Man jailed for brutal bashing death of hairdresser

 David Patrick Clifford, 30, was on parole and on bail when he killed Elsa Corp in a South Melbourne hotel room on February 1, 2010.


Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth told a packed public gallery in the Supreme Court that Clifford inflicted horrific injuries while subjecting Ms Corp to a “prolonged, vicious attack, going on for perhaps an hour or so”.


More than 50 members, friends and supporters of the Corp family were in court to hear Justice Hollingworth sentence Clifford to a maximum of 23 years with a non-parole period of 19 years.




Most cheered and clapped when the judge announced the maximum term, but Ms Corp’s parents, Andy and Gilly, said outside court later they thought the sentence was “not enough”.


Mr Corp, a former UK policeman, said he “felt sick in the guts to hear exactly what happened, and so disappointed that a human being could sink to that level”.


The pair had been on a blind date when the hairdresser was brutally beaten to death before the hotel room was set on fire.
Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said Clifford's horrific attack on Ms Corp was severe and extended.
"The noises heard by witnesses, the nature and extent of the horrific injuries inflicted upon Ms Corp and the state of disarray of the hotel room all indicate that it was a prolonged, vicious attack, going on for perhaps an hour or so," Justice Hollingworth said.
After the sentence was read out, about 40 of Ms Corp's family and friends clapped and smiled, with calls of "scum bag" and "dog" directed at Clifford.

Charred human remains found at Traralgon house

Human remains have been found in a historic home that burnt down in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley this morning.
The 150-year-old house in Hickox Street, Traralgon was completely destroyed by the blaze, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
She said the Country Fire Authority had contacted police just before 4.30am to notify them that a body may be in the burning house.
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A CFA spokeswoman said it had taken firefighters about 10 minutes to control the blaze and initially firefighters believed the homestead was unoccupied.


Fire crews were called to the 150-year-old homestead, about 18km east of Morwell, about 2.15am to find it engulfed in flames.


The house was gutted by the fire, which investigators suspect was deliberately lit.


Investigators are attempting to identify the remains and are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Jason Akermanis attacks late Jim Stynes

In an explosive radio interview with Mix 92.7 FM on Queensland's Sunshine Coast today, the former three-time premiership player said the public outpouring of sympathy and grief at the passing of Stynes, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, was "overkill.''


Stynes has been lauded as an inspirational player on and off the field, recognised for his youth work with the Reach Foundation.


He will be honoured at a state funeral in Melbourne on Tuesday, before his ashes are returned to Ireland.


Melbourne’s Brad Green tweeted "Aker, you are a tosser!!! Show respect", Carlton’s  Brock McLean said "Jason Akermanis... Show some respect. Regardless of how you feel, never speak ill of the dead.


Lowest of lows." Richmond legend Matthew Richardson said "I think Aker may have finally done his dash. #low"


Stunned by the reaction Akermanis told Melbourne’s Herald Sun that he had been taken out of context.


"People die all the time,” he said.


"I saw my mum die of cancer in the exact same way and she was as human as anybody else. Jimmy dying is sad, but give me a break. My mum was great lady too but she wasn't pure.


"Jim was a human being like anybody else full of good things and bad things.”


"I'm not bagging the guy, I'm just saying he was a human being.”


 Akermanis said he admired Stynes competitiveness as a player.


"When I knew him he was competitive and nasty and brutal. He wanted to win and would do anything to do it.

Naden charged with murder

Ms Scholes, 24, was found dead in a bedroom of a house in Bumblegumbie Road, Dubbo, on June 23, 2005.


Naden has been charged with her murder, as well as two counts of aggravated indecent assault of person under 16 over an incident involving a 15-year-old girl at Dubbo in 2004; and shoot with intent to murder over the incident involving police officer at Nowendoc on 7 December 2011.


He's been refused bail to appear in Taree Local Court shortly.


This morning the 38-year-old left Manning Base Hospital, in Port Macquarie, northeast NSW, surrounded by police in riot gear with his ankles shackled and a bandage around his lower left leg.


With a blue-hooded forensic services jacket covering his face, he was taken to a waiting police transport van and driven away ahead of an expected appearance in Taree Local Court later today.


He also faces two counts of aggravated indecent assault over an alleged attack on a 15-year-old girl, also at Dubbo in 2004.
An attempted murder charge was laid over the shooting of a police officer in December.
He remains in custody after a brief court appearance in Taree.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has defended the length of the search.
"This man is a master bushman. He has been in this area for a number of years," he said.
"He knows it better than the back of his hand. The conditions that we encountered were atrocious, and the terrain was second to none when it came to difficulty.
"When you put all of that together, this is going to take time. I'd suggest though that those officers that have given of their time have done an outstanding job."

Jim Stynes, the ultimate role model

The term role model is used carelessly nowadays but in Jim's case he was sport's very best kind of ambassador. His death at the early age of 45 is a sad loss for both the Australia he adorned and his native Ireland.




THE sad death of Jim Stynes is a tragic loss for the Australian sporting community. We have been blessed throughout our history with a wonderful Irish heritage, in all walks of life. Jim has contributed to that heritage, magnificently.




THE best lasting memorial for Jim Stynes would be an annual award to the footballer voted as having the most community spirit, or having made the greatest contribution to the community in the year.


The crowd loved it. But they also appreciated it for what it was: Jim putting himself out there to help others and having fun while he still could.


This was a moment to remember.


Australian football has produced many inspiring stories over the past 150 years. But Jim Stynes may yet prove to be its most remarkable.


Recruited by Ron Barassi as part of the so-called Irish experiment in the 1980s, Jim was given little chance of making it.


He spent a spent a year playing with Prahran unravelling the mysteries of the game, including the difference between the goal and the point post.


But Jim not only made it, he went on to become one of Melbourne's greatest ever players.


Who could forget those wonderful images of Jim and his father Brian embracing each other after he won the 1991 Brownlow Medal?

Duchess Kate welcomes Prince William home

The 29-year-old, second in line to the throne, was sent to the South Atlantic archipelago as a military search and rescue helicopter pilot. It was a routine part of his Royal Air Force (RAF) duties, but his near seven-week stint angered Argentina.


"He has returned from a standard operational deployment," a Ministry of Defence spokesman told AFP.


"He will now be on leave for a few days and then he will return to work."


Britain has held the Falklands since 1833 but Buenos Aires claims they are occupied Argentinian territory and condemned the prince's tour as a "provocation".


William's deployment added to the escalating tensions ahead of this year's 30th anniversary of the war between Britain and Argentina over the islands.


On April 2, 1982, the then-ruling junta in Argentina invaded the Falklands, sparking a 74-day war with Britain which cost the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.


Flight Lt. Wales, as he is known in the RAF, was sent to the Falklands in February for a routine tour of duty, although nearby Argentina fumed and called him a "conquistador." Argentina claims the islands they call Las Malvinas, despite losing a short but nasty war with Britain 30 years ago.


Not many details on what exactly he did down there, some 8,000 miles from Britain. But pictures released by the Ministry of Defence said he flew a Sea King chopper and his team's duties included assisting shipping around the islands, mountain rescue, and providing cover for other aircraft based on the islands.


Meanwhile, his wife, the former Kate Middleton, launched into her new royal role as a charity patron, making her first solo appearances, giving her first speech, and accompanying her grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, at Diamond Jubilee engagements.

Maccas for breakfast: Malcolm Naden's first meal after his arrest

Malcolm Naden, one of Australia's most wanted fugitives, has been captured west of Gloucester. 
A senior police source told The Sydney Morning Herald no shots were fired when they moved in on the armed and dangerous man in rugged bushland on the NSW north coast.


The capture puts an end to an at times embarrassing hunt for the former abattoir worker who has eluded police for nearly seven years.


A spokeswoman for NSW police said Naden's wound needed to restitched.


He was bitten by a police dog on his lower left shin during his arrest just after midnight today.
Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, the commander of Strike Force Durkin which was set up to capture Naden, said specialist officers drove into the bush after they were deployed in teams, before setting off on foot through difficult terrain.


"They then surrounded the house and there were indications of movement inside," she said. "Mr Naden came out of a doorway where he was confronted by the police, then quickly retreated back into the house."


Naden tried to escape out the back door, where he was again confronted.


"A short scuffle ensued, where he was then arrested," Ms York said, adding that Naden was bitten by a police dog during the arrest but was not seriously wounded.

Viewers desert MasterChef finale amid programming backlash

THEY poured more big bucks and big names into this year's MasterChef series than you could poke a stick blender at, but it wasn't enough to stop the show recording its worst finale ratings result in three years.

Confetti wasn't the only thing falling last night with viewer numbers plunging to 2.568 million - down 35.2 per cent from last year's final show.

Winner Kate Bracks' showdown with Michael Weldon was expected to top the 3.96 million who watched Adam Liaw take the crown in 2010 and the 3.72 million who saw Julie Goodwin win in 2009.

But the result fell well short of the mark with the evening's contest MasterChef Australia: Finale Night averaging just 2.334 million. Then Channel 10 asked viewers to sit through an entire episode of new reality show The Renovators before announcing the winner.

The DIY reality show recorded its biggest audience to date (1.269 million), but many viewers who were upset at the scheduling tactic switched over to Nine to watch The Block, which sat in third place at 1.82 million.

This is a trick Ten has used before and it certainly did get an additional 300,000 viewers to see the struggling renovation reality show, but has it backfired?

The third series of MasterChef Australia was decided last night with Bracks outperforming Adelaide film projectionist Michael Weldon to take out the title thanks to her version of a carrot sorbet snowman from Copenhagen's famed Noma restaurant, considered the world's best restaurant.

Bracks will receive $100,000 and a cookbook deal for the win, while Weldon gets a trainee placement at one of judge Gary Mehigan's Melbourne restaurants along with $10,000.

The test will be tonight’s episode of The Renovators, which will now be scheduled in the MasterChef timeslot of 7.30pm.

Sunday All People Top 20

1 Masterchef Australia - The Winner Announced Ten 2,659,000

2 Masterchef Australia - Finale Night Ten 2,329,000

3 The Block - Room Winner Revealed Nine 1,820,000

4 Masterchef Australia Ten 1,810,000

5 Seven News Seven 1,618,000

6 Nine News Nine 1,515,000

7 The Block Nine 1,433,000

8 The Renovators Ten 1,254,000

9 60 Minutes Nine 1,203,000

10 Sunday Night Seven 1,148,000

11 Midsomer Murders ABC1 1,106,000

12 Grand Designs ABC1 951,000

13 Great Migrations Seven 794,000

14 Bones Seven 751,000

15 ABC News ABC1 661,000

16 The Gruen Pitch Encore ABC1 628,000

17 Castle (R) Seven 571,000

18 Tropic Thunder (R) Ten 471,000

19 Seven’s AFL: Rnd 20: Hawthorn Vs North Melbourne Seven 452,000

20 Nine’s Sunday Football Nine 441,000