Tag Archives: oceania

Follower of cult leader Charles Manson released from prison after 50 years

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison on Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders.

Van Houten "was released to parole supervision," the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

She left the California Institution for Women in Corona, east of Los Angeles, in the early morning hours and was driven to transitional housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

READ MORE: Charles Manson follower big step closer to freedom after 53 years in jail

FILE - Leslie Van Houten is shown in a Los Angeles lockup on March 29, 1971. The Charles Manson follower has been released from a California prison after serving 53 years for two infamous murders. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Tuesday, July 11, 2023, that Van Houten "was released to parole supervision."

"She's still trying to get used to the idea that this is real," Tetreault told The Associated Press.

Days earlier Governor Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He said it was unlikely the state Supreme Court would consider an appeal.

She is expected to spend about a year at a halfway house, learning basic skills such as how to drive a car, go to the grocery store and get a debit card, according to her attorney.

"She has to learn to use to use the internet. She has to learn to buy things without cash," Tetreault said.

"It's a very different world than when she went in."

READ MORE: Parole denied for Manson follower for slayings in 1969

FILE - Leslie Van Houten is shown in a Los Angeles lockup on March 29, 1971. The Charles Manson follower has been released from a California prison after serving 53 years for two infamous murders. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Tuesday, July 11, 2023, that Van Houten "was released to parole supervision."

Van Houten, who will likely be on parole for about three years, hopes to get a job as soon as possible, Tetreault said. She earned a bachelors and a masters degree while in prison and worked as a tutor for other incarcerated people.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, received a life sentence for helping Manson's followers carry out the August 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.

The LaBiancas were killed in their home, and their blood was smeared on the walls afterward. Van Houten later described holding Rosemary LaBianca down with a pillowcase over her head as others stabbed her, before she stabbed the woman more than a dozen times as well.

The slayings happened the day after Manson followers killed actress Sharon Tate and four others. Van Houten, who was 19 at the time, did not participate in the Tate killings.

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Charles Manson in 1969. (AAP)

Van Houten was found suitable for parole after a July 2020 hearing, but her release was blocked by Newsom, who maintained she was still a threat to society. She filed an appeal with a trial court, which rejected it. She then turned to the appellate courts.

The Second District Court of Appeal in May reversed an earlier decision by Newsom, who rejected parole for Van Houten in 2020. She had been recommended for parole five times since 2016. All of those recommendations were rejected by either Newsom or former Gov. Jerry Brown.

Newsom was disappointed by the appeals court decision, his office said.

"More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims' families still feel the impact," the governor's office said in a July 7 statement.

Manson died in prison in 2017 of natural causes at age 83 after nearly half a century behind bars.

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Boris Johnson welcomes third child with wife

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has announced the birth of his third child, Frankie, with his wife Carrie. 

Carrie Johnson announced the happy arrival in a post to social media overnight, revealing the newborn arrived last week.

"Welcome to the world Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson born 5th July at 9.15am," the new mum wrote alongside a sweet snap cradling the newborn.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson 'partygate': Privileges Committee finds former UK PM deliberately misled parliament

Boris and Carrie Johnson announces the arrival of son Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson, who was born on July 5

While the meaning behind his name hasn't been revealed, Carrie made a quip about the bub's middle names, adding: "(Can you guess which name my husband chose?!)"

The now mum-of-three said big brother Wilfred and big sister Romy were loving helping Frankie settle in at home.

"Am loving every minute of the sleepy baby bubble," she wrote.

"Seeing my older two embrace their new brother with such joy and excitement has been the most wonderful thing to see. We are all very smitten."

After thanking the team of doctors and nurses for looking after them in hospital, the new mum asked for TV recommendations to watch while breastfeeding.

The couple's older son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson was born in April 2020, weeks after Boris battled COVID-19 in hospital, with his middle names paying homage to those treating the PM at the time.

Wilfred's birth made Boris one of just four UK leaders to welcome a newborn while serving at Number 10 in 150 years, following in the footsteps of David Cameron, Tony Blair and Lord Russell.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson quits as UK lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament

They then welcomed daughter Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson on December 9, 2021 after suffering a devastating miscarriage earlier in 2021.

Having described the pregnancy as her rainbow baby following the loss, they chose the name Iris as a middle name, which is the Greek word for "rainbow".

Little Frankie's birth make Boris is a dad of eight, having publicly acknowledged in 2021 that he fathered another child in addition to his four children with second wife, Marina Wheeler.

Boris and Carrie were first connected back in 2018, but the pair only made their romance official in June 2019 when they appeared in public together for the first time.

They then became engaged during a trip to the island of Mustique in late 2019 and announced their first pregnancy at the same time as their engagement – two weeks after Boris's second marriage was formally ended.

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Tourists warned against visiting erupting volcano as poisonous gases spew

Authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned tourists and other spectators to stay away from a newly erupting volcano that is spewing lava and noxious gases from a fissure in the country's southwest.

The eruption began Monday afternoon after thousands of earthquakes in the area, meteorological authorities said.

This one comes 11 months after its last eruption officially ended. The eruption is in an uninhabited valley near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometres southwest of the capital, Reykjavik.

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Lava emerges from a fissure of the Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometres southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday July 10, 2023.

The area, known broadly as Fagradalsfjall volcano, erupted in 2021 and 2022 without causing damage or disruptions to flights, despite being near Keflavik Airport, Iceland's international air traffic hub. The airport remained open on Tuesday.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the eruption was initially more explosive than the previous two.

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Aerial footage showed streams of orange molten lava and clouds of gases spewing from a snaking fissure about 900 metres long.

"Gas pollution is high around the eruption and dangerous," the Met Office said.

"Travellers are advised not to enter the area until responders have had a chance to evaluate conditions."

A man takes pictures as lava emerges from a fissure of the Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometres southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday July 10, 2023.  Lava emerges from a fissure of the Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometres southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday July 10, 2023.

By Tuesday morning, the fissure and the volume of the eruption had shrunk, scientists said.

"This has become a small eruption, which is very good news," University of Iceland geophysics professor Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson told national broadcaster RUV.

He said the eruption could "certainly last a long time, but luckily we're not looking at a continuation of what we saw in the first few hours."

A 2021 eruption in the same area produced spectacular lava flows for several months. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to see the sight.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years.

A person walks near lava emerging from a fissure of the Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometres southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday July 10, 2023.  In this image taken from a video, Lava emerges from a fissure of the Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometres southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday July 10, 2023.

The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which sent huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding millions of international travellers and halting air travel for days because of concerns the ash could damage jet engines.

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Million dollar reward offered over 1984 'execution' of Melbourne dad

Police have offered a $1 million reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest over the "execution-style" murder of Robert "Jack" Richardson in 1984 in Victoria.

Richardson, 49, had strong links to organised crime and was due to face court along with two others over heroin trafficking charges, before his body was found dumped in bushland off King Parrot Creek Road near Strath Creek on March 31, 1984.

A father to a young daughter at the time, police say Richardson was shot dead in an execution-style killing.

READ MORE: $1 million reward for dozens of unsolved Western Australia murders, missing person cases

He was last seen with two men in St Kilda between 1.20am and 2am on March 4, with detectives believing he was murdered some time later that day.

The killing has also since been linked to an attempted murder of a NSW Police undercover officer, who was a prosecution witness in the case.

Police say the investigation was heavily linked to "high-level" organised crime, with connections to the Painters and Dockers union.

Richardson, who had been granted bail over the trafficking charges, was living with his girlfriend in St Kilda at the time of his murder.

An initial inquest in 1985 found that he was killed by assassins unknown to him, with the murder most likely arranged by people he trusted, including friends.

"Since the time of the original investigation, detectives have received further information about Jack's death and those potentially responsible however at this time there is insufficient evidence to charge anyone," Victoria Police said in a statement.

"A forensic re-examination of an exhibit located at the crime scene has also been conducted and fresh DNA has been identified.

"Police believe this will also provide further avenues of enquiry for the investigation."

Police today announced a $1 million reward for information in relation to those responsible for Richard's death, in the hope it will provide new leads.

READ MORE: Mystery DNA recovered in 1979 cold case murder investigation

"Every person who loses their life in this way, regardless of their background or personal circumstances, deserves justice," Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said.

"The fact that Jack's murder is unsolved also means that we have had someone out there in the community for almost four decades who has never been held to account for their behaviour.

"This was someone willing to commit the ultimate act of violence with no regard for the life of others.

"These factors alone make this investigation an important one and one that we are still very keen to solve."

Thomas said "Jack also had a young daughter at the time of his death" who "sadly has grown up without a father" and "never knew" who killed her dad and why.

"Jack's death had all the hallmarks of an underworld execution and the evidence suggests he probably had no warning he was going to be killed and trusted the person who did it," he said.

"Ultimately, his fatal mistake may have been trusting the wrong person.

"It's not just the person who pulled the trigger who we are searching for, it's also anyone who assisted with jack's murder both before and after it occurred.

"The drug matter Jack was involved with before his death had significant links to both organised crime in Melbourne, specifically criminal elements of the notorious Painters and Dockers union.

"It's also worth noting the timing of Jack's death – it occurred two years to the day after the original police arrests in relation to the drug investigation and the day before the trial was meant to begin.

"We do not believe that this was in any way coincidental."

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'Extremely dangerous' man accused of DV crash murder refused bail

A man accused of murdering his ex-wife by running her car off the road in a high-speed crash made threats in the months before, a NSW court has been told.

Troy Armstrong, 35, was on Tuesday refused bail while he continues treatment for serious brain and spinal injuries, caused by last month's crash, in the intensive care unit at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

Armstrong is charged with the murder of his former wife, 36-year-old Kristy Armstrong, after allegedly driving his ute towards her sedan at 140km/h in Molong, central west NSW, after an argument on June 9.

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Armstrong is charged with the murder of his former wife Kristy Armstrong.

Ms Armstrong was killed in the crash.

He also faces two counts of attempted murder related to other passengers in the sedan, who were left with minor injuries.

Armstrong's lawyer, Drew Hamilton, said there was cause for bail, arguing the extent of his injuries lowered his level of risk in the community and it was his first time in custody.

"This matter involves a tragic set of circumstances, I can't imagine the impact this has had on the families and the community at large," Hamilton told Orange Local Court.

"(This) is about risk."

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Armstrong is under 24-hour police guard in hospital and his family could only see him for an hour each day, the court was told.

Hamilton said Armstrong had part of his skull removed after the crash, was not able to walk and cannot take himself to the toilet, placing him at greater risk if he were to move to a custodial environment.

The possibility of interfering with witnesses or doing further harm could be reduced by a home detention-style bail arrangement, Hamilton argued.

But police prosecutor Carl Smith adamantly argued against bail, saying the surviving passengers were terrified of Armstrong.

Smith said Armstrong had made numerous violent threats before the crash.

"(They) were terrified before this incident, they're even more terrified now," Smith said.

"He knew driving 140km/h into a car of the likelihood that he'd be killing his wife, but (also) anyone else in that motor vehicle.

"He's an extremely dangerous person."

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Troy Armstrong, 35, was on Tuesday refused bail while he continues treatment for serious brain and spinal injuries.

Magistrate David Day refused bail, in part due to Armstrong's history of making violent threats.

"In my view, there's an unacceptable risk of committing further serious offences," Day said.

Some of Armstrong's relatives, who were sitting in court, let out sighs of relief after the magistrate's decision.

One woman quietly said, "thank you".

The case was adjourned to September 7.

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National Domestic Violence Service: 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). If you are in immediate danger call triple zero (000).

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

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