Latest news with #Rhianna
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
‘Dad, I love you. Pray for me': the preventable death of Nimroy Hendricks, stabbed in the heart by a 14-year-old
In October 2020, Nimroy Hendricks was struggling to manage a situation that was spiralling out of control. He was 24, his girlfriend was 32, and her daughter, Rhianna (not her real name), was a violent and troubled 14-year-old. At the start of that year, Rhianna had stabbed her mother and set fire to a room in their home, been briefly detained, then returned to live with her. Now she was again threatening to stab her mum. Hendricks was desperate to protect his girlfriend, who he had been with for six months. 'I knew it was getting really bad for Nim,' says his father, also called Nimroy Hendricks. 'He couldn't handle the situation but he felt he couldn't leave his girlfriend because he was worried Rhianna might kill her. The mother was afraid of her daughter. She had reported her daughter's threats to police and social services, but Rhianna remained living with her. 'The last time I saw Nim, we sat on the stairs just talking. He told me how bad the situation was with Rhianna. He said: 'Dad, they're not helping her.' Then he gave me a hug and held me tightly and said: 'Dad, I love you. Pray for me.'' On 27 October, Hendricks went to his girlfriend's home in Crawley, West Sussex, to collect a few things. When he arrived, he saw Rhianna had smashed things up in the flat, and told her off, phoning her mother to tell her what had happened. Then he left. Rhianna was furious. As Hendricks walked down the street with his headphones on, she pursued him with a knife. She shouted that she was going to stab him, then plunged the knife through his heart. Rhianna was convicted of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility at Bristol crown court in July 2021. Medical experts identified 'a significant abnormality of mind' at the time of the killing. She received a sentence of nine years – five in custody, followed by four on extended licence. During the court proceedings she acknowledged Hendricks had been a positive and supportive influence and 'like a brother' to her. After the trial, detective chief inspector Andy Wolstenholme described Hendricks as 'peaceful, selfless and caring'. On 18 July, almost five years after the stabbing, the inquest into Hendricks' death concluded. Penelope Schofield, senior coroner for West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, ruled that his death was due to unlawful killing and that the police and social services had each missed an opportunity to intervene shortly beforehand. 'It is possible that had these matters been addressed the perpetrator may not have been in a position to carry out the act which led to Mr Hendricks' death,' she said. 'The issue with this case was that nobody saw the risk to Nim.' 'Everyone was at risk from this girl,' his mother, Lisa, said afterwards. 'Her mother, police officers, social workers – and Nim. But it was as if Nim was an invisible person.' Hendricks was adored by his parents. Lisa describes him as 'a sweet plum'. She is an artist who previously taught art to prisoners, and Nimroy Hendricks Sr is a musician and decorator. Nimroy and his dad wrote and performed music together and joined forces on decorating jobs. 'When I think of Nim,' says Lisa, 'I think of him in the water in Jamaica, free and happy during days out on the beach when he was swimming, snorkelling, jumping the waves and smiling, showing his missing teeth with his soft curly hair full of sand.' 'We have not just lost our son,' Lisa and Nimroy said at the inquest. 'We have lost our best friend. There is no way to describe the unbearable pain of life without him.' The day before Hendricks died, Rhianna's mother had reported her missing to the police. She was well known to them. When Rhianna was found in the early hours of 27 October, just hours before killing Hendricks, the police agreed, after some deliberation, that she could go and stay with an 18-year-old girl she described as her 'cousin', but who was not in fact a relative and did not live at the address she had provided to the police. Hendricks' parents believe that had Rhianna been taken into protective custody that night their son would still be alive. An earlier report into the actions of Sussex police by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, however, did not identify any failings. It was only after Hendricks' death that a fuller picture emerged of Rhianna's background. Rhianna's mother became pregnant with her when she was 17. She was subjected to domestic violence while she was pregnant, which experts believe impacted her daughter in the womb. According to a 2023 review into the events leading up to Hendricks' killing, Rhianna told professionals she had to look after herself at times even when she was a toddler. She displayed violent and aggressive behaviour from the age of six, and at eight she was permanently excluded from her third primary school, after numerous episodes of restraint and fixed-term exclusions. Referrals to the child and adolescent mental health services were made, but rejected, because she did not 'meet the threshold'. In 2017, when she was 10, she told professionals she had smothered her three-year-old half-brother in a rage. He survived. In June 2019, when she was 13, she was the victim of a serious attack. Around the same time, she was linked to county lines drug gangs. She was diagnosed with PTSD, mild learning difficulties and conduct disorder, and possibly also ADHD. A psychological assessment when she was 13 found she was functioning as an eight- or nine-year-old. When asked about her safe places and who had protected her as a child, she was unable to name any person or place. The 2023 review concluded 'there was a failure of the system as a whole' in relation to Rhianna and that 'the systems in place to protect such vulnerable children are ineffectual'. It found that those supposed to be supporting Rhianna demonstrated a lack of professional curiosity and critical thinking. It also identified 'adultification bias', whereby adults perceive black children like Rhianna to be older than they are and fail to treat them in an age-appropriate way. 'I honestly think part of the failings were due to the fact that she is black and Nimroy was black,' says Lisa. 'They were doing lots of things, but none of them were joined up and none of them worked.' A common thread in reviews into violent deaths is that opportunities to intervene were missed and communication between agencies was deficient. In Rhianna's case there were so many plans – multi-agency support plans, education and healthcare plans, children-in-need plans and child protection plans – and all of them failed. The thousands of pages of notes written about her by various professionals could not save Hendricks' life. The number of agencies that intervened may even have had a negative impact on Rhianna's wellbeing. The review stated that Rhianna 'was known to be overwhelmed by the number of services and professionals involved'. It added: 'There is little evidence that, despite significant input and undoubted time and effort, partnership intervention had any positive effect over [Rhianna's] lifetime.' According to Dr Elie Godsi, a consultant clinical psychologist and chartered member of the British Psychological Society, women and girls commit about 10% of all violent acts. 'This is almost exclusively due to multiple childhood adversity and trauma … in particular, interpersonal violence, substance misuse, mental health problems and self-harm,' he says. 'If you have been a powerless victim, one way of taking back control and power is through being violent. When you have a child with that much trauma, they can't regulate their emotions or behaviour and any kind of conflict is magnified.' In March, Susannah Hancock's review of girls detained after criminal offences in England and Wales recommended they should no longer be placed in young offender institutions due to the 'complex mental and physical health issues' they often face. Instead, they should be placed in secure schools or secure children's homes. At the time of the review, just 10 girls were being held across England and Wales. It found that offending in this group of girls was 'closely linked to exposure to multiple, traumatic events'. Most girls who commit violent offences are found to have suffered abuse from a very young age or even while still in the womb. At the time the relationship between Hendricks and Rhianna's mother began, Rhianna had just been released from child detention on licence after the stabbing and fire-setting incidents. 'Nim told me how beautiful it was to see them reunited,' says Lisa. 'Rhianna was learning to ride a bicycle and Nim was a loving and big-hearted presence there.' But Rhianna was prone to bouts of extreme anger and couldn't be talked down when her rage descended. In the days before she killed Hendricks, Rhianna's anger had been triggered by her mother leaving their home in Crawley to travel to Birmingham, so she could care for her dying mother. She had returned to Crawley the day before Rhianna killed Hendricks, but was fearful of going back to their home because of the threat from her daughter. Instead, she stayed with Hendricks. Killings by children are extremely rare; killing by girls even more so. But police, social services, schools and youth justice teams need to recognise that children can commit domestic violence as well as be the victims of it, says Lisa. 'These children need to be considered as perpetrators in order that those subjected to this domestic violence are given the protection they deserve. These children, who are so obviously troubled, deserve proper care and therapeutic interventions. If the state does not put in place the structures to help children who [might] kill, we are in increasingly dangerous territory.' Hendricks' parents are not out for revenge. 'I forgave Rhianna straight away when I read about all the things she has been through,' says Hendricks Sr. 'Everyone failed her.' He constantly replays the weeks before Rhianna killed his son. 'It was terrible to see someone that young with no protection. They should have kept a close eye on her. She needed help, but they didn't look after her. I go and sit at Nim's graveside and think about how he would still be alive if things had been done differently.' He is also haunted by the police's refusal to let him see his son after Rhianna stabbed him. When he got the news, he rushed to the scene. 'All I wanted was to see my son. My heart was racing. But the police escorted me away. There was a partition separating me from him. I was told by police I should not stay there. I said, 'I can't go – this is my son.'' 'The system is completely broken,' Lisa says, 'and we have paid the highest price for that.' Like Lisa, Hendricks Sr is calling for a fundamental change in the way dangerous and troubled children are managed. 'When people have mental health problems, they need to be kept in a safe place,' he says. 'I don't think prison is the right place for girls like her and I would never want her to be there. She needs to be put into a therapeutic environment where she is safe and can get the care she needs to heal.' 'Losing Nim is a daily event – it never leaves me,' says Lisa. 'A huge part of me left when he was killed. I am not the same person. It has been harrowing to lose him to the hand of a child. Nim was a beautiful soul, a kind, imperfect, handsome, funny, wise-for-his-years and talented young man. He was an absolute joy and deserved 100% better.' 'Nim and I were so close and I have to continue living with this. I feel so lonely,' says Hendricks Sr. 'All my son was trying to do was help a girl who needed help.'
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Why is River Island in trouble?
The future of River Island is in the balance ahead of a crucial court ruling on the fashion chain's restructuring British chain - which once collaborated with Rhianna - revealed in June that it intends to close 33 shops in the UK, putting hundreds of jobs at risk, and also wants its landlords to cut rents at a further 71 said more people shopping online and higher costs to run stores had contributed to heavy financial losses. Reports have suggested it could collapse if its plans are not accepted by the High Court next month, although the firm said it was "confident" they will what has gone wrong for the High Street stalwart? Catherine Shuttleworth from Savvy Marketing said River Island's challenges were "significant" but they were shared by the wider retail believed the fashion chain had been affected by several factors including having its stores in the wrong place and facing rising costs."River Island has maintained an expensive portfolio of stores at a time when costs are rising and footfall is falling," she told the BBC."Many older stores find themselves in parts of town which may have been busy 20 years ago but now find themselves on the periphery."Known for affordable and stylish fashion, brands such as River Island and Topshop dominated High Street fashion from the early 2000s to the mid first River Island store opened in 1988, after being originally founded in 1948 under the Lewis and Chelsea Girl brand before being family-owned retailer currently has 230 shops, employs about 5,500 people and was one of the first big UK High Street names to launch online in the late recent years have proved tough. Ben Lewis, chief executive of River Island, said last month that a sharp rise in "the cost of doing business" over the past few years had "only added to the financial burden".Intense competition in fashion retail, not only from the likes of Boohoo, but also from Chinese giants such as Shein and Temu, have also added to its most recent set of accounts revealed a £33.2m loss, with sales down 19%. Creditors will start to vote on River Island's restructuring plan on 4 August, and the High Court will decide whether to approve it on 7 the plans are rejected, then it is understood the retailer will revise its Island says the plan is a "proactive measure" to place it on "a firm footing"."We have been having positive conversations with key stakeholders and are confident that we will achieve approval of the plan in the next few weeks," a spokesperson for the retailer Sherrard, managing director of Label Sessions, said River Island was in trouble now because of actions not taken years ago."What's very apparent here is that from landlords and suppliers, to investors, no one believes in River Island enough to do it some favours," he told the Sherrard also said River Island was missing the mark when it comes to keeping loyal customers."Customers know it, but they don't know why they should care about the brand," he added. Can it make a comeback? Mr Sherrard said River Island may need more time to turn its fortunes around."River Island's leadership team clearly think that if they can just get a few more months, they can turn the ship around, but the best businesses know that you always have a lot less time than you think before change hits the market," he Farrell, fashion editor at the Who What Wear website, told the BBC that River Island's fate depends on how it chooses to rebrand."Times are tough for High Street brands that need to feel premium to stay afloat." she current best performing brands are those that "don't rely on buzzy microtrends", she added, but provide "interchangeable pieces rather than seasonally targeted drops"."As we wait with baited breath for the return of Topshop to see just how well the nostalgia factor will support an affordably-priced, younger-skewing brand in the years to come, the concern here for River Islands longevity is who its key market is." Additonal reporting by Connie Bowker
Irish Daily Mirror
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Irish Daily Mirror
The ancient Irish weather omen that could bring 40 days of rain starting today
After enjoying glorious sunshine over the weekend, many people across Ireland may be feeling a little gloomy when looking out of their window on what is proving to be a very rainy Tuesday. A disruptive mix of thunderstorms, torrential downpours and strong winds are expected today with Met Eireann warning that it will "remain changeable and rather unsettled" for the rest of this week. For those superstitious of nature, rainfall on July 15 - St Swithin's Day - holds a particularly grim meaning when it comes to weather. According to an ancient legend, if it rains on St Swithin's Day, it will continue to rain for the next 40 days. The tale, which dates back to 9th-century England, is rooted in folklore surrounding St Swithin, a bishop whose remains were moved from an outdoor grave to a shrine inside Winchester Cathedral on a rainy July 15. Legend has it that the rain on the day of the move was heaven's protest - and that it would rain for 40 days straight to show its disapproval. This story has sparked the popular proverb: "St Swithin's day if thou dost rain', For forty days it will remain, St Swithin's day if thou be fair, For forty days will rain na mair." The superstition has carried for centuries, even though meteorologists have long debunked any scientific basis behind it. The UK's Met Office said today: "Since records began there has been no occurrence of rainfall for that prolonged period of time". But that hasn't stopped people across Ireland from watching the skies a little more nervously on this particular date. Popular weather account Carlow Weather marked the occasion on social media, prompting a flurry of nostalgic - and slightly anxious - reactions from followers. One person recalled: "Ah, but who can forget the summer of 2007, when, ironically, the song Umbrella by Rhianna was number 1 in Ireland for 7 weeks while at the same time we experienced 49 consecutive days of rain. Nothing to do with St Swithin's Day mind you, it just always sticks out in my memory." Another wrote: "I'm sure this happened about 10 or 15 years ago. It rained for 40 days straight after raining on St Swithin's Day." A third added: "Yes the weather will be changeable for the next 40 days its raining here." Others kept it simple, with one commenter writing: "I hope this is not true." And perhaps summing up the national mood, someone else simply posted: "That's us done." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Wales Online
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Hundreds of counterfeit Labubu plushie toys and keyrings seized from a dozen Swansea shops
Hundreds of counterfeit Labubu plushie toys and keyrings seized from a dozen Swansea shops They are one of the world's most popular toys More than 1,500 counterfeit 'Labubu' plushie toys and keyrings have been seized by Swansea Council (Image: Swansea Council ) Fake versions of one of the world's most popular toys have been seized from shops in Swansea. The city council's trading standards team visited more than a dozen shops in the city and seized more than 1,500 counterfeit 'Labubu' plushie toys and keyrings. The Labubu toys, manufactured by Pop Mart, have increasingly become one of the most sort after collectibles around the world, with the toys being resold in shops and online for double or triple their original price. They come in the form of keyrings and plushies and are packaged as 'blind boxes' – meaning you don't know which toy you will get until you've opened the packaging. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here Global pop stars including Dua Lipa and Rhianna have been pictured with the toys, helping to create a frenzy for them and many others are taking to TikTok to show off their new toys. Swansea Council's trading standards team leader, Rhys Harries, said: "Trading standards recently received some complaints about the products and decided to visit a number of local stores to see if they were being sold. 'We've visited more than a dozen shops so far and have seized a large number of these toys. Article continues below "Some shops told us they have sold out of their stock due to demand. Many are also not aware they were selling counterfeit toys, believing them to be legitimate. 'We need local businesses to be aware of what they are buying in for resale and understand the dangers associated with these poorly made products. 'Parents and young people that may have purchased these toys should also be aware of the dangers." Some of the seized toys (Image: Swansea Council ) He added: 'Some of the toys we have seized have been inspected and all are extremely poor quality and can be pulled apart easily. "This presents a serious choking hazard for babies and young children.' The council recently led a counterfeit toy seizure operation in London where up to £10 million of counterfeit toys were seized from a number of warehouses. The council's cabinet member for corporate services and performance, David Hopkins, said: 'This counterfeit toy seizure is significant in terms of the positive impact it has had, not only in Swansea, but around the UK. 'Our trading standards has continued to follow the trail of fake and dangerous toys to main distribution outlets outside of Swansea, illustrating their commitment to protecting consumers.' Article continues below
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Old Forge girl's painting makes it to Halls of Congress
OLD FORGE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Kids often discover art by coloring with crayons, but there is something else about art that they discover along the way, their creativity. For one local teen, that creativity is gaining her national recognition. 17-year-old Rhianna Kupetz seems right at home inside the art room at Old Forge Junior/Senior High School. She is familiar with several art mediums, including batik, by using soy wax and cheesecloth. She also dabbles in linoleum printing under the watchful eye of Old Forge Jr./Sr. High school art teacher Anne Guida. 'She just takes it to the next level, and it's amazing. It's great to see,' said Guida. 'Yeah, she does really push me, and I feel like a lot of the projects are very different than stuff that I would normally do at home,' said Rhianna. You would have a hard time finding a form of art that Rihanna is not adept at, but if you ask what her favorite art medium is, she would tell you… 'Probably painting. I think painting with acrylics,' said Rhianna. Acrylic painting is the medium Rhianna chose to make a gift for her mother. Inspired by an unusual find in her mom's garden. 'She grows her own vegetables and stuff, and she found a potato that was shaped like a heart, so I thought it would be really cute to paint and give it to her for Christmas,' explained Rhianna. After taking a photo of her mother holding the heart-shaped potato, Rhianna got to work. 'I began tracing it out on canvas and then, like, building out different layers and painting it on,' explained Rhianna. The labor of love took about a month to make. After giving her mom the painting, you'd have a hard time 'drawing up' what happened next. Girl Scout helping a dying bat population with bat boxes 'It's insane to think about. I never thought that would happen, like, especially so young. It's mind-boggling,' said Rhianna. Ms. Guida saw the painting's potential. She encouraged Rihanna to submit it for the annual congressional art competition. The painting, now called 'Potato Heart', was chosen to represent the 8th congressional district. A ceremony was held in April at the Everhart Museum in Scranton before Rihanna's artwork made its way to Washington, D.C. It is being displayed in the Halls of Congress with other award-winning works of students nationwide. 'I can't imagine how many people are going to see this artwork that she created. I can't imagine how many people are going to walk through those halls and look at that and say 'Oh'. Maybe it will remind them of northeast Pennsylvania, and that's what goes on here because I think it captures it perfectly,' said Donna Kupetz, Rhianna's mother. For her achievement, Rihanna received a certificate from the Old Forge School Board and District. 'To have your artwork recognized as an artist it's, it's what you hope for, and just all of her hard work and all of her dedication, and to see that recognition, it's great,' said Guida. Rhianna has served as president of her school's drama club. She has also served as secretary of the Leo Club, the student version of the Lions Club. And now she serves as something else: a congressional art competition winner. 'Yeah, that's crazy. I don't know. I'm just so shocked,' said Rhianna. Rhianna says she will attend West Chester University to study studio arts. In the meantime, she plans to go to Washington, D.C., next week to see her painting, 'Potato Heart' on display at the U.S. Capitol Building. Here's to you, Rhianna. If you have a kid you think should be featured on Here's To You Kid!, send in a nomination online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
