- The last thing David Cassai said to his Aunt Anita was not goodbye. In anticipation of their family’s next gathering this month, he said: “I’ll bring the food, you do the cooking.”

They were instead reunited, along with 15 other relatives, on Tuesday morning beside his bed at The Alfred Hospital, having been told that the doctors could do nothing to save his life.

Late Tuesday two men were arrested in connection with Mr Cassai’s death.

Homicide Squad detectives arrested a 20-year-old Kilsyth man and a 22-year-old Yarra Junction man, who were helping them with their inquiries. They were released without charge.

David Cassai, 22, from Templestowe, was staying with friends at his parents’ holiday house on the Mornington Peninsula when they were confronted by another group outside a pizza shop in Rye about 1 am on Monday, police said.

He fell and struck his head on a concrete footpath. He died from his injuries about 4 pm that day.

Anita, her husband Sandro Cassai and their children, drove all night from Adelaide, cutting short a family holiday, to see their nephew one last time.

Talking to Fairfax Media, they finished each other’s sentences in an attempt to describe him, using words such as “easy-going”, “calm”, “down to earth”, “respected” and “great kid”.

Ms Cassai chimed in: “Loved good food. He used to love going to Nonna’s house for all the home-made ravioli and lasagne.”

David had recently begun working as a landscaper having finished his apprenticeship.

He was also a fervent Collingwood supporter and played soccer.

David’s parents were shattered by their son’s death, with his father unable to speak since telling his family the news.

His two sisters, Luisa and Elisa, posted tributes on Facebook on Tuesday. Luisa described him as her superstar and idol. “Our family is so lucky to have such amazing friends’, family and strangers’ support,” she wrote.

Elisa Cassai described her brother as a kind and caring joker who brought a smile to everyone’s faces.

Detective Inspector John Potter said CCTV footage captured the brawl and clearly showed the group of five men as the aggressors.

He said police were confident they would be able to identify those responsible for the violence and urged them to turn themselves in.

Ms Cassai said she wanted to know what their motivations had been. “I would like to know why. Why do these people do it and what satisfaction do they get out of it?” – Jane Lee

- A boy was freed on bail seven times before he allegedly used a box-cutter to inflict horrific injuries on a young father and his pregnant wife in their Melbourne home on Christmas Eve.

The 13-year-old has been charged after the man was slashed from the back of his head to his nose in front of his toddler son.

His pregnant wife was also allegedly kicked in the attack and suffered a severe head wound from the box-cutter, with both parents expected to be scarred for life.

The boy, who is alleged to have attacked the western suburbs couple, had been granted bail seven times despite facing more than 60 outstanding charges including arson, armed robbery, robbery and aggravated burglary.

Police Association secretary Senior Sergeant Greg Davies said the law governing bail for young offenders needed to be changed.

Government spokeswoman Kate Walshe said the Government was considering a range of options to strengthen bail laws and will consult with Victoria Police on any specific problems police are encountering.

The victims were at their western suburbs home on Christmas Eve when the father noticed the boy lurking in the kitchen.

The pair grappled moments later and the 13-year-old allegedly used the box-cutter to slash the male from the back of his head to his nose.

The father lost a litre of blood in the attack, which he feared would kill him.

His seven-month pregnant wife tried to intervene but also reportedly suffered a severe head wound from the box-cutter.

She was allegedly kicked in the stomach after being knocked to the floor during the violence.

The husband then used a kitchen knife to stab the intruder, who ran from the property.

He was arrested moments later by police who had been called to the area after a separate confrontation in which the boy allegedly pulled a knife on a nearby resident.

The alleged offender – who the Herald Sun cannot name because of his age – remains in hospital recovering from the knife wounds.

Detectives from Maribyrnong CIU charged the boy with aggravated burglary, intentionally causing serious injury and assault.

He was remanded in custody to appear at a Children’s Court this month.

Senior Sergeant Davies said that under existing laws a person aged under 14 is presumed not to know the difference between right or wrong.

- The senseless death of David Cassai will save the lives of others through the donation of his organs.

The 22-year-old died in hospital on New Year’s Eve, hours after he was allegedly attacked by a gang of men on the Mornington Peninsula.

Police last night arrested two men over the incident. Homicide detectives were last night interviewing a Kilsyth man, 20, and a Yarra Junction man, 22, in relation to the tragic death.

The gift of his organs was a typical display of David’s caring nature, his shattered uncle Sandro Cassai told the Herald Sun yesterday.

David was killed in a brutal, allegedly unprovoked attack on Rye’s shopping strip in the early hours of Monday.

It is claimed five men ambushed the landscape gardener and his mates, punching him in the face and knocking him out.

David fell to the brick footpath and hit his head.

He was taken to The Alfred Hospital, but could not be revived.

The popular soccer player had been on a break at his family’s Rye holiday home.

Mr Cassai said his nephew’s death had devastated his close family and his many friends.

He said his hard-working and well-behaved nephew had never been in trouble.

Mr Cassai said he could not understand why the men allegedly attacked David and his friends – Wayne Flower

- A top police officer has shot down State Government claims that a taskforce has been mobilised to target repeat arsonists.

Crime Chief Detective Superintendent Brett Guerin disputed statements made by Deputy Premier Peter Ryan at the launch of a major crackdown on arsonists in November.

Two months ago, the Baillieu Government unveiled the Bushfire, Arson and Explosives Specialist Group, which Mr Ryan described as a taskforce that would train and deploy 150 specialist detectives to target arsonists in high-risk areas.

The move went part of the way towards meeting a 2009 vow from then-Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu to establish an arson prevention taskforce to help stop bushfires before they start and to increase monitoring of known arsonists who pose a risk of causing bushfires.

But Superintendent Guerin, who is in charge of the group, told the Herald Sun it is not a taskforce and we do not deploy them on high-risk days. He also revealed police in high-risk areas may have no idea if a convicted arsonist is living locally.

He said he could not explain why Mr Ryan had described the group as a taskforce.

Les White, spokesman for Mr Ryan, said last night: “Whether you call it a squad, a taskforce, a formalised network or a group, the fact is that 150 trained police have been assembled to deal with the ongoing threat of arson.”

Superintendent Guerin said police had spoken to the Government prior to the launch about the group.

“We briefed his people a week before the launch, I can’t comment on how his staff briefed him. It is not a taskforce working in the one office. They do not strike when something happens,” he said.

In opposition, the Coalition promised tough monitoring on arsonists including extensive supervision orders with restrictions imposed on the activities, residence and movements of those considered a high risk of re-offending. But since coming to office it has failed to act on these promises.

Mr Ryan’s spokesman Mr White said: “High-risk arsonists’ details are stored on the LEAP database, and as Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana has said, police will be actively targeting those particular high-risk individuals throughout the summer season.” – Alex White & James Campbell

- A man has been charged over his involvement in a fight in which David Cassai was killed.

Homicide Squad detectives charged a 24-year-old Kilsyth man with intentionally causing serious injury and affray.

The man was bailed by police to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on February 20th.

Mr Cassai, 22, of Templestowe, died in hospital on New Year’s Eve hours after he was allegedly attacked on the Mornington Peninsula.

One of his mates, aged 23, from Warranwood, suffered a broken jaw.

Homicide detectives interviewed a Kilsyth man, 20, and a Yarra Junction man, 22, on Tuesday night before releasing them pending further investigation.

An 18-year-old Milgrove man remained in custody last night and was also expected to be charged.

Tributes flowed on Facebook yesterday for Mr Cassai, whose organs were donated for transplant.

His sister Luisa Cassai wrote: “You are my hero. My love for you is eternal you have touched everyone’s life not only me but everyone – even people that didn’t know you beb. The lucky recipient of your heart and other organs they will have with them your love for life, a part of your personality and they will feel a sudden urge to ‘get shit done’ something you always emphasised always because that’s what we all need to do with our lives – live life to the upmost and do what you love. That’s what you did David in everything. RIP.” – Wayne Flower

- A burglar wearing a baseball cap with mosquito netting has twice stolen from stores in a Langwarrin shopping centre.

The man struck at the Gateway Centre on South Gateway on Wednesday, December 5th and again on Friday, December 21st.

In the first incident the man stole a laptop computer after throwing a rock through the window of the shop at 4:20 am.

In the second incident the burglar broke into two other businesses at about 3:45 am by forcing an external door.

He stole computer equipment and a safe.

Police describe the man as being of solid build, with a crew cut and shaved hair on the back and sides.

In the second burglary he was wearing a baseball cap with mosquito netting covering his face and body.

Frankston Crime Investigation Unit detectives have released three CCTV images of the man and are appealing for public assistance – Stephen Cauchi

- “That’s what we’re here for.”

These were the taunting words uttered by David Cassai’s teenage attacker as the young Templestowe man lay unconscious on a Rye footpath, police told a bail hearing yesterday.

Dylan John Closter, 18, laughed and joked after striking Mr Cassai, 22, in an unprovoked attack in the early hours of New Year’s Eve, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told.

The Millgrove teenager, who is charged with manslaughter, appeared dishevelled and avoided eye contact with more than a dozen young people in the courtroom.

He is the second man to be charged over the attack.

A 24-year-old Kilsyth man charged with intentionally causing injury and affray has been bailed to face court on February 20th.

The court heard that around 12:50 am, Mr Closter hip-and-shouldered Mr Cassai as he walked along Point Nepean Road with seven other people, before abusing him, enticing him to fight.

Mr Cassai kept walking.

It is alleged Mr Closter then struck Mr Cassai at least three times. Mr Cassai fell to the footpath and lost consciousness; he died in hospital hours later.

The court heard a long-term friend of Mr Closter was due to be interviewed by police at 9 am today.

Prosecutor James Henderson opposed bail, saying he feared Mr Closter would tell his friend of details of CCTV footage he was privy to, and the two could put their heads together.

Magistrate Kay Robertson said the risk of this occurring was the sole reason she was denying bail.

Homicide Squad Detective Senior Constable Carla McIntyre has earlier said Mr Cassai’s family also strongly opposed bail being granted because of the seriousness of the offence and because they’ve lost their son”.

Defence lawyer Bernie Balmer said most victims’ families would oppose bail.

But he said a young man with no criminal history should not face a lengthy wait in jail while the case was prepared.

Mr Closter’s father, Stephen Closter, told the court he was shocked.

He had never known his son, a third-year apprentice plumber, to be involved in anti-social behaviour.

Dylan Closter is also charged with one count of affray and two counts of intentionally causing serious injury to two other men, Andrew John and Vincent Tran.

Ms Robertson said a fresh application for bail could be made before a committal mention hearing on April 26th – Emily Portelli

- Despite the nickname reporters gave him, Russell “Mad Dog” Cox was cool and calm for a dangerous armed robber – and not without humour.

But Australia’s once most-wanted man might not see the funny side of having his name published in newspaper “In Memoriam” notices yesterday.

The apparently harmless notice in the Herald Sun names Cox and his wife, Helen Deane, then states: “You will both be remembered. We will definitely meet again.”

It is signed Mick, though readers should not assume this means it was placed by colourful Carlton crane hire identity Mick Gatto.

But they can imply it is an implied threat. There are two clues.

One is that Deane and Cox are alive, in Queensland. The other is the subject of the notice placed directly above the one for Cox and Deane.

That notice is in memory of Ian Revell Carroll, who died 30 years ago yesterday. It sends best wishes to Raelene and family. And it is also signed Mick.

Carroll – a painter and docker, armed robber and one-time boxer – did not die of illness or old age. Cox shot him dead in the backyard of a rented holiday house at Mt Martha, where the fugitive and the loyal Deane had been hiding for months.

In a classic case of thieves falling out, the two criminal allies had a confrontation that ranks with the fatal shootout between Squizzy Taylor and Snowy Cutmore in the 1920s.

The difference was that Cox – true to his deserved underworld nickname “The Fox” – escaped despite a serious bullet wound.

He was not seen again, except by a few trusted contacts, until detectives riddled his getaway car with bullets at Doncaster Shoppingtown in 1988 as he cased the busy shopping centre for a robbery.

Famously, the police did not know until later they had caught the nation’s most wanted man, as Cox refused to identify himself.

It was the end of the road for the fugitive who had been on the run for 11 years after breaking out of the escape proof high security division of Sydney’s Long Bay Jail in 1977.

The Queenslander, who was born Melville Peter Schnitzerling, had become Australia’s Dillinger, with a dash of Bonnie and Clyde.

With the dedicated Deane at his side, he dodged the law in three states with brilliant false identities and cash from a string of unsolved robberies.

It is believed the couple lived in England for some time before quietly settling in Victoria and making contact with Carroll and other prosperous painters and dockers.

Cox and Deane – a “cleanskin” nurse with no previous criminal history –  moved often and lived quietly.

They mostly rented houses in quiet streets near beaches, where the super-fit Cox would jog each morning before dawn – so early that he would not be caught in bed if the police pulled a dawn raid.

Cox’s sense of humour was revealed in his favourite alias. He sometimes called himself “Mr Walker”, a tribute to the alias of his comic-book hero, The Phantom, the ghost who walks.

Even Cox’s dog “Devil”, named after The Phantom’s dog, had an alias, according to underworld lore.

Cox and Deane went into smoke after the Mt Martha shooting.

Police found a cache of guns and armed robbery kits that included first-aid equipment, disguises and detailed plans of likely targets.

They did not find a barrel of cash buried deep under the floor of the shed where Carroll’s body was found.

The money vanished later when someone came back for it.

It was not until Cox’s capture five years later that police found how badly he had been wounded in the shootout – and how audaciously Deane and he had tricked a NSW country doctor into treating him.

They told the doctor Cox had been accidentally shot in Papua New Guinea and had flown a private aircraft back to Australia to seek better medical help.

The couple lived anonymously on Bribie Island, then used a lawyer to buy a small farm on the Darling Downs, where their neighbours never suspected anything until they vanished just before detectives came knocking.

When Cox was released from prison in 2004 after serving 16 years, it seemed he’d finally turned his back on crime.

But the crime world had not quite turned its back on him.

After Cox sped from Grafton Prison to be reunited with the ever-loyal Deane and retreat into the obscurity of a labouring job, the underworld rumbled with threats that went back even further than Carroll’s death.

All the way back to 1982, in fact, which was when two masked men shot dead famous Melbourne standover man Brian Kane in the Quarry Hotel in Brunswick.

Cox was questioned in 2010 over Kane’s murder, reputedly carried out with a ruthless hitman called Rodney “The Duke” Earle, a prolific killer suspected of killing Terence and Christine Hodson in Kew in 2004.

It had taken police a long time to question Cox over a death the Melbourne underworld has always accused him of.

Like the Carroll murder charge, it didn’t stick, but the dead men’s friends are not convinced.

A former Victorian crime figure told a reporter the day Cox was released: “It may have happened a long time ago….but memories are long in Victoria and they will kill him.”

Proof of long memories came yesterday.

The second part of the prediction might be a little harder to deliver.

At 65, Cox the Fox is getting old.

But so are his enemies – Andrew Rule

- An Australian holiday-maker stabbed at a New Zealand beach resort on New Year’s Day has died.

Robert Murray Wilkinson, a 64-year-old expat from Queensland, died in Waikato Hospital yesterday.

Police said Mr Wilkinson and his wife told a man to leave after hearing a disturbance outside their caravan about 1 am on Tuesday. They were staying in a caravan in front of a friend’s house.

Eastern Waikato Area Commander Inspector Dana McDonald earlier asked hundreds of new year revellers in the area who may have taken pictures to help investigators.

A post-mortem examination will be conducted in Auckland on Friday – Herald Sun

- British TV presenter Jim Davidson is reportedly the latest celebrity to be arrested by police investigating historic sexual abuse allegations.

Metropolitan Police said officers from Operation Yewtree, set up last year after claims of abuse against late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, had detained two men in their 50s on suspicion of sexual offences.

One, 53, was arrested in Hampshire, southern England, and the other, 59, was arrested in West London, police said.

Scotland Yard stressed the arrests were unconnected to the specific allegations against Savile. Davidson, 59, was a stand-up comedian in the 1970s before hosting BBC’s prime-time snooker-based game show, Big Break, during the ’90s.

The presenter, once named Britain’s funniest man, has spoken about alcoholism and admitted attacks on his ex-wife.

He was arrested at Heathrow Airport shortly after flying in – AFP

- A book containing a list of gun owners and dealers and their addresses has been seized by police.

The journal, discovered in Geelong as part of an ongoing investigation, has fuelled fears criminals are stealing firearms to order by targeting locations where they know they are stored.

Police believe organised groups are behind a spike of gun thefts in the region.

Concerns over the book have led to firearms dealers increasing security, with fears that Tuesday’s armed raid at the home of a Corio gun dealer might be linked to the list.

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Thomson, of Geelong Police, confirmed police had the list, with the addresses of mainly licensed gun dealers.

Detective Sergeant David Reither said names of local registered gun owners were also in the book.

It is unclear how the list was compiled, whether it was based on gun club records or a central database.

The daughter of the Corio dealer attacked by armed robbers in the early hours of Tuesday morning, said she had heard of the list.

“I’m a member of the Winchelsea Gun Club and a family friend was on the list and got robbed about four or five months ago.

“I think its’ possible we were on it,” she said.

“My poor dad is in a bit of shock – he’s about 200kg and they picked him up like a rag doll.”

The two male robbers and their getaway driver involved in the incident are yet to be apprehended.

A Geelong Rifle Club member said rumours of a list had been rife in gun circles since the middle of last year.

Panic had set in after hearing news of an armed robbery of two long-arm rifles in Grovedale in August last year, he said.

But he added: “There is nothing you can do but keep your guns locked up as well as possible.” – Courtney Crane

- Police have formally charged five men with murder, kidnapping and rape over the deadly rape of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi that appalled the nation.

Police filed the charges and listed their evidence in a reportedly 1000-page document submitted to a district court in the south of the capital yesterday, starting the process of bringing the men to trial.

The five suspects, aged between 19 and 35 and who could face the death penalty if convicted, were not in the court.

The victim, a medical student from north India, was repeatedly raped on a moving bus on December 16th as she returned from the movies with her boyfriend.

A statement from the Delhi victim, who died at the weekend from her injuries, and an account from her boyfriend, who was badly beaten during the attack, will form crucial evidence against the five men.

A sixth suspect, who is believed to be a minor aged 17, was not charged in the court.

Detectives are awaiting the results of a bone test to verify his age and determine whether he can be tried in an adult court.

The next hearing will take place today, with the trial fast-tracked to avoid the delays of India’s sluggish justice system.

Altamis Kabir, the country’s chief justice, has cautioned against letting public anger overwhelm legal process.

Hundreds of protesters, including lawyers, were outside the court demanding greater protection for women and improvements in the justice system.

Just 26% of the 24,206 cases of rape reported in 2011 in India resulted in a conviction, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

The government has set up three separate commissions to look into the gang rape and suggest changes in the law, with one minister proposing that new anti-rape legislation be named after the unidentified victim – AFP

- A woman has died of stab wounds at a house in north-west Victoria.

Police say it’s believed the 58-year-old was involved in a dispute with a man at a house in Mildura just before 8:30 pm on Thursday and received stab wounds to her upper body.

Paramedics attended and attempted to revive the woman but she died at the scene.

A Mildura man has been arrested as Homicide Squad detectives continue their investigation.

Homicide Squad detectives charged a 55-year-old man with murder on Friday.

He was expected to appear in Bendigo Magistrates Court later on Friday via video-link from Mildura – The Age

- An autistic teenager was allegedly bludgeoned to death after going to the aid of two teenage girls who had called on his stepfather for help.

Timmy O’Brien, 14, was allegedly struck in the head with a blunt weapon, believed to be a baseball bat or axe, early yesterday outside a Carlyle Street property in Scarsdale, south-west of Ballarat.

Last night police were interviewing two men and a woman, all believed to be from Ballarat, over the sickening death.

Homicide Squad detective Acting Senior Sergeant Sol Soloman said the tragedy unfolded just before 5 am.

Police have been told two females, 19 and 17, were at the house with a 16-year-old boy when one of the girls received a threatening phone call.

The girls went to the nearby home of Timmy’s 45-year-old stepfather to ask for help.

When the four arrived back at the address, three people were allegedly waiting for them.

“A confrontation immediately occurred, the deceased father was assaulted and also during the incident the young boy was attacked by up to at least two of the offenders…he was struck to the head and sustained a fatal head injury and died at the scene,” Senior Sergeant Soloman said.

He said one of the girls ran terrified from the house, and called police from a nearby paddock before the men fled in a vehicle.

Timmy’s stepfather, who was treated for serious facial injuries, said yesterday he was heartbroken.

It is believed a woman in her late teens had only recently started renting the heritage property where the incident happened.

Residents said she seemed to be living there with a baby.

The brutal death of the boy has shocked police and residents of Scarsdale, with a population of just 800.

General store owner Belinda Lee said residents were in disbelief – Wayne Flower, Fiona Hudson & Erin Marie

- A Kiwi drug runner dubbed the Baby Whisperer, jailed after being caught up in Melbourne’s brutal underworld war, has beaten a deportation order and will be allowed to remain in Australia.

The former nightclub bouncer – who can’t be named for legal reasons – was jailed in 2006 after being caught with precursor chemicals he was left holding after his drug overlords were murdered in 2003 during the gangland war.

The Baby Whisperer was used a drug courier by murdered men who were part of the extended networks of  Tony Mokbel and Carl Williams.

The man- who already had convictions for assault and drug offences involving steroids – admitted to being a drug courier and was paid up to $10,000 to leave his car unlocked so drugs could be placed in his boot and then delivered to drug laboratories.

Purana detectives caught the man with millions of dollars worth of precursor chemicals, as well as guns and books.

They also found a note written by him that said he was doing very big and dangerous things that involved very big risks and very big money and we have all risked very long jail time and death.

The man claimed he did not know the identities of some of the people he worked for and declined to help police after his arrest.

He was dubbed the Baby Whisperer by family members because of his ability to soothe infants and first came to Australia as a 17-year-old in 1980 and has lived here since 1992.

He was recently released from Marngoneet Prison and authorities wanted to boot him out of the country – Padraic Murphy

- The 14-year-old boy had gone with his stepfather to reassure two girls that they were safe in their house in Scarsdale, a small town – barely a town – outside Ballarat in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Within half an hour Timothy O’Brien was lying on the floor of the Carlyle Street house dying, surrounded by police and ambulance officers.

Police said a fight had broken out at the house and the boy had received a blow to the head from a blunt instrument in an attack that also left his stepfather with severe facial injuries.

Details are sketchy about the circumstances, but police say two girls, aged 17 and 19, and another boy aged 16, were at the house when one of the girls received a threatening, whispering phone call and the two girls went to raise the boy and the man at their nearby house.

The 45-year-old man and his stepson went with the girls to the house, where, at 4:30 am on Saturday morning they were confronted by two men, at least one armed, and a woman, believed to be from Ballarat.

The boy and his stepfather were then assaulted with what police say was a blunt , heavy instrument.

One of the girls ran from the house and called police from an adjoining paddock. About 5 am police and ambulance officers arrived.

The men and the woman had already left the house, but by early Saturday afternoon they had been apprehended by police.

Late last night a 35-year-old Ballarat man, Darren Wilson, was charged with murder and remanded in custody to appear at the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday. His two companions were being held in custody.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Sol Soloman says it was a traumatic ordeal for those who survived the attack. he said the dead  boy’s stepfather had a long, long road of heartache ahead of him.

It is believed the 19-year-old girl had only moved into the Carlyle Street house a couple of weeks ago. She had been spotted in town with a boy, and had begun to meet the locals.

The two would buy takeaway alcohol from the Scarsdale Hotel and essentials from the general store, two of the few businesses left in town.

Before big-city crime intruded on the town many people moved to for a tranquil life, Scarsdale already wasn’t what it used to be.

During the gold rush, the town claimed to have 17 pubs, now it has one. Up until the 1970s it had its own train station and was once bigger than neighbouring Smythesdale. Now it has a general store, a bric-a-brac store and photography business. It is struggling to maintain its town status.

Scarsdale General Store sole trader Belinda Lee, who also runs the post office, says she knows the town has 700 to 800 residents because she delivers their mail, but they are far flung and that could be the town’s undoing.

She did not name the girl who leased the Carlyle Street house but said she had only lived about a fortnight in Scarsdale. She came to the store to pick up essentials and her post. Locals described her as skinny and young.

Carlyle Street, on a hill, has just three houses and abuts a paddock and children’s playground complete with a disused barbecue. It feels like the edge of town but Woady Yaloak Primary School is just down the road.

Ms Lee moved back to Scarsdale from Altona for a peaceful life having spent part of her childhood in the town – Henrietta Cook

- A national manhunt is under way after a man had a glass ground into his face at a Melbourne restaurant.

Detectives have described the horrific attack as absolutely brutal and said the victim was lucky to be alive after the incident in Lygon Street, Carlton.

A group of men were sitting together at a table outside the unnamed venue when a dispute erupted.

One man, in a red Elwood hooded top and beige shorts, grappled with the victim before picking up a heavy milkshake-type glass and smashing it into his face.

Detectives say the victim is no co-operating with police, however a national search has been launched in a bid to identify the offender and lay charges.

“The incident happened at 1:30 am on May 2nd last year but I was convinced we would be able to identify the attacker due to the clear pictures of his face,” Detective Senior Constable Brooke Manly, from Melbourne North Criminal Investigation Unit, said.

“We have run their images throughout Victoria Police – including the specialist outlaw bikie Taskforce Echo – without success.

“I am surprised they have committed this level of shocking violence and are not known to police. However someone will know who they are and and it is possible they are from interstate.”

Police have released the images of four men who they believe will be able to assist them in their inquiries.

CCTV footage shows the pair falling to the floor as the man pushes the glass into the victim’s face.

His attacker then picks up a chair but does no throw it when his victim stays on the floor.

The group are last seen heading towards Grattan Street as the victim staggers off with his face dripping with blood.

The man who struck the victim with the glass is described as Middle Eastern in appearance, aged in his late 20s, medium build and dark hair – Jon Kaila

- Car thieves and people caught stealing from cars are being put on strict curfews under a zero-tolerance initiative by Geelong police.

The Geelong Theft from Motor Vehicles Unit was set up three weeks ago in response to a rapid rise in the number of thefts from cars, which has more than doubled across the region in the past three months.

Theft of cars is also on the rise across Victoria.

Senior Constable Janie Penny said police had been forced to take a hardline approach.

Bail conditions for all offenders, whether repeat or first-timers, must stipulate a strictly enforced curfew – most commonly 9 pm to 9 am – during which they cannot leave their address.

Anyone caught breaking a curfew will immediately go before a magistrate for breach of bail.

The Herald Sun revealed in November that detectives investigating gangland activity had been called into the battle against spiralling car theft across Victoria.

The separate anti-car theft taskforce was begun in the north-west policing region – Courtney Crane

- Police are appealing for public help to identify a man who allegedly used a torch and mirror concealed under a briefcase to view up a woman’s skirt on a busy commuter train.

The victim boarded a city-bound train Lilydale line train at Richmond Station when a man sat opposite her.

He placed his briefcase on his lap and officers allege he pretended to look at a newspaper crossword.

“While the train was in transit and entered the city loop, the woman noticed a light shining from the man’s crotch and realised he had a torch and mirror between his legs so he could look up her skirt,” Detective Sergeant Mick Ashby said.

“She has challenged the man and moved to the doors as the train left Parliament Station and got off at the next stop at Melbourne Central where she has lost sight of the man,” Sergeant Ashby said.

Police have released images of a man who they believe may be able to assist them in their inquiries and hope someone will recognise his distinctive features and call Crime Stoppers.

The man is described as Caucasian in appearance and aged 50-60, with dark hair and a bushy beard that is greying.

He was wearing a dark broad-rimmed hat, dark-coloured suit jacket with matching pants and a light, blue-coloured button-up shirt.

It is believed the man boarded the City Loop train at Richmond Station on Monday, November 26th, after commuting inbound on the Sandringham line – Jon Kaila

- Four people, including an armed suspect, have died during an hours-long police stand-off at a Colarado townhouse, authorities say.

The shootings occurred on Saturday about 6.4 km south-east of the Aurora Mall, where 12 people were killed and dozens wounded by a gunman at a midnight showing of the Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises”, on July 20th.

The man charged in that shooting, James Holmes, goes to court today for a preliminary hearing.

An Aurora police department special weapons team responded after shot were heard at the townhouse at 3 am local time, said Aurora police Sergeant Cassidee Carlson.

Investigators said three people, all adults, appeared to have been killed before officers arrived.

The suspect shot at police at 8:15 am and was killed during a shoot-out when officers stormed the home about 45 minutes later, Sergeant Carlson said.

It wasn’t known if officers shot the suspect or if he shot himself.

Sergeant Carlson said a fifth person escaped unharmed before officers arrived and reported seeing three people inside the home who appeared lifeless.

The sergeant declined to elaborate about the woman’s escape.

A motive for the killing was unknown.

Police declined to release the name of the suspect or the victims.

Officers evacuated neighbours during the stand-off and used a bullhorn to communicate with the gunman, urging him to surrender – AP