Sunday August 25 2013

- A special taskforce will investigate the cold case car-bomb execution of Melbourne businessman John Furlan.
A 10-month review of he killing has unearthed fresh clues and more suspects in the murder mystery, which happened 15 years ago this month.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal Mr Furlan told a mate he believed he was being followed in the period before his death.
And a family member has also told of receiving a late-night telephone call in which a fearful Mr Furlan said he had been threatened.
Four detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad will be assigned to chase down unexplored leads in the Furlan case.
The case review, which began in October last year, has identified two surviving strong suspects and up to 15 other people who may have peripheral involvement in the crime.
Two other suspects are dead.
They are gangland figure Domenico Italiano, who died in a drug-fuelled sex session with a prostitute, and career criminal Philip Lander, who took his own life.
One theory was that Italiano – a member of the famous Melbourne mafia family – ordered Furlan’s death because he feared he would assist police investigate corrupt raffles he was running. But investigators are now looking at other potential motives.
Police say a friend of Mr Furlan had told investigators his mate thought he was being followed prior to his death.
Mr Furlan died when his Subaru Liberty exploded under the massive force of a bomb as he drove along Lorensen Avenue, Coburg North, on his way to work on August 2nd, 1998.
Lander, who also used the surname Matthews, is suspected of building the bomb, then planting it directly under Mr Furlan’s seat.
The vehicle had been parked unattended behind a gate at his home in the days prior as he took a trip to Tasmania.
Detective Senior-Sergeant Jeff Maher of the Arson and Explosives Squad, who as a Homicide Squad officer led the initial investigation, said the crime was shocking and could have killed many more people.
“We don’t forget the jobs and I didn’t forget that one,” he said. “It’s not over ’til the fat lady sings. People should know these things don’t go away.”
Senior-Sergeant Maher said, for investigative reasons, he could not outline the kind of explosive used or whether it was detonated by remote control or a timing device.
But he said a closer look at the involvement of Lander could yet push the inquiry along.
“That has been explored but I don’t think its now been filly explored. There’s more we can do on that,” he said.
Mr Furlan owned a vehicle salvage business in Glenroy and lived on Sydney Road, Coburg – Mark Buttler

Sunday August 25 2013

- But for a few seconds, a school in Melbourne’s north would this month be marking the tragic anniversary of students killed in a car bomb.
Whoever wanted John Furlan dead appeared not to care about what collateral damage might be inflicted on passers-by that day at Coburg.
A group of children making their way to school have luck to thank for escaping the bomb’s deadly impact. Only a few metres separated them from Mr Furlan’s Subaru when it exploded.
The vehicle’s bonnet landed on the Lorensen Avenue roadway beside them.
Debris from the Subaru, some flung onto rooftops, was found up to 500m away. The force was enough to destroy a section of asphalt.
A homicide crew led by Detective Jeff Maher – now a senior sergeant at the Arson and Explosives Squad – was called in.
Senior-Sergeant Maher said it was almost unfathomable Mr Furlan was the only fatality.
He said the initial investigation examined the financial affairs, romantic interests and many associates of a colourful man with a large network of relationships.
“It went down many rabbit holes,” he said.
Two violent men believed to be linked to the killing are now dead.
Domenico Italiano was 50 when he died suddenly during a celebratory sex session a day after being released from prison in 2005.
“On the day he was released, he had the services of a prostitute and had a heart attack. He waited all that time to get out and died,” Senior-Sergeant Maher said.
Italiano – who rented a Coburg car yard from Furlan – came from a family who knew a bit about violence.
His grandfather, also Domenico, was reputedly Victoria’s first mafia godfather and his uncle, Michele Scriva, fatally stabbed Giuseppe Versace in 1945 in what was Melbourne’s first mafia hit.
Italiano served jail time for rigging raffles in which prizes, including prestige cars, were “won” by associates and relatives in return for them buying the vehicles at heavily discounted prices.
Mr Furlan’s knowledge of what went on in the raffles was initially regarded as the motive for his death, but that scenario has since been regarded as less likely.
Philip Lander, also known by the surname Matthews, took his own life in the years after the Furlan tragedy. He had a long history of serious criminal offences, including causing an explosion.
Lander and Italiano remain suspects.
In October last year, Senior-Sergeant Maher assigned Detective Senior Constable Tina Kemp to sift through all the material – contained in 10 archive boxes and 50 folders – related to the case.
She has spent hundreds of hours reviewing them since then, poring over thousands of pages and statements, reports and forensic records.
She said they showed Mr Furlan was a normal man with no apparent reason to be a target.
“You could meet someone like John Furlan every day. I just want to know the answer to this,” she said.
After spending the past 10 months immersed in the case, Senior-Constable Kemp wants a result.
“It’s like someone’s given you a book to read and the last few chapters a missing,” she said – Mark Buttler

Monday August 26 2013

- A woman was beaten unconscious after she complained about a boisterous gang on the NightRider bus in the early hours of yesterday.
The 26-year-old St Kilda woman asked the driver to remove the group, who where standing in the aisle being noisy and knocking into passengers.
A woman from the gang then threw a drink at her and punched her in the face.
The woman was then dragged to the ground, punched and kicked to her body and head, rendering her unconscious, Sergeant Anita Brens said.
The bus driver opened the door and the group, consisting of six or seven men and two women, ran along Swanston Street towards Flinders Street.
The attack happened on the packed 667 NightRider bus from Swanston Street to Frankston at 2:30am.
The victim was treated at the scene and then taken to hospital, where she is said to be in stable condition.
Transit Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating the serious assault and hope to identify the offenders, believed to be of African appearance, from CCTV.
The woman who started the assault is African in appearance, in her late teens or early 20s, tall, thin, with long, straight hair dyed brown.
She was wearing a tight fitted black and white dress with a pattern – Jon Kaila

Monday August 26 2013

- A Calabrian-mafia boss is among several people former detective Paul Dale has identified as suspects in the execution of Terence and Christine Hodson.
Mr Dale has challenged Victoria Police to re-investigate the unsolved murders, despite him remaining the prime suspect.
The former detective-sergeant said he was confident a proper investigation would clear him of any involvement in the 2004 murders of the police informer, 56, and his wife, 55.
In his first interview since being cleared in March on all counts of lying to the Australian Crime Commission, Mr Dale said he had written a book to try to change the public’s mind about him being a corrupt cop.
The new book, Disgraced? The Cop at the Centre of Melbourne’s Gangland Wars, also claimed:
– Police are on tape telling hitman Rod Collins his girlfriend would be eligible for a $1million reward if he gave evidence implicating Mr Dale in the Hodson murders;
– Lawyer Nicola Gobbo was pressured into agreeing to secretly tape Mr Dale to try to get evidence against him. Doing so cost taxpayers more than $300,000, including Ms Gobbo getting 38 business-class flights, chauffeur-driven limos, concert tickets and $1000 a week for 10 months;
– Terence Hodson was involved in a plot to kill Carl Williams and Williams found out about it;
– Police offered Williams about $2 million and fewer years in jail if he gave evidence saying Mr Dale was involved in the Hodson murders;
– Crime boss Tony Mokbel was furious after Terence Hodson robbed him; and
– Terence Hodson’s son Andrew was arrested after Hodson dobbed him in to police.
“I didn’t have anything to do with murdering the Hodsons, maybe Andrew Hodson did,” Mr Dale said.
Andrew Hodson told the Herald Sun in 2008 his father had become “fair game” after becoming a police informer.
Mr Dale has challenged the force to ditch its pursuit of him and launch a new Hodson death probe from scratch.
He said that probe should re-examine Andrew Hodson as a priority.
Mr Dale, 44, also claimed to have identified several other Hodson murder suspects from police and other documents he has.
Charges against Mr Dale of conspiracy to rob an Oakleigh East drug house and to traffic drugs were dropped following the execution of the Hodsons. Terence Hodson was due to give evidence against Mr Dale on those charges.
Mr Dale was later charged over the Hodson murders.
That charge was dropped soon after Williams was beaten to death in jail.
He said police failed to properly investigate 150 people identified as suspects in the Hodson murders.
“Instead they pursued me for political reasons and offered millions of dollars and reduced sentences to criminals to induce them to make false statements against me,” Mr Dale said.
Issuing the public challenge to Victoria Police to have a fresh look at the Hodson murders is putting Mr Dale at risk.
While the murder charges against Mr Dale over the Hodson murders were dropped, there is nothing stopping him from being charged again if any new probe gets more evidence – Keith Moor

Tuesday August 27 2013

- West Coast Eagles footballer Will Schofield suffered serious facial injuries during an unprovoked attack in Geelong early on Sunday.
Police said they were investigating the incident in which the 196cm defender was king-hit from behind while walking south along Moorabool Street about 1am.
Detective Senior Constable John McKinnon said Schofield, 24, was walking towards Thomas Jewellers, near the corner of Malop Street, when the attack occurred.
He said police didn’t believe the attack was connected to football. “There were no earlier altercations with this male and the offender didn’t appear to flee the scene afterwards,” he said.

Tuesday August 27 2013

- A woman arrested after Victorian police traced child pornography found at a Melbourne home to the United States has been jailed for at least 25 years. Laura Shauger had pleaded guilty to creating and possessing child pornography and faced a mandatory minimum of 15 years. Her boyfriend, Patrick Mergen, was also sentenced in April to a minimum of 25 years. The couple was arrested a year ago after a joint operation between Taskforce Astraea – the Victoria Police unit tackling online child abuse – and US authorities. The hunt for Mergen and Shauger began in late 2011, when a young couple from the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Langwarrin – Craig Stanley and Rebecca Michels – were reported missing. On November 19th, Stanley was arrested at a supermarket in Dimboola and Michels was found soon after at a nearby campsite. They were charged with child pornography offences and Stanley was also accused of an indecent act with a child. Astraea detectives had been analysing child abuse images found at the couple’s home – Dan Oakes

Tuesday August 27 2013

- A fatal shooting by a Victoria Police highway patrol officer in Melbourne’s inner south-east has reignited debate over the need for independent investigations into police shootings.
Neighbours heard shots on Union Street in Windsor shortly after a 44-year-old St Albans man was intercepted on the road about 10:40 on Sunday.
An experienced senior constable working alone attempted to arrest the man, who was believed to be driving with stolen number plates, according to police.
On Monday, Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said police believed the officer had been threatened with a flick-blade knife to which he reacted with lethal force.
Although Mr Cornelius said the incident was still subject to an investigation, he also said he had been told the officer believed his life was in danger.
“No police officer when he starts work ever thinks he’s going to end his shift having had to take someone’s life,” he said.
“The precise details around the encounter are the subject of an investigation. My advice is that our officer believed his life was in immediate threat.”
The comments drew criticism from legal groups that claimed Victoria Police had “prejudged” the outcome of its own investigation.
The senior policy adviser at the Federation of Community Legal Centres, Michelle McDonnell, said: “By making comments within a few hours of the death that the shooting was an act of self-defence calls into question the ability of Victoria Police to conduct the investigation impartially and independently.”
Mr Cornelius had earlier dismissed these criticisms, saying he would always stand by his members.
The advocacy and strategic litigation director at the Human Rights Law Centre, Anne Brown, said: “It’s quite natural for him to back his officer, but in the same way an employer shouldn’t investigate a workplace death the police are an entirely inappropriate body to investigate these shootings.
“If the officer involved in the shooting did act in self defence he deserves to be exonerated by a process that’s credible and independent.”
Police Association secretary Greg Davies condemned the criticisms. “The Homicide Squad under the oversight of the [Public Service Commission] prepare an investigation and they hand it over to the Coroner,” he said.
“Coroners are not fools. These calls ignore the fact that there are a dozen oversights looking at everything the police force does.”
As part of the investigation police are reviewing in-car video and CCTV taken from near the scene of the shooting. They were also looking for a woman believed to have been a passenger in the car at the time of the intercept.
The Coroner attended the scene on Sunday night and would be presented with a brief following the internal police investigation.
The deceased was identified as Vlado Micetic on Channel Nine news. His sister described him as “very talented, very smart”.
“It should have never happened,” she said. “He didn’t deserve to go like this.” – Rania Spooner

Wednesday August 28 2013

- It can be revealed that a man shot dead by police had at least 99 serious violent criminal convictions.
Vlado Micetic, 44, was gunned down after allegedly confronting a highway patrol senior constable with a flick knife, after being pulled over in Windsor on Sunday night for driving with stolen number plates.
The career criminal has prior convictions dating back to the 1980s, including attempted armed robbery, aggravated burglary, being armed with offensive weapons, in possession of a stolen or unregistered firearm, recklessly causing injury and beating a woman and leaving her for dead.
His victim suffered a fractured skull, ruptured ear drums and broken nose.
Micetic, from St Albans, also posed as a sergeant in the police Special Operations Group, producing a police badge to gain entry to a property and search for a “snub-nosed revolver”.
He once produced what appeared to be a gun, waving it around, in a bid to rob the Beaconsfield Hotel in St Kilda.
A psychiatrist who assessed Micetic said he might have suffered from a “paranoid psychosis consisting of persecutory delusions involving a widespread conspiracy to kill”, which was “perhaps the consequence of long-term abuse of psychogenic substances”.
The assessment said he had “a tendency to slip into substance abuse when levels of stress run high” with psychiatric problems “much exacerbated by drug abuse”.
His Facebook account is littered with pictures of guns and bullets, and his Twitter account details rumblings and messages to stars Lady Gaga, Pink, Shakira, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson and Jessica Gomes.
A sentencing judge described Micetic, who spat on the floor as he was led from the court, as having “a remarkable history of offending”.
However, Micetic had his sentence reduced on appeal at least twice.
On Sunday, he was driving a white two-door Hyundai with false number plates when he was pulled over on Union Street, Windsor at 10:40pm.
The senior constable was allegedly confronted by Micetic when the officer drew his gun and fired three shots into his upper body.
A woman in the Hyundai fled and remains on the run. Police say they know who she is and have urged her to contact them.
Police were continuing to review footage of the incident from the senior constable’s car and CCTV from nearby buildings.
The homicide squad and Professional Standards Command are investigating.
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner – Jon Kaila

Wednesday August 28 2013

- Victoria Police has rejected former detective Paul Dale’s plea to re-investigate the Hodson double murder without him as a suspect.
The force yesterday said it had already conducted a thorough investigation into the 2004 deaths of Terence and Christine Hodson.
Mr Dale has used his new book to challenge Victoria Police to ditch its pursuit of him over the murders.
He said Victoria Police should start the investigation again and concentrate on suspects other than him.
“After a year at the Lorimer Taskforce hunting the Silk-Miller murderers, Inspector Paul Sheridan announced that he wanted to start the investigation from scratch, to go back to day one,” Mr Dale said.
“Once we looked at the information with fresh eyes and a fresh approach, we arrested the two killers and got a righteous conviction.
“The original homicide investigation identified 150 suspects in the killing of Terence Hodson and his wife.
“In the months before he died, when everyone knew he was a police informer, crooks had come knocking at his door, looking for him.
“My question is, will anyone in Victoria Police have the guts to do what Sheridan did and go back to the beginning, starting with the question: ‘If Paul Dale didn’t do it, who did?’ Will anyone have the integrity to go back to the original list of 150 suspects and take another look?…
“The part of me that desperately wants to trust that the system we all rely on will eventually work hopes that the Chief Commissioner will admit the mistakes of the past and have all the evidence re-examined.
“But the cynical, tired part of me believes that they probably won’t take another look.
“That they’ll shut down the whole investigation while declaring on the front pages around the country that Paul Dale remains the only person of interest, so that I will forever be haunted by this.
“From my experience in Victoria Police,many knowing the politics and how it works, they would be just hoping it all goes away and no one talks about it again.”
Victoria Police spokesman Charlie Morton yesterday said the force would not be restarting the Hodson investigation from scratch.
“Victoria Police has conducted a thorough investigation into the deaths of Terence and Christine Hodson,” he said.
“The investigation remains open and ongoing, as does the coronial investigation.
“Anyone with new information is urged to contact police.” – Keith Moor

Wednesday August 28 2013

- The role of violent video games, drugs and links to gangs are being probed by Oklahoma detectives investigating the drive-by shooting murder of Melbourne baseballer Chris Lane.
Duncan Police Detective John Byers said evidence had been collected from social media posts by the three boys charged in Mr Lane’s killing – James Edwards, 15, Chancey Luna, 16, and Michael Jones, 17.
“I’ve seen some Twitter posts and they talk about Call of Duty,” Detective Byers said, referring to the popular shooter video game.
Police allege Mr Lane, 22, was jogging alone at 2:57pm on August 16th when Luna shot him in the back with a .22 calibre revolver. Jones drove the car and Edwards was a passenger.
Detective Byers said the investigation continued to examine whether the 107 Hoover Crips and the Piru Bloods gangs, located in Lawton, 51 kilometres away had influenced the boys – Herald Sun

Wednesday August 28 2013

- A teenage girl has been quizzed by detectives over a sickening attack on a bus.
The 15-year-old handed herself in to police yesterday over Sunday morning’s bashing on a NightRider bus, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
She was interviewed and released pending further inquiries. Investigators are looking for other people connected to the assault.
Stunned commuters said a gang was kicking an unconscious woman’s head “like a football” during the confrontation in the CBD.
One witness said the group of at least six men and two women were causing trouble and “looking for a fight”, before boarding the 667 bus at Swanston Street bound for Frankston.
A passenger, who rang the Herald Sun and asked not to be named, said the gang attacked the St Kilda woman, 26, after she asked them to “settle down” – Jon Kaila

Wednesday August 28 2013

- Another battle in the bloodiest bikie war in history could erupt in Victoria as the Hells Angels move against members of the notorious Canadian gang Rock Machine.
Police say Rock Machine members trying to establish a Victorian chapter this year have been bashed by Hells Angels intent on protecting their turf.
More than 150 people were murdered when the Hells Angels and Rock Machine clashed in Canada in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Detective Senior Sergeant Wayne Cheesman from the Echo Taskforce told a Firearms Appeals Committee hearing on Tuesday that the Rock Machine were aligned to the Bandidos.
He said Hells Angels members had clashed with bikies from Rock Machine.
The ambush of Bandidos sergeant-at-arms Toby Mitchell in March sparked what police have described as an all-out war between the club and the Hells Angels.
“It’s like a group of bullies in the school yard not allowing you to walk on a certain section of the oval,” Detective Senior Sergeant Cheesman said.
“If another club is to open, there is the perceived threat that the other club may take their business.
“In Victoria, the Hells Angels are on the front foot looking for them…this is a territorial turf war.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Cheesman said the business interests of bikie gangs generally included drug trafficking and extortion, and that the presence of another gang reduced the viability of these enterprises.
He was speaking during an appeal by a member of the Iron Horsemen, who had his firearms license cancelled by Chief Commissioner Ken Lay as he was considered to not be a “fit and proper” person.
Rock Machine may have as many as eight chapters in Australia, with the largest presence in Western Australia.
The gang states on its website that it has five Australian chapters: in Victoria, Western Australia, NSW, Tasmania and Queensland.
It was reported that members had attempted to start a chapter in Melbourne’s south-east last year, but were forced out by the Comanchero club.
In June, a homemade, fully automatic machinegun was seized from their clubhouse in Perth’s southern suburbs.
Last September, Rock Machine associate Stefan Pahia Schmidt was jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years for murdering Andy Marshall, whom he pushed out the window of a Cottesloe hotel after Mr Marshall spoke to two women who were with the bikie in 2011.
The gang has been involved in a feud with the Rebels bikie club in Perth after one of their members patched over, and a similar conflict has occurred in NSW.
Members of a Rock Machine chapter there have reported links to Serbian organised crime and may have patched over to the Comanchero in 2012, causing tension with existing Sydney Comanchero. One of those Rock Machine members to patch over, Faalau Pisu, was shot dead at a bikie wedding in south-west Sydney on November 5th.
The gang has also posted on its website photos and names of three “out in bad standing members” from Canadian and German chapters, who have left the club in acrimonious circumstances – Niño Bucci

December 12 2009

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2769110/Defiant-gesture

- When Bryan Davies’s funeral cortege travels through Accrington next week, it will take a special route past the homes of two young girls who played
pivotal roles in his life… and death.
But those inside the homes will not be emerging for a tearful goodbye –
because it is claimed the youngsters’ lies drove Bryan to an early grave.
In August this year, the retired mechanic was falsely accused of being a
paedophile by two schoolgirls, aged ten and 11.
Police quickly cleared him of any wrongdoing – but rumours spread around the local area and he became a hate figure.
Bricks were hurled through the windows of the Lancashire home he shared with fiance Debbie, and the couple could not walk the streets without being
verbally abused.
With the stress building, Bryan, 63, suffered a stroke and developed a
kidney problem – but vowed to fight on and clear his name.
Sadly, prophetically, he said before his passing: “I won’t give in. It’ll
probably kill me but I won’t run away with my tail between my legs.”
But on Friday, December 4, he died suddenly from a heart attack, having been rushed to hospital with heart and kidney pains.
Now heartbroken fiance Debbie wants to see the girls – who cannot be named for legal reasons – punished for the “vile lies” which she believes led
directly to Bryan’s death.
And to make sure they realise the damage they have caused, she has arranged for the hearse carrying his coffin to go past their homes at a crawl when he is taken to be buried on Wednesday.
Debbie, 44, told The Sun: “As far as I am concerned those kids and their
families are responsible for killing Bryan. I hope they are proud of
themselves.
“Their vile lies and abuse put Bryan in an early grave. He just couldn’t
cope with the stress.
“They made our lives hell. He was a lovely man who would have done anything for anyone.
“But their lies meant we became prisoners in our own home.
“That is why I’m arranging for the funeral cortege to be driven right past
the homes of those evil girls.
“I want them to see exactly what their actions have done.”
Disabled Bryan, who walked with a crutch, was branded a child molester
shortly after moving from Bolton to Accrington.
The girls immediately targeted the couple – who had no children of their
own – begging to take their border collie Blue for a walk.
Debbie – who has five children from a previous marriage – recalled: “It all
started when we moved in in June. These kids came over and asked us if we
wanted help moving stuff into the house and we said no.
“I think they wanted to see the kind of stuff we were moving in.
“We got rid of them that day but they soon started coming round and banging on the door.
“They wanted to take Blue for a walk. We said no at first but in the end we
relented. Everything was OK for a while and we thought maybe they were just being neighbourly.
“But not long after, we started having abuse thrown at us.
“In the end we called the police. They came because we rang them – but it
was then that they told us what these girls had been saying.
“It had got really bad. Once, Bryan said to them, ‘What are you doing this
for? We haven’t done anything.’ That’s when they shouted that he was a paedo and a pervert.
“CID came round in late August and we found out for the first time about the allegations they had made.
“They said that Bryan had flashed them, and that he had touched them.” Bryan voluntarily handed over his computer to police and gave a statement at Blackburn police station.
Cops launched an investigation – and it was not long before the girls
confessed to dreaming up a pack of lies.
“Bryan said he would do anything the police wanted – he had nothing to
hide,” Debbie continued.
“This went on for about two weeks, then one of the girls made another
statement saying that they had both been telling lies.”
At the time the couple were on holiday trying to help Bryan recover from his
stroke.
“We didn’t find out till we got home and had a phone call stating that the
case was closed.”
But the damage was done and local rumours were spreading fast.
“We had bricks thrown through the window,” Debbie said.
“The back gates were kicked in, our trailer tent was damaged and our tyres
slashed.
“I didn’t want to go out because I would just get people shouting things at
me.”
Detectives even delivered leaflets to neighbours stating that “the
allegations have been found to be false and without any foundation
whatsoever”.
Debbie said: “We knew the police had closed the case, but once all our
neighbours and everyone else heard these rumours it didn’t matter whether he was innocent or not.
“Bryan was angry. He couldn’t believe that the girls had said such things
about him and he wanted to clear his name.”
But police chiefs had decided not to charge the girls over the false claims
because of their ages.
Instead, the matter was passed on to social services.
In November the couple moved to another address in Accrington – but the
abuse continued.
Debbie said: “A label like that doesn’t just go away, even after we moved.”
Just weeks before his death, Bryan wrote to detectives demanding his abusers be prosecuted.
Now Debbie is continuing the battle in a bid to get justice for the man she
planned to marry in April.
Fighting back tears, she added: “Bryan was my soul-mate. He was such a
softy, the biggest softy.
“He lived life to the full. He loved his fishing and he was teaching me fly
fishing – although I wasn’t very good at it. I’ve been told the police won’t
be prosecuting the girls but that is not good enough.
“Bryan would still be here if all this had been stopped from the word go.
“I want those girls punished for what they did.”
Accrington police inspector David Mangan said: “Our neighbourhood policing teams have been working closely with Mr Davies and his wife-to-be throughout and every complaint has been taken very seriously.
“This is obviously a very sad time for Mr Davies’ family and we are
continuing to provide support for them.” – Dave Masters

May 24 2014

Pia Navida’s killer was jailed this week 22 years after he killed her. Source: News Limited
It took more than two decades, but this week the man who killed Pia Navida was finally brought to justice.
Steve Isac Matthews was sentenced to a minimum jail term of 16 years and three months at the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday for the 1992 killing of Ms Navida, a 37-year-old Filipino woman.
She was found dead in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, on February 1, 1992, but the case went unsolved until 2011 when advances in DNA technology allowed police to match semen found on Ms Navida’s body.
Matthews’s sentencing was a big win for the many cold cases that weigh heavily on the minds of investigators around Australia.
There are many murders that remain unsolved — and it’s not through lack of effort. Despite thousands of hours of police work, offers of rewards, desperate appeals for information, certain cases haven’t been closed by police.
Charlie Bezzina, a former Detective Senior Sergeant with 38 years policing experience, has a message for the killers who still walk free: “Murder doesn’t go away” and “Watch your back”.
“They’ve got to live with that guilt for the rest of their lives knowing that one day they will get that knock on the door.”

Former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina says advances in DNA technology means cold case killers should watch their backs. Source: News Limited
Some murderers couldn’t handle that pressure and told people what they’d done and even confessed to police when interviewed about other crimes.
“The perfect crime is when you do it alone and tell no one.”
Mr Bezzina told news.com.au it was not difficult at all to stay motivated on cold cases.
“You’ve got a personal attachment to it and you build up a strong relationship with the family of the deceased … You have those strong ties and want to get a result.”
That determination was also driven by basic human nature. “It’s the thrill of the chase and no one likes to be beaten.”
But unlike the CSI-type crime shows on television, real life homicides weren’t solved in a short amount of time.
“Investigators know full well the level of evidence required to reach that bar,” Mr Bezzina said.
To get there everything from using listening devices to following people were used, “and every little step gets you a little closer to a solution”.
In that regard there was a bit of “Sherlock Holmes stuff” and “mind games” going on until finally you could build a case.
“There is a bit of cat and mouse going on.”
When he began policing in the 1980s they relied on fingerprints to help catch criminals — but advances in DNA technology had put previously difficult cases back in the frame to being solved.
Hopefully the jailing of Matthews for the murder of Pia Navida may give some hope to the families of dozens of other homicide victims where police have some evidence but not quite enough to put the killers away.
MORE AUSSIE COLD CASES
KATHERINE SCHWEITZER
Holocaust survivor Katherine Schweitzer, 81, had been strangled with a belt and her body dumped in a wheelie bin in the basement of her apartment building.
Despite having some forensic evidence from items in the bin around Ms Schweitzer’s body, and a person of interest, police have so far not been able to lay charges against anyone.

Katherine Schweitzer’s body was found in a wheelie bin. Source: News Limited
ANNETTE MAREE STEWARD
A mother-of-two, Annette Steward’s naked body was found in the bedroom of her Geelong West, Victoria, home in 1992 only two weeks before her 30th birthday.
The factory worker had been beaten and strangled. Police pursued strong leads and told the Herald Sun they had a prime suspect.
The cold case squad has revisited the case twice but still haven’t been able to make an arrest.
An officer involved in the case believes the killer is still alive but hasn’t been arrested because of insufficient evidence.

Annette Steward, murdered on 18 March 1992. Source: News Limited
VICTORIA CAFASSO
Tasmania’s most infamous unsolved murder, 20-year-old Victoria Cafasso, an Italian tourist, was found stabbed to death on Beaumaris Beach in October 2005.
Hundreds of people were interviewed and her clothing and other items have been tested for DNA and then retested when the technology improved … But nothing new was found.
Investigators even appealed directly to anyone who might know something about the murder to come forward and clear their conscience.

Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso is one of Tasmania’s most infamous cold cases. Source: News Corp Australia
PHYLLIS HARRISON
A security conscious grandmother, Phyllis Harrison, 71, was found dead in her Adelaide home in March 1998 by her daughter.
She had been stabbed several times. The last known sighting of her had been the night before when she was seen walking her dog.
Once again police say they have some forensic evidence — and a suspect — but have not got enough to lock up Mrs Harrison’s killer.

Phyllis Harrison’s stabbed body was discovered in her home by her daughter. Source: News Limited
SHANDEE RENEE BLACKBURN
Shandee Blackburn, 23, was only metres from her Mackay, Queensland home when she was stabbed to death and died on the footpath in February 2013.
She’d been walking from work when she was attacked. Her cream handbag, that she had with her when she left work, wasn’t found with her body.
Police believe the bag, with a small decorative skull on it, was stolen by the killer. They released a picture of a white car, captured on CCTV, they think can help with the investigation.
Earlier this year police offered a $250,000 reward for any information that would lead to the conviction of her killer.
SHANDEE RENEE BLACKBURN
Shandee Blackburn, 23, was only metres from her Mackay, Queensland home when she was stabbed to death and died on the footpath in February 2013.
She’d been walking from work when she was attacked. Her cream handbag, that she had with her when she left work, wasn’t found with her body.
Police believe the bag, with a small decorative skull on it, was stolen by the killer. They released a picture of a white car, captured on CCTV, they think can help with the investigation.
Earlier this year police offered a $250,000 reward for any information that would lead to the conviction of her killer

Mackay murder victim Shandee Blackburn was found dead near her home. Despite an offer of a $250,000 reward her killer hasn’t been found. Source: Supplied
– Andrew Koubaridis

November 30 2013

Lisa Harnum’s mother Joan thanks NSW detectives at Sydney Airport. Picture: John Grainger
Two families were irretrievably broken when Simon Gittany callously threw his girlfriend Lisa Harnum over the balcony of their luxury unit.

Yesterday, less than 24 hours after Justice Lucy McCallum found Gittany guilty of her murder, those families took the first faltering steps in dealing with the aftermath of that heartless act.

Lisa’s mother Joan and brother Jason took the first plane back to Canada.

They arrived at Sydney Airport for the Vancouver flight with the detectives who worked the case and gave each an emotional hug goodbye.

Mrs Harnum wore a White Ribbon – symbol of the campaign to stop violence against women – and has said she wants her daughter’s death to serve as warning to other young women who may fall prey to violent partners.

Lisa Harnum’s mother Joan thanks NSW detectives at Sydney Airport. Picture: John Grainger
Thirty kilometres away, Gittany’s family began arriving at the family home in Merrylands in Sydney’s west, where the atmosphere was sombre and the mood shocked.

Flanked by his tearful daughters, Gittany’s father refused to talk about his son facing the possibility of life imprisonment.

In the heart of Sydney’s CBD, at The Hyde, where Lisa was thrown from the 15th floor, there was a quiet satisfaction that justice had been done.

Barista Alby Izzo was working in the block’s downstairs coffee shop, heard Lisa fall and watch Gittany run out to find her lifeless body.

“His old neighbours have been coming in for coffee this morning and every single one has been saying that justice has been done,” he said.

- Matthew Benns, Ben McClellan and Naomi White

August 20th 2014

Journalist James Foley, of Rochester, New Hampshire, during an interview with the Associated Press on May 27, 2011, after being detained in Libya for over 40 days by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.

- As the U.S. processes the beheading of an American journalist by extremist militants, one key question remains: How did ISIS abduct James Foley, who was widely considered to be in the custody of groups loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?

In the words of Mic politics editor Stefan Becket: “The prevailing assumption was that Foley was being held by pro-Assad forces, or by the regime itself. How did he get from there to ISIS?”

The FBI believes an “organised gang” abducted Foley, who was working for the GlobalPost, shortly after he left an internet café on Nov. 22, 2012.

In May 2013, GlobalPost President Philip Balboni released the following statement on behalf of himself and Foley’s parents: “We have obtained multiple independent reports from very credible confidential sources … that confirm our assessment that Jim is now being held by the Syrian government in a prison … under the control of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence service.

“[I]t is likely Jim is being held with one or more Western journalists,” Balboni added, “including most likely at least one other American.”

The grisly video (and claims that ISIS also holds American Time contributor Steven Sotloff) is being investigated by U.S. intelligence services, and Foley’s family stated that James “gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.”

What is unclear is if previous investigations into Foley’s whereabouts were inaccurate, if ISIS militants somehow captured Foley from some of the regime’s most elite security, or if the Assad regime provided Foley to ISIS.

“Until recently, James Foley was thought to be in hands of pro-Assad forces. If Assad is handing over Westerners to ISIS to be killed, it indicates Assad feels cornered, looking for leverage,” BBC’s Kim Ghattas tweeted, adding that the assessment jibes with what she has been told by sources in Damascus recently.

Ghattas added that Assad providing Foley to ISIS “would confirm Assad tacitly working [with] ISIS and silence any suggestions Assad is the better alternative. “

Assad and ISIS
Bashar al-Assad helped create ISIS by releasing many of its original members from Syria’s notorious Sednaya prison on May 31, 2011. He then let the group metastasize over three years to build a narrative that if the U.S. wants to choose sides in the Syrian war, it has to choose between the regime and ISIS as both squeeze mainstream rebels.

Bassam Barabandi, who served as a diplomat for several decades in the Syrian Foreign Ministry, explained the strategy in the Atlantic Council: “Assad first changed the narrative of the newborn Syrian revolution to one of sectarianism, not reform. He then fostered an extremist presence in Syria alongside the activists. Further, he facilitated the influx of foreign extremist fighters to threaten stability in the region,” he explained.

Syrian activists find little space between Bashar Assad and ISIS.

“The Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) emerged as one of those facts created to ensure Assad’s survival as he and his Iranian backers seek to frame this conflict as a regional sectarian issue, with a classical choice between military powers and Sunni extremists.”

And as the U.S. drops bombs on ISIS in Iraq to curb an offensive in the north of the country, Assad is bombing the de facto ISIS capital of Raqqa, Syria, to show America that he can be a valuable counterterrorism partner.

“Now that ISIS has fully matured, the Assad regime and Iran offer themselves as partners to the United States,” Barabandi wrote. “For the first time, Assad is striking ISIS in Raqqa and locations inside Iraq, in a perverse harvest of the terrorist seeds he planted to quash the civilian-led reform movement.”

Given such a cynical plan, it is well within Assad’s means and motives to give Western captors to the extremists that he helped make strong.

“This is now the key question: Was Foley taken by the Assad regime?” Middle East analyst Kyle Orton writes. ” If he was, then those who believe that Bashar al-Assad is a bulwark against [extremist jihadists] have yet another question to answer about their thesis.” – Michael B. Kelley (Business Insider)

July 28 2014

- Queensland Police have announced a $250,000 reward over the disappearance and suspected murder of a Brisbane man.

Wooloowin man Gerhard Bruno Wagner, 61, went missing in 1999 and police now believe he was murdered.

Detective Superintendent Steve Holahan said the Police Minister had approved the reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

He said Wagner was building his dream yacht and was last seen on January 7, 1999, departing his friend’s boat workshop at Hemmant on his motorcycle.

“Police inquiries conducted since the time Gerhard was reported missing through to now have resulted in a strong belief that Gerhard has been murdered,” he said.

Wagner’s younger brother Paul broke down as he spoke to the media, pleading for public assistance.

“We need to do this so we can give him a decent burial and start to heal from this terrible tragedy,” he said.

“Gerhard was a much-loved member of the family and we miss him. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of him.

“Somebody must know something, even if it’s something small, they can be pieced together and we might be lucky and find out what happened to him.”

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers.

- ABC

It just occurred to me, that 9 months before I was born, I went to a party with my dad, and came home with my mum.

August 4 2014

- One of two men arrested over an alleged plot to murder two South Australian judges is in hospital and will face a bedside court hearing.

The 63-year-old man is accused of offering to pay a 44-year-old man to kill the judges, with both men also alleged to have plotted to destroy the judges’ homes and that of a senior police officer.

The men, from Murray Bridge, were arrested yesterday after what major crime detectives described as a two-month-long operation that was “complex, highly confidential and carried a high degree of risk”.

They have been charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit arson on a home thereby endangering life.

While the younger of the two appeared in the Murray Bridge Magistrates Court today, police said the 63-year-was currently receiving treatment in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and would be subject to a private bedside court hearing.

Detective Inspector Greg Hutchins, of major crimes, said police had been concerned the attacks could be carried out this week.

“As the pair is now before the courts on very serious charges we are limited in what can be said about the process and nature of the investigation,” he said in a statement.

“However, I can say that at all times the safety of those being targeted, and that of their families, was our very highest priority.”

Investigators are trying to identify whether others may have helped with the alleged plot.

“There’s no doubt that this operation thwarted a plan that could have easily ended in multiple deaths and significant loss of property,” Det Insp Hutchins said.

Local ABC radio reported that the court has granted an interim suppression order to prevent publication of information regarding the identity of the alleged victims.

August 15 2014

- Police have charged Gold Coast man Gable Tostee with murder following investigations into a Surfers Paradise highrise death plunge last week.

Police said Tostee, 28, was processed at Surfers Paradise police station after being arrested at his parents’ home at Carrara this morning by homicide detectives.

Tostee, whose lawyer has indicated he will defend the charge and plead not guilty, has since been taken to the Southport watch house and was walked in wearing handcuffs.

Tostee has maintained his silence and refused to answer any questions.

Gold Coast acting chief superintendent Des Lacy confirmed Tostee had been charged with murder.

Tostee has retained top criminal law firm Potts Lawyers who are with him at the watch house.

The arrest comes a day after fatal plunge victim Warriena ‘Rrie’ Wright’s sister made a tearful plea for answers about what led to her death.

Warriena fell to her death from Tostee’s 14th floor balcony in the Avalon Apartments building in Surfers Paradise last Friday about 2.20am.

Tostee and Miss Wright met via the dating app Tinder,

Days after her death, Tostee was still looking for love on Tinder with his profile showing he was still active on the site.

— Mackenzie Ravn