Latest news with #7NEWSSpotlight
Perth Now
12-07-2025
- Perth Now
How Erin Patterson went from ordinary mum to mass murderer
Criminal experts have described mushroom killer Erin Patterson as a 'formidable witness' who 'knew what she was doing'. Patterson this week was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, following a mammoth 10-week-long trial. The 50-year-old's estranged husband Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and aunt Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died in hospital days after Patterson served them beef Wellington parcels laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, was the sole survivor. Now, in a 7NEWS Spotlight special, presenter Michael Usher investigates how the seemingly ordinary mother-of-two became one of the worst female mass murderers in Australian history. Featuring in-depth analysis and expert commentary from industry leaders including criminal barrister Geoffrey Watson, forensic psychologist Peter Ashkar and former detective Damian Marrett, Spotlight dives into the mind of a killer. Criminal psychologist Peter Ashkar. Credit: Supplied According to Usher, Mr Ashkar described poisoning someone as an 'act of aggression' and said it was a 'very deliberate act of control of power'. '(Being poisoned) is an absolutely hideous way to die because there's intense pain and suffering,' Usher said. Mr Ashkar also described Patterson as smart and cunning and said 'she knew what she was doing'. 'If you look back at the vision of her at her home when our reports went and door-stopped her, (she was) in tears and was distraught and upset,' Usher said. 'But on the stand, Ashkar said she was formidable — she knew what she was doing and she was clear and smart. Credit: Victoria's Supreme Court / Supplied, the deadly meal Erin Patterson used to kill three members of her husband's family have been released by Victoria's Supreme Court. '(Ashkar said Patterson) knew what was going on, she was in charge and she owned her narrative. 'Getting inside her mind is a fascinating and frightening exercise.' But Usher said Patterson didn't appear to have a clear motive. 'We're so used to murder cases (where there is a) very clear motive like revenge, fame or money,' he said. 'It's not like she had a proven pattern (of saying), 'I hate my in laws, they have done me wrong, I want to plan something', it wasn't as clear as that.' Inside the Mind of the Mushroom Killer: A 7NEWS Spotlight special airs Sunday at 8.45pm
7NEWS
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
MasterChef judge Andy Allen reveals he did Zonfrillo's press after a 4.30am call from Jock's wife
MasterChef judge Andy Allen has revealed the heartbreaking call he received from Lauren Zonfrillo, telling him his best friend had tragically died. At 4.30am on April 30, 2023, Lauren, Jock's wife, delivered the heartwrenching news to Allen and also to inform him that fellow judge Jock had press commitments scheduled for that morning. She wanted to keep his death from the MasterChef team and didn't want 10 to know he had passed yet. As a result, Allen went in Jock's place, knowing that Jock was dead, and carrying on with press for the season launch as if he had no idea. 'I get a call at about 4.30 in the morning from Lauren in hysterics and telling me what had happened, that Jock had passed away. And I was then like…what do you need? And she was like, 'Well…he's got a lot of press to do this morning.' And I had a bit of press to do as well. I was like, okay, I'll go do his press because she didn't want to go to Ten…she needed to get a plan together,' he told A Life of Greatness with Sarah Grynberg. Allen said navigating grief publicly and privately was the 'hardest thing I've ever been through' for many reasons. 'For him to pass away was shocking, (firstly) it was my birthday, (secondly) I was with him the day before, I was the last person to see him, we had lunch and (thirdly) for it to play out in the public eye was crazy, the first 24 hours I never want to relive.' Allen and Jock were inseparable as soon as they entered the MasterChef kitchen as the new judges, alongside Melissa Leong, taking over from George, Gary and Matt Preston. 'He was like the older brother I never had,' he said. 'I learnt so much from him, cooking, food and saw him with his family and his young kids and Loz and thought 'Wow, he's really great at being present with them.' Allen, who won MasterChef in 2012 at the age of 23, said his grieving process was 'such a journey for the first six months' and found himself being there for others. 'I needed to work on myself more. I went to talk therapy and became very aware that grief is okay,' he told Grynberg. 'I miss Jock every day but I've learnt there's so much more to celebrate, there's days I have really bad days, life is short and they (the Zonfrillos) had a life and they were so amazing at that life and I want to celebrate that.' The 46-year-old Scottish chef was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room in April 2023. His cause of death has never been revealed. In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS Spotlight that aired in May, Lauren spoke about discovering Jock's journal and reading his final words. 'Jock had journalled for a period of time,' she told Seven's Liz Hayes. 'It meant a lot to me reading . . . (about) such a normal conversation, but I got his version. 'It was kind of this encouragement to say, you've got this, Lauren, there's been many times where I've (felt like) I haven't got this.' Lauren — who was in Italy at the time of Jock's death — reportedly asked police to conduct a welfare check after failing to contact him. The couple had relocated to Rome with their young children, Alfie and Isla, with Jock travelling back to Australia to film MasterChef. Lauren now lives in Sydney with the younger kids, and Allen said he is still in touch with family but needed to see them more. Before MasterChef changed Allen's life, he was an apprentice electrician in Newcastle. He didn't come from a background of chefs and only ever cooked for family and friends, inspired by Jamie Oliver and his recipes. Allen took the big leap from sparky to the cooking competition after a mate dared him to enter for $500. After his winning season, he took a full time chef role at a small cafe in Bronte where he enhanced his cook skills.
Perth Now
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
MasterChef judge reveals tragic Jock Zonfrillo phone call
MasterChef judge Andy Allen has revealed the heartbreaking call he received from Lauren Zonfrillo, telling him his best friend had tragically died. At 4.30am on April 30, 2023, Lauren, Jock's wife, delivered the heartwrenching news to Allen and also to inform him that fellow judge Jock had press commitments scheduled for that morning. She wanted to keep his death from the MasterChef team and didn't want 10 to know he had passed yet. As a result, Allen went in Jock's place, knowing that Jock was dead, and carrying on with press for the season launch as if he had no idea. 'I get a call at about 4.30 in the morning from Lauren in hysterics and telling me what had happened, that Jock had passed away. And I was then like…what do you need? And she was like, 'Well…he's got a lot of press to do this morning.' And I had a bit of press to do as well. I was like, okay, I'll go do his press because she didn't want to go to Ten…she needed to get a plan together,' he told A Life of Greatness with Sarah Grynberg. Allen said navigating grief publicly and privately was the 'hardest thing I've ever been through' for many reasons. 'For him to pass away was shocking, (firstly) it was my birthday, (secondly) I was with him the day before, I was the last person to see him, we had lunch and (thirdly) for it to play out in the public eye was crazy, the first 24 hours I never want to relive.' Allen and Jock were inseparable as soon as they entered the MasterChef kitchen as the new judges, alongside Melissa Leong, taking over from George, Gary and Matt Preston. 'He was like the older brother I never had,' he said. 'I learnt so much from him, cooking, food and saw him with his family and his young kids and Loz and thought 'Wow, he's really great at being present with them.' Allen, who won MasterChef in 2012 at the age of 23, said his grieving process was 'such a journey for the first six months' and found himself being there for others. 'I needed to work on myself more. I went to talk therapy and became very aware that grief is okay,' he told Grynberg. 'I miss Jock every day but I've learnt there's so much more to celebrate, there's days I have really bad days, life is short and they (the Zonfrillos) had a life and they were so amazing at that life and I want to celebrate that.' The 46-year-old Scottish chef was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room in April 2023. His cause of death has never been revealed. Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo became good friends on MasterChef. Credit: News Corp Australia In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS Spotlight that aired in May, Lauren spoke about discovering Jock's journal and reading his final words. 'Jock had journalled for a period of time,' she told Seven's Liz Hayes. 'It meant a lot to me reading . . . (about) such a normal conversation, but I got his version. 'It was kind of this encouragement to say, you've got this, Lauren, there's been many times where I've (felt like) I haven't got this.' Lauren — who was in Italy at the time of Jock's death — reportedly asked police to conduct a welfare check after failing to contact him. The couple had relocated to Rome with their young children, Alfie and Isla, with Jock travelling back to Australia to film MasterChef. Lauren now lives in Sydney with the younger kids, and Allen said he is still in touch with family but needed to see them more. Before MasterChef changed Allen's life, he was an apprentice electrician in Newcastle. He didn't come from a background of chefs and only ever cooked for family and friends, inspired by Jamie Oliver and his recipes. Allen took the big leap from sparky to the cooking competition after a mate dared him to enter for $500. After his winning season, he took a full time chef role at a small cafe in Bronte where he enhanced his cook skills. He later opened the restaurant Three Blue Ducks in Roseberry, alongside Mark Labrooy and Darren Robertson, which now has multiple locations on the East Coast.
Daily Mirror
14-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
'Iced coffee killer' smiled as best pal drank cyanide and died in brutal death
Murderer Jessica Wongso was said to be so jealous of her pal Wayan Salihin, who had just got married, that she exacted a deadly revenge. Her sickening act was caught on CCTV Jessica Kumala Wongso was dubbed the 'smiling iced coffee killer' after she handed her pal Wayan Mirna Salihin a drink in a cafe before watching her take one sip and die within an hour. Chilling CCTV footage had shown the pair laughing and joking before they sat down in the glitzy eaterie, with Wongso buying the drinks. The jealous friend secretly added cyanide to her friend's iced Vietnamese coffee, causing her to cry out: 'It tastes bad' before she started convulsing in front of fellow patrons of the busy cafe. Just 27-year-old, the socialite was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Indonesian investigators went onto claim Wongso had been jealous of her pal for getting married. And while she pleaded innocent at her trial in 2016, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Chilling reason serial killer Harold Shipman 'targeted particular victims' Back in January 2016, footage showed Wongso, 27, arriving at the Olivier cafe an hour before her victim, also 27, and a third friend. The murderer ordered an iced coffee for Wayan before carefully placing three shopping bags around her drink and shuffling them around, in order to block cameras from seeing her next move. Wayan, who had become friends with Wongso at a design college in Sydney, Australia, went onto arrive and taste her drink, before collapsing into convulsions and foaming at the mouth. She died within an hour, before she had reached hospital. The coffee was later found to have been tainted with a massive dose of deadly cyanide. "This deed was vile and sadistic, committed against her own friend," said the chief judge at the murder trial, which heard of Wongso's jealousy after her friend got married. Wongso was released from prison last year, after serving eight years of her 20-year sentence. She continues to protest her innocence, recently explaining away placing three shopping bags on the table to an Australian journalist. "Oh, it's just me being me," she told Liam Bartlett from 7NEWS Spotlight. "I just put it there and it's like shuffle and play with it. It's just me being bored, it really doesn't mean anything at all." The murderer went onto claim she was never close to Wayan. "We came from the same country," she said. "We weren't best friends or anything. After graduation she went back to Indonesia for good and I stayed in Australia." Chilling, Wongso spoke of seeing her friend die when she took a sip from her deadly drink. "She was saying something like: 'It tastes really weird and stuff' and after that she got really sick," she said. "That's pretty much all I can remember."
7NEWS
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
It's official - The Project has been axed
THE AXE SWINGS ON THE PROJECT Channel 10 has made it official. Staff at The Project have been told the show is coming to an end on June 27. Until today, staff had been kept in the dark, left to read headlines and stories from outsiders who knew more about the future of the show than they did. Despite staff on the show being kept in the dark until now, TV Blackbox released details over the weekend about its replacement show, including the show name. The new program will be called: Behind the Lines – A 10 News First Investigation. Wow, that's a mouthful. The outlet (of which I am a co-founder) has already revealed the show will air four nights per week at 6.30pm with a 'best of' or repeat episode on the typically low-rating Friday nights. This backs up everything I reported in my column last week when many still believed 10's new 'Investigations Unit' would only be making specials or a once-a-week show along the lines of 7NEWS Spotlight and 60 Minutes. Author Kyle Laidlaw reports that he has seen the logo and included these marketing materials in his report: 'Go behind the headlines with 10 News First as our reporters dig deep to uncover the facts, follow every lead, and expose stories that others try to keep hidden.' 'Hosted by Denham Hitchcock, this investigation series shines a light on issues that matter to Australians – holding the powerful to account with fearless journalism.' 'Real stories. Real impact. The truth, told straight.' Today The Australian is reporting the launch date for the new show will be Monday July 14. DINKLAGE BACKLASH The fallout from Disney's failed 'woke' version of Snow White isn't just being felt by lead actress Rachel Zegler, who will be lucky to secure any future roles in Hollywood. Zegler was an outspoken critic of the 1937 animated film, particularly its depiction of women and the 'stalkerish' nature of Snow White's relationship with the Prince. The backlash against her has been well documented. Now, actor Peter Dinklage is facing a backlash from his own community as little people take issue with his demand little people not depict the dwarfs. 'I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White — but you're still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ' he told Marc Maron on the WTF podcast. 'Take a step back and look at what you're doing there. It makes no sense to me. You're progressive in one way, but then you're still making that f**king backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together? What the f**k are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I'm not loud enough.' His comments in January 2022 made headlines around the world and Disney ended up using CGI characters to depict the dwarfs. So, at the end of the day, he was loud enough. But that's the problem. His 'privileged activism' had more power than those who would have been given jobs and made an income from the production if it had used little people to play the dwarfs. It's money Peter Dinklage doesn't need, but other working little people do. In fact, many in the community were angry at Disney for using CGI characters and angry at Dinklage for pushing his agenda. Former WWE Superstar Hornswoggle, and little person, summed it up best this past fortnight during an interview with Chris Van Vliet. 'F**k you Peter Dinklage piece of sh*t' he told Van Vilet. 'It still makes me mad. Like, he costed so many people jobs, so many people'. 'I think he wanted to make a statement and he thought he was making some cool hip thing, but it wasn't, when he did Elf that cheque cashed just fine. Tyrion Lannister was a role for a little person. He cashed that cheque for all those years. Like, I am okay, not going out for Brad Pitts roll, give me grumpy or happy or sleepy and major Disney remake'. But then Hornswoggle made his most important point. 'And then you're gonna have seven dwarves. Then there's extras, then there's stunt doubles that are all gonna get paid'. And when CGI was used, no-one in the little people community were paid. So, a win for Dinklage but a big loss for workers in the little people community who would have been happy for the work. Peter Dinklage can take the moral high ground because it doesn't affect him. He's not going to accept a role as Happy or Grumpy because he doesn't need that kind of money. He can be an artist. He can do the roles that he wants to do. That is what I'm calling 'privileged activism'. It's when someone can demand changes that won't affect them. Dinklage is not living week-to-week like many working actors in the little people community. Dinklage has his choice of roles and the financial clout to be able to turn roles down. Others aren't so lucky. It's one thing for Dinklage to demand change, it's another when he's taking money out of other people's pockets. THE BEST SHOW TO WATCH THIS WEEK The most compelling drama series this week isn't on television or a streaming service, it's happening inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts – and it's all being beamed live. I'm talking about the trial of Karen Read – a woman accused of fatally striking Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe and leaving him to die in the snow outside another officer's home after a night of drinking in January 2022. This trial has so many twists and turns it makes any fictional court drama seem tame. Watching the clips come into my feed though, I wonder if I am getting a one-sided view of the case or whether I'm seeing a true representation of what is happening. From what I'm seeing the prosecution is struggling, witnesses have changed their testimony and it certainly seems like a cover-up. But is that because it is people who believe Karen Read is innocent who are posting the majority of videos? While I'm loving the influx of moments from the trial, it reminds me of the importance of credible news – news that I can rely on to give me a complete overview of what is happening in a story, not just a one-sided view. We are lucky in this country to have news services on every channel that deliver a quality bulletin every night. No matter which one you watch, you can have faith you are getting all the facts. And that's important.
