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The Star
07-07-2025
- The Star
Australia mushroom murder jury to deliver verdict today
A general view of the front of the Latrobe Valley Law Courts where the Erin Patterson murder trial takes place in Morwell, Australia, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake SYDNEY (Reuters) -The jury in the trial of an Australian woman who allegedly murdered three elderly relatives of her estranged husband using poisonous mushrooms will deliver its verdict on Monday, the court said in a statement. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, in July 2023. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Straits Times
30-06-2025
- Straits Times
Jury in Australia's mushroom murder trial retires to consider verdict
Defence team members of Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, barrister Sophie Stafford and barrister Colin Mandy SC, depart the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, Australia, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake A general view of the front of the Latrobe Valley Law Courts where the Erin Patterson murder trial is taking place in Morwell, Australia, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake MORWELL, Australia - The jury in the trial of an Australian woman who allegedly murdered three elderly relatives of her estranged husband using poisonous mushrooms retired to consider its verdict on Monday, in a case that has gripped the country. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, in July 2023. The prosecution alleges she served them death cap mushrooms in a Beef Wellington alongside mashed potato and green beans, before destroying evidence and lying to the police and medical workers to cover up her crimes. She denies the charges, that carry a life sentence, with her defence calling the deaths "a terrible accident". On Monday, presiding judge Justice Christopher Beale ended a five-day summary of the evidence to the jury capping some of the final court proceedings in the trial, now in its tenth week. Ian Wilkinson, the sole surviving lunch guest who has attended almost every day of the trial, sat with relatives a few feet from Erin Patterson, seated in the dock at the rear of the court. The case at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, a former coal mining town whose best-known tourist attractions until the trial were a rose garden and a regional art gallery, has fascinated Australia. Members of the public have queued for hours for the limited seats in Court 4 where the trial is taking place, while television crews and photographers have been camped outside the building. State broadcaster ABC's daily podcast on the trial is the country's most popular, while several documentaries on the case are already in production. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
25-06-2025
- Straits Times
Australia prepares for verdict in mushroom murder trial
Defence team members of Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, barrister Sophie Stafford and barrister Colin Mandy SC arrive at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, Australia, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake Ian Wilkinson, the sole surviving guest from a fatal lunch served by Erin Patterson who is accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, arrives at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, Australia, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake Defence team members of Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms, barrister Sophie Stafford and barrister Colin Mandy SC arrive at the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, Australia, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake MORWELL, Australia - The trial of an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives using toxic mushrooms entered its final stages on Wednesday, with the jury soon to begin its deliberations in a case that has gripped the nation. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, in July 2023. The prosecution accuses her of foraging for poisonous death cap mushrooms and knowingly adding them to individual portions of Beef Wellington that she served to her guests at her home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people some 135 km (84 miles) southeast of Melbourne. Patterson denies the charges, which carry a life sentence, with her defence calling the deaths a "terrible accident". Justice Christopher Beale, the presiding judge, began his second day of instructions to the jury on Wednesday at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in Morwell, a former coal mining town whose best known tourist attractions until the trial were a rose garden and a regional art gallery. Beale has said the process will take until at least the end of the day, meaning the 14-member jury will retire to consider their verdict on Thursday at the earliest. Their decision must be unanimous. Outside, despite the winter cold and rain, members of the public began queuing for the limited seats in the court hours before proceedings began. "I am a true crime fanatic," said Philip Mayers, a social worker who got up at 5am and drove two hours from Melbourne, the state capital, to get his place in the court. "It's the uniqueness of it, you don't hear it every day." 'MEDIA FRENZY' The trial has caused a sensation in Morwell, where Patterson requested to be tried rather than Melbourne. Laura Heller, the owner of Jay Dee's Cafe across the road from the modest two-storey court building, said business had tripled since the trial began on April 29. "Even though it's not great circumstances, it has been very good for our community because it's brought people from outside the area," she said. Journalists, podcasters and documentary crews from domestic and international media have descended on the town for the proceedings, which British magazine The Spectator dubbed "Australia's trial of the century". Public broadcaster ABC's daily podcast on the trial is currently the most popular in Australia, while streaming platform Stan says it will soon be airing a documentary on the trial and "media frenzy" surrounding the case. The Cedar Lodge Motel next to the court is fully booked, unusual outside the peak summer season, duty manager John Nicoll said. "It has been a bit of a boom for the motel and for the area in general," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
20-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Australia social media teen ban software trial organisers say the tech works
FILE PHOTO: Two school students pose with their mobile showing social media applications in Melbourne, Australia, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) -Some age-checking applications collect too much data and no product works 100% of the time, but using software to enforce a teenage social media ban can work in Australia, the head of the world's biggest trial of the technology said on Friday. The view from the government-commissioned Age Assurance Technology Trial of more than 1,000 Australian school students and hundreds of adults is a boost to the country's plan to keep under 16s off social media. From December, in a world first ban, companies like Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, Snapchat and TikTok must prove they are taking reasonable steps to block young people from their platforms or face a fine of up A$49.5 million ($32 million). Since the Australian government announced the legislation last year, child protection advocates, tech industry groups and children themselves have questioned whether the ban can be enforced due to workarounds like Virtual Private Networks, which obscure an internet user's location. "Age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively," said Tony Allen, CEO of the Age Check Certification Scheme, the UK-based organisation overseeing the Australian trial. The trial found "no significant tech barriers" to rolling out a software-based scheme in Australia, although there was "no one-size-fits-all solution, and no solution that worked perfectly in all deployments," Allen added in an online presentation. Allen noted that some age-assurance software firms "don't really know at this stage what data they may need to be able to support law enforcement and regulators in the future. "There's a risk there that they could be inadvertently over-collecting information that wouldn't be used or needed." Organisers of the trial, which concluded earlier this month, gave no data findings and offered only a broad overview which did not name individual products. They will deliver a report to the government next month which officials have said will inform an industry consultation ahead of the December deadline. A spokesperson for the office of the eSafety Commissioner, which will advise the government on how to implement the ban, said the preliminary findings were a "useful indication of the likely outcomes from the trial. "We are pleased to see the trial suggests that age assurance technologies, when deployed the right way and likely in conjunction with other techniques and methods, can be private, robust and effective," the spokesperson said. The Australian ban is being watched closely around the world with several governments exploring ways to limit children's exposure to social media. ($1 = 1.5427 Australian dollars) (Additional reporting by Cordelia Hsu; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Red Bull chose Lawson over Tsunoda, then gave the youngster just 2 weeks before bouncing him
Track marshals remove Red Bull driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand's car after crashing during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour) Red Bull driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand stands by his car after crashing during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour) Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, left, of the Netherlands walks with teammate Liam Lawson of New Zealand as they arrive at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake) FILE - Red Bull driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand during the drivers portrait photo session ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, File) FILE - Red Bull driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand during the drivers portrait photo session ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, File) Track marshals remove Red Bull driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand's car after crashing during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour) Red Bull driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand stands by his car after crashing during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour) Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, left, of the Netherlands walks with teammate Liam Lawson of New Zealand as they arrive at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake) FILE - Red Bull driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand during the drivers portrait photo session ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, File) CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Liam Lawson pulled a nearly $100,000 Raptor pickup truck into the parking lot of the Ford Performance Center running a little bit late during his packed schedule of appearances as Red Bull's newest Formula 1 driver. 'You know Ford ships that truck all over the country so that Liam has it to drive every time he's in the U.S.?' said NASCAR driver Noah Gragson, his host for this portion of the January launch of Ford's 2025 season. Advertisement Lawson's schedule was thrown off because he didn't have his laptop — he'd either left it in Europe or it had broken, one or the other — so he'd purchased one to pick up in North Carolina. What the 23-year-old New Zealander didn't realize is he'd chosen a Best Buy store nearly an hour away from his events. The large contingent of Red Bull Racing staffers on site got it all handled, but perhaps it was a small sign that Lawson wasn't ready to make the switch from the junior team to teammates with four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen. Red Bull had bought Sergio Perez out of his contract when his performance cost the team last year's lucrative constructors' title, and Lawson won the second seat over Yuki Tsunoda and other proven veterans. 'We have to have a second driver scoring points every race. That's the bottom line and we believe Liam is ready for the role,' Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told The Associated Press later that day. Like Lawson, Horner had been flown to North Carolina by Ford for its glitzy season launch, and the two were feted on stage that night by none other than Ford Chairman Jim Farley. Advertisement A little over two months later, the honeymoon era welcoming Lawson is over. After opening the season with back-to-back subpar performances, he last week was officially replaced in the car by Tsunoda for this week's Japanese Grand Prix. Lawson has been demoted to Tsunoda's seat at junior team Racing Bulls. Lawson had qualified 18th at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix but crashed out of the race; in China he qualified last for both the sprint race and the main event, finishing 14th and 12th. Horner tried to soften the decision. 'We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and, together, we see that after such a difficult start it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well,' Horner said. Advertisement Days later, Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko put it in a much harsher light, saying the team 'made a mistake' in choosing Lawson and accusing the youngster of lacking self confidence. By the time Red Bull made the swap, Verstappen had competed in 188 races for Red Bull while Lawson had been given 173 hours in the car. The team didn't even bother to let Lawson get to Japan — the first circuit this season he has any experience on — to see if familiarity would lead to improvement. 'We were worried that his self-confidence is so damaged that he couldn't bring his normal performance," Marko said. "And on the other hand, we have two drivers for the constructors' championship but also to support Max strategy-wise, if you have two drivers top five or eight it is easier to max a strategy that favors the No. 1 driver.' Verstappen, who can drive a setup that few others can handle, has repeatedly said that Lawson would do much better in the Racing Bulls car and show his true potential. The performance of the Red Bull car itself has dramatically fallen off during Verstappen's run of four consecutive driver championships; if the car was easier to handle, Verstappen wondered, would Lawson have had an easier adjustment? Advertisement Lawson was Verstappen's fourth teammate since Daniel Ricciardo left after the 2018 season. Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Perez and now Lawson have all been bounced. With an alleged clause in his contract that would allow Verstappen to leave Red Bull at the end of this season, the organization had to do something to right the ship. Dumping Lawson was fast and seen by some as cruel, maybe even an act of desperation. The team never found Tsunoda worthy of the seat next to Verstappen, picked a newcomer with little F1 experience instead, and only two races into the season has done a complete about-face. Lawson, who probably had a good idea he was in dangerous territory after the opener, was notably crushed. 'Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it's what I've worked towards my whole life,' he wrote on social media. "I'm grateful for everything that's brought me to this point. To every one of you who's stood by me, thank you for all the support. It means the world.' Advertisement His shot to drive alongside Verstappen is likely gone forever and it was an opportunity he was looking forward to back in January when Ford trotted him out as one of the new faces of the racing brand. 'It's a big responsibility,' Lawson said then. 'Red Bull are trying to win the constructors' championship so that's the big focus from their side. And for me, coming in, that's what my role is, to try to score points and achieve that for the team. If we're doing that, then I am doing my job. They are putting a huge amount of pressure on me to deliver right away. The expectation is to support the team and help win the constructors. I'm expecting to score points every race and I'm expecting to be fast enough to do it.' He was wrong. Red Bull was wrong, too. Now Lawson needs to figure out how to salvage his career. ___ AP auto racing:
