Father 'murdered three-yr-old daughter after finding out her mother was having an affair'

A father who discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him battered their three-year-old daughter to death, a court heard today.
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Richard Green, 22, pictured above, subjected Lia Green, pictured in-set above,to 'significant physical abuse' after learning girlfriend Natalie Critchley also pictured above was having an affair with a parent at a children's nursery where she worked, it was said.

Lia was rushed to hospital in August last year after she was found unresponsive and not breathing.

She died shortly after being admitted to the Royal Preston Hospital.

Doctors discovered Lia had a significant number of bruises to her neck, chest, abdomen, both arms, both legs, buttocks and back caused by deliberate blows. Part of her bowel had been completely severed.

Green, who is on trial at Preston Crown Court, denies murder and allowing the death of a child.

His girlfriend is also accused of allowing the death of a child, which she denies.

A post mortem found Lia died from a blunt force abdominal trauma injury.

Lia was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital on August 30 with a swollen abdomen and was slightly stiff with dark, dry vomit around her nose and mouth.

Doctors attempted to resuscitate her but she was already dead.

Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, told the court: 'Richard Green and Natalie Critchley only contacted emergency services when they realised Lia's condition had deteriorated to such an extent that it could no longer be concealed.

'It's a sad feature of this case that had they acted more swiftly then Lia's life could have been saved but they chose to try to conceal what happened.'

At the hospital Critchley's behaviour was described by nurses as 'strange' with her 'pre-occupied' with text messaging while her daughter lay dead in the treatment room.
The court was told that in the run up to Lia's death, Green was 'very upset and angry' and wrote messages on his Facebook account about Critchley's 'affair'.

Mr Wright told the court: 'We might say that Green found caring for the child was a considerable strain.

'It would seem she was having an affair with a man who had a child at nursery and in a period leading up to death of Lia we say there was considerable friction between the parents. The relationship continued but was far from harmonious.'There was simmering resentment. Resentment [that] was hardly helped with the addition of looking after Lia. When Lia's body was examined her injuries were not down to some freak or terrible accident but blunt force.

'We say it was blindingly obvious that something extremely serious and dire was likely to happen in that household and something extremely dire did happen to Lia.'

The court was told Lia was left in the care of Green after he pulled her out of nursery.

In November 2011, Critchley, 20, started a full-time job as a nursery assistant at Small Wonders 2, while Green was unemployed.

The court was told that a month before Lia's death, he rang her nursery and said his daughter would not be attending again.

Mr Wright said: 'He informed the nursery that he had discovered that Natalie was seeing the parent of a child from the nursery and that Natalie would not be returning to work.

'He was clearly very upset by this discovery, angry with Natalie and made remarks on his Facebook account that were able to be read by others.'Critchley received reassurance from her employer about her job but Lia was not allowed back to nursery due to unpaid fees.

The youngster was then left in the care of Green while her mother was at work and on occasions was cared for by her grandmother or a nursery colleague.

Two weeks before her death, a social worker visited the family home following a referral but had no concerns for Lia's safety.

On August 15, five days after the visit, nursery manager Vicky Waterhouse received a text from Critchley, which appeared to have been drafted by Green, implying all was not well between the couple.

Mr Wright said: 'On a visit she saw some damage to the wall of the premises Green admitted causing.

'Asked if okay he said "no I'm not with her".'

The day before Lia was found dead, Green went to the nursery and was said to be 'mad and swearing'.

He told the staff they had to send Ms Critchley home because Lia was being sick.

Mr Wright said: 'The assistant said he looked like a parent who couldn't cope, they had never seen him like that shouting, swearing and raising his voice.'

The court heard when Lia's body was examined doctors discovered trauma to her abdomen that had been delivered with such force that causes extensive and fatal internal injuries.

Lia was found to be extensively bruised and many were less than 48 hours old and some were older.

The court was told that the day before her death records showed the home computer had searched the NHS Direct website with the term: 'Three-year-old hurting head and being sick' and a local surgery called but it was closed.

Green was arrested the next day but told officers his daughter had fallen while on swings at the park.
Both he and Critchley deny any responsibility for their daughter's death.
Mr Wright told the jury that, irrespective of whose 'hand or fist or boot' delivered the fatal injury, it was 'blindingly obvious' something 'dire' was likely to happen in that household and should not have been allowed to happen.

'We say it would be obvious to any parent that their child was extremely unwell and in need of medical assistance.

'The fact that no medical assistance was obtained until it was too late speaks volumes in this case as to the responsibility of both parents in the events that led to Lia's death.'

Russell Bennet, the first paramedic on the scene at the house, said he and a colleague got Lia into the ambulance to carry out chest compressions but the ECG monitor gave a 'flat-line' response showing the heart had stopped.

Mr Bennet told the jury he asked Critchley how long she had been in this 'state'.

'She told us the child had been unwell recently, had been to see a GP and the child had been up and about and playing 10 to 15 minutes prior to the 999 call.

'My impression was the child had been deceased for longer than the 15 minutes we were told.'

Green denies murder and allowing the death of a child and Critchley denies allowing the death of a child.

The trial, scheduled to last up to six weeks, was adjourned until tomorrow morning.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

Mother, 54, choked to death after swallowing boiled egg in pub eating competition

A popular mother died after choking on a boiled egg during a pub eating contest.

54 years old Sharon Dixon, pictured above, was taking part in the egg eating competition at the Wellington Arms, Grimsby, when she began to choke.

Frantic friends and bar staff dialled 999 around 2pm on Easter Monday after Sharon began to turn blue during the competition.Ms Dixon was rushed to hospital but died two days later.

Her daughter Toni today thanked those who attempted to save her mother's life.

She said: 'I have seen CCTV footage of what happened and it’s clear her friends and everyone there did all they could to help mum. She was surrounded by her friends. 'I do think more people should learn first aid though. If more people have this knowledge, it may stop incidents like this from happening in the future.'

Meanwhile Ms Dixon's friends lead tributes to the former pub landlady.

Jackie Cook, who had known Sharon for more than 20 years, said: “She would do anything for anybody. She was very strong willed and always there for anybody that needed help.

'All her life she was happy and full of life, she was up for anything. Everybody knew her and she knew everybody.

'We all called her Big Shaz. We all loved her, we are all one big family down here and she was a major part of that family.

'She used to be landlady for many pubs and even then she would do the rounds and go in every pub to see everyone.

'She would start at one end of Freeman Street and would go in every pub. I knew her for more than 20 years, I worked with her and I lived with her at one point.'

A close friend, who didn’t wish to be named said: “Sharon was a lovely woman. Nobody would have a bad word to say about her. We were very close.

'Everybody will have a story to tell about her. She was full of life.'

Culled from DAILY MAIL

The world's first womb transplant patient to know her 'pregnancy status' wednesday

A woman will this week find out if she is pregnant after receiving the world’s first womb transplant.

Derya Sert, a married housewife from Turkey (pictured above), who was born without a womb, has undergone IVF treatment and doctors will reveal the results of a pregnancy test this week.

If positive, the news of the 22-year-old’s pregnancy will herald a world-first and will bring hope to thousands of British women without a womb.

Mrs Sert made medical history in August 2011 by becoming the first woman to have a successful womb transplant, receiving a new uterus from a dead donor.

Doctors waited 18 months to start fertility treatment and on Monday implanted a fertilised embryo into her new womb.

Professor Omer Ozkan, who carried out the procedures at Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey, said that blood tests would reveal within days whether the embryo – one of Mrs Sert’s eggs fertilised with her husband’s sperm – would lead to a pregnancy.

The result of the tests are likely to be announced to the world on Wednesday.

British doctors said that if the pregnancy was successful, it could mean similar transplants being carried out in the UK within a couple of years.

There are 15,000 women in Britain who were born without a womb or who have had theirs removed for medical reasons.

Richard Smith, a consultant at Imperial College London, welcomed the news of the embryo implantation.

He has already trialled womb transplants on rabbits and will move on to human transplants if he is given ethical approval.
Mrs Sert, who is married to 35-year-old Mustafa, has said previously: ‘If I had a magic wand, I would want to be pregnant now. I just want to hold my baby in my arms, to be a mother.’

Those in favour of womb transplants argue it is the only way to meet the desperate desire of many of these women to ‘carry’ their own baby.

This need cannot be met if they use another woman as a surrogate, a controversial process that is strictly regulated in the UK and illegal in some countries, including France and Germany.
Many British couples end up travelling to India, where clinics hire out women as surrogates.

However, this is fraught with legal issues.

For example, couples whose surrogate children are born abroad have to go to court in the UK to ‘prove’ they are the legal parents.

Adoption does not give a woman the chance to have a child who is genetically her own and, again, there is a strict vetting procedure.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

'They took turns raping me': adopted son of gay couple accuses parents of sexual assault

A same-sex couple accused of sexually abusing their adopted children are facing trial after withdrawing from a plea agreement as they are facing new allegations of molestation.

George Harasz, pictured above, and Douglas Wirt of Glastonbury,pictured below were set to be sentenced Friday in Hartford Superior Court under a deal calling for suspended prison sentences and probation.


But the men instead withdrew from the agreement. The married couple pleaded no contest to charges of risk of injury to a minor in January.
Harasz and Wirth adopted nine children beginning in 2000 and were arrested in November 2011.
Police said two boys, ages 5 and 15, accused Harasz of sexually assaulting them. Harasz was charged with first-degree sexual assault and Wirth was charged with third-degree sexual assault of the 15-year-old boy.The judge said that the new allegations of abuse revealed in the pre-sentence investigation are 'dramatically different and more extreme.'

According to the report cited by the prosecutors, the couple's adopted son said he has scars 'from being held down and raped and that those injuries were inflicted by a weapon.'

During the hearing, one of the alleged victims addressed the court, demanding that his fathers be locked up in prison. The teenager said that the physical, psychological and sexual abuse began when he was six years old.

According to his statement, Harasz and Wirth would touch and violate him, and would make him perform sexual acts on the two of them.

'They took turns raping me over and over,' the accuser said. 'Anyone who would do this to a child is a sick, demented person.'


Other children in the home told authorities they weren't abused.

Friday was supposed to be a sentencing hearing for Harasz and Wirth, who pleaded guilty in January to one felony count each of risk of injury to a minor.

But the agreement fell apart at the last moment when the defendants learned of a new allegation of abuse made against Harasz by one of the alleged victims, the Hartford Courant reported.

The case was thrown into further turmoil after additional allegations of abuse came to light involving three other of the nine children adopted by the Connecticut men.

Prosecutor David Zagaja told Judge Joan Alexander that in light of the revelations, which could result in additional criminal charges, there was no point in going forward with the sentencing. Instead,

Zagaja said the proper course of action was to go to trial.
The defendants' defense attorneys agreed, asking the judge to allow their clients to withdraw their guilty plea and have their day in court to clear their name.

The judge said that the new allegations of abuse revealed in the pre-sentence investigation are 'dramatically different and more extreme.'

Several family members of the two men spoke out in their defense, including one of their adopted sons, Carlos Harasz, who once again insisted that his siblings accusing their parents are liars and said they are mentally ill.
Carlos Harasz claimed that the abuse his brother described was committed by his previous foster parents, not the two fathers who built a 'normal, painless life' for their large rood.

He also accused child services and police of taking 'the word of an angry, damaged, disturbed boy' and ended up destroying a family.

Russell Wirth described his son and his partner as 'loving, dedicated parents' who were destroyed by the false allegations, and called on their three adopted sons to tell the truth.

Married fathers Harasz and Wirth, who say they consider caring for hard-to-place children a personal challenge, adopted three sets of siblings, all boys, since 2000.

George's two biological children and their mother also live at the large Victorian home in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

According to their website, the family also ran a dog breeding business from their home, with the original aim of helping the children learn to love and care for something.

in November 2011, Harasz was arrested and charged with assaulting two children and Wirth with assaulting one, police told the Hartford Courant.

Harasz was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons.
Wirth was charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Police began investigating the allegations in February. The boys, three groups of siblings, were removed from the home in February 2012, authorities said. A second investigation began in August.

But Carlos Harasz, another adopted son of the same-sex couple, said that in more than 10 years living with Harasz and Wirth, he never saw or experienced any abuse.

Carlos Harasz, who goes to Central Connecticut State University, told the Courant that, before their adoption, the children were moved often between foster families and were suffering from 'reactive attachment disorder'.

The condition often affects children who have been moved frequently from home to home or who have been taken from their parents. Common symptoms can include withdrawal, aggressive behavior, lying and stealing.

Carlos said.'When you go through foster care, you have a lot of issues,' he said. 'When you've been with 20 other families who've done you wrong, somebody has to take the blame. It doesn't have to be the people who saved our lives.'

Harasz and Wirth were unfairly taking that blame for that pain, Carlos said.

'Maybe they couldn't accept the happiness we have here', he said of the accusers. 'Things were going good.'

Adoption officials said that they had revised its practices since the case emerged.

Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz said: 'I was horrified that adopted children could be so terribly abused by the adults who are responsible for their care.'

She said that the placements were recommended to DCF by a private adoption agency.

If convicted, Harasz faces decades in prison.

Culled from DAILY MAIL

Romanian lawyer sues his bishop and 4 priests for failing to properly exorcise demons in his house

A Romanian lawyer is suing his local Orthodox bishop and four priests claiming they failed to properly exorcise flatulent demons that were forcing him out of his home.

Madalin Ciculescu, 34, pictured above accused the five of fraud after they turned up several times to exercise the demons which were responsible for the bad smells that were ruining his business.

He claimed that after the failed exorcism the demons even started haunting him at his home at Pitesti in Arges County in central Romania.
The case alleging 'religious malpractice' is reportedly the first time there has been such an allegation made in a Romanian court.
The four priests had all tried and failed to exorcise the demons, according to the legal papers that named bishop Constantin Argatu pictured below,

even though he had not been to the property, as he was in charge of the priests who had been there.

The case has already been rejected by a lower court in Romania and was rejected again this week by the Romanian High Court, but now the businessmen says he plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights.
He told the court: 'If they (the accused) represent the way of God then God's ways are crooked. They did not remove the demons that made these bad smells as they promised to do, and I still see all sorts of demons in the form of animals, usually crows but also other such things, that are making my life miserable.

'When I am at home they switch the TV on and off all the time, they make foul smells that give me headaches and basically roam unhindered around my house and my business.'
The man produced his mother to back up his claim saying that even the hair-dryer was possessed and a black shadow came out of it when anyone tried to use it - and she also said the fridge was infested by the flatulent demons that she confirmed left foul smells about the property.

But the lawyer for the Archdiocese from Arges, Anton Alin, rejected the allegation of fraud saying that the exorcism had been properly carried out and they believed the allegations of further demons and more bad smells were simply a product of the man's imagination.

The Romanian court agreed with the church and rejected the application against Bishop Argatu as well as priests Ionut Cret Ovidiu, Gheorghe Nicut, Marius Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Dunitru - and ordered Ciculescu to pay legal costs.

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

'Donkey bomb' kills policeman in Aghanistan as Talibans turn live animals into explosives

A policeman has been killed and three civilians were injured after a bomb strapped to a donkey exploded at a police post in Afghanistan.


Local government spokesman Sarhadi Zwak says the animal blew up in front of the checkpoint in the Alingar district of Laghman province.

Mr Zwak said Taliban militants were responsible for the bomb, which was remotely detonated. Insurgents are finding new ways to thwart stepped up security measures in their bid to undermine confidence in the Afghan government.
Donkey bombs are uncommon in Afghanistan, although the militants are having to find increasingly bizarre ways to get explosives close to their intended targets.

Female suicide bombers are regularly used by the Taliban, with children even reportedly being trained to carry out attacks.

Today's incident comes after insurgents wearing Afghan army uniforms launched a suicide attack and stormed a courthouse in a failed bid to free Taliban inmates, killing at least 46 people.
The attack began when nine men wearing suicide vests drove into the capital of Farah province in western Afghanistan, evading checkpoints by using army vehicles, according to the provincial police chief.



The stand-off ended some eight hours later when the last gunman was killed.

In August 2012 a bomb strapped to a donkey exploded in Ghor Province, killing a senior policeman and injury three people.

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Tunisian girls 'head to Syria to offer themselves to Islamic fighters as part of sexual jihad'

At least 13 Tunisian girls reportedly travelled to rebel-held Northern Syria to offer themselves as sex workers to opposition fighters.


The report comes as concerns in Tunisia grow about religious orders or 'fatwas' that have circulated the internet calling on women to perform jihad through sex.


Last week, a Tunisian minister of religious affairs appealed to girls not to be influenced by Islamic preachers outside of Tunisia who, it has been reported, made a number of 'sexual fatwas'.
Noureddine al-Khadimi rejected 'sexual jihad' fatwas, urging Tunisian people and state institutions to not respond to them.

Tunisian newspapers reported that a young Tunisian man divorced his wife, and that they both headed to Syria almost a month ago to 'allow her to engage in sexual jihad with the mujahideen' there.
This report followed earlier ones of a video widely circulated on the internet and social websites in Tunisia shows the parents of a veiled girl called Rahmah, 17.


They said Rahmahat disappeared from home one morning and they 'later learned that she had headed to Syria to carry out sexual jihad.'


The young girl has since returned to her family, who have kept her out of sight, and said that their daughter is not a religious fanatic 'but was influenced by her fellow students who are known for their affiliation with the jihadist Salafist.'


Her parents said these fellow students may have brainwashed her and convinced her to travel to Syria 'to support the mujahideen there.'

Such stories are becoming more common in Tunisia and parents are concerned about the influence charismatic Islamic leaders in other Arab countries can wield over their children.
The minister’s statements came after the spread of an anonymous 'sexual jihad' fatwa on the Internet calling on young women to support [opposition] fighters in Syria by providing sexual services on the battlefield.

According to media reports in Tunisia who quoted mujahideen returning to Tunisia after participating in jihad in Syria, 13 Tunisian girls headed to the battlefield in response to the 'sexual jihad' fatwa.

News websites and social networks in Tunisia circulated a fatwa attributed to Sheikh Mohamed al-Arifi in which he calls upon 'Muslim women' to perform jihad through sex.


However, sources close to the sheikh denied that he had issued the fatwa, stressing that anyone who circulates or believes it is insane.


Saudi Arabia is widely known to be financially backing the Syrian rebels fighting in Northern Syria and whose hardcore ‘Salafist’ strand of Islam influences a great number of the young fighters – many of whom are ‘jihadists’ and come from all around the world, including the UK.

Reports in Tunisia stress though that the fatwa had gained much attention on pro-Syrian regime websites, the goal of which may be to tarnish the image of the Islamic fighters by stressing a key point of Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad that fundamentalists, supported by Salafist groups in Saudi Arabia, are amongst the Syrian rebels.

Al-Hadi Yahmad, a researcher on the affairs of Islamic groups, told Al-Hayat: 'The issue of sexual jihad was initially attributed to a Saudi sheikh who denied it, and this fatwa is abnormal and not endorsed by religious scholars.'

He added that this fatwa — had it indeed been issued — may involve Syrian girls living in Syria, who can 'support the mujahideen by marrying them for a few hours.'

Under Islamic law, a man can marry and consummate a marriage with his bride, before divorcing her the next day without any resistance from the bride or her family simply by following religious etiquette.

Noor Eddin al-Khadimi, said that Tunisians should not abide by the fatwa.

Her calls were duplicated by the Tunisian opposition also.


Salma al-Raqiq, a Tunisian opposition figure, said that the 'jihad marriages' were a disgrace for the Tunisians.


She also called on the authorities to start dealing with the increasing phenomenon of Tunisian jihadis heading to Syria to join radical Islamist groups.

Al-Raqiq told the UPI press agency that the phenomenon was a dangerous one. She said that young girls, including minors, have been sent to Syria to 'marry' jihadis for a few hours.

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Filmmaker 'freezes to death' during production of documentary on homelessness

A young filmmaker is believed to have frozen to death while making a documentary about sleeping rough on the streets.

Lee Halpin pictured above planned to spend this week on the streets of Newcastle experiencing and filming what life is like for those who are living rough.

But three days after embarking on the project talented Lee, who lived with his family in Heaton, Newcastle, was found dead in a boarded-up hostel on Westgate Road, Newcastle.

It is not yet known how he died, but it's feared the 27-year-old may have succumbed to hypothermia.

A Met Office spokesman confirmed the lowest recorded temperature for Newcastle early on April 3 was around -4.2C.

Friends have since paid tribute to the 'thoroughly excellent bloke' and have spoken of his death as the 'ultimate sacrifice' in raising awareness of homelessness.

Lee had spoken with his friends about looking forward to the project and on Sunday was asking his 1,500 Twitter followers if anyone had a sleeping bag he could borrow.

In his last Tweet - on Sunday at 11.05am - Lee asked his followers: 'If anyone has got an old phone I can have for a week, I'd be very grateful.'
'Lee was a great guy, a character and was well known. His big things were creative writing and poetry.

'He was making a documentary about homeless people living in Newcastle's West End.



'No one knows how he passed away, but we think it could have been hypothermia.

'He made the ultimate sacrifice trying to raise awareness about what was happening to other people.'

Lee, was discovered in the vacant Summerhill Hostel just before 10am on Wednesday.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said it was believed no third party was involved in his death, adding: 'Police were informed the body of a man believed to be in his 20s had been found in a derelict building in Westgate Road.

'A report will be prepared for the coroner.'
Paramedics were also called to the property.

Since Lee's death, tributes have come in from friends and those who knew him.

One friend described Lee as 'a great advocate for the north-east arts scene'.

Having completed his creative writing MA at Newcastle University, Lee went on to become a founder editor of Novel, a magazine covering all aspects of North East culture from performances and exhibitions to launch parties and talent.

And for almost a year, he'd featured on the airwaves with his The Weekend Starts Here Show on Radio Tyneside, on Fridays from 8pm till 10pm.

On Twitter, tributes have been paid by those who worked with and knew Lee.

Staff at Intimation Creative said: 'We're very sad to hear that Lee Halpin passed away.

'Our thoughts go out to Lee's family and many friends.'

Dan Howarth described Lee as a 'talented, courageous and thoroughly excellent bloke', adding: 'Shattered by the news of the death of Lee Halpin. A massive loss.'

Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Roman Catholic Priest pleads guilty to drug trafficking

A suspended Roman Catholic priest accused of making more than $300,000 in methamphetamine sales out of his Connecticut apartment while running an adult video and sex toy shop pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal drug charge.

Kevin Wallin, 61 of Waterbury pictured above, admitted to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was scheduled to be sentenced June 25. The prosecution and defense agreed on a sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison.

Prosecutors said the 61-year-old Wallin had meth mailed to him from co-conspirators in California and sold the drugs out of his Waterbury apartment last year. He also bought an adult video and sex toy shop in North Haven named Land of Oz & Dorothy's Place, apparently to launder the drug money, authorities said.

Wearing a beige prison jumpsuit and sporting a goatee and close-cropped hair, Wallin acknowledged in court that the drug operation involved nearly four pounds of methamphetamine. He said "yes" several times as the judge asked whether he understood the consequences of his plea.

Wallin, former pastor at St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport, appeared to have no supporters in the courtroom. He was led out of the room in handcuffs and remains detained.

Charges against four other people arrested in the case are pending.

"We're glad to have resolved this part of the case," Connecticut U.S. Attorney David B. Fein said outside the courtroom. "It's a serious conspiracy charge involving a very dangerous drug."

Wallin's public defender, Kelly Barrett, declined to comment.

Dubbed in some media as "Monsignor Meth," Wallin was pastor of St. Augustine Parish for nine years until he resigned in June 2011, citing health and personal reasons. He previously served six years as pastor of St. Peter's Church in Danbury until 2002.
"Msgr. Wallin's guilty plea represents an important step in his coming to terms with his own actions and their impact on others," the Diocese of Bridgeport said in a statement. "It is a difficult moment for all of us but we hope it is also the first step in rebuilding his life. We pray that he moves toward healing and wholeness."

The diocese had suspended him from public ministry last May amid concerns by church officials about a number of problems with Wallin, including sexually inappropriate behavior with other men in the church rectory, Wallace said. Church leaders weren't aware of Wallin's involvement with drugs at the time of the suspension, diocese spokesman Brian D. Wallace said.

Wallace said Wallin now faces the prospect of removal from the priesthood by the Vatican, a process called laicization.

Wallin was arrested in January, and a grand jury indicted him and four other people on drug charges.

An undercover officer bought meth from Wallin six times from Sept. 20 to Jan. 2, paying more than $3,400 in total for 23 grams of the drug, authorities said.

Federal agents said they learned through wiretaps and informants about other sales Wallin was making.

On social media, people couldn't help but compare Wallin with Walter White, the main character on the TV show "Breaking Bad," who was making so much cash that he and his wife bought a car wash to launder their profits.

Also charged in the case were Kenneth Devries of Waterbury; Michael Nelson of Manchester; Chad McCluskey of San Clemente, Calif.; and Kristen Laschober of Laguna Niguel, Calif. Authorities say McCluskey and Laschober were involved in the shipping of methamphetamine to Wallin.

All four of those defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Culledfrom HUFF POST

Catholic Priest bags 6 yrs in jail for child sex abuse

Catholic priest pleaded guilty Monday to sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy he invited for a sleepover when he was pastor of a church in a small city south of Portland.

The Rev. Angel Armando Perez pictured above, was sentenced to more than six years in prison after pleading guilty in Marion County Circuit Court to first-degree sexual abuse, DUI and furnishing liquor to a minor.

Perez, a former pastor at St. Luke Catholic Church in Woodburn, was arrested in August. The Salem child told police he woke up during a sleepover in Perez's home to find the priest touching his genitals and apparently taking photographs with a cellphone.

Police said the boy ran from the home with Perez chasing him. Neighbors took the boy to his sister's house.

Detectives wrote in their affidavit that the 47-year-old priest, a native of Mexico who has permanent legal residency in the U.S., told them he drank too much at a community event and doesn't remember what happened after he and the boy watched a movie.

Police said the boy told them the priest gave him a beer and he drank about half of it.

A grand jury indictment charged Perez with giving the boy alcohol on several occasions and accused the priest of evidence tampering. Marion County Deputy District Attorney Katie Suver said investigators believed Perez deleted a photo from his cellphone.

As part of Monday's plea agreement, additional charges of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct and evidence tampering were dismissed, Suver said in a statement.

"We ask that everyone keep the victim and his family in their prayers," the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland said in a statement. "We also pray for healing and peace for the parishioners of the St. Luke Parish family."

Perez was placed on administrative leave when the accusations came to light, archdiocese spokesman Bud Bunce said Monday night. Now that the criminal case is resolved, "the church will be able to look at what other things need to be done."

Those possibilities range from placing Perez on permanent leave to removing him from the priesthood, Bunce said.

For the past decade, the archdiocese has worked to implement safety measures for clergy, teachers, adult volunteers and youth, the statement said.

"However, the misconduct of even one person can teach that our vigilance must never be relaxed," it added.

Regarding Perez, the statement said, "We also ask for prayers for the family and friends of Father Perez and prayers for forgiveness. Yet, forgiveness does not exclude the consequences of justice under our nation's laws. Father Perez is now facing those consequences."

Bunce said he was not aware of any civil claims or lawsuits filed in the case. He said he believed the archdiocese loaned Perez money for his criminal defense but didn't know the amount.

The Archdiocese of Portland was the first in the nation to declare bankruptcy in 2004, just hours before two civil trials on sex abuse allegations were set to begin. The diocese emerged from bankruptcy in 2007 with a $50 million settlement of more than 175 claims. Another $20 million was set aside to handle future claims.
Culled from HUFF POST

Monsterous crime: man convicted of raping six months old baby to death

In a desperate bid to save his life, convicted Ohio baby killer Steven Smith pictured above, has asserted that he never meant to murder his girlfriend’s six-month-old daughter – only to sexually assault her.


The girl, Autumn Carter, of Mansfield, Ohio, died in 1998 because Smith was too drunk to realize his sexual assault was killing the child, Smith's attorneys planned to tell the Ohio Parole Board Tuesday. And Ohio law is clear, they say: a death sentence requires an intent to kill the victim.

‘The evidence suggests that Autumn's death was a horrible accident,’ his attorneys, Joseph Wilhelm and Tyson Fleming, said in a written argument prepared for the board.

They continued: ‘Despite the shocking nature of this crime, Steve's death sentence should be commuted because genuine doubts exist whether he even committed a capital offense.’

Smith, 46, was never charged with sexual assault, meaning the jury's only choice was to convict or acquit him of aggravated murder, his attorneys say.


The Richland County prosecutor says Smith continues to hide behind alcohol as an excuse, and calls Smith's actions ‘the purposeful murder of a helpless baby girl.’

Prosecutor James Mayer told the board in his own written statement that the girl's injuries are consistent with a homicide that contradicts Smith's claim he didn't intend to kill the girl.

‘The horrific attack upon Autumn Carter showed much more than Smith's stated purpose,’ Mayer said.

Mayer said Monday he didn't know why Smith wasn't charged with rape, but said it wasn't part of a trial strategy.The attack happened early in the morning of September 29, 1998, in the Hardwood Drive apartment of the girl's mother, Kaysha Frye, a 19-year-old woman Smith, then 31 years old, had been dating about six months.

Frye was awakened after 3am by a naked Smith, who placed Autumn beside her in bed, according to records prepared for the parole board hearing.


Frye realized the girl wasn't breathing, told Smith he'd killed her, then ran to a neighbor's house for help.

Smith, known to consume as many as 12 beers a day, had had several beers earlier in the evening and had a blood-alcohol content of .123 - well above the legal limit - when he was tested almost eight hours later, at 11am, records show.

Smith had unsuccessfully tried to have sex with his girlfriend the evening before the attack, according to records.


The prosecutor argued that Smith's assault of the girl was revenge for Smith's failure to perform with Frye.

Smith's attorneys dispute this, saying the girlfriend was not upset with Smith.

Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Smith's attack lasted as long as 30 minutes, during which time Smith beat the girl to death.

Expert witnesses for Smith conclude he may have accidentally suffocated the girl within three to five minutes while he lay on top of her, according to Smith's clemency petition.

Autopsy showed that little Autumn died of trauma and compression asphyxia. The child also suffered optical nerve damage consistent with being violently shaken.

Smith's attorneys have an uphill battle in their argument because of the ‘moral repugnancy’ surrounding the claim of partial innocence, said Doug Berman, an Ohio State University law professor and death penalty expert.‘But if the lawyers for this defendant can legitimately assert that the evidence doesn't show or support that this was an intentional killing, not only is it appropriate to bring this up at clemency, I think they're obliged, representing their client appropriately, to stress this point,’ Berman said.

Frye, now 35, told the Mansfield News Journal that she wants Smith to die for the killing of her daughter, who would have been 15 today.


The mother recalled how on the night of her daughter's murder, her then-boyfriend walked into her bedroom in the middle of the night and place the child's limp body in her arms.

'Her head just went over my arm,' Frye said. 'I said, "You killed my baby! You killed my baby!”'


Police officers who responded to Frye's apartment found a pair of men's pants under Autumn's indoor swing, the girl's pink sleeper under a coffee table and a shredded diaper on the floor.

Smith was discovered a short time later drunk and disorderly outside the home. He was convicted of the baby’s murder in 1999 and sentenced to death.


Eleven people will speak to the Parole Board Tuesday, among them Autumn's aunt, Kaylee Bashline. She was six years old when her niece was killed.


'I can remember the police officer showing up at our house. I remember my mom dropping to the ground, crying,' Bashline said. 'It still affects our family to this day.'

The panel is expected to make its recommendation as to Smith's plea for clemency to Gov John Kasich in about a week.


Smith is scheduled to die May 1. If executed, he would become the 51st inmate put to death in Ohio since the state resumed executions in 1999.


The state has enough of its lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, to execute Smith and two other inmates before the supply expires. Eight more inmates are scheduled to die from November through mid-2015.

Culled from Daily Mail

Armed robber who escaped from prison to see cancer-stricken grandson is jailed for just six more months

An armed robber who broke out of prison in a desperate bid to see his cancer-stricken grandson has been jailed for just six more months after a judge said his case was 'exceptional'.

John Cadby pictured above scaled a 10ft wall after being denied home leave to visit the toddler.

The child's family were considering sending him to America for treatment and Cadby feared he would never see the 22-month-old again, a court heard.

Cadby, of no fixed address, spent 11 days on the run after escaping from HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire on January 21.

He was serving a six-year sentence imposed in October 2010 for a botched robbery in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.

On that occasion, police responding to reports of a man armed with an axe in Boldmere Road restrained Cadby after he jumped into a passing car and ordered the terrified driver to help him flee.

Cadby, who was recaptured at a house in Tile Cross, Birmingham, admitted escaping from custody at Birmingham Crown Court.


But he received only an extra six months in jail after Judge Stuart Rafferty QC decided the case was 'exceptional'.

The judge told Cadby: 'I accept entirely that it had weighed heavily on your mind that your grandson was ill and may go to America and you may never see him again.'

The court heard Cadby had also been sent to the higher-security Birmingham Prison after he was tracked down.Warren Stanier, prosecuting, said Cadby escaped after grappling with a guard at Sudbury, an open prison.
Anthony Potter, defending, said his grandson had been at Birmingham Children's Hospital since last October.

The boy had a particularly aggressive form of cancer and it had been proposed to send him to the U.S., Mr Potter added.


He said Cadby's request for home leave had been refused before he took the 'stupid' decision to escape.

Sudbury hit the headlines in June, 2011 when it emerged more than 100 criminals had escaped in the previous four years.

culledfrom DAILY MAIL

Real-life mermaid who uses a £10,000 tail to swim can hold her breath for FIVE minutes

Meet the real life mermaid who swims with jellyfish and can hold her breath under water for up to five minutes


Linden Wolbert travels the world as a full time professional mermaid and uses her custom-made 6ft tail to propel her through the water.


The 32-year-old freediver and model can swim to depths of 115ft and uses her skills to promote ocean conservation and education.

Linden, from Los Angeles, California, said: 'I grew up as a water baby. My parents are both competitive swimmers.

'I always looked forward to going to the ocean for our summer vacation. I had a magnetism to the water.


'I've kind of always been a freediver but didn't realise the sport existed until ten years ago. Shortly thereafter, I when began training.

'Free diving is 70 per cent psychological. You have to be very calm and at ease in the water.'
Linden always dreamed of becoming a mermaid after growing up watching films like The Little Mermaid and Splash but it didn't become a reality until she got to know Hollywood special effects artist Allan Holt.

They spent seven months working on the 35lb tail, which was made from a fibreglass mould of Linden's body.

It involved sealing a monofin inside high-quality silicone to make it hydro-dynamic and effective in the water.

The thousands of fish scales were painstakingly sculpted individually by hand out of clay before they were duplicated in fibreglass and then the final mould was injected with silicone.

The whole project cost around £10,000 to complete.

Linden said: 'I was introduced to Allan through a friend. He wanted my advice for an underwater music video. I happened to mention I'd always wanted a mermaid tail but had no idea where to begin.
'Allan said he'd help me straight away.

'We set a budget at the start but then things happened. It ended up being way over but it was worth it.'My friends and family were all there the first time I used it in the water. I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't believe it was finally happening.'

In some of these amazing images, Linden is seen swimming in Jellyfish Lake on the island of Palau, which used to be connected to the Pacific Ocean.

Since it has been cut off, it has become home to millions of jellyfish because they have no risk of predators. The 12,000 year-old lake is the only place in the world where you can swim safely among them - because the sea creatures have lost their sting.

Linden visited the lake, which is popular with snorkellers, during a two-week trip to the island. She said: 'I had been on a dive that day and had left my tail drying. I always bring it with me wherever I go.

'A man came over to me and asked if I was the mermaid that went in the tail. I said yes and he told me his wife was a photographer and would love to photograph me.

'It sounded like a great idea so we got a boat out to the lake. It was so perfect. It was the coolest thing being surrounded by these golden pulsating creatures.'

The images were taken by diver and underwater photographer Wendy Capili-Wilkie, who lives on the island.


Linden has also posed for shots with extreme sports photographer Agustin Munoz, from Costa Rica, in Deadman's Cay, Long Island, Bahamas.

She said: 'I love the feeling of freedom and weightlessness in the water. It's such a different sensation. It's very dream-like. The power of the tail is amazing. I can go very fast. The 'wind' in my hair when I'm diving under water is like nothing else.

'I've been diving with sharks. With my tail, I'm longer than most of them.Many people think I'm crazy to swim with sharks but I'm always surrounded by an incredible safety team.

'The sea creatures are very inquisitive. They come up to me to take a closer look because I'm not blowing bubbles like divers.'

As well as diving, Linden, who has a degree in film and science from Emerson College, produces her Mermaid Minute, an educational clips web series for children.

She offers her mermaid services to the Make A Wish Foundation, Reef Check Worldwide and several other non profits and charities.

Linden is also the 'mermaid to the stars' and has been hired to perform at a string of Hollywood parties, hosted by celebrities, including Jessica Alba and Justin Timberlake.
Culled from DAILY MAIL

Man shoots his father at Easter Sunday church service... says it 'is the will of Allah'

Witnesses say the 25-year-old man accused of walking into an Ohio church and fatally shooting his father after an Easter service Sunday was yelling about God and Allah after the killing.

Police say Reshad Riddle pictured above walked into the Hiawatha Church of God in Christ in Ashtabula and killed his father, 52-year-old Richard Riddle, with a single shot from a handgun Sunday afternoon.

Associate Pastor Sean Adams said Reshad then continued into the church, still holding the gun, and yelled that the killing was 'the will of Allah. This is the will of God.'

Adams told The (Ashtabula) Star Beacon newspaper that worshippers started screaming, ducking down and calling 911 on cellphones after the shooting.

'It was terrifying,' Adams told the newspaper.

'The children were screaming and people were dialing 911. We were afraid to breathe.'

Reshad Riddle was quickly subdued by officers, who arrived just moments after the shooting. They say he has been mostly cooperative.

The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland reported that another church pastor said congregants were leaving when they heard a gunshot.

'People pushed me into a back office and said, "Somebody's here with a gun,"' said the Reverend David Howard Jr.
'The guy was outside hollering and acting crazy.'


He said the church has about 175 members, none of whom knew what led to the shooting.

'It's such a tragic loss,' Crockett said.
County Coroner Pamela Lancaster said Richard Riddle's wound was 'immediately fatal.'

Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell said the younger Riddle offered no motive for the shooting.

'Witnesses at the scene said the shooter entered church and made some references to Allah, but we are not sure if that was a motive or if there was a family problem,' Stell said.

'There is no indication that the father and son had a bad relationship. Everyone thinks this was very surprising.'

'We knew that shots were fired in the church and we thought there were multiple people down. We called other agencies to assist because it was described as a mass shooting and we weren’t sure if there were multiple shooters or multiple people wounded.


'It is always better to be safe than sorry, and we got a great response. Many agencies — easily six agencies — came to assist.'

Coroner Pamela Lancaster said that the nature of the shooting made it difficult to have a full on-site investigation.


'I did all the investigation I could do under the circumstances at the scene,' she told The Star Beacon.


'There were many churchgoers there, so a tent and drapes were set up around the victim to ensure privacy. We did our best to shelter the situation and get (Richard Riddle’s body) in the transport van quickly.'

Police weren't the only ones who didn't know the extent of the violence, as Associate Pastor Reverend Steve Sargent told how he thought it was the beginning of a shooting spree.

'My mind went into overdrive,' he told The Star Beacon.


'I pulled several people into the bathroom, as many people as I could, and then I ducked under the baptismal.
'I’ve been at this church all my life, and I can’t ever recall an incident of theft. We have no fences here to keep anyone out. People can say what they want about this neighborhood, but the people have always been very receptive and respectful of this church and the work we do here.'


Court records show Reshad Riddle has an extensive criminal record.

Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court records show he was arrested and charged with two counts of felonious assault, kidnapping, abduction and tampering with evidence in 2006.

Records show that in 2007, Reshad Riddle was charged with felonious assault, and in 2009 he was charged with possession of drugs, tampering with evidence and possession of cocaine.

According to police reports, one of the felonious assault charges stemmed from an incident when Reshad Riddle allegedly attempted to cut his girlfriend's throat. Captain Joseph Cellitti said the young woman's neck had been cut with a knife and she suffered bruising on her side and chest.
Church parishioners said Reshad Riddle was a member of the church as a child, but did not attend services regularly as an adult.

'No one would have thought twice about him being here with his family on Easter,' Adams said.

'His family (have) been members here for years and years.'
Culled from Daily Mail

Man to become God?: Scientists set to bring 24 animals back from extinction

Scientists have met to discuss the possibility of bringing back 24 animals back from extinction.

But a real life Jurassic Park is not an option, it is said, because dinosaur DNA is just too old.

The so called 'de-extinction' of a number of species was discussed at a TEDx conference in Washington DC sponsored by National Geographic.
They included the dodo bird, the Carolina Parakeet, last seen in 1904 in Florida, and the Quagga, a plains zebra which once lived in South Africa.

The docile, flightless moa stood 12ft high. They died out because of over hunting by the Maori

The last wild one was shot in 1870 and the last in captivity died in 1883, the Journal reports.

The Dodo evolved without any natural predators, but it was forced into extinction by humans who killed them all for food

The teams chose the animals using a number of criteria, and discussed the ethics of bringing them back to life.


They discussed whether the species were desirable, if they held an important ecological function or if they were beloved by humans.

They also discussed if they were practical choices, and if there would be access to tissue with good quality DNA samples or germ cells in order to reproduce the species.
The Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, is the only marsupial to make the list. It lived in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea until the 1960s

They also considered whether they are actually able to be reintroduced into the world and what the reasons for extinction were in the first place.


This month’s National Geographic explains how de-extinction works - by taking old DNA samples and reassembling them into a full genome.

This is then injected into embryonic cells which have had their own DNA taken out, and a suitable living surrogate is found to give birth.
According to the Washington Post, ten years ago, a team of scientists from France and Spain brought back an extinct wild goat – but it only lived for 10 minutes.
De-extinction does however raise a number of ethical and logistical questions, including how scientists can get a usable DNA sample from an extinct animal, and also whether they should.
The cost of de-extinction varies by species but it is believed could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.


It comes after scientists used cloning technology to attempt to bring back a frog from extinction by implanting a 'dead' cell nucleus into a fresh egg from another frog species.This extinct species of plains Zebra, the Quagga, once lived in South Africa. The last wild one was shot in 1870 and the last in captivity died in 1883

The resulting embryos lived for just a few days.

But the groundbreaking research by the Lazarus Project has brought the 'de-extinction' of creatures like woolly mammoths to the forefront of scientific discussion.


In repeated experiments over five years, the researchers used a laboratory technique known as somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Using a method similar to that imagined in the blockbuster Jurassic Park, they took fresh eggs from the distantly related Great Barred Frog, deactivated their nuclei and replaced them with genes from the extinct frog.

Some of the eggs spontaneously began to divide and grow to early embryo stage – a tiny ball of many living cells from a creature extinct for 30 years.

Although none of the embryos survived beyond a few days, genetic tests confirmed that the dividing cells contain the genetic material from the extinct frog.

Culled from DAILY MAIL

1,000 dead ducks found in Chinese river one week after 16,000 dead pigs were found there-in

At least 1,000 dead ducks have been found floating in a Chinese river, just days after the bodies of more than 16,000 pigs were pulled out of Shanghai’s main waterway.

The new discovery has triggered more concern over the safety of the nation’s drinking water.

The duck carcasses were fished out of the Nanhe river in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, officials confirmed.
They were found in over 50 woven bags but the bodies were so badly decomposed it was impossible to tell how they died.

The news came as Shanghai environmental workers said almost all of the dead pigs had been removed from the Huangpu river, which supplies 22% of the city’s drinking water.

Government officials said 98 pigs were recovered on Sunday and 93 on Saturday, the first time the daily toll had fallen below a hundred in days.

Images over the last fortnight of dead hogs in China’s commercial hub has proved a major embarrassment to the city, which is seeking to grow as an international financial centre.

Samples have tested positive for porcine circovirus, a common swine disease that does not affect humans.

It was unclear last night what killed the ducks. Their bodies were disinfected and buried in plastic bags three metres underground, said Liang Weidong, a deputy director in Pengshan’s publicity department.
He said the authorities were first made aware of the ducks a week ago but insisted the dead birds had been handled safely and posed no danger to residents or livestock.

An initial investigation suggested they originated from upstream and were not dumped by local farmers. The Nanhe river is not a source of drinking water.

Mystery remains over the exact origin of both the dead hogs and ducks.

‘Dead pigs, dead ducks... this soup is getting thicker and thicker,' wrote one person with the username Baby Luck on weibo, China’s version of Twitter.

‘The dead pigs haven’t even disappeared yet, and now the dead ducks emerge - does this society enjoy being competitive?” wrote netizen sugarandsweet.
Culled from MAIL ONLINE

Self-immolation: mother-of-four dies after setting herself ablaze in protest against China's rule over Tibet

A Tibetan mother of four young children has killed herself in the latest self-immolation protest against Chinese rule.


Kalkyi, 30, pictured above, doused her body in petrol before lighting a match near a monastery in Sichuan province's Aba county in western China yesterday.

The mother died at the scene and her body was placed in the nearby Jonang Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Radio Free Asia reports.


Her death comes just a week after 28-year old Kirti monk Lobsang Thogme set fire to himself on March 16 in Aba.
Tibetan rights advocates say the self-immolations aim to protest Chinese rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. China accuses the Dalai Lama's supporters of encouraging the suicides.
Calls to the local government and police rang unanswered today.


Self-immolations reveal the desperation among Tibet's youth after 60 years under Beijing's thumb.


The Chinese government has sought to crack down on Tibetan dissidents issuing a stern warning to the authorities of eastern Tibet to punish all self-immolators and their relatives - and even those who send condolences to bereaved families.


It said all government aid would be removed from the families of self-immolators while development projects in communities that have been home to such protesters would be cancelled.


The charity and campaign group Free Tibet says it has documented multiple cases of collective punishment, imposed against the communities and families were individuals have set themselves on fire, or were other forms of protest have taken place.


It says punishments have included homes being ransacked, development projects which were planned for a village cancelled and ‘public criticism’.


Of the 110 protesters who have set themselves on fire, the majority have died of their injuries. Those who survive, are arrested and taken away. They are rarely seen again, say campaign groups.


Stephanie Bridger, director of Free Tibet, said: 'Tibetans from all walks of life, young and old, mothers, nomads, students, monks and nuns are rejecting China’s occupation of their homeland.


'China is trying to crush protest through arbitrary detention, collective punishment, communications blackouts, bribery and much more – this has only strengthened the resolve of the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom.
'Free Tibet is receiving reports of protests inside Tibet on an almost daily basis. These protests will only continue until each and everyone one of us stands with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and our Governments stop kowtowing to an unelected Chinese regime.'


But it is also a moral and policy dilemma for Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and a new generation of exiled politicians.


The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 with hundreds of followers and they set up base in Dharamsala, a town in the Himalayan foothills about 400 km (250 miles) north of New Delhi.


The deaths raise theological questions about non-violence and highlight a long-standing schism between the elderly Dalai Lama's softly, softly approach to China and activists who want to fight for independence.
culled from MAILONLINE

Horror film fanatic jailed for life for torturing his friend to death in 'sadistic' attack inspired by one of his favourite movies

A horror film fanatic who tortured and mutilated his friend in a scene which mirrored one of his favourite movies has been jailed for life.

Gary George, 41,pictured above will serve a minimum of 30 years after he tortured and mutilated Andrew Nall, 53, in a 'cruel and sadistic' attack.

George beat his victim and inflicted 49 separate knife wounds, including a wound carved into his stomach which had salt poured onto it.

There was also a 'creamy substance', thought to be cleaning fluid, found in Mr Nall’s eyes, the prosecution said.

His body was discovered in the bedroom of his flat in Chester, on August 30 last year.
Andrew Nall (pictured above) was beaten and stabbed in what a judge today described as a 'cruel and sadistic' attack in August last year

After the killing George, a homeless alcoholic, went into an off-licence where he told the shop assistant: 'I’ve just killed my best mate.'

He initially denied the murder but changed his plea to guilty last week as his three-week trial was coming to a close.

George was obsessed with witchcraft and horror films, Chester Crown Court was told.

He 'particularly' liked to watch The Loved Ones, a 2009 Australian film in which an attack takes place with 'chilling similarity' to the death of Mr Nall.

Passing sentence today Judge Elgan Edwards said: 'This was a cruel and vicious attack.

'It was also a sadistic attack.

'I am satisfied that in behaving in the way you did, you were aping the conduct in a film of which you were obsessed, namely The Loved Ones.'

The judge said he and the jury had had 'the misfortune' of watching the movie’s murder sequence during the trial and added: 'I regret to say that, as in this film, you committed many acts while the unfortunate Mr Nall was still alive.

'And that included the substance in his eyes, be that cleaning fluid, and the carving of marks upon his chest.'
George showed no emotion as his sentence was passed.

The judge described Mr Nall, also an alcoholic, as 'vulnerable'.

He added: 'He was vulnerable because of the amount of drink he had taken.

'You knew he had, you took advantage of it and, putting it in a nutshell, he was no match for you.

'You killed him in a most cruel and sadistic way and you enjoyed doing so.'

In an emotional victim impact statement, which was read to the court, Mr Nall’s sister Fiona Hall said the family had been left 'reeling' by his death.
Her statement said: 'Never did any of his family expect to have to deal with the aftermath of such a heinous crime.'

She said her brother, a former supermarket worker, had 'struggled' with alcohol for many years but was determined to turn his life around.

Mrs Hall added: 'Andrew was kind, considerate and would help others without a second thought.

'He was an engaging conversationalist, with a strong intellect and a quick wit.

'Those close to him are broken-hearted by their loss.'

She recalled what would have been his birthday earlier this month, when the trial watched a 'shocking' video of his 'mutilated body lying in his own bedroom where he should have been safe'.
Mrs Hall added: '(It was) a wholly undignified end indeed to a life cut short at the hands of someone to whom he had extended the hand of friendship.'

The family made no comment following today’s hearing.

George was also sentenced to 12 years today, concurrent to the life term, for a second attack 10 hours after the murder of Mr Nall.

The court heard he broke a bottle and slashed the hand and head of a man in an attack which the judge said 'caused the most awful injuries to his victim.'

He was caught by police following that attack.

In police interviews he admitted killing someone but falsely alleged that his victim was a paedophile and rapist.

George’s co-defendant, Christine Holleran, 50, was cleared of murder and manslaughter by the jury on Friday.

Holleran, who told the jury she witnessed the attack but played no part in it, shouted “justice, justice” as their majority verdict was returned.

Giving evidence, she said George was growling as he stabbed Mr Nall, and said: “He was like the devil.”
She said she then ran away from Mr Nall’s flat 'in a state of shock'.

In a statement released by Cheshire Police, Mr Nall’s family said: 'Andrew was brutally murdered by a man whom he invited into his home.

'He would have had no idea that Gary George was a sadistic bully capable of the most extreme violence.

'The cruel and callous way in which Andrew died leaves us unable to feel anything other than utter contempt for his killer.

'He took the life of a kind and caring man attempting to justify his actions by making untrue and wicked allegations that cast aspersions on his victim’s character.
The court heard how George was a fan of the 2009 Australian film The Loved Ones (pictured) and that his killing of Andrew Nall was similar to a murder scene in it


'The lengthy sentence imposed reflects the gravity of his crimes which gives us some consolation.

'Seven months on our collective grief is still immense.
'The trial has been a harrowing experience for everybody, especially those who loved Andrew - he has gone from our lives but lives on in our hearts.'

Detective Sergeant Andrew Paine, of Chester CID, added: 'This was a challenging investigation from the outset as only Holleran and George know exactly what went on in the flat on the night Andrew Nall was killed.

'Through painstaking inquiries we have pieced together the events leading up to Andrew’s death and the later assault which show that neither victim did anything to provoke the horrific attacks which followed.

'My sympathies go out in particular to the family of Andrew Nall and I hope the verdict goes some way towards bringing closure for them.'

Culled from MAIL 0NLINE

Horror in Mexico as seven men are executed and dumped on chairs in city centre

These shocking photos show how the bodies of seven men were found on plastic chairs in Mexico having been shot in the head, with threat messages nailed to some of their chests using ice picks.

A placard on one of the bodies, which were found early yesterday morning in Uruapan, Michoacan state, said: ‘Warning! This will happen to thieves, kidnappers, sex offenders and extortionists.’

Seven bodies had bullet wounds and had been placed individually in the sitting position in chairs near a roundabout, local authorities said. The local attorney general's office did not provide a motive.
Some of the bodies had their hands and feet bound, outside a Pepsi bottling plant. The men were believed to have been aged from 15 to 40. The bodies were found at 05:30 local time (11:30 GMT).


Meanwhile another seven people were killed in neighbouring Guerrero, where armed men opened fire in a bar in Ciudad Altamirano late on Friday. Four civilians and three off-duty federal agents died.

In Guerrero state, authorities said armed men opened fire in a bar in Ciudad Altamirano late on Friday, and four civilians and three off-duty federal agents were killed.
The officers were pursued by gunmen while walking to a local bank, and were killed after seeking refuge in a nearby hotel, an official with the federal police said.

Both states on Mexico's western coast have seen a rise of violence in recent years attributed to drug cartels. Around 70,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico in seven years.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December, has vowed to quell the lawlessness and killing that have stained Mexico's image as a tourist destination and rattled investors.
Culled from MAIL ONLINE

How British woman jumped from two-storey building to escape 'rape' in India

The British woman who leapt from a hotel balcony in India to escape a sex attack has spoken for the first time about her ordeal – and lambasted the attitudes of Indian men towards women.
Jessica Davies, who had been travelling alone across India for three weeks when last week’s incident occurred, said she feared for her life when two men tried to force their way into her room at a hotel near the Taj Mahal.

Her terrifying experience – which has resulted in Sachin Chauhan, the owner of the Hotel Agra Mahal in Agra, northern India, facing charges of harassment – follows two recent gang rapes in the country.
Miss Davies, 31, said she wanted to speak out to warn all women travelling in India that they needed to be aware of their personal safety.

She said: ‘The way the men treat women and their attitude to sexual harassment and sexual assault is wrong. If they don’t think there is anything wrong with their attitudes and behaviour, this kind of thing will carry on.’

Miss Davies, a dental hygienist from Greenwich, South-East London, said she had stayed at the hotel for two nights. ‘There have been reports that I asked the owner of the hotel for a wake-up call at 3.45am on the morning he came to my room, but that is untrue.

‘He just turned up at my door, knocked and, when I opened it, was standing there holding two bottles of massage oil. He told me he wanted to give me a free massage and shower. He was drunk.

‘I don’t know why he targeted me because I hadn’t had any other problems with him. Maybe it’s because I’m small and he knew I was in the room on my own.’

Miss Davies, who returned to the UK on Friday after giving a statement to the police in Agra, said when she refused he tried to enter the room – but she managed to push him back and lock the door.

She says he continued knocking on the door for ten minutes, so she screamed for help and began hitting the door in the hope it would wake other guests. Miss Davies said that the owner was still trying to force his way into the room after 45 minutes.
When she heard the voice of a second man asking to come into the room, she shouted at them to go away, told them they were scaring her and pushed a table, with her rucksack on top, against the door.

‘I noticed the balcony door lock wasn’t secured,’ she added. ‘I fully believed they would eventually enter my room from the balcony and get inside with the intention of raping me.’
At 5am, an hour and a quarter after the ordeal began, Miss Davies realised no one was coming to help her and decided to jump from her second-floor balcony.
‘I got dressed, tucked my passport into the waistband of my trousers and climbed over the balcony. I couldn’t make a call on my mobile to get help because it wasn’t working.

‘I didn’t take any of my other stuff, and I didn’t go back for it afterwards. I just wanted to escape.’

She jumped from her second-floor balcony to one on the first floor – and then from there to the ground, injuring her right leg as she landed.

She then ran to a nearby road and flagged down a rickshaw driver, who took her to the local police station. ‘I really can’t thank that rickshaw driver enough,’ said Miss Davies, who is still limping badly and has extensive bruising around her foot and ankle.

‘I really do think I’ve been very lucky. I only have superficial injuries to my leg but I am still shocked and feeling anxious about what happened. The Indian police said it could be six months to a year before the case goes to court but when it does, I’m going to be ready for it.

‘I will go back if I have to in order to give evidence.’

Just days before the incident, Indian police said a Swiss cyclist was gang-raped after she and her husband were attacked while camping.

And, last December, the fatal gang rape of 23-year-old student Jyoti Singh, on a bus in Delhi, provoked international revulsion.

Culled from MAIL ONLINE