woman straps 8 months old baby to her chest and jumps from 8th floor apartment to her death while the baby survives with minor injuries

A Manhattan lawyer strapped her 10-month-old son to her chest and leaped to her death from an eighth-story window in Harlem on Wednesday — and the baby miraculously survived with little more than scratches, police sources said.

Cynthia Wachenheim, 44, who left a suicide note castigating herself for being a bad mother, landed on her back after taking the fatal plunge. Baby Keston was in a harness. He bounced off his mom on impact and then rolled away from her motionless arms.


“The note said she was not happy and she talked about what she planned to do,” a source said. In the note, Wachenheim is “saying to her husband, ‘I love you. I’m making you suffer. You’re going to think I’m evil,’” a source said.

“She thinks she’s a failing mother. On the last page, she refers to postpartum depression. She was supposed to see a therapist, but she blew him off.

“As the note goes on, you get the idea she’s explaining why she’s going to do it,” the source added.

The note, which mentions little Keston having a physical handicap, was unsigned — but cops compared it to handwriting samples and determined that it was written by Wachenheim, the source said.
Police learned — not from the note — that Wachenheim was convinced her baby had cerebral palsy, although doctors said there was nothing wrong with him, said the source.



“I heard a small scream when she was in the air,” said witness Steven Dominguez, 18. “I noticed something falling, but I didn’t want to believe it was a person.”

Dominguez, who teared up as he spoke, said the landing made a horrifying sound.

“It was a loud bang,” he said outside the woman’s building on Bradhurst Ave. near W. 147th St. “It sounded like a big piece of wood hitting the floor.”

“When I got closer, I saw the baby crying,” he said.
he baby was in stable condition Wednesday night at Harlem Hospital, hours after his mother’s 3:30 p.m. jump.


Wachenheim’s husband, Hal Bacharach, 48, was at work when his wife jumped, the source said. He was spotted on surveillance video leaving the upscale building at 12:55 p.m., less than three hours before the leap. Neighbors said he stormed out of their two-bedroom condo after a loud argument. Shouting echoed through the halls.

“He was yelling at her today,” said Christian Johnson, 37. “It made me stop and listen. He was asking her why she wouldn’t pick up the phone. He kept repeating it. Then, the baby started crying.”

A police source said Wachenheim was taking antidepressants and that pills were found in the apartment.

A different police source said Wednesday was the first time police were ever called to the apartment. The couple had lived at The Sutton — where similar apartments run about $325,000 — for about three years.

Wachenheim, a high school valedictorian in Albany and a Columbia Law grad, was on maternity leave from her $118,000-a-year job in the city court system. She worked there for more than 15 years doing research and writing for judges.
"She was wonderful — very devoted to the court (and) wonderful with everyone she worked with,” said her boss, John Werner, chief court clerk. “It’s a tragedy.”

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” said David Bookstaver, spokesman for the city’s Office of Court Administration. “Our thoughts are with her family.”

Two NYPD narcotics detectives were parking a car nearby and were the first to respond after they saw the tragic fall.

Cops took the boy, who appeared to only have scratches and minor injuries, to Harlem Hospital. He was listed in stable condition and was expected to survive. A source said he underwent a CT scan.

Neighbors were shocked that Wachenheim, who officials said worked as an associate court attorney with the New York County Law Office, took her only child with her in the fatal leap.

“She was very friendly,” said Yaa Dwamena, 32. “She always greeted you when you came in and out of the building. She didn’t seem like she was going through anything.”
A building worker described Wachenheim as a devoted mom.

“She was always holding him in her arms,” the worker said. “She was always with the baby. She loved that baby.”

Johnson, who has known the couple since they moved into the building, said he never saw signs of trouble.

“I saw her a little while ago,” he said. “She seemed stressed out — but what mother of a 10-month-old isn’t stressed out?”

Johnson also thought that Wednesday’s argument was just a typical squabble between parents, until he saw Wachenheim’s body on the sidewalk.

“I saw her on the ground and I lost it,” Johnson said.

With Barbara Ross, Kerry Burke and Shane Dixon Kavanaugh




Culled from DAILYNEWS

Tunisian vendor dies after self-immolation in protest against unemployment

A Tunisian cigarette vendor who set himself ablaze in a busy street of the capital Tunis a day earlier has died under hospital care, a medical official has said.


Twenty-seven-year-old Adel Khadri pictured below, died on Wednesday as a result of severe burns, Imed Toiuibi, the director of the Ben Arous Burns Centre, told the AFP news agency.

"This is a young man who sells cigarettes because of unemployment," Khadri shouted before immolating himself on Habib Bourguiba avenue.

Security forces and bystanders tried to extinguish the flames before the man was rushed to hospital, witnesses said.

Officials said Khadri hails from an extremely poor family in Jendouba in northwestern Tunisia.

Interior ministry spokesman Khaled Tarrouche attributed Khadri's desperate action to his economic situation.

"He is unemployed and came to Tunis a few months ago. He was very fragile, psychologically broken, and that is why he set himself on fire."

In December 2010, street vendor Bouazizi whose picture appears above died of his injuries after setting himself alight on December 17, 2010 in the town of Sidi Bouzid after a policewoman confiscated his fruit cart.

Bouazizi's fate sparked protests that ended with the overthrow of autocratic President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and inspired rebellions elsewhere in the Middle East.
Culled from ALJazeera

Google to pay $7 million fine for privacy violation

Google on Tuesday agreed to pay some States the sum of $7 million to settle complaints that its Stree View cars violated people's privacy.
The settlement with 37 States comes nearly three years after the company admitted collecting information ike passwords and e-mails from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks when its cars were passing by. The internet giant said it will take steps to ensure that the company does not tap into networks again in the future. As part of the agreement, Google also agreed to destroy the personal data it collected.
The said settlement was quicly criticized by privacy advocates as an insufficient slap on the wrist.
"With Googles revenue of $100 million dollars a day, the fine is just like a drop of water in the ocean and it is not enough to deter bad behaviour"
Since 2007, Google has sent aroun cars with cameras attached to their roof to film 360 degrees images of a Google map component called 'Street View'. When the programme was investigated by European regulators, Google said it discovered that it mistakenly downloaded snippets of the so called 'Payload data' from internet users who were logged onto unprotected wireless networks that were in range of its cars.
Culled from CNN

How US policemen arrested woman with loaded gun in her Vagina

A woman arrested by the police was revealed to have a loaded gun hidden inside her vagina and a bag of drugs concealed between her buttocks.

Suspect Christie Dawn Harris was arrested by police in Ada, Oklahoma last week monday after a search of her car yielded crystal meth, drug paraphernalia, a pistol and some ammo.

But Harris’s complete haul wasn’t revealed until she was escorted to the local jail, police paperwork on The Smoking Gun revealed.
The 28-year-old initially refused to change into prison clothing, but later consented to a body cavity search, at which point Officer Kathy Unbewust “observed at that time a wooden and metal item sticking out from her vagina area.”

The item in question turned out to be a loaded .22-caliber handgun containing three rounds of live ammunition and one spent shell.

Further examination of the suspect yielded a number of plastic bags filled with methamphetamine.



Pontotoc County District Attorney Chris Ross was quoted by The Examiner as saying: “It would seem a very dangerous place to carry a loaded firearm. If it goes off it’s only going in one place.”

Harris and an accomplice now face weapons and drugs charges.

WGN-TV news anchor Robin Baumgarten wept with laughter as she delivered a report into the arrest, exclaiming “What?!” as her co-anchor Larry Postash added: “The old caboose pistol; everybody has one.”
Culled from HUFF POST

8yr-old S/ African boy marries 61-yr-old woman to please his ancestors

An eight-year-old schoolboy has married a 61-year-old woman because the ghost of his dead ancestor told him to.


Sanele Masilela tied the knot with Helen Shabangu, who is already married and a mother-of-five.

The boy, from Tshwane, South Africa, said he had been told by his dead ancestors to wed and his family, fearing divine retribution, forked out for a wedding.


They paid £500 for the bride and a further £1,000 for the big day, which was organised in just two months.
Dressed in a bow tie and tiny silver suit, little Sanele, the youngest of five children, exchanged rings in front of 100 guests and even puckered up for a kiss.



It's already shocked the community but the family has defended the ceremony, saying it was just a ritual and not legally binding.
Sanele's 46-year-old mum, Patience Masilela said: 'This is the first time this has happened in the family.

'Sanele is named after his grandfather, who was never had a white wedding before he died so asked Sanele to get married. He chose Helen because he loves her.



'By doing this we made the ancestors happy. If we hadn't done what my son had asked then something bad would have happened in the family.

'I didn't have a problem with it because I know it's what the ancestors wanted and it would make them happy.'
The widow, who works at a recycling centre, added: 'I would say that this is not wrong.

'Sanele was fine and he was happy about the ceremony and it was what he wanted. He was happy to get married and very excited.'

Sanele and his bride did not sign a marriage certificate and do not have to live together. Both have gone back to their normal lives.

Sanele today said he hoped he would have a proper wedding to a woman his own age when he was older.

He added: 'I told my mother that I wanted to get married because I really did want to.
'I'm happy that I married Helen - but I will go to school and study hard.

'When I'm older I will marry a lady my own age.'

Despite being old enough to be his grandmother, bride Helen, whose children are aged between 37 and 27, was happy with the arrangement.

Helen, who also works at a recycling centre, said: 'I'm married and have five kids of my own, but I know that this is what the ancestors wanted - and now they are happy.

'It is a ritual. We are just playing now, but it is a sign that he will get married one day.'

Her husband of 30 years, Alfred, 65, said: 'My kids and I are happy.

'We don't have problems with it but some of the community members were shocked.'
Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Super-sized mosquitoes which can bite through clothing are heading to Florida 'in large numbers' this summer

Mega-mosquitoes which are the size of quarters are expected to take over areas of Florida 'in large numbers' this summer, scientists have warned.


The special breed of the nuisance bug, which can be 20 times bigger than common menacing Asian tiger mosquitoes, are described as 'notoriously aggressive'.

They were handed the perfect breeding ground by last year's tropical storms, according to scientists at the University of Florida, so are coming to a town near you.
'Because of the events last year, and the eggs laid, we can expect large numbers of these mosquitoes again,' Entomologist Phil Kaufman, an associate professor with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, told the Gainsville Sun.


'It is quite capable of biting through my shirt.
'We suggest people wear long-sleeve pants and shirts. Just doing that may not be enough for this type of mosquito; you're going to have use one of the insect repellants to dissuade them from landing.'


'The bite really hurts, I can attest to that,' he told science site phys.org.


Psorophora ciliata, or Gallinipper mosquitoes as they are commonly known, have half inch long bodies and the same black-white color pattern of the more common Asian Tiger Mosquito with a wingspan of 6-7 millimeters.
Because of their size they are often able to withstand common repellants.


The hurricanes of last year brought large numbers of the insects to the Central and South Florida area which laid dormant eggs in the soil near ponds and streams.


Now scientists are predicting heavy rainfall will come again and cause the eggs to hatch - releasing the super-sized bugs in large numbers.eastern half of North America, is they don't carry diseases dangerous to humans like some of their smaller counterparts.


Like Asian tiger mosquitoes they are less common in urban areas and tend to be found near floodwater where they hatch.


'Down near Paynes Prairie, you are more likely to have more numbers than Main Street Gainesville,' Professor Kaufman added.


It is only females that bite with male Gallinippers feeding on flower nectar.


They also feed on other mosquito larvae and even tadpoles and are most active at dusk and dawn.


'When you read the historical accounts of the first European settlers in the Southeast and they talked about gigantic mosquitoes, this was one they were talking about,' Professor Kaufman added.
Culled from MAILONLINE

75yr-old Grandmother fired multiple gunshots at grandson while he pleaded with 911 dispatcher to send help

A teenage boy who had been shot by his grandmother pleaded with a 911 dispatcher to send help as the 75-year-old shot him again, a prosecutor told jurors on Tuesday.
Sandra Layne is on trial for the first-degree murder of her grandson Jonathan Hoffman, 17, whom she is accused of shooting dead on May 18 last year at their shared home in suburban Detroit.
Hoffman 'thought he was safe... Sandra Layne walks up and shoots him again. This time in the stomach,' Paul Walton, Oakland County's chief assistant prosecutor, said during his opening statement today.
Defense attorney Jerome Sabbota countered that the diminutive Layne feared for her safety during the fatal confrontation in the West Bloomfield Township condo that Hoffman shared with his grandparents.
An autopsy revealed Hoffman was shot three times in the chest, once in the abdomen and once in his left arm. Tests showed the teen had traces of synthetic marijuana in his body.
Officers had been called to the home northwest of Detroit about two months earlier, when Layne told police she was having a difficult time because her grandson was very upset and yelling. No arrests were made that day.

Four days before that, the alternative high school senior was pulled over in nearby Farmington Hills and ticketed for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
He later received a 93-day suspended sentence and was placed on 12 months' probation.
Layne is 'not a murderer,' Sabbota told jurors on Tuesday. 'She was afraid. She felt she had no choice. Why else would she shoot him? This is a tragic case.'

Hoffman was living with his grandmother while his mother and father were divorcing and living outside Michigan.
'He was a troubled teen, her favorite grandson, and she took him in,' Sabbota said.
In Hoffman's 911 call played during Layne's preliminary examination last summer, the teen yelled into a cellphone: 'I've just been shot. My grandma shot me. I'm going to die. Help.'
A few minutes later, he tells the operator: 'I got shot, shot again. Please help. Help,' before his voice trails off and a woman's shouts are heard in the background.



An officer testified at Layne's preliminary examination that when police arrived, she walked out of her home with her hands up and screamed: 'I murdered my grandson.'
A Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun was found just inside the front door. Nine spent cartridge cases also were found in the house.
Sabbota said Layne is expected to take the stand during the trial.
Culledf from DAILYMAIL

Girl born without a nose or eyes to undergo surgery using bone from her skull to rebuild her face

A North Carolina teen born with a rare condition that left her without a nose or eyes is preparing for her final operation which will give her a real nose.
Cassidy Hooper, 16, will undergo three surgeries at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte over the course of two weeks that will create a nose from cartilage and bone taken from her skull.
And the good news has left the energetic teen ecstatic because for the first time she will be able to smell and breathe through her own nose.
When she was born, her condition left doctors baffled, especially since had no other medical problems and leads a healthy life.
'Her heart and brain are normal,' said her mother, kindergarten teacher, Susan Hooper to ABC News.
'Nothing else is going on with her.'
The inspirational teenager has been going through skin graft surgeries to adapt her face since she was 11 years old and is pleased to be entering the final straight.
'I'll have a real nose like everyone else's,' said Cassidy.
Her surgeon, Dr. David Matthews has worked for the past five years expanding her face to create a bony opening, that has now developed into a bony opening, that is now waiting for the cartilage graph to be placed over.


In the past, Cassidy used prosthetic eyes, but since they cost $5,000 each, the Hooper's could not afford to keep replacing them as their daughter grew.
'Insurance didn't pay one cent,' said Susan, 42. 'We had already started the process to do her nose, moving her eyes closer together and having her skull reshaped. We were not going to pay for it then have to pay again.'
Experts who spoke to ABC News explained how the surgery to replace Cassidy's nose will be completed.
'The nose is a little like the ear -- what you see isn't functional,' said Dr. Sherard A. Tatum III, director of facial and reconstructive surgery at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y.
'A lot of people have noses they lost to trauma and cancer and breathe fine and have a sense of smell. The nose is something we expect to see in its conventional place and it's good to put glasses on, but it's not 100 percent necessary.'
'The soft tissues that make up the inside and the outside skin and mucus membrane don't have a lot of strength to stick out of the face like the nose does. You can't just slap some skin up there and make it look like a nose.'
Cassidy's doctors have taken a layered approach - placing the inside membrane first, then using cartilage and bone from her skull create a nose structure and then cover it with skin.
The hardest part for Cassidy has been overcoming the social difficulties.
She has been attending Governor Morehead School, a specialist school for the blind since the fifth grade and deals with taunts from children well.
'Honestly, there's been a bit of teasing, but not more than any other child on a regular day,' said her mother.
Active and confident, Cassidy is involved with track and field and has even taken up the winter sport of curling.
She dreams of being a radio broadcaster and has recently appeared on the airwaves at her local radio station.
'It was the first time and I actually did my own radio broadcast for an hour -- I took over,' said Cassidy.
'I have been listening to radio since I was younger, and I like how they do it. I am interested in jingles.'
Culled from MAILONLINE

Mayor of Oxford resigns from office for making 'sex' remarks to 13yr-old girl

A disgraced Lord Mayor who allegedly told a 13-year-old schoolgirl she looked 'sexy' when she bent over has today resigned from his post.


Liberal Democrat Alan Armitage quit his coveted role as Lord Mayor of Oxford today after being accused of telling the teenager: 'It's sexy when you bend down like that'.


The alleged incident happened while the youngster and other members of an under-13s sport team were having their photograph taken with him.


The married father-of-three, who is a city and county councillor, claims he may have said ‘best if you stand next to me’ and was misheard.

Mr Armitage's resignation follows a ruling by the council's standards committee last week that it was 'highly probable' he did make an ‘inappropriate and disrespectful’ comment.


At a hearing held in secret to protect the girl’s identity, they ruled he had brought the office of Lord Mayor and the city council into disrepute.

But apart from being ‘censured’ – effectively, given a telling off – the council took no disciplinary action and allowed him to remain Lord Mayor.

Mr Armitage, who is also a county councillor for West Central Oxford, said at the time he had no intention of giving up his position of Lord Mayor.


Speaking after he was censured, he said: 'My county council position is up for election and I have not yet decided whether to continue and fight it in May. I have not heard from anyone that I ought to be resigning.


'I have said all along that I may have said some of the words which are imputed to me but it is not very likely. I have tried to tell the truth.'
But the shamed public figure today announced his decision in an email to his fellow councillors and Oxford city council's chief executive, Peter Sloman.

Despite quitting his role as Lord Mayor, it is understood he has not left his post as a councillor.
Current deputy mayor Mohammed Abbasi will step into the role temporarily until the completion of the Mayoral year in May.


His comments were branded 'absolutely unacceptable' by the chairman of Oxford's Liberal Democrats.

Following the decision to censure Mr Armitage, Tony De Vere, chairman of Oxford West and Abingdon Liberal Democrats, said: 'Such behaviour is absolutely unacceptable and this is a matter the Liberal Democrats take extremely seriously.


'We have started the process of seeking appropriate disciplinary action.'
The investigation began after a parent complained to the girl’s school about the incident in June last year, a month after Mr Armitage began his year in office as Lord Mayor.

The school passed it to Oxfordshire County Council’s child protection team, which found Mr Armitage was not a risk to youngsters.


But it did pass its findings to Oxford City Council to see if its code of conduct had been breached.


There were differing accounts of what Mr Armitage was alleged to have said.


They included: ‘It’s sexy when you bend down like that’; ‘bending is very sexy, isn’t it?’; and ‘ooh, that’s a bit sexy’. It is understood the girl and up to five witnesses gave evidence about the alleged offending comment.


Mr Armitage denied the allegation.

Culled from MAILONLINE

Indian woman who exposed her terrorist husband is attacked with acid by his vengeful family

An Indian woman who exposed her husband as a terrorist has been permanently disfigured after his family stormed into her home and threw acid at her in a revenge attack.

Reshma Rangrez, 32, from Ahmedabad, western India, blew the whistle on spouse Shehzad in 2011 after she caught him making crude bombs, apparently destined for a terror attack.

When officers raided the couple's home, they found seven jars containing an unidentified liquid used in the manufacturing of explosives, some stowed in a pile of rubbish nearby.
Shehzad was jailed and Mrs Rangrez became a household name for her bravery in shedding light on the apparent plot and was given a Rs 25,000 (£300) reward.


She was even offered a job in the city traffic brigade by the city's police commissioner
But then last month, Shehzad's parents forced their way into Mrs Rangrez's home and thrust a jar of acid in her face, following a string of threats against her life.
'My in-laws burst into the house at 3.30am with a bottle,' she said. 'Before I could understand what was happening, they threw acid at me. My shrieks of pain alerted my neighbours who rushed to my help.'

Luckily the corrosive liquid missed her face, instead splashing onto her arm, leaving her with serious burns, the Times of India reported.


Police have arrested her father-in-law Ismail Rangrez and mother-in-law Hanifa who await trial fro the attack.

Shehzad was caught with a crude bomb and a country-made pistol when police officials had raided the house in July 2011. He later led detectives to seven other bombs he had made and hidden in a rubbish pile at Chandola lake, in Ahmedabad, 500 kilometres north of Mumbai.
Culled from MAILONLINE

Woman decapitates grandmother in the street after stabbing her own mother to death

A woman who stabbed a grandmother to death in the street after her pleas to be sectioned were ignored has been jailed for a minimum of 37 years today.

Nicola Edgington, 32, almost decapitated 58-year-old Sally Hodkin and tried to murder Kerry Clark, 22, in Bexleyheath, south east London, in 2011.

Edgington had previously been detained in a mental health unit after stabbing her mother to death in 2005 but was released into the community in 2009.

She made five 999 calls on the day she killed Mrs Hodkin asking to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act as she believed herself to be a danger but her claims were ignored.
Hours after walking out of a mental health unit after being taken there by police, she killed Mrs Hodkin.

Edgington's sentencing came on the same day that the Independent Police Complaints Commission said it was of 'deep concern' that officers didn't carry out a proper computer check of the killer's name when she claimed that she was dangerous.


Jailing her at the Old Bailey this afternoon, the Recorder of London Judge Brian Barker said Edgington should stop blaming others for her actions and take responsibility.
He sentenced her to a minimum term of 37 years for Mrs Hodkin's murder and a concurrent sentence of 20 years for attempted murder.

Judge Barker told Edgington, 32, her behaviour had been 'consistent and calculated'.

He said: 'You are manipulative and exceptionally dangerous. What you did could not have been more selfish.

'I disagree that the responsibility for these acts can be laid on others.
'You made your choice and these were terrible acts for which you must take responsibility.

'You have come as near as can be to having three deaths on your hands.'

Last month a jury rejected claims that Edgington’s responsibility for the killing was diminished by any mental illness and convicted her of murder and attempted murder.

Edgington had been released into the community in 2009 after an order for indefinite detention following the stabbing of her mother was lifted.

Sally’s husband Paul Hodkin asked the judge in his ‘victim impact statement’ for Edgington to be jailed for at least 40 years - one year for every year of the couple’s marriage.

Within minutes of getting off a bus in Bexleyheath high street, Edgington unsuccessfully tried to kill 22 year-old Kerry Clark before attacking Mrs Hodkin, who was on her way to work as an accounts manager at a law firm.

The court had heard that Edgington, a former pupil at Sackville School in East Grinstead, had attacked her churchgoing mother with a phone when she was just 15 and was sent to different care homes because of her behaviour.

She later had two sons with two different men but one of them was taken into care and both children ended up living in Jamaica with their fathers.


Her mother Marion was terrified of Edgington and had predicted her death at the hands of her daughter.


Days before she died she wrote to social services stating: ‘She is the most unstable I have ever known her to be and for the longest period too.’


Edgington had been to the pub with her brother and sister on the night that she killed her mother but had been thrown out because of her erratic behaviour
She was also found to have written the names of Osama Bin Laden, George Bush and Reggie Kray in a notebook.

Edgington returned to her mother's cottage in East Sussex and stabbed her nine times, leaving her bloodied body on her bed.


Her brother and sister later discovered their mother's body and Edgington went on the run.


Following her arrest Edgington pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and in October 2006 was detained indefinitely under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act.


She was treated as an inpatient in a medium secure psychiatric facility by the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust until 2009.


Psychiatrist Dr Adrian Cree said he believed she was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and experienced delusions.


‘She had a psychotic illness and needed to be in a hospital setting,’ he said.


But less than three years later in September 2009 the order for her to be detained indefinitely was lifted and it was agreed that she could be released under supervision.

She was given a supported housing association flat in Greenwich, south London, and visited every week by either her psychiatric nurse or a care worker. Her condition was also regularly reviewed by a consultant psychiatrist.
Nurse Tanya Biebuyck told the court said Edgington seemed relaxed and showed no sign of mental illness on September 29, 2011.

But a week later on 6 October Edgington became disturbed after contacting her brother Tom for the first time since killing their mother.


She emailed him on Facebook using the name ‘Princess Nicole’, telling him she loved him, that she had recently suffered a miscarriage, and complained that she was not being looked after as well as their mother would have done.


Hoping to renew their relationship, she also gave him her mobile phone number.


But Tom, who had not spoken to his sister since his mother’s death, replied with a blunt message reading: ‘You stabbed her to death and left me to find the body.

‘Good news about the miscarriage though. People like you should be sterilised for the good of the world. Do us all a favour and cut your wrists.’


Later that night she rang 999 to complain she had received threatening text messages and the following day phoned police to make a complaint about her ex-boyfriend.

Two days after that on 9 October she made a series of 999 calls claiming some ‘crackheads’ had got into her flat and stolen her keys, only to say she had found the keys.


A few hours later at 3am on 10th October Edgington went to the Greenwich Express cars minicab office in Woolwich Road and asked to be taken to Lewisham Hospital.


The driver noticed she appeared to be ‘paranoid’ and drooling at the mouth.


But when they arrived at Lewisham she claimed it was closed and asked to be taken to another hospital in Dartford.


He took her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital but when she refused to pay the fair he took her back to the cab office.


Edgington ran inside and cowered in the corner, claiming the driver beat her up and was going to ram his car through the window.
The police were called and Edgington was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for assessment.


She booked herself in at 4.29am and sat down to wait but soon became agitated claiming she did not feel safe.


Edgington told staff she had not slept for weeks and claimed that she was hearing voices.


While waiting to be transferred to the psychiatric unit at Oxleas House she made a series of 999 calls saying she should be sectioned before she hurt somebody.


In the first call she told the operator she was waiting to be seen in casualty at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.


She said: ‘I need for the police to come because I have had a nervous breakdown before and I killed someone.
I need to go to a mental hospital. I cannot sit in A&E, I don’t know what I’m gonna do next.’


She added: ‘The last time I was like this I killed someone. Could you please send a car here now please this is very important.’


In the second she said: ‘You need to come to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and take me into custody because I’m feeling very scared and paranoid and my psychiatrist has told me that when I am feeling like this I can be extremely dangerous.

‘I don’t want to start hurting anyone. I want to hand myself in now before I start hurting anyone else.’


Edgington said in her third call: ‘I’m in A&E at Queen Elizabeth. Now you really need to take me into custody please.


‘These people they’re just completely ignoring me. They won’t even phone the mental health people.


‘They won’t phone anyone, they won’t do anything for me at all. I really need you to take me into custody, yeah.


‘Do you want me to hurt someone here, I’m telling you if you don’t come to Queen Elizabeth Hospital


I’m gonna end up hurting someone.’


In her next 999 call she said: ‘I’m a very dangerous schizophrenic and if you don’t come and help me I’m gonna end up hurting someone.


‘I’m having a nervous breakdown. I’m really really not well.’


The operator replied: ‘Yeah but you are in a place of safety so you have got...
Edgington interrupted: ‘Well I’m not in a place of safety, I’m in an exposed area. Can you just get the police to come and get me. I’m getting more and more dangerous.’


In her final call she said: ‘I’m a paranoid schizophrenic and my doctor says that when I am scared I am very dangerous and I fell like I haven’t had medication for a while and I really need to go.


‘I need to be somewhere so I can lock a door. I’m feeling the wide spaces are scaring me...’


The operator tells her to ‘calm down’ and she replies: ‘I’m dangerous at the moment, I’m very dangerous.


‘You know the last time I was feeling like this I killed someone, the last time I was feeling like this I killed, I killed my mum.


‘I have got very strange ideas, I think I’m at the gates of heaven, I think.’


Edgington then starts crying and ends the call.
When she was finally seen by the psychiatric nurse a few minutes later at 5.30am she told him she had not slept for three weeks and needed to be sectioned.

He arranged for her voluntary transfer but she was not taken to Oxleas House until 6.30am.

She was then seen by the doctor on duty but Edgington was still waiting in reception when she walked out at around 7.05pm, telling staff: ‘I’m just going to call my care co-ordinator.’

It was then that Edgington set off by bus towards Bexleyheath where she launched her attacks on Kerry Clark and Sally Hodkin at 8.30am.


She first bought a knife from Asda and attacked 22 year-old Kerry Clark at a bus stop on the high street.


But Miss Clark managed to disarm her.

Edgington then went to a nearby butcher's shop and grabbed a second knife before going back out onto the street and attacking Mrs Hodkin.

The horrific attack was witnessed by a passer-by who talked police through events as they happened.
Nicholas Morris was heard to say: ‘I’ve just witnessed a lady try to stab another lady with a knife... The girl was so lucky, the knife just missed her.

‘You need to get someone here. She’s walked out the shop. She’s walking down the road now. I’m following her down the High Street.’


Mr Morris is then heard running after Edgington as she turned round the corner into Albion Road near the bowling alley.


He tells the operator: ‘She’s attacking another woman, she’s stabbing another woman with a knife.


‘I can’t get there.... she’s stabbing another woman. She’s bloody killing her. Oh my God, she’s f***ing killed her. For God’s sake.


‘Where are the police? I need some help here.’

During her trial for the murder of Mrs Hodkin, Edgington used the same defence she had used after she killed her mother.

But this time psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph concluded she was only suffering from a borderline personality disorder and had probably never been mentally ill.


Prosecutor Nicholas Heywood also claimed that Edgington was ‘in control’ and purposefully decided to launch a random attack on members of the public.


Despite the judges comments, details of an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) released today found that police in Greenwich were not notified that she was living in the area after she was released.

The watchdog also found Met Police staff failed to carry out a police national computer (PNC) check on Edgington when she made contact with officers on October 10 2011, shortly before the murder.

This would have alerted them to her previous conviction for the manslaughter of her mother, the IPCC said.

Hours before she killed, Edgington sought help at a local hospital from where she called 999.

But after delays in admitting her, she walked out.

The IPCC found officers only contacted the hospital following her fourth phone call and said Edgington’s second 999 call from the A&E department was downgraded because she was considered to be in a place of safety.

An officer was not dispatched at this stage despite Edgington’s claim she could be very dangerous, it found.
IPCC commissioner Sarah Green said it was of 'great concern' that police did not carry out a PNC check.

She said: 'This tragic case has robbed a family of a much-loved wife, mother, grandmother and friend and my thoughts again go out to Sally Hodkin’s family.'

'Nicola Edgington had a violent history linked to her mental health problems and was evidently aware that she was a threat to others.

'She made repeated phone calls to police asking to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act and warned officers in person of the risk she posed to those around her.

'While our investigation found that no police officers or staff breached the code of conduct, it is of great concern that no PNC check was carried out which would have immediately alerted them to Edgington’s violent history.

'Without this PNC check, both the police and staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich were without crucial information which may have influenced their future decisions, increased the urgency of the situation and could have escalated the medical attention she was given.”

In a foreword to the IPCC’s report, released today, the watchdog said a mini cab employee called police in the early hours of October 10 to report that Edgington had taken a taxi with no money to pay for the journey and was asking to be sectioned.
Two officers who responded to the call took Edgington voluntarily to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Woolwich, south London, from where she continued to phone police herself, telling the call handlers she feared she would kill someone.

The IPCC said: 'In view of the nature of the incident the officers were dealing with, it is considered that they should have conducted a PNC check at that stage.

'However this was not done until Nicola Edgington was reported missing from the Oxleas Mental Health Unit later that morning.

'Had they done so, they would have discovered that Nicola Edgington had a previous conviction for manslaughter after fatally stabbing her mother in 2005, which may have influenced their decision to take her to hospital on a voluntary basis.”

The two officers attempted to leave Edgington in the care of the hospital staff but she followed them outside and had to be escorted back inside.

At this point, the pair missed an opportunity to have her sectioned under the mental health act, the watchdog said.

They instead left the premises and Edgington made further calls to the police which were 'sufficiently alarming' to indicate that officers should either have been asked to return to the hospital or the hospital should have been contacted, the IPCC concluded.

But police communications staff did not take action until the fourth call, when the importance of the case was downgraded in the belief the hospital had the matter in hand, the watchdog said.

A doctor later contacted the Met to report Edgington had gone missing; to request that she be located and returned for treatment; and to order that she should be detained under the mental health act if she resisted.

The call was incorrectly graded for response within the hour when it should have been marked up for immediate attention, the IPCC revealed.

It said: 'While no officer or member of police staff was found to have breached police or staff codes of conduct, the IPCC is critical of the police failure to conduct PNC checks or intelligence checks on Nicola Edgington and to pass on this information to the hospital staff.

'If this information had been passed to hospital staff, they may have given Nicola Edgington greater priority.'

Culled from MAILONLINE

Footballer who gave birth twice despite doctors' claim she couldn't have children dies of ovarian cancer

A young mother and professional footballer has died aged just 21 after losing her three-year battle with ovarian cancer.


Emma Mincher from Droylsden, Great Manchester - who played for Blackburn Rovers - was diagnosed with the disease the day before her 18th birthday in March 2009.

Mrs Mincher, who defied experts by having two daughters despite being told she could not have children, had been given the all clear - but was told the cancer had returned late last year.

After undergoing surgery to treat the cancer, she was old she would never have children - but Amazingly, in June 2010, Emma and long-term partner Stefan discovered she was pregnant - and their first child Lilly-Mae was born the following February.
Against all the odds, they had their second daughter Molly-Rae a year later. But tragically Emma was struck down again by the cancer shortly after Molly's birth - and she had to have further surgery and chemotherapy.

The couple married last July at Dukinfield Town Hall, followed by a reception at the Etihad Stadium, the home of their beloved Manchester City football club.
Emma received the all-clear again from doctors at The Christie Hospital in Manchester - but just weeks after the news their worst fears were realised when the cancer returned again in November.

Emma decided against further treatment because she wanted to enjoy the time she had left with her young family.
She defied a bleak prognosis to survive her first Christmas with Molly-Rae, and even threw a joint birthday party for her daughters on February 16.

She died four days later at Willow Wood Hospice in Ashton-under-Lyne.


Mr Mincher said: 'Emma was an inspiration to so many; a hero, a fighter who never gave up, or complained about her illness.

'She continued to beat the odds, out playing in the snow with the girls as recent as the end of January.


'Lilly is still asking for mummy - and that's heartbreaking - but we will make sure that Emma is never forgotten and that they know how much she loved them.'


Mrs Mincher, whose maiden name was McDougall, played for Fletcher Moss Rangers football clun and was studying at Manchester College before she signed for Blackburn Rovers in January 2008.


The winger made thirty first-team appearances, scoring five goals, but had to stop playing when she became ill.


Rovers Ladies manager Scott Rogers said: 'She was a special talent and it's a tragic shame that she has been taken from us too early.'
Culled from MAIL ONLINE

8 S/African policemen arrested for torture and murder of Taxi driver

Eight South African police officers have been arrested over the death of a Mozambican man who was apparently dragged behind a police vehicle.

An investigation was launched after video footage emerged showing the man hauled through the streets with his hands cuffed to a police van.

Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega thanked people for revealing "callous and unacceptable behaviour".

President Jacob Zuma called the incident "horrific" and "unacceptable".

The eight officers were initially suspended pending an investigation. It was later announced that they had been arrested and would appear in court on 4 March.

Taxi driver Mido Macia, 27, died of head injuries and internal bleeding after his arrest in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg, an initial post-mortem found.

He was reportedly detained for parking his vehicle in a way that blocked traffic.

The video, apparently recorded by a bystander on a mobile phone on Tuesday, shows a large crowd watching as uniformed policemen tie him to a van, dragging him as they drive away.

Public anger grew after the footage was broadcast on television.

South Africa's police watchdog - the Independent Police Investigative Directorate - is examining the video as part of its investigation.
The BBC's Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says a small group of protesters, mostly women, gathered on Friday morning outside the police station where the 27-year-old taxi driver died in the holding cells.

Some of the chants accused the police of brutality.

The South African Police Service expressed "extreme shock and outrage" at the mobile phone footage.

"From the video which has gone viral, it is obvious that the rights of Mido Macia were violated in the most extreme form," it said in a statement,

"The behaviour displayed in that video, when it is committed by police who are expected to serve and protect, is to be abhorred," it added.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
He was a very humble guy; he leaves behind one child in South Africa”
End Quote
Justin Ndlovu

Benoni Taxi Association

South Africa's police force was already under intense scrutiny after officers shot dead 34 striking miners last August.

Its credibility was also dented when it emerged that the lead detective in the murder case against athlete Oscar Pistorius was himself accused of attempted murder.

The police service said it would give its full support to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate as it looked into Mr Macia's death.

"We fully support the principle of police being policed and we shall be transparent about the outcome of the investigation," it said.

Justin Ndlovu, the chair of the Benoni Taxi Association, said he knew Mr Macia and had last seen him last week.
"He was a very humble guy; he leaves behind one child in South Africa," he told the BBC.

"His brother died last year and he had become the guardian of his brother's wife and three children [also living in South Africa]."
Culled from BBC

Drug addict who beheaded British grandmother sentenced to 20 years in a psychiatric unit

A drug addict who beheaded a British grandmother in a frenzied knife attack on the holiday island of Tenerife has been sentenced to 20 years in a secure psychiatric unit.

Homeless Bulgarian Deyan Deyanov, 29, was convicted of murder by a jury of nine at the Provincial Court in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Friday.

He repeatedly stabbed and beheaded Jennifer Mills-Westley, 60, while she was shopping in the popular resort of Los Cristianos in the Canary Islands, Spain, on May 13 2011.In a written sentence, magistrate Maria Jesus Garcia Sanchez imposed the toughest tariff available for the schizophrenic, who the jury found had diminished responsibility for his crime.




She also ordered that Deyanov, who was living rough when he randomly murdered Ms Mills-Westley, should pay her daughters, Sarah and Samantha Mills-Westley, 100,000 euros.
During a four-day trial, Deyanov denied murder and said he did not recognise himself in CCTV footage of the attack shown to the jury.

He also claimed to hear voices which tell him he is an 'angel of Jesus Christ', sent to create a new Jerusalem.
In her written sentence Ms Garcia Sanchez said she took into account the 'criminal danger' Deyanov represented.

She said Ms Mills-Westley had no chance given the 'forceful and unexpected' nature of the attack she suffered.

'Frequently, homicidal intent is something which must be inferred,' she added.

'In this case, homicidal intent exists without a doubt and inferences are unnecessary.'

The paranoid schizophrenic had been allowed to leave a specialist unit in Wales seven months earlier.

The victim’s daughter Sarah, 43, read a statement on behalf of her and sister Samantha, 39, outside the Spanish court, after he was found guilty which read: ‘It’s hard to put into words the devastating impact that this preventable and needless act has had on us as a family, sadly Mum was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
‘Lessons must be learnt from this tragic event to ensure justice is done for our mum and to ensure that no other family has to be subjected to this ordeal.


'It is clear to us that there has been a catalogue of failings.

‘We will be asking the Welsh health authority to carry out a full inquiry.’


Drug-user Deyanov was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and admitted to Glan Clwyd Hospital’s Ablett Psychiatric Unit in North Wales in summer 2010.

But he left the unit in October that year and moved to Tenerife, where his drug use and mental health problems worsened.


There was a warrant out for his arrest three days before the murder but police failed to locate him.

Asked if there was anything he wanted to say after the verdict was read out, Deyanov then declared to a hushed courtroom: 'I am the second reincarnation of Jesus Christ and I will bring the fire of the Holy Spirit to bear against this court.'

The mother of two who split her time between homes in Tenerife and Norwich, Norfolk, was picked at random after voices in Deyanov's head ordered him to kill, the court heard.

But despite his schizophrenia, the jury found that Deyanov was guilty of murder under Spanish law because he took his victim by surprise and she could not defend herself.

Wearing an olive green hoodie, black tracksuit trousers and running shoes, Deyanov remained quiet and still as the verdict was read out.


The victim's daughters Samantha, 39, and Sarah, 43, have attended the entire trial of their mother's killer since it began.

They were accompanied by Sarah’s partner Brian Moore, 41, the victim’s brother John Smith, 63, and sister-in-law, Julie Smith, 62.

Reading the statement outside court, Sarah Mills-Westley, who lives in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France said: 'Despite our expectations, we have been disappointed by the lack of any other support - notably the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our mum's MP in her hometown of Norwich.

'Whilst today closes one chapter, we will have to live with the painful consequences for the rest of our lives.

'We ask that we are now granted privacy after an extremely difficult and emotional week.'

Asked if the family would talk to authorities in the UK to find out why Deyanov was released from hospital in Wales, she said: 'We will be asking the Welsh Health Authority to conduct a full inquiry into what happened in particular around his treatment in the UK.'
Ms Mills-Westley said the care of people like Deyanov should be taken more seriously.

She said: 'Since the May 13 2011, Jennifer Mills-Westley has become known as the lady who was beheaded in Tenerife.

'The truth is she was our mum, our mentor and our best friend.

'She was a highly gifted, selfless person with so much love in her heart and who has been taken away from us in her prime.

'It’s hard to put into words the devastating impact that this preventable and needless act has had on us as a family - sadly mum was in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

Deyanov, who earlier claimed in court to be 'an angel of Jesus Christ', had denied murder, claiming security camera footage of him carrying out the gruesome murder was 'a montage'.

Answering questions in Bulgarian with the help of an interpreter, Deyanov also told the court he is haunted by voices which tell him how to act.

He claimed they were telling him he was 'an angel of Jesus Christ who is going to create a new Jerusalem', adding: 'They direct how I act, sometimes they say kill, fight, hit, pray.'

Prosecutor Angel Garcia Rodriguez asked for the maximum sentence of 20 years in a secure psychiatric ward to be imposed.


Defence lawyer Francisco Beltran said the former timeshare dealer should get the minimum sentence of 15 years, saying Deyanov was 'a sick man who requires help'.

He has blamed Spanish authorities for the murder, telling the court: 'He might as well have been carrying a sign saying "I'm a bomb and I could explode at any moment",' defence lawyer Francisco Beltran said.

'Responsibility must fall to some extent with the health authorities in the Canary Islands,' he added.

'My client is a sick man, not a criminal, and he should have been diagnosed and treated.

'Why was he not diagnosed and treated properly? He was suffering from acute paranoid schizophrenia. Why was he released?'
Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Congregation shocked as vicar accidentally shows image of naked woman during electronic sermon

A church has been forced to apologise after a vicar accidentally flashed an image of a naked woman to the congregation during a Power Point sermon.

Vicar Daniel Watts was conducting the presentation at St Mark's Church, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, on Sunday evening when the 'page three style' image flashed up on the screen.

It was said the image caused panic in the room and Mr Watts, a married father of two, hurriedly tried to remove it from view.

An anonymous parishioner described the image as 'pornographic'.


Now St Marks's has said sorry for the mistake, which happened in the middle of the 'In The Mix Sunday Session' which from 5pm to 6pm, was billed as a 'cafe style teaching and discussion for adults and children.'

St Mark's claims the 'inappropriate' image was shown during a Power Point presentation to 50 adult members at the weekend and put it down to a 'technical glitch'.

The presentation was being delivered in a meeting room by overall group leader, Mr Watts, as part of a separate teaching section .

The self-proclaimed 'Only Fool and Horses' fanatic who enjoys 'sampling local ale' - is associate minister for young people at St Mark's.

The church said no children were present, and few people had noticed the error.

A statement read: 'A separate teaching section was being held for about 50 adult members of the 5 o'clock service at St Mark's church last Sunday in a meeting room and a Power Point presentation was shown.

'It appears that a technical glitch accidentally caused an inappropriate image from the internet to appear momentarily on the screen, of a 'Page 3' type.
'This was clearly not intended but was so fleeting it was not spotted by the leader of the teaching session and very few people seem to be have been aware of it.

'No-one made any comment or complaint at the time or after the service, but if anyone was offended we of course would like to apologise for this unfortunate occurrence.'

But an anonymous and concerned parishioner present at the meeting claiming the appearance of the image caused 'panic' in the room.
They said: 'The vicar doing the service was doing an overhead projection for part of his service.

'He must have been using an iPad or something similar. One of the icons showed a pornographic picture.

'It appeared to show a naked lady. A lot of people noticed it and were quite shocked.

'There was a bit of panic, he was clearly trying to get it down. It was just so inappropriate, there were young children about.'

The church website explains Rev Watts was born in Dorking, Surrey, and grew up in a village near Gatwick.


After working as a church-based Youth and Children's worker for 10 years in Surrey and Kent, he spent two years at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, before he was ordained in 2006.


He lives with wife Julia and their two children.


He was today unavailable for comment.

Mr Watts, who is not the vicar of St Mark's but the associate minister for young people, had taken the adults out of the church and into a separate annexe in the building, leaving the children in the church proper.

Canon John Carter, spokesman for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, explained that normally the children leave the church and go into the annex, but once a month this is reversed.

Canon Carter said: 'The Sunday School style set up had been swapped around. So there were no children in the room when the power point talk was taking place.'
Culled from MAIL ONLINE

'Alcoholic who beat his heavily pregnant ex-fiancee to death drank more than 20 litres of cider mixed with Lambrini in one day

A man accused of beating his pregnant ex girlfriend to death just days before she was due to give birth has told of his addiction to strong alcohol and a computer game.

Tony McLernon, who allegedly killed Eystna Blunnie in Harlow in Essex in June last year, told a murder trial that at the time of the murder he was drinking more than 20 litres of cider and Lambrini mixed together each day.

The 24-year-old told Chelmsford Crown Court that he would rarely leave his bedroom, instead playing Guitar Hero on his Xbox console for hours at a time.
He said that his drinking and gaming habits put strain on his relationship with Miss Blunnie.

Mr McLernon is accused of luring Miss Blunnie to meet him in a street two days before she was due to give birth by telling her in a text message 'Got a surprise for you, hope you like it'.

When she arrived, prosecutors say that he kicked her and their unborn child to death.

He said: 'I was very good at the game and was invited to take part in national competitions online.

'But I played it far too much and she began to not like it.
'One night I heard a bang upstairs and went up to find my Guitar Hero guitar had been snapped in half and the only person in the bedroom was Eystna.'

Unemployed McLernon told the court that his drinking began at the age of 16.

For several years he had met friends in a park near his Harlow home and would drink up to 12 pints of lager most nights, he said.
As his alcoholism, funded by Jobseeker’s Allowance, worsened, he sought out cheaper and stronger drinks.

He said: 'A group of us would meet by a bench and drink. I would normally have about 12 pints of lager.

'But in 2012 my drinking changed significantly.

'I would buy two or three litre bottles of strong cider from the supermarket and mix it with Lambrini to make a drink with 13 per cent alcohol.

'We called it rocket fuel.

'By the middle of the year I was drinking a mix of 10 or 11 bottles per day.


'I would be sick, vomiting everywhere, falling out of bed and at times the ambulance would have to be called.'

McLernon denies murdering Miss Blunnie, 20, and a charge of child destruction by wilfully causing the death of an unborn child.

He told the court how he had found Miss Blunnie fatally injured in the street.

He said how he had met Eystna Blunnie by a bench in Harlow on the night she died.

But as they talked two men appeared and started an argument with her..

Once the men left, McLernon said he gave Miss Blunnie a kiss goodbye and went home
'As I was walking I heard a scream and thought somebody was being attacked,' he said.


'I ran back to see if that person was okay and saw two people jumping up and down.


'I saw the two men run off up a path and, when I saw Eystna injured in the street, I nearly screamed.'


He said he tried to put his former partner in the recovery position.


'There was more blood than I care to remember and she made a horrible sound,' McLernon added.


'I tried to turn my phone on but it took a while to load up. There wasn't anything I could do.


'I saw one of the men running back towards me so I panicked and I ran.


'I was in no fit state to try to defend her - the look in his eyes was terrible and I thought he was going to give me a kicking.'

He added that he had not been able to tell anybody about what happened that night because 'it made me feel sick'.
Miss Blunnie, a catering student and barmaid, was due to give birth to a girl within days when she died.

She told McLernon she was pregnant with his child in October 2011 but they broke up the following year.

He said that he had been 'over the moon' about the impending birth and that the pair had been getting on well.


Asked if the text message was part of a scheme to tempt her to meet him, he said 'absolutely not' adding the surprise was that he had brought his dog, Alan, to see her.


McLernon, who said he had suffered from depression and was prone to self-harm, denied claims he had physically abused her and previous partners.

In the days leading up to Miss Blunnie’s death, McLernon had told friends and relatives she was trying to ruin his new relationship.

He claimed she was prone to aggressive outbursts and told the court she would verbally abuse him in the street but he 'never raised a hand to her'.

On one occasion she threw a china cup at him and on another she bit his chest, McLernon said.

The case continues.
Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Roller Skater at London 2012 Olympics jailed for having sex with 13yr-old girl

A roller skating star who performed in front of millions at the London Olympics opening ceremony has been jailed after having sex with a 14-year-old fan in a car park.

Nathan Wright, described by a judge as a 'role model for young people', was first contacted by the schoolgirl through YouTube after she had seen one of his skating clips.

The pair then began to message each other regularly, with the teenage victim 'flattered' by Wright's interest in her.
Edna Leonard, prosecuting, said it was clear from the start of their contact that the girl was only 14.

Derby Crown Court was told Wright, 26, of Tooting, London, went on to persuade the teenager to carry out a sex act on a webcam before he filmed himself performing a sex act and sent a recording to her.

Miss Leonard told the hearing they went on to meet at a rolling skating event, where Wright was approached by a number of fans wanting to be photographed with him.
She said the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was among them and the pair slipped away to perform sex acts on each other.


The court heard they met again at an event at Rollerworld in Derby on October 21 last year. Wright had told the teenager to wear clothes that could easily be removed.

Wright persuaded the schoolgirl to slip away from a group of adults and they had sex in a car park.
Recorder Paul Mann QC, sentencing, told Wright, who also took part in the Paralympic Games opening ceremony: 'You are known as an accomplished roller-skater and have your profile on the internet.

'You have, through your skating, the opportunity to become a role model for young people.

'There must be young people who have followed you who feel let down by the offences you have committed.'


Wright, who admitted sexual grooming and two counts of sexual activity with a child, was jailed for five years.

He was also told he could not use the internet to contact anyone under 16 and was put on the sex offenders' register.
The court heard that he had previously been jailed for four-and-a-half years for a rape he committed when he was 18.

Jonathan Straw, defending, said the girl was a willing partner in their meetings and had sexual experience before meeting him.

He added: 'Before the text friendship developed, however inappropriately, there was genuine feeling on both sides. This is not a case where she was pressured.

'Unfortunately, the very rapid, almost explosive use of social networking among young people can give rise to this sort of difficulties.'

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Mother of 3 commits suicide after man she jilted hanged self on a tree

Two sweethearts killed themselves within a fortnight of each other in a 'Romeo and Juliet' style tragedy, an inquest has heard.
The 24 yr old woman, Victoria Donovan, commited suicide when she learnt that her ex-boyfriend whom she jilted earlier after a seven years relationship had hanged himself on a tree.

Builder Raymond Oswell 31, was found hanged from a tree after girlfriend Victoria Donovan, 24, ended their seven-year romance and started dating someone else.



Miss Donovan was so devastated by her ex-lover's death she hanged herself from the same branch of the tree just two weeks later, Manchester Coroner's Court was told.

She left a suicide note on the ground reading 'Together forever. I love you Ray' and in the run up to her death would lie in her bed surrounded by his photos.

The couple left their two children, a son aged six and a daughter aged five, along with Victoria's eight-year-old son from a previous relationship.

Details of the double tragedy emerged at an inquests into the couple's deaths.

Their families wept as Manchester Coroner Nigel Meadows recorded suicide verdicts and said: 'This is almost representative of a very famous play by Shakespeare called Romeo and Juliet - it could be the modern equivalent.


Victoria was so very traumatised by Ray's death she wanted to take her own life despite the fact that she would be leaving her children and family behind. There's a similar consideration for Ray as well.'

He added: 'Victoria had been in a relationship with Ray, it had its ups and downs and they had separated. But both still cared for one another.
'Very sadly he understood she had a new relationship but it was not from her perspective any enduring relationship. She wrote two notes one was a declaration of love for Ray and the other a note of guilt and regret. This is a very sad set of circumstances for both Victoria and Raymond and their families.'

The inquest heard couple, from Wythenshawe, Manchester met in 2005 when Miss Donovan was 17 and Mr Oswell was 24. They set up home together and had two children but split up in March last year and he moved out.

It was said Mr Oswell then discovered his ex partner had started seeing someone else after a friend spotted messages posted on Facebook.

He was found dead by his sisters on June 21 last year hanging from a tree in an area known as Little Wood.

Mr Meadows said the tree later became a 'mini shrine' to Mr Oswell, and Miss Donovan would frequently visit to lay flowers, photographs and notes. It was heard that she was offered counselling over Mr Oswell's death but her family feared she was unable to cope with the guilt.

Her mother Paula Donovan, 43, told the inquest: 'When Ray was found dead Victoria was distraught.


'She would go to the tree and I would try and take her away, but she would not stay away. She just never stopped crying, she blamed herself for what had happened to Ray and felt responsible.

'She said she wouldn't do anything to herself because of the kids but I felt it inside. I worried about her she was always lay on her bed with Ray's pictures around her.'

The night before her death Miss Donovan went out with Michael Pollitt, the father of her eldest son.


The pair went for a drinks and to catch up with Victoria staying at Mr Pollitt's house before catching the bus home the next morning, it was said.


He walked Miss Donovan to her bus around 7am and while she was on the bus she text him to say what a nice time she had.

The inquest heard she text him twice, the first saying how lovely it had been to see him and that she wished they had more time together and the second, which Mr Pollitt did not see until after he received the news of her death asking him to look after their son.

Mr Pollitt said: 'She had been fine, she was bubbly, laughing and talking. I didn't think anything was wrong.'

Miss Donovan was found hanging in the same secluded woodlands as her ex partner by a group of young boys.


Paramedics called to the scene were unable to save her.

Later her house was searched and several notes to her brothers, sisters, mother and father and children were found in a wardrobe.

Her sister, Simone Kish-Donovan, 29, told the inquest: 'Victoria and Raymond really were truly in love. They had been in love with each other for seven years and were always so close.

'You have never met parents like them - they were never away from the kids and would try and bring all the family together by cooking meals. Just from one mistake, two families have been ripped to pieces.'

'She just never stopped crying. She blamed herself for what happened to Ray.'

On her Facebook page Miss Donovan described herself as a 'very proud mummy' She added: 'My amazing children are my motivation there is no greater joy in life than seeing smiles on my kids faces and loads of kissies and cuddles.'

The family declined to speak after the inquest.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

US teens had necrophilia 3-way sex with corpses of 2 dead men

An 18-year-old woman, Alisa Massaro, with a necrophilia fetish had three-way sex on the corpses of two men who she and her sexual partners strangled, it was claimed today.

Bethany McKee, 18, allegedly lured the victims to Alisa Masaro's house with the promise of sex and video games




Joshua Miner, 24, piled the bodies of Eric Glover and Terrence Rankins, both 22, together and placed a beige sheet across them so he and his longtime girlfriend, Alisa Massaro, could lie together on top of them at Massaro's home in Joliet, Illinois, according to police reports.


Miner told police he remembered 'years back' that Massaro had told him she 'wanted to have sex with a dead guy,' so he hoped to fulfill part of her fantasy, according to documents.


Adam Landerman, the 19-year-old son of a police sergeant, may have joined Massaro and Miner's sexual romp, as well, the report says.


Patch.com released the revolting new details today in the shocking January 10 murders - allegedly committed by Miner, Landerman, Massaro and 18-year-old Bethany McKee.


Massaro grinned when her boyfriend asked her to have sex and initially declined. Later, though, she admitted that she agreed to it.


McKee told police that she believes Landerman joined the sexual acts, as well.


McKee said Miner was the ringleader who came up with the idea who kill Glover and Rankins. She said Landerman was a 'follower' who only did what Miner told him, according to the report.

After killing the men, Landerman jumped on their backs and 'surfed' on their dead bodies, according to reports.

The corpses elicited a 'zombie noise' - a final gasping sound. The bodies also evacuated their bowls, Miner claimed.

They then hog-tied the victims' hands and feet together with dirty clothes and and an electrical cord.


'This is one of the most brutal, heinous and upsetting things I've ever seen in my 27 years of law enforcement,' Police Chief Mike Trafton said after the January slayings.

'Not only the crime scene, but the disregard for common decency toward human beings.'

Police reports say McKee knew Rankins and invited him and Glover over with promises of sexual favors.

Miner later admitted that they four believed the men had carried 'lot of money' and that they were planning to rob them. They believed Rankins was a drug dealer and carried $100 with him.


'It's demonic,' Rankins' mother, Jamille Kent, said.

'This is evil.'

Trafton, the police chief, said Massaro, Landerman and Miner were 'very much surprised' when police walked in on them Thursday. McKee had left the house but police arrested her later in nearby Kankakee.


Rankin's mother said her son and Glover had been friends for five years.

Family members said they called police on Januaury 10 after they hadn't heard from the two since Wednesday.


'It's just senseless,' Glover's mother Nicole Jones said.

'It's hard for me to say the words.'

The circumstances surrounding the death are still under investigation, but some local reports suggest that drugs may have been involved.
Glover graduated from Joliet Central High School and had made the honor roll and participated in football, wrestling and track, his family said.



Rankins, described as 'a very outgoing, loving, fun person' by his mother, graduated from Joliet West High School.

Massaro's father, Phillip Massaro, told The Herald-News in Joliet that he was in disbelief.

'All I can say is it's a terrible thing that happened, and I can't believe my daughter had anything to do with it,' he said.

'I don't know what happened. I just don't know what to say. I can't really talk about it. I'm too devastated, and I can't talk about it.'

Massaro's lawyer, George Lenard, did not immediately return phone calls to The Associated Press for comment Monday. Charles Bretz, attorney for McKee, declined comment.




Culled from MAIL ONLINE