take Nancy off the case and put her on leave. Her request to forensics gets cancelled. He also points out that Debbie's testimony is hearsay from a grieving mother and Bill is the primary suspect. What's the deal with Gentry Group? Bill fires Jake to appease Gentry Group as he is the only other known FBI mole. Bill tells them that they have a mole too, who confirmed that Adam was working with the FBI. However, Bill looks out for Chloe and insists that he will take care of her. Jake goes to Chloe and we learn that Gentry built a stadium with indentured labour. The construction also involved violations of human rights and regulations. Adam felt guilty and went to the FBI. After he was killed, Agent Olivero blackmailed Jake into helping him. At the end of The Better Sister Episode 8, Jake is found dead, presumably killed by Gentry for being the mole. How does it end for the Macintoshes? Ethan is upset with Chloe for picking Adam over Nicky. Nicky defends her and claims Chloe only had Ethan's best interests at heart. Later, he confesses that he feels like the bad guy for letting Adam die. Nicky comforts him and he hopes to go with her if she leaves New York. When Nicky visits Catherine to take down Nancy, the editor asks her about the book deal which is pretty much confirmed. Nicky confronts Chloe who reveals she forgot to tell her because of the killer plot twist. However, Nicky doesn't care about the book deal and only wants to focus on her family. She asks where Chloe's loyalties lie and Chloe insists that it is with her and Ethan. Nicky believes her as she learns that Chloe framed Bill for Adam's murder. That night, Nicky and Chloe smoke by the beach. Chloe shares that the only stories worth telling are with her. Nicky agrees to the book deal. The Episode Review The Better Sister Episode 8 gets a little messy while trying to wrap up the Gentry storyline. They are never actually shown, so the threat involving them doesn't feel as real. And in turn, Bill ends up as a caricature of the magnanimous boss with a dark secret. Jake's death feels anticlimactic as well and we doubt his whining to Chloe brought about any emotions from viewers. Matt is yet another character who is underutilised and just around to crack some jokes, get made fun of, chase dead ends and finally catch a break courtesy of the way cleverer heroine who does his job for him. Catherine is another wasted character who acts shady but doesn't amount to much. She is just a spokesperson, first for the board and then for Nicky. Thankfully, the finale does justice to Chloe, Nicky and Ethan who honestly deserved a larger role in the story. His conflicting emotions involving his toxic parents can be quite relatable to many. Chloe uses her manipulative side for good and tricks Bill into taking the fall for Adam's murder. Sure, one tip from Nancy can have Matt confirming that Nicky is Adam's killer but the show doesn't seem to care about this huge plot hole. Nicky's sincerity is sealed, even though it feels fake at times given we personally don't think Chloe deserves it. With so many shady characters, Nicky stands out like a fish out of water as she genuinely cares for her sister. She goes as far as to confront Adam and tries tell Chloe that her husband hits her because he is…abusive? Thank you, Captain Obvious. Honestly, don't look too deep because the logic in this show is as flawed and flimsy as they come. Although we can appreciate the irony that while everyone thinks Chloe is the better sister, it is Nicky who deserves that mantle. All in all, this Amazon Prime Original is far from perfect, but Banks and Biels keep us hooked with their portrayal of two messy sisters struggling to stay afloat. Previous Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
News.com.au
a day ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Sydney mum speaking out after horrific domestic violence assaults
WARNING: Disturbing images and descriptions of violence Rhiannon Purcell had an impossible choice to make. She had been arguing over the phone with her estranged ex-husband as she was driving to collect her twin daughters, aged 3, from his home in southwest Sydney. She pulled over, fearing that when she arrived he would take his anger out on her physically. But she could not leave her kids with him, either. In an act of selflessness and bravery on that night in March, 2023, Ms Purcell drove on. Her ex-husband made his intentions clear in the driveway of the home when he turned off the outside lights and walked to her car. 'I was assuming he did that so no-one could see anything. I was terrified,' Ms Purcell told He put the girls in the back and sat beside Ms Purcell in the front passenger seat. 'He just started saying, 'Who are you to talk to me like that?' It was really aggressive. I knew straight away that I was going to be attacked so I went for the door to run. He snatched her phone off her before attacking her, according to court documents seen by ABC News, which first reported Ms Purcell's harrowing story. 'As I went to get out, I felt a blow to the side of my head,' Ms Purcell told 'My girls had got out and were standing there screaming.' A passing car might have saved her life. She flagged it down only to realise it was a member of her ex-husband's family. Her attacker fled, leaving a window of opportunity for her to collect the children and drive to safety. 'As I was driving home, I didn't actually realise the extent of my injuries but I could feel something warm and wet dripping down my body. When I got home, I looked down and was literally covered in blood. Her ex-husband was convicted over the assault and jailed for nine months with a non-parole period of just four. According to court documents seen by the ABC, the man has 'an extensive history of violent offending including domestic violence offences and personal violence offences.' An apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) was taken out in July of 2023. In 50 days, it expires. Ms Purcell says that with the help of police she hopes to get the extension granted. She says it should be for an indefinite period to adequately protect her. has approached NSW Police for comment. 'The ongoing fear I live in' On social media, Ms Purcell is speaking up. She is sharing the graphic images of her injuries from the night in March, 2023, as well as pictures of the aftermath of other acts of violence inside her home. On one image showing a freezer door ripped off its hinges and a hole in a timber door, she writes: 'After his measly 5 month sentence and he was released from jail, I was offered the decision of (him) having an ankle monitor. It was only active for the remaining 4 months of his sentence. The day that ended, my anxiety was through the roof.' Speaking to Ms Purcell said the decision to speak up and show the reality of domestic violence was not an easy one. But it was important. 'I did that for my family and my kids but also for all women of Australia and all women that have died since last year,' she said. 'I'm speaking out for my daughters and their daughters and all future women of Australia. Not many women speak out or show their face. I was also discouraged from doing that. 'But I just thought, you know what, I need to speak up. I just wanted to highlight the flaws in the system and show people why women are dying. It is not going to stop until there is real change.' Part of that change is explored in a petition Ms Purcell titled: Protect Women and Children: Demand for Stronger Domestic Violence Laws & Penalties. 'Too many women and children are being failed by a broken system,' she writes in the petition. 'So far this year 28 women have been killed in Australia, 131 women have been killed since the 1st of January 2024. These aren't just numbers, they are people. They are mothers, daughters and sisters.'
CTV News
a day ago
- General
- CTV News
Police: Mom shot man who tried to rape her 12-year-old daughter at hotel
INDIANAPOLIS — A mother shot and critically injured a 39-year-old man attempting to molest her 12-year-old daughter last week at a hotel on the northwest side of Indianapolis, investigators say. In Marion Superior Court 30, Bruce Lee Pierce faces three top-level felony charges: attempted rape, and two counts of attempt to commit child molesting. He also faces a mid-level felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violence felony, and a low-level felony charge of confinement of a person 13 or younger. Pierce has been listed on the Marion County Sheriff's Office's sex offender registry since September 2019. He was convicted three times of child molesting in Hendricks and Morgan counties in 2016 and 2022, and was last released in August 2022, according to the registry and Indiana Department of Correction online records. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Thursday that Pierce has not yet been jailed. IMPD was called to a report of a shooting and an attempted rape about 7:45 a.m. May 24 at the Baymont Inn, 3850 Eagle View Drive. That's northwest of the I-465 interchange for West 38th Street. In court documents, investigators from IMPD say they learned the mother had left the hotel room to take items to a car, and, when she returned, she found Pierce trying to rape her 12-year-old daughter and shot him. The girl was taken to Riley Hospital for Children due to the firearm being discharged by her ear. The girl said he'd only touched her stomach, chest and shoulder when ripping her clothes off. Pierce was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition. Investigators took a Glock 43 firearm covered with blood in a trash can in the hotel room. Before Pierce was taken to the hospital, an IMPD officer took an empty holster from Pierce's waistband. Multiple shell casings and live rounds were found in the room as well. A warrant was issued Wednesday for Pierce's arrest. The Marion County sex offender registry had Pierce's last address as 6231 W. Washington St. That's the address of Regal 8 Inn located northwest of the I-465 interchange. A desk clerk told IMPD that Pierce was last seen on Tuesday morning at the motel. Because of Pierce's prior convictions for child molesting, Pierce, once arrested, will face a bond greater than the standard amount because he's a risk to the community. Bond will be set once an initial hearing is held, online court records say. Once jailed, Pierce will be held seven days without bond so prosecutors can initiate a bond revocation. Prosecutors also say Pierce is on probation for driving while suspended. In Boone County, Pierce has a pretrial conference scheduled for June 11 in Boone Circuit Court in Lebanon on charges of driving while suspended, operating a motor vehicle without financial responsibility, operating with expired plates, and operating a motor vehicle with a false plate that belong to another vehicle. On the registry, Pierce is described as 6-feet-2 and 200 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair, although his photo of the registry shows he's bald. The IMPD reports on the incident say Pierce weighs 175 pounds. The registry says he has multiple tattoos: on the left leg, 'VL,' skull, tribal; on right shin, 'Kayden'; on upper back, cross; on chest, tribal, 'Live & Let Live'; on right forearm, Chinese and Lexis; on left forearm, Chinese, fork 'Bruce II'; on face, 'Real Fame'; about left eye, 'EMMA'; above right eye, teardrop; on neck, 'FTW biohazard sign; on right hand across knuckles, 'FAST'; and on left hand across knuckles, 'LIFE.' Gregg Montgomery, CNN
Irish Times
a day ago
- General
- Irish Times
What the jury didn't hear in the Richard Satchwell murder trial: how the husband tried to have murder charge withdrawn
Lawyers for Richard Satchwell unsuccessfully tried to have the murder charge against him withdrawn and substituted with manslaughter in the fourth week of the trial. Mr Justice Paul McDermott rejected arguments from Satchwell's defence team – made at the end of the evidence and in the absence of the jury – there was no evidence on which the jury could safely find Satchwell had the necessary legal intention for murder, to kill or cause serious injury to his wife, Tina . That was 'a huge lacuna' in the prosecution case, defence counsel Brendan Grehan argued. There was no expert evidence that Satchwell's account of how his wife died was not possible, he said. A belief by gardaí that she could not have died in the manner he described was not evidence, he said. READ MORE Satchwell had claimed his wife flew at him with a chisel and that he fell, and she was on top of him trying to stab him with the chisel. He said, in an attempt to protect himself, he was holding her up by the belt of her dressing-gown, which was around her neck, when she suddenly collapsed. If the murder charge was not withdrawn, counsel asked that the jury be directed to consider self-defence as a full or partial defence. [ Richard Satchwell found guilty of murdering his wife in 2017 Opens in new window ] Opposing the application, prosecuting counsel Gerardine Small said there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could infer intent to kill or cause serious injury. This included Satchwell's reply: 'Guilty or not guilty – guilty,' when he was charged by gardaí with murder on October 12th, 2023. There was no evidence on the cause of death because Satchwell buried his wife in a manner that ensured it was not available, Small said. There was 'a wealth of evidence' from the surrounding circumstances from which the jury can infer intent, she argued. There was also a potential motive: Satchwell said his wife was threatening to leave him and she had 'wasted 28 years' on him, the prosecuting barrister argued. Tina Satchwell In his ruling, the judge said it was exclusively for the jury, not him, to decide which elements of the prosecution evidence, including Satchwell's account, were to be preferred or rejected. He said that it was also up to the jury to decide any inferences to be drawn and the reliability and weight of the evidence. An intention to kill or cause serious injury could be formed in a moment or over time, he said. Evidence of intent is almost always drawn from surrounding circumstances and an accused's actions before, during and after the event. In this case, there was a 'prolonged' period before Tina Satchwell's remains were discovered and no direct evidence of cause of death. Because Richard Satchwell disposed of her body, there was no evidence of fractures, or of bruising, on the 'very small amount' of muscle tissue found on her remains, and no body organs. A motive was not necessary to prove intent but its existence might assist, he said. There were inferences to be drawn from Satchwell's actions and what he did at the time of the killing, he said. He had not called gardaí or sought assistance for his wife and had created the false impression she was alive from that day on, said the judge. [ 'Tina had no way of getting away from him': The full story of the Richard Satchwell murder trial Opens in new window ] There was evidence that Satchwell had, over years, told 'lie after lie', repeatedly saying she had gone away but he was willing to have her back while telling 'parallel stories' which 'destroyed her character', including scenarios of sudden desertion. There were 'quite cynical' attempts to engage her family's help in making public appeals, including asking her cousin Sarah Howard to take the freezer he had used to store her body. Satchwell had also said he was assaulted by his wife and suggested she had mental health issues. The judge said there may be a conflict whether some of these matters were true. His lies could properly be relied on as evidence to establish his state of mind at the time of the killing, the judge said. His attempts to avoid guilt appeared 'breathtaking and cynical' and the prosecution was entitled to rely on his burial of the body and the 'disrespect' in his wife being 'disposed of in a hole under the stairs that he cemented in'. Richard Satchwell arrives at the District Court in Cashel, Co Tipperary, charged in connection with the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell in October 2023. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire The jury was entitled to consider this as evidence of 'a degree of malevolence' and 'total focus on protecting himself against discovery' and might conclude it belied his asserted respect and love for her, the judge said. The jury was entitled to consider, in context, what weight to be given to his replies to gardaí in his October 12th, 2023 interview, including his reply when he was charged by gardaí with murder. It was for the jury to decide what his acts were and their 'natural and probable consequences', bearing in mind all the evidence. As a matter of law, the murder charge should not be withdrawn, the judge ruled. On Tuesday, after the judge completed his directions to the jury on the law and evidence, the defence applied to have the jury discharged that would have led to a fresh trial. Grehan, Satchwell's defence barrister, argued the judge's charge was not balanced and was akin to a second prosecution speech. He argued that it contained an excessive focus on the prosecution's interpretation of evidence. Small, the prosecuting counsel, said there was no basis for the 'last resort' discharge remedy, and the charge was fair and balanced. A vigil for Tina Satchwell attended by family and friends in Fermoy in 2023. Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision The judge rejected the defence's complaints and refused the discharge application but said he would address the jury on two additional matters. He did so, telling them that, in the context of Satchwell's potential motivation, and the context of whether he intended to kill or cause serious injury, they must bear in mind he had said he was besotted with his wife. The judge told them that Satchwell loved his wife notwithstanding a situation where, on his own account and that of some witnesses, he had been subject to violence by her, she had ceased sexual relations and he would have liked them to have children but she did not want children. The evidence was he 'attended to her in very great detail' and there was no evidence he ever assaulted her, the judge said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Door-to-door salesman, 'enamored' with knives, gets 20 years in Jackson man's death
TOMS RIVER - Despite a door-to-door salesman's continued claims he was defending himself during an altercation with a Jackson homeowner in 2022, a judge sentenced him May 29 to 20 years in prison for plunging an unlawful, double-sided dagger with serrated blades through the victim's carotid artery, killing him. In imposing the prison term on Michael Tsamas for the aggravated manslaughter of Joseph Delgardio, Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan noted Tsamas, 35, of Laurence Harbor, admitted that he regularly armed himself with two daggers for protection. Tsamas used one of the unlawful weapons as a first rather than last resort during a physical altercation with Delgardio, 44, who was unarmed and smaller than the younger Tsamas, Ryan said. "It's a weapon of last resort, when you're literally on the brink of death," the judge said of the dagger. Tsamas, despite his claims of self defense, "resorted to it first," Ryan said. Tsamas would have been justified in shoving or punching Delgardio, but not using deadly force, the judge said. "If someone pushes or shoves you, you can't shoot him, you can't stab him in the neck,'' Ryan said. Tsamas stood trial before Ryan in March. The jury rejected his claim of self-defense and found him guilty of aggravated manslaughter and weapons offenses The deadly scuffle occurred on May 26, 2022, after Tsamas paid a sales call to Delgardio's home on West Veterans Highway in Jackson as the victim, his wife and two of their three daughters were having dinner. Jaime Delgardio, the victim's wife, testified during the four-day trial that Tsamas told them he worked for Verizon and offered them a $100 gift card and a discount on their monthly electric bill. Jaime Delgardio testified she became suspicious that Tsamas was trying to scam them, so she and her husband asked the salesman to leave. Tsamas did, but not before the Delgardios gave him their Jersey Central Power & Light Co. account number, Jaime Delgardio testified. Minutes later, she said her husband went out to look for Tsamas in order to retrieve their account number. When she went to look for her husband, Jaime Tsamas said a police officer intercepted her and informed her he had died in a fatal altercation up the street. Key evidence introduced at the trial was a 19-second video of the incident at West Veterans Highway and Conor Road that an unidentified person recorded and posted to SnapChat. It showed Tsamas, instead of defending himself with two hands during the scuffle with Delgardio, reaching one hand behind his back to grab the dagger and remove it from its sheath before plunging it into the victim's neck, Ryan noted. Tsamas did not testify at the trial, but the jury viewed a police body-camera video on which Tsamas told an officer Delgardio had threatened to kill him. Before Tsamas was sentenced, he described "being trapped and having someone tell me multiple times they were going to kill me. "I felt my life was in danger, there was nothing more to it than that,'' Tsamas said. "I'm deeply sorry for how all this ended,'' he said. Ryan clarified that Tsamas told police during a taped interview after the altercation that Delgardio said he would kill him if he got a bill in the mail. "That's not an immediate threat of death or serious injury,'' Ryan said. "It wasn't a death threat,'' the judge said. "It was at best the type of thing people do when they get frustrated. "The defendant is the architect of this situation,'' Ryan said. "The defendant is the one who caused this to escalate to deadly force.'' Tsamas, in addressing the judge before sentencing, reiterated he regularly carried the two daggers for protection. In a 10-page letter to the judge, Tsamas expressed interests in the Second Amendment right to bear arms, survival and emergency preparedness, Ryan said. He also expressed concerns about "violence in society and the need to protect himself,'' the judge said. In the letter, Tsamas told the judge he preferred double-edged blades "to give my life the greatest fighting chance to survive,'' Ryan said. "You're not camping in the woods, you're not fighting off bear,'' Ryan told the defendant. "You're walking door-to-door.'' The judge told Tsamas a small can of pepper spray would have been the appropriate thing for him to carry for self defense. "This defendant is enamored with these bladed instruments and resorted to them far too fast,'' Ryan said. Delgardio bled to death from the neck wound, which severed his carotid artery and cut into his vertebrae, Ryan said. "Because of this man, I can never have my father back,'' Gabriella Delgardio, one of the victim's three daughters, told the judge. "This man stole every moment of time I can have with my dad,'' she said. "Why should he get off with a light sentence when he stole a father from his family?'' The victim's widow described her husband as "a hard-working, simple man'' and "someone you could count on.'' She said he was peaceful and did not deserve to die. "Joe was a good man, a loyal husband and I can't begin to tell you how amazing he was to our kids,'' Jaime Delgardio said. Victoria Veni, an assistant Ocean County prosecutor who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O'Neill, asked the judge to sentence Tsamas to 25 years in prison. Defense attorney Chip Dunne asked the judge to impose the minimum sentence of 10 years. The maximum term for aggravated manslaughter is 30 years. In sentencing Tsamas to 20 years in prison, Ryan ordered that he serve 85 percent of the term before he can be considered for release on parole, under the state's No Early Release Act. Ryan also rejected a motion for a new trial, put forth by the defense attorney. "This is the epitome of self-defense,'' Dunne argued. "The jury misinterpreted the facts. They missed the ball on this case.'' Dunne also said a new trial was warranted because one of the jurors fell asleep during the case. Ryan said that should have been brought to his attention during the trial so that the juror could be questioned and possibly replaced with an alternate. The judge also said he kept a close watch on the jurors during the trial and did not see any of them fall asleep. Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@ This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Salesman gets 20 years in Jackson man's stabbing death
