Murder charge dismissed against Cartell Williams
Cartell Williams, 28, was one of three people facing trial over the death of Eddie King Muthemba Kinuthia.
The 19-year-old suffered multiple stab wounds in an incident in Grosvenor Road Triangle Park in St Pauls, Bristol, on July 21 2023.
The murder charge against Williams was dismissed at a hearing at Bristol Crown Court earlier this week. He continues to serve a prison term for other offences.
Zachariah Talbert Young, 27, of Easton, and Paul Elijah Hayden, 21, of Hanham, both Bristol, face trial later this year, accused of murder.
A third defendant, Remi Hitchcock, 30, of Easton, also faces trial accused of assisting an offender in relation to the death of Mr Kinuthia.
Talbert Young and Hayden are also accused of the attempted murder of a man in his late teens who was found with stab wounds at the junction of Easton Road and Easton Way in Bristol on February 2 2024.
The trial is due to begin on October 6 and is expected to last up to six weeks.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Worcestershire musician felt ignored by police after she was cyberflashed
A musician said she was ignored by her local police force and made to feel "a nuisance" after she was sent pornographic images and videos by a man she had met once at Downes, who waived her right to anonymity, said cyberflashing needed to be taken more seriously and she felt forced to investigate the crime reported it to West Mercia Police in September but it took nearly half a year for Ben Gunnery to be arrested, convicted and given a two-year community order.A spokesperson for the force said they have apologised to Ms Downes for the time it took to transfer her case to the Metropolitan Police. The professional violinist and teacher, from Worcestershire, met Gunnery, a fellow musician, once in 2024 when they played at the same concert."I [then] started to get a bunch of messages that had been deleted. Ten of them at once, sent late at night," she said."Then the next morning he'd message saying 'oops, sorry, smashed'." Then she received explicit and indecent photos and videos showing him naked."I was just stunned and felt horrified and violated," she said."I had quite a long period of time where I would struggle to get to sleep at night and every time I shut my eyes, I would be faced with these images 45, from Vauxhall, south west London, performed music for films, toured the world and, at the time of his offence, was teaching children and Downes immediately blocked him and reported what had happened to West Mercia sent the force the images and links to his social media, website and work address and also reported it to the Musicians' Union."I thought, from everything I'd read in the media, that it would be taken seriously and dealt with," she said. Ms Downes' statement was taken and she was told the case would most likely be passed to the Metropolitan Police as the man lived in several months there appeared to be no September to January, she got in touch with West Mercia Police more than 20 told her the Met would not accept the case as they were not able to find the man's home confused Ms Downes as West Mercia Police had told her they knew where he lived."It just made me more and more resentful and less hopeful that anything would come of it really," she said. In January, she contacted the then got in touch with both forces and, within two weeks, West Mercia Police had transferred the case to the a week, Gunnery was arrested, charged and appeared in a trial in May, he was found guilty of intentionally sending the images to cause alarm, distress and 45-year-old told the court he had struggled with a cocaine addiction for four years, he could not remember messaging her and he had meant to send the images to his court heard he had been previously convicted of a similar offence in 2023 when he had twice sent indecent and offensive images to a woman he had met through Tuesday, Gunnery was given a two-year community order including 150 hours of unpaid work and Judge Nermine Abdel Sayed told him he would be sent to prison if he judge said he should have known the impact his actions would have and that his victim now feels "like she has to constantly look over her shoulder". Cyberflashing, when offenders send unsolicited explicit images to people via an online platform, such as messaging applications and social media, became a crime in the UK in January 2023.A YouGov poll found four in 10 women, aged 18 to 34, had received an unsolicited sexual photo from someone who was not a romantic Downes said she chose to speak out to encourage others."It would be much easier for me to just become a statistic," she said."I've done nothing wrong. I was just doing my job. Ben Gunnery chose to send me pornographic images. I did nothing to encourage that behaviour."Most men are not like this and this behaviour needs to be called out. It's not something that I want my sons to think is normal."It's very easy to feel some element of shame and keep it to yourself. But right from the word go, I was determined I wasn't going to do that."Ms Downes said she was inspired to keep pushing the police to investigate her complaints by the experience of BBC correspondent Lucy received sexually explicit phone calls from a stranger but her case was dropped by the police and only reopened after a Victims' Right to Review was carried hearing Lucy interviewed on BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show, Ms Downes said she became more determined to get justice. Ms Downes said her experience seemed at odds with the inquiry into Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens, a police officer who abducted, raped and murdered her while off government accepted the inquiry's recommendations that there should be a fundamental review of how indecent exposure was Ms Downes said she felt her case was not a priority for West Mercia Police."I feel that they're fobbing me off really. I've reported this crime. It is the police's job to investigate it," she said."As the victim, I want to know that my crime is dealt with quickly and with results."I felt gaslit by West Mercia Police. I felt ignored and they made me feel like I was a nuisance."A spokesperson for the force said they understood her frustrations over the delay in their investigation, had apologised and given her a "full explanation".An internal review concluded West Mercia's service was "acceptable" and officers complied with policy while the crime was being transferred to another Met's spokesperson told us they regret "any distress caused by this delay" and admitted there were delays in confirming the man's address.A Wandsworth Council spokesperson said Gunnery was suspended from his teaching role and would not be employed by the college again. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Ukrainian model was 'treated 'like a pet' by wealthy Russians at Dubai party before she was found with horrific injuries, mother claims as she reveals what they told cops before they were released without charge
The mother of a Ukrainian model who was found seriously injured on the side of the road in Dubai was 'treated like a pet' by jet-setting wealthy Russians, her mother has claimed. Maria Kovalchuk, 20, had suffered a broken spine and limbs when she was discovered on a roadside back in March after going missing. Speaking out about her terrifying ordeal for the first time in an interview which aired yesterday, she claimed she was left in a coma after attending a party with Russian 'rich kids' at a five-star hotel in Dubai. But her alleged abusers, who have been described as 'golden youth Russians', were released after being investigated by Dubai police and have not been charged with any wrongdoing. Her mother Anna has condemned their behaviour, saying that 'when young men have money' they have 'no boundaries'. 'They found themselves a pet, someone they could torment. Just to trigger her, watch her suffer, see her fear - almost as entertainment'. 'And then at some point, it crossed a line. That's the turning point — they went too far', her mother Anna added. A Russian socialite Telegram channel claimed to know one of Maria's alleged abusers, and described the party as a 'get-together of rich, spoiled, disgustingly brought up jet-setter children, who traveled between London, Moscow, Ibiza, etc.' The party goers reportedly told police they were merely seeking to 'help' Kovalchuk. Anna - who has seen the police statements and report - said in an interview: 'The men said: "We all went looking for her together. First, we searched the floor where the hotel room was. Then we went downstairs, asked at reception, and were told she had left, so we went outside to find her". 'They also said in their statements that on the first day they were all just hanging out. 'They claimed they all knew each other, that everything was normal, everything was great, everyone was having a good time …. Then something happened with Masha [Maria]. 'She started drinking alcohol. They claimed she tried to climb over to the neighbours' balcony — but in fact, she was calling for help. They dragged her back inside.' Maria's horror unfolded when she missed a flight from Dubai to Thailand. While checking out of her hotel, she bumped into a wealthy Russian man she had met at a karaoke bar once before. Maria said she had believed he would fly her to Thailand on his father's private plane and had agreed to join him and his friends in his hotel room for a party. But the gathering suddenly turned violent, she says, after two Russian men, who were fuelled by drugs and alcohol, began to abuse her and tease her. 'There were some aggressive pushes, they started to joke: 'You belong to us. We'll do whatever we want'', Maria said. 'I tried to take it as a joke, because it was really weird. 'They started behaving inappropriately, smashing bottles on the floor. 'After that, they took my personal belongings, which included my passport.' The model added that the men had 'hinted' that they wanted to have sex with her, which she did not reciprocate. As things escalated, Maria tried to escape but said the men ultimately dragged her back into the hotel room. When they stepped out onto the balcony, she managed to flee and hid at a nearby construction site. The men then found her and 'beat her', she said. 'I ran away. Then, already on the street... I didn't see them anymore, but I knew they were coming,' said Maria. 'I ran to the nearest building, just scared, and ran in, hid there. It was just an unfinished building.' She had fled wearing only a hotel robe, after a female guest at the party allegedly slapped Maria and stole her dress. 'I think that maybe I was thrown. Or it was a beating. One of two options, the injuries looked like either a beating or a fall.' Maria, who has undergone multiple surgeries and remains in a wheelchair, has no recollection of the violence she endured that led to her injuries, but she says the CCTV footage that captured her ordeal has been erased. 'Three months have passed - the police waited until the cameras were automatically wiped [after this period]', she claimed. 'Now there is no evidence'. Maria has also claimed that police made it 'very difficult for her to leave Dubai, and accused cops of withholding her passport. The two men accused by Maria were briefly detained by police in Dubai - but only for one day. They reportedly told cops that they were only looking to 'help' Maria. There appear to be no charges against them due to 'lack of evidence'. Maria and her mother have also accused the police of falsifying her testimony. Maria had been missing for eight days after telling her friends she had been invited to a party at a hotel on March 9. On March 19, ten days after she disappeared, a battered and bloodied Maria was found dumped at a roadside in Dubai with her limbs and spine broken. Maria was rushed to hospital and underwent three surgeries to save her life, before later receiving a fourth procedure. The model has also denied that she was involved in a 'Porta Potty' party - as earlier reports had suggested - where sheikhs reportedly pay large sums to abuse and degrade attractive young women.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Penny Mordaunt reveals she is a victim of 'humiliating and violent' AI-generated deepfake porn - and says she is not the only politician whose face has been used
Penny Mordaunt has revealed that she has been the victim of 'deliberately humiliating and violent' deepfake porn. The former Leader of the House of Commons made the candid confession in an interview with Victoria Derbyshire on Tuesday. She told the BBC Newsnight interviewer that the perpetrators should consider the consequence of their actions and called for tighter controls on social media. The former MP for Portsmouth North also revealed that upsetting instances of abuse such as deepfake porn are a regular occurance. She told the BBC programme: 'Well, not a week has gone by in my parliamentary career when something of this nature hasn't happened.' Non-consensual deepfake pornography is the production of an image using artificial intelligence. The creator combines a photograph and uses AI to remove clothes or create a fake nude photo in the likeness of a real person. Ms Mordaunt explained she had first learned that she had been a victim of a deepfake image following an investigation by Channel 4 presenter Cathy Newman who uncovered 250 famous individuals whose likeness had been stolen. She added: 'My face had been used, AI porn generated, deepfake porn. It happened to a number of parliamentarians.' Other victims included Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, former education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Priti Patel. Following her 'humiliating' experience, the former MP has called for tighter controls on social media and online platforms and raised concerns around access by children to deepfake pornogpraphy. 'I would ask the people behind this, don't they realize the consequences in the real world when they do something like that,' she said, 'because although I haven't seen this myself, it was deliberately humiliating and violent and that plays across into the real world. 'It plays across in to people taking actual real world actions against ourselves and that has happened to me, it's happened to a lot of my colleagues. She added: 'The worry for me is actually more with children and we wouldn't want people to see these things on the walk to school. 'If they did, they'd be in therapy. But we have seemed to be perfectly happy for them to see it online. And so I'm with the Australians on this. We need to go much further, and we need to recognize the real harm this is doing to young people.' Victoria Derbyshire clarified that Ms Mordaunt was referring to the social media ban for under-16s in Australia to which the former Minister for Women and Equalities explained that she wanted the government to do more in tackling the harmful act. Ms Mordaunt even called on X owner Elon Musk to step in and improve age verifications to protect children. She said: 'I would ban certain social media platforms. And I think the government needs to have some courage here in addressing these issues with people like Elon Musk. 'That man is taking the human race to Mars. I'm sure he can figure out age verification and what needs to follow from that.' She ex-parliamentarian added that despite the more difficult sides of being in the public eye, she found that her role in Parliament was still generally positive. The creation of deepfake porn is illegal in the UK following a new Online Safety Act which was brought in last year. It includes the sharing or threatening to share intimate photos of someone without their permission and this includes deepfake images.
