Latest news with #triplemurder
The Herald
5 days ago
- The Herald
Another triple shooting in Cape Town
Western Cape detectives are investigating another triple murder in which three men were shot dead in Harare, Cape Town. The shooting happened late on Thursday night — a day after three men were shot dead and two were wounded by gunmen in Gugulethu. Police spokesperson Col Andrè Traut said the victims of the latest attack were aged 29, 30 and 43. 'At about 10pm SAPS members were alerted to the scene in Ntlazane Road, where the bodies of the victims were discovered with multiple gunshot wounds. The motive for the attack is yet to be determined and all investigative avenues are being explored to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident,' said Traut. Detectives from the provincial serious and violent crime unit are investigating both incidents. TimesLIVE
News.com.au
12-07-2025
- News.com.au
‘A bit of a Hogwarts special': Why society is obsessed with female killers
Erin Patterson looks much like you'd expect any middle-aged Australian woman to – brown hair, glasses, unremarkable clothes. As University of Sydney criminologist Dr Helen Easton pointed out, 'she could be your sister, your mum, your aunty, a neighbour'. At a glance, you wouldn't assume the mother-of-two to be capable of triple murder. Yet on Monday, Patterson was found guilty by a unanimous jury of killing her husband's parents and aunt, and attempting to kill his uncle, with a death cap mushroom-laced beef wellington lunch on July 29, 2023. The 50-year-old, who is yet to be sentenced, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Patterson's case has captivated the world. Newspapers from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of the trial, nicknaming her the 'Mushroom Killer'. Podcasters, film crews and true-crime fanatics descended on the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in Victoria better known for its prize-winning roses. It's unlikely this appetite for the case will be sated any time soon, either. Following the verdict, the ABC, streaming giant Stan and multiple publishers announced a drama series, a three-part documentary and books, respectively, inspired by or about the saga, all pegged for release within the next year. The reasons behind our rabid interest in Patterson, Dr Easton told are manifold, and largely united by a common thread: 'The available data, which for crime data is very accurate, tells us that women, on the whole, tend not to kill.' 'A powerful breach of gender norms' In Australia, per the most recent Institute of Criminology statistics, the male homicide offender rate was 2.45 per 100,000 men – almost seven times the female offender rate of 0.36 per 100,000 women. Of the 314 identified homicides between 2019 and 2020, 87 per cent were committed by men. When women do kill, Dr Easton explained, 'there is usually some connection to having experienced extreme, and often continued, violence or coercive control from their victim'. In cases of infanticide, 'women most often kill in a moment of diminished responsibility or automatism, connected to post-natal psychiatric illness'. 'Patterson's actions are therefore incredibly unusual,' Dr Easton said. 'Not only are they a breach of social norms, but they are also a powerful breach of gender norms. 'Stereotypes of women, which have historic origins but continue to inform legal processes to this day, suggest women to be caring, passive, and emotional – rather than the calculated, heartless and unemotional organiser of a poisoned Sunday lunch.' Society is 'always shocked', Swinburne University's Loryn Sykes said, when it's reminded that women 'have the capacity for violence and murder, as we don't see women as a threat to our collective safety'. 'We associate violence with the realm of men (because) violence is seen as masculine behaviour,' Ms Sykes, who is hoping to complete a PhD in true-crime podcasting, told Given the perception of male killers as 'a broader threat' to the general public than their female counterparts – especially if their victims are young women or girls – their crimes can be a catalyst for mass outrage, increased concern about the level of safety in the community, and even legislative change, she said. 'Murders committed by women, on the other hand, are not seen or framed as a threat … in the same way,' Ms Sykes said. 'Instead, the focus of media and public outrage is about condemning the individual women who perpetrated these murders rather than … what the crime says about the state of the world we live in. 'I think this is the reason why the public's response to this case is more about making fun of Erin Patterson – rather than being genuinely fearful of her.' 'A bit of a Hogwarts special' Patterson's crimes evoke imagery of the Victorian era, Ms Sykes said, pointing to the cases of Christiana Edmunds, the so-called 'Chocolate Cream Killer' of 1871, and Marie-Fortunée Larfarge, who poisoned her husband with arsenic in 1840. 'Even though women killing their family members is quite rare, the narrative of women murdering via poisoning is familiar enough of a trope in true crime that news outlets can craft a story that audiences can recognise and follow along with easily,' she added. The murder weapon itself plays into this narrative, Dr Easton said. 'Mushrooms are a mysterious and magical food – growing out of decay and … a key ingredient in the potions knocked up by witches,' she said. 'It offers up another stereotype Patterson can be associated with – the ugly, middle-aged witch or hag, again confirming her as evil. The mystery and magic of mushrooms and the mundanity of a Sunday lunch create contrast and interest in the story – a bit of a Hogwarts special. 'The fact that Erin's husband – and likely his larger family – were religious and therefore 'good' people further strengthens this contrast, and we enter the familiar narrative of the battle between good and evil.' 'Without the truth, Erin seems 'mad'' Most 'intriguing' of all – at least for Dr Easton – is Patterson's lack of a motive. 'Perhaps (the crime) would be more understandable had Erin's husband had an affair and his family supported him (in his infidelity), or if there was money involved which Erin would only inherit after the deaths of her husband and relatives,' she said. 'This remains a mystery in this case – and perhaps if the truth were out there, it would be a lot less interesting. Without the truth, Erin seems 'mad' – we can't see killing people as normal behaviour.' Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett said on The Trial podcast earlier this week that she and renowned criminal psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro had 'picked apart' Patterson's personality as they observed the case, in a bid to understand what prompted her to target her extended family. 'It appears, or what I believe happened is, she has this simmering rage for Simon and perhaps felt that his family hadn't supported her,' Dr Mallett said, referring to text messages tendered as evidence during the trial that demonstrated 'some tensions within the family'. 'And therefore some of that rage is transferred to them, and she felt justified in harming them because of this … and therefore she is protecting herself.'
SBS Australia
11-07-2025
- SBS Australia
'I captured her misery': Courtroom artist on drawing killer Erin Patterson
For most of Australia, it's just a regular Monday. But two hours' drive from Melbourne, a courtroom in the small country town of Morwell is buzzing. Media from across the country have assembled, armed with notepads, ready to devour every detail of the day's proceedings. Among the sea of journalists, artist Anita Lester stands out. "Someone like me comes in and I'm like, sweating on the iPad ... frantically sketching," she says. The surrounding press pack has spent the last five weeks attending the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson , feeding audiences hungry for details about the now-infamous mushroom cook killer. Viewing rooms for members of the press have been set up as public interest in the case outstrips capacity at Latrobe Valley Law Courts. But Lester has a front row seat to proceedings. "This particular case has just captured the nation," she says. It's like a full-on folkloric story. On the afternoon of 2 June, Patterson is about to take the stand, and Lester has her iPad and digital pencil at the ready to immortalise the moment. "The adrenaline is so high when the suspect walks out onto the stand. You suddenly get mounted with so much pressure." Her drawing of Patterson will soon become synonymous with the Mushroom Trial, thrusting Lester into the spotlight, too. Erin Patterson was convicted of murdering her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. She was also found guilty of attempting to kill Heather's husband, Ian. Source: AFP / Martin Keep Becoming a courtroom artist "I have a relationship with a newspaper that just invited me to do it on a whim," she says. Other publications took a liking to Lester's art and syndicated the drawings. "Then I started getting calls from all the different networks, and now I seem to be one of the first people [that] people call." The 39-year-old multidisciplinary artist has since drawn other high-profile figures, including gangland boss Tony Mokbel and alleged Easey Street murderer Perry Kouroumblis . Notorious gangland figure Tony Mokbel is among the other high-profile figures Lester has produced courtroom sketches of. Source: AAP / Anita Lester Cameras are banned from most Australian courtrooms to protect those on trial, along with witnesses and the jury. Media outlets commission artists to fill the visual void, continuing the centuries-old tradition of courtroom art. Lester had just two minutes to draw Patterson the first time she saw her in court, at Patterson's 2023 filing hearing, but there was more time when she took the stand in June. Capturing 'curmudgeoned' Patterson Recalling the moment Patterson stepped up, Lester says she just stared for a minute, taking a mental snapshot before putting pen to paper. "I just like, do the roughest, ugliest sketch you've ever seen, just to put things down," she says. Unlike those around her who are hungry for information, Lester tries to block out details that can be "quite interesting", "full-on", and "a little bit traumatising". It's like kind of a meditation. You have to try really hard not to listen to what is actually going on in the courtroom. After 10 minutes of drawing, the courtroom closes. Lester explains: "I run outside, I find the closest seat, I put on headphones and I just draw and finish the drawing, retaining the information that I've collected in those minutes." Two hours after getting the call to come into court, her drawing is on online news sites. When Lester first saw Patterson in court in 2023, she only had two minutes to draw her. Source: AAP / Anita Lester Lester is one of the first artists allowed to draw digitally in an Australian courtroom. Although she concedes digital art lacks some of the nuances of pastel and charcoal, she says they are "so impractical" to use. Instead, she customises digital brushes with a trail of "digital dust" to mimic physical art supplies. "The first time I was in court, there was someone who had this amazing little portable station, but I was looking at him half the time thinking, 'what a nightmare'." Instead of copying exactly what she sees, Lester focuses on getting the emotions of the subject. "If I'm being critical about my earlier drawings, I was fixating a lot on trying to get accurate representations of the person. "Perhaps why this particular drawing that I've done of Erin has been so visceral for people is because I captured her misery." While there are no hard and fast rules for courtroom art, Lester says she sticks to tradition, allowing some of her style to come through without being overly impressionistic and always prioritising getting a likeness of the subject. "I think part of the thing that people really like about courtroom art is there is a predictability to what you're looking at." She says court artists need to put their "journalist hat" on. "You are giving the people what they want. You're giving them this experience that you're having, but the experience of the story that is being told as well," she says. Distress was at the heart of Lester's courtroom experience with Patterson. "I was sitting there and she looked so curmudgeoned the whole time." Anita Lester focuses on capturing the emotions of the subjects of her courtroom sketches, rather than copying exactly what she sees. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop So Lester chose to exaggerate the emotions she saw on the stand. "You don't cheat the details," she says. I think you have to be as honest as you can. Lester's earlier court portraits have depicted subjects along with details of the surrounding courtroom, which she feels detracted from the emotion of the subject. So she decided to take a different approach to Patterson in June. "I just wanted to focus on her. She was so distressed this day in court, I actually felt a bit bad for her, if I'm being totally honest," Lester says. "I wanted to take away any distractions." Balancing storytelling and sensitivity Lester is often exposed to details hidden from the public, but the intimacy of the courtroom exposes something else, too. "I think what people don't realise when people are on trial [is that] they're terrified. They're being put under a microscope," she says. Even when people are the "guiltiest in the world", Lester says something sensitive is revealed in the courtroom setting. "When the lines are a bit blurred, you are privy to seeing something more vulnerable and almost childlike." Anita Lester is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop Lester says the weirdest part of the job is being noticed by the accused, often being stared at the whole time. But the whole experience of the Mushroom Trial has been surreal, with people contacting her daily about the case, including sending fan art. "That was just a tiny little snippet of my life, but now I'm intrinsically tied to this conversation," she says. "It's wild, it's two hours of my life [that] has become the thing that I am now associated with, which is so weird."
The Independent
09-07-2025
- The Independent
Bid to raise triple killer's sentence to whole-life term to be heard this month
The Solicitor General's bid to have the sentence of triple murderer Nicholas Prosper increased to a whole-life order is due to be heard by the Court of Appeal later this month. Prosper was jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years, less 188 days already spent in custody, in March after admitting killing his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, and siblings Giselle Prosper, 13, and Kyle Prosper, 16, at their family flat in Luton, Bedfordshire, on September 13 2023. The 19-year-old also admitted weapons charges after plotting a mass shooting at his former primary school in the town. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) confirmed in April that the Solicitor General had referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal as 'unduly lenient', with a spokesperson stating that it would argue that Prosper 'ought to have been given a whole-life order'. Court listings show that the case is scheduled to be heard on July 16 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. After shooting dead his siblings and mother, and stabbing his brother more than 100 times, Prosper hid for more than two hours before flagging down police officers in a nearby street and showing them where he had hidden a loaded shotgun and 33 cartridges near playing fields. He had bought the firearm and 100 cartridges from a legitimate firearms dealer the day before the murders after forging a gun licence. Sentencing Prosper at Luton Crown Court in March, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said that she would not impose a whole-life order because Prosper was stopped from carrying out the school shooting, having murdered his family earlier than he intended after his mother woke up. She continued that while he was 'indisputably a very dangerous young man', the risk to the public was met with a life sentence. As well as the murder sentences, Prosper also received concurrent jail terms of life with a minimum term of 18 years for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, three-and-a-half years for buying the gun and one year for possession of a kitchen knife, to run concurrently. Rules were changed in 2022 to allow younger defendants aged 18 to 20 to receive whole-life orders in exceptional circumstances, but no one in that age bracket has received the sentence since then. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said during sentencing that a whole-life term could only be given to an 18 to 20-year-old if a court deemed 'that the seriousness of the combination of offences is exceptionally high'. She continued: 'Despite the gravity of your crimes, it is the explicit joint submission of counsel that a lengthy, finite term will be a sufficiently severe penalty, and this is not such an exceptionally serious case of the utmost gravity where the sentence of last resort must be imposed on an offender who was 18 at the time and is 19 today.' The case was referred to the Attorney General's Office by the shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan, who said the killings were 'the most serious of crimes'.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- BBC News
Nicholas Prosper sentence appeal to be heard in July
A bid to have the sentence of triple murderer Nicholas Prosper increased to a whole-life order is due to be heard on 16 was jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years after admitting killing his mother, brother and sister at their home in Luton on 13 September 19-year-old also pleaded guilty to weapons charges after plotting a mass shooting at his former primary school in the General Lucy Rigby KC referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal in April, branding it "unduly lenient". A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said at the time that Prosper "ought to have been given a whole-life order".Whole life orders are considered the harshest penalty available to courts since capital punishment was abolished. Prosper gunned down his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, and sister Giselle Prosper, 13, before stabbing his 16-year-old brother Kyle more than 100 then hid for more than two hours before flagging down police officers in a nearby street, showing them his loaded shotgun and 33 sentencing in March heard he wanted to go on and "be known posthumously as the world's most famous school shooter of the 21st Century".Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told Luton Crown Court: "The lives of your own mother, and younger brother and sister were to be collateral damage on the way to fulfil your ambition."Prosper's plan would have led to the deaths of 34 people in total: his family, two teachers, four-year-old pupils at his old school and then, finally, it was derailed when noise made by his family as they were being killed alerted neighbours in their tower block in the Marsh Farm area of Luton. While sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she would not impose a whole-life order because Prosper was stopped from carrying out the school he was "indisputably a very dangerous young man", the risk to the public was met with a life sentence, she were changed in 2022 to allow defendants aged between 18 and 20 to receive whole-life orders in exceptional circumstances, but no one in that age bracket has received the sentence since judge said in March the threshold remained "exceptionally high"."Despite the gravity of your crimes, it is the explicit joint submission of counsel that a lengthy, finite term will be a sufficiently severe penalty," she added."This is not such an exceptionally serious case of the utmost gravity where the sentence of last resort must be imposed on an offender who was 18 at the time and is 19 today."The case was referred to the Attorney General's Office by the shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan, who said the killings were "the most serious of crimes". Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
