A man who drove drunk and killed his close friend in a crash on the New South Wales Far South Coast has been jailed for six years. Edward James McCoid, 34, pleaded guilty to aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death. Ritchie Faulkner, a 46-year-old grandfather, died from his injuries after the crash at Tura Beach in June last year. Police allege McCoid's blood alcohol concentration could have been as high as 0.25. The judge said the community had to be protected from him, and McCoid was disqualified from driving for two years.
Ian Gregory Beale, 67, has been sentenced to four years' jail with a three-year non-parole period in the ACT Supreme Court. Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said police found 469 photos and videos of child abuse material on five of his devices. She described the material as highly depraved and said Beale had shown no remorse. Beale pleaded guilty to three charges related to possessing or transmitting the material. He will be eligible for release in October 2029.
A court in China has jailed the operator and principal of a kindergarten, along with four kitchen workers, over food that caused lead poisoning in more than 200 students. The Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court found that the operator and principal had instructed the kitchen staff to add toxic substances to food. Li Huifang, who ran the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province, was sentenced to life in prison. Zhu Jinglin, the executive principal, received 15 years and a fine. The four kitchen workers were jailed for six to eight years.
AU Now app
Your suburb’s news, alerts and Shorts — in one app
Alerts, Shorts and your saved stories — free on Google Play.
A Western Australian couple have been jailed for torturing a bull terrier puppy to death. Nathan James Dekkers, 26, was sentenced to 11 months in jail and Isabel Maree Busher, also 26, to eight months at the Bunbury Magistrates Court. Both admitted to more than a dozen animal cruelty charges over the puppy, Douglas, in Busselton in late 2024. A neighbour recorded audio of the abuse. The couple are permanently banned from owning animals and will be eligible for parole after serving half their sentences. The RSPCA described the case as one of the worst it has seen.
A man has been jailed for 24 years after strangling his uncle to death in their Maffra home. Jethro Curtis, 44, attacked Stephen Curtis, 63, on January 18, accusing him of abuse. Curtis pleaded guilty to murder in July. Justice Rita Incerti described the attack as brutal, noting the victim's frailty due to Parkinson's disease. Curtis will be eligible for parole after 17 years.
