An alarm had been blaring for nearly half a minute but Vickie Wade didn’t hear it.
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Teenage girl fighting for life after stabbing in Brisbane
A teenage girl is fighting for life after she was allegedly stabbed during an altercation in Brisbane this afternoon.
Emergency services were called to Alfred Street in Fortitude Valley about 1:45pm after receiving reports a group of teenage girls had been involved in an altercation.
One of the teenagers suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital.
Police believe the girls were known to each other.
The three other girls involved are yet to be located and police are continuing to investigate.
Judge accused of jealous rage after tracking woman via earphones
A Supreme Court judge is alleged to have gifted a woman a phone, smartwatch and earphones which he then used to monitor her whereabouts as he spiralled into a jealous rage.
Tasmanian Justice Gregory Geason, 62, has pleaded not guilty to one count of emotional abuse or intimidation and one count of common assault.
He is accused of assaulting the woman on October 31 by grabbing her arms and squeezing and shaking her, striking her with his hand and emotionally abusing and intimidating her between April and November, including by tracking her movements.
Crown prosecutor Neill Hutton told Hobart Magistrates Court that Geason used the devices he gifted her to constantly track her through her daily life.
In one instance, he "happened to come across" a family member of the woman in Canberra after allegedly tracking the earphones he had given her.
"The inference here is the accused was using headphones to find the victim," Hutton told the court on Monday.
After the woman went out for drinks with Geason's ex-wife, he was alleged to have constantly rung her, telling her his ex-wife was trying to turn her against him.
Geason allegedly became physical on October 31 when he discovered a text message from the complainant's friend on her phone and became enraged after attempting to look through her messages.
He allegedly grabbed her on her upper arms firmly and shook her, hit her hard in the chest, and pushed her where she hit her head, Hutton said.
After finding bruises on her body, the accused judge told the woman she "bruised too easily" and that he "had too much to drink".
READ MORE: 'Rotten culture': Premier to refer CFMEU's Victorian branch to anti-corruption watchdog
Geason subjected the woman to constant verbal abuse, screaming at her, calling her derogatory terms and disparaging her CV whenever he got angry, it was alleged.
The woman said Geason could be "charming and nice and then suddenly flip".
Geason's barrister Tom Percy KC argued there was no coercion or anything sinister in any of the circumstances, saying there was never any physical tracking device on the phone.
"Any suggestion that he tried to invade her privacy or exert some measure of control is simply misconceived," Percy said.
He described the October 31 confrontation "unfortunate" as both people had been drinking.
The accused will argue the complainant said she was someone who "bruised easily" and had been prescribed blood thinning drugs, and suffered medical conditions that may have contributed to the marks.
READ MORE: Murder charge after body found in stairwell of Melbourne apartment
Geason has been on leave from his court justice role since November and has given a written commitment to not seek or attempt to exercise the powers of a Supreme Court judge while criminal proceedings are ongoing.
He was admitted to practice in 1987 and worked as a crown prosecutor before being appointed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 2017.
The hearing, before Victorian Deputy Chief Magistrate Susan Wakeling, is slated to run for five days.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
Murder accused had previously wanted to ‘protect’ girl from church group, court hears
The father of a girl allegedly killed by a religious group withholding her diabetes medication had previously wanted to "protect her" from the congregation's extreme beliefs, a judge has heard.
Eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs died at the family home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on January 7, 2022, after her parents and 12 others allegedly withheld her diabetes insulin medication for six days.
Brendan Luke Stevens, the 62-year-old leader of the Christian group calling itself The Saints, is on trial for murder along with the girl's father, Jason Richard Struhs, 52, in the Brisbane Supreme Court.
READ MORE: Police arrest allegedly armed man at Queensland bank
Elizabeth's sister, Jayde Struhs, gave evidence today in the judge-only trial's second week and told Justice Martin Burns The Saints' core belief was to reject all man-made medical treatment.
"That was the big one. God created us, He could heal us. You must be all-natural and pray to God," she said.
She said she never went to a doctor or dentist as a child but was vaccinated at her father's insistence.
Elizabeth's mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, and the other 11 members of the congregation are charged with manslaughter.
Jayde, 26, said she left the group and moved out of home at age 16 after Kerrie Struhs and Stevens refused to accept she was homosexual.
She said her father contacted her in 2019 to say he was in a helicopter about to be taken to a hospital in Brisbane as Elizabeth was in a coma.
READ MORE: Partner arrested, dam being searched after woman stabbed to death in Ipswich
Under questioning from crown prosecutor Caroline Marco, Struhs said she then learned Elizabeth had type-1 diabetes and her father intended to push back against Kerrie Struhs, who had brought the family into The Saints.
"Dad wasn't really a religious man. He didn't join in. He was not a fan of it," Struhs said.
She added her father was willing to give Elizabeth the constant glucose monitoring and multiple daily insulin shots she needed.
"He knew it would be tough. He took on the responsibility knowing he would get no help. He wanted to protect her. He wanted a lot of things to change when he got home as he nearly lost her," Struhs said.
She told the court the group met in private homes to listen to Stevens read scripture from the King James Bible and an important part of membership was "receiving the Holy Spirit" via baptism and speaking in tongues.
Marco has previously told Justice Martin that Jason Struhs later relented to pressure from The Saints and was baptised in August 2021 before deciding to cease Elizabeth's insulin doses in January 2022.
The other defendants are Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, Therese Maria Stevens, 37 Keita Courtney Martin, 22, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, Samantha Emily Crouch, 26, Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26.
All 14 defendants are self-represented and have refused to enter pleas.
Under cross-examination from her brother, Zachary Struhs, Jayde said it was possible for members of the group to disagree with the leader, Brendan Stevens, but she did not feel safe to do so.
"I never felt I had a voice," she said.
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Ex-Green MP Darleen Tana: ‘Easiest thing’ might be to leave Parliament
Darleen Tana has given her first extended interview since March.
Man medically evacuated from fishing vessel after sea snake bite
A man has been airlifted to hospital after suffering a sea snake bite while on a fishing vessel about 360km south-west of Darwin.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) informed the crew member had been bitten by a sea snake and needed urgent care about 9:15am.
The man was aboard a fishing vessel located on the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, off the coast of the Northern Territory.
READ MORE: 'Rotten culture': Premier to refer CFMEU's Victorian branch to anti-corruption watchdog
The LifeFlight rescue helicopter was deployed and winched the man from the vessel about 11.45am.
The crew member was taken to Truscott, where they will be met by a Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft for onward transfer to Broome for treatment.
Orange road cones make many motorists see red: Neil Volzke
OPINION: A reduction in the number of road cones is good news for many motorists.
Tauranga arson: Jealous man allegedly set fire to ex’s house and her new flatmate’s BMW
The man was allegedly shouting outside her house, calling her a liar and a b****.
Foul-mouthed, argumentative, tenant evicted from Whangārei property after neighbours complain
Property managers have evicted a loud and foul-mouthed tenant after neighbours complained.
Two Napier antique stores burgled on same day
The offenders took off with valuables and police set up a cordon.