Che Kennedy, 28, is accused of assaulting a woman before setting her house on fire with the dogs still inside.
A man has been charged after allegedly assaulting a woman before setting a house on fire and killing three dogs.
Police were patrolling Kaitlers Road in Lavington, a suburb of Albury on the NSW border, about 11.45pm on Friday when they noticed smoke coming from a home.
The officers rushed to the scene where they discovered a home engulfed in flames and immediately called firefighters.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and discovered three dogs dead inside.
Police will allege Che Kennedy, 28, assaulted a 34-year-old woman known to him before setting the house on fire.
He was arrested by police at a property on Goolagar Crescent, in Springdale Heights, about 4.30pm on Sunday.
He has been charged with nine offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of breaching an AVO, intimidation, arson, drug possession, and three counts of animal cruelty.
He was refused bail to appear before Wagga Wagga Local Court on Sunday.
2025.3.6 Victorian man could face 300 charges after allegedly upskirting women and girls, court told
A regional accounting firm director allegedly filmed underneath the skirts of about 150 women and girls, a court has been told.
A regional accounting firm director, who has been accused of upskirting up to 150 women and girls around Victoria, may face more than 300 charges.
BeFinancial director Derek Anthony Grima appeared in Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Thursday via video link as his defence told the court that he was expecting hundreds of additional charges to be filed against his client.
Mr Grima was initially charged with two counts of producing intimate images, two counts of possessing child abuse material and stalking after police searched several Ballarat addresses on February 7 and seized electronic devices.
At Mr Grima’s first appearance at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on February 10, the court was told police suspected there could be up to 150 alleged victims, the Herald Sun reported.
Police alleged Mr Grima, who was 39 at the time, filmed people at recreational facilities and retail stores in Ballarat and Melbourne between January 1 and February 7.
On Thursday, the court was told Mr Grima was now facing 118 charges relating to a series of alleged upskirting incidents.
Defence lawyer Benjamin Smith said he had been advised a further 200 charges were expected to be laid against his client.
The prosecution questioned whether it was appropriate for the matter to continue in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court given its “seriousness and complexity”.
However, Magistrate Mark Stratmann said it was “premature” to uplift the matter to a higher court at this stage, but it should be adjourned for Mr Grima’s “benefit” in case more charges are laid.
Mr Smith said he was eager to avoid delay due to his client’s “vulnerabilities”.
Mr Grima was remanded to appear at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court via video link on March 25.
One business was broken into three times in two weeks, forcing it to bolster security measures and change operations.
2025.3.5 Megan Skye Blancada sentenced to prison for sexually abusing 14-year-old boy
A part-time actor and bikini model who abused a 14-year-old boy expressed some disturbing thoughts before her sentence.
A predatory pedophile and part-time bikini model who lured a 14-year-old boy to her car for sex made some disturbing remarks before receiving a significant prison sentence for her predatory behaviour.
Megan Skye Blancada, 39, was sentenced to five years in prison at the South Australian District Court on Wednesday after admitting to sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy on several occasions between 2021 and 2023.
Before the sentence, Blancada was heard telling supporters outside the court “there’s only so long you can have sympathy for the victim”.
Judge Anthony Allen slammed Blancada’s behaviour as “breathtakingly brazen” and the model, who regularly posted photos of herself in bikinis across social media, wept in the dock as he read out the sickening details of her offending.
“Quite frankly, you did not need to be a high functioning individual to know what you were doing was illegal and morally repugnant,” Judge Allen said.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said at an earlier court hearing that Blancada had “manipulated” and “used” him.
“She started texting me, trying to talk to me,” he said.
“I was confused … she would compliment me as if she liked me … it felt nice, and this is how she tricked me.
“She would say how horny I make her, how I look hot in my school clothes, that I should send her photos … she manipulated me, used me and raped me.”
Blancada’s sick behaviour involved four instances of contact offending, Judge Allen said on Wednesday.
In one instance, she attended a sleepover at the victim’s house and during the night she followed the victim to the bathroom, where she sexually abused him.
In another instance, Blancada and the victim’s family were dining together at a restaurant, where she abused the boy during the meal.
She also abused him at his home after she returned there after dinner one evening.
Her final episode of contact offending happened when the boy was in year 9 and walking to school.
She encouraged him into her car, Judge Allen said, and then drove to a building site where she sexually abused him.
Blancada also engaged in sexualised communications with the boy for two years over Snapchat that Judge Allen described as “classic grooming-type behaviour”.
She sent images to the child of her holding her own breast and other images of her engaged in sexual activity.
The victim saved 15 images and video exchanged over the messaging platform across 2021, 2022 and 2023, but Judge Allen said the victim estimates more than 1000 images and videos were exchanged.
“This aspect of the sexual abuse is extremely concerning,” Judge Allen said.
“It was persistent, invasive and occurred over a relatively lengthy period of time.
“It serves as the disgraceful backdrop to the episodes of contact offending. It matters not that the victim reciprocated the communications. He was a child, you were an adult.”
A police examination of Blancada’s phone following her arrest revealed she had plugged in the search term “sexual relationship with a 14 year old”.
In online profiles, Blancada advertises herself as a fitness model and mentions her roles in films such as Hey Hey Its Esther Blueburger and Wolf Creek.
Her Facebook posts also show off a glamorous lifestyle, with multiple posts showing off her bikini modelling jobs.
In a post from August 30, 2023, she shows a Jadore dress and writes: “Attending a red carpet event in Sydney definitely in a need of a dress from @dressforanight and they did not disappoint.”
Blancada also claims to have modelled for Mitsubishi and Bank SA.
On Wednesday, she appeared close to vomiting during Judge Allen’s sentencing remarks, dry retching in the dock.
Blancada’s legal team had earlier argued for a good behaviour bond as punishment, saying Blancada suffered from a borderline personality disorder at the time of the offending but had since learnt how to better control her herself.
But Judge Allen rejected those arguments on Wednesday and sentenced Blancada to five years and one month in prison, with a non-parole period of two years and five months.
“I do not accept as a consequence of those factors (Blancada’s mental health problems) that moral culpability … are significantly diminished in the circumstances of this case,” he said.
“The gravity of your offending means that a sentence of imprisonment is the only appropriate penalty.”
Tears streamed down Blancada’s face as she was led away from the dock.
2025.3.3 Parents of methanol victims Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones want answers
The parents of two Melbourne women who died due to methanol poisoning in Laos late last year have called for travellers to boycott the country until it investigates the deaths properly.
Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones were among six people who died after drinking tainted alcohol in the tourist town of Vang Vieng in November.
Their parents have told the ABC the investigation into the tragedy has been “disgraceful” and “horrendous” and that they’ve been kept in the dark by authorities in Laos.
The factory where the drinks were believed to have been distilled remained closed, but the ABC can reveal that one of the bars where the girls were drinking before they fell ill has reopened.
While the Nana Backpacker Hostel where the girls were staying has not reopened, its staff members who were arrested — all foreign nationals — have been released from custody.
They are now understood to be under house arrest with their passports confiscated.
Victoria Police has announced a $1 million reward for information relating to the murder of Gianni “John” Furlan in Melbourne’s north 27 years ago.
Mr Furlan, then 48, was killed when his car exploded in Coburg North on Monday, August 3, 1998.
Later, investigators would determine commercial explosives had been attached to the car.
“Despite an extensive investigation by members of the Arson and Explosives Squad and a number of public appeals for information over the past 27 years, nobody has ever been charged with John’s death,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
Furlan murdered on his way to work
On the day he was killed, Mr Furlan was driving his white Subaru Liberty sedan north along Lorensen Avenue in Coburg North, near Merlynston Railway Station, when the car exploded.
“John was alone in the vehicle and was driving his usual route from his home address on Sydney Road to his auto-wrecking business on Sages Road,” the police spokesperson said.
“As he always did, he stopped at the Merlynston News Agency for a coffee and the newspaper on the way.
“At approximately 8:35am, while still in motion, a bomb in John’s car detonated.”
Police said the explosion was heard up to 5 kilometres from the scene and catapulted the vehicle “15 metres down the road, shattering nearby shop windows and spraying debris over 300 metres away”.
In the days before his death, police said Mr Furlan travelled to Hobart to visit a friend and left his car parked at his home behind a high timber fence.
“Investigators believe his car was fitted with an explosive device during this time,” police said.
“Witnesses reported seeing two suspect vehicles in the days before John’s death.”
Police previously offered a $100,000 reward for information relating to Mr Furlan’s death in 2000.
2025.3.3 Nadia Khalil appeals conviction for sexually abusing detainees at Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre
In short:
Prison guard Nadia Khalil, who was sentenced to a maximum 12 years’ jail in 2021, has alleged a miscarriage of justice and wants a retrial.
She worked for decades at Reiby Youth Justice Centre, which houses New South Wales’ most troubled teenage offenders.
What’s next?
The appellant judges have reserved their decisions.
A former New South Wales juvenile corrections officer jailed for sexual abuse is appealing her conviction and prison sentence on the grounds she was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
In 2021 Nadia Khalil, 51, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars with a non-parole period of more than seven years for sexually assaulting five boys at Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre, near Campbelltown on the outskirts of Sydney.
A jury in the NSW District Court found her guilty of 20 child sex and indecent assault offences.
Reiby houses children up to 15 years old and the state’s youngest detainees have been incarcerated there.
Khalil’s offending occurred between 1997 and 2005 and the court was told she abused her position of trust and authority and had shown no remorse.
In the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday her barrister, Phillip Boulten SC, argued there had been a miscarriage of justice in relation to a report by clinical and forensic psychologist Christopher Lennings that was admitted as evidence.
Dr Lennings’s website says his areas of research interest include violent and sexually violent young offenders, youth suicide and child protection.
The court heard the doctor was asked to review literature regarding young males being sexually victimised by staff in detention centres.
“We say his evidence was not based on specialised knowledge of youth detention guards” Mr Boulten said.
‘Particular characteristics’
Mr Boulten took issue with the way Dr Lennings characterised prison guards.
“The nub is that people in the cohort of my client had particular characteristics and conducted themselves in particular ways,” Mr Boulten said.
“They were unqualified, ill-equipped for the job, essentially unregulated, and they operated in a culture where they essentially looked after each other … when they knew that one of their cohort was acting corruptly.
“The evidence was tendered for purpose in buttressing the credibility of the complainants.”
Mr Boulten called for a retrial.
“It should have been the subject of very carefully framed directions [by the judge], if possible, and none of that happened.
“We say what happened resulted in a miscarriage of justice and as a consequence the verdicts should be overturned and a new trial should be granted.”
‘Very important’ evidence
Crown prosecutor Monica Millward said Dr Lennings was highly qualified and had “written many research reports that deal with juvenile offenders, young offenders”.
“The evidence of Dr Lennings was a very important piece of evidence,” she said.
“The Crown did not at any point relate the evidence of Dr Lennings to the evidence of the youth workers.”
Ms Millward said that evidence could not be ignored.
“I caution against downplaying the significance of the evidence,” she said.
“The use of the evidence in this case does not support the contention that Dr Lennings’s evidence gave rise to a miscarriage of justice.”
The court heard Dr Lennings was a collaborative research committee member with the NSW Department of Juvenile Justice between 1997-2004.
The Crown said his expertise was relevant, which Mr Boulten disputed.
Appellant justices Peter Garling, Judge Dina Yehia and Belinda Rigg have reserved their decisions.
Khalil will be eligible for parole in June 2028.
2025.3.1 Seven-day search for Beaumont children concludes at former Castalloy site in Adelaide’s west
In short:
The search for the missing Beaumont children at North Plympton has concluded and failed to unearth any remains.
Nine-year-old Jane, seven-year-old Arnna and four-year-old Grant went missing from Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach on Australia Day in 1966.
What’s next?
Independent MP Frank Pangallo says he has received “significant information” he will pass on to the South Australian police.
The seven-day search for the missing Beaumont children at the former Castalloy site, in Adelaide’s west, has failed to unearth any signs of remains but MP Frank Pangallo says he’s received “significant information” from “extremely credible people”.
The independent MP announced early on Saturday afternoon that the search, which he claims was “the biggest clandestine grave dig in the world”, had officially concluded.
“After seven days of what I’m told is the biggest clandestine grave dig in the world, which saw the removal of almost 10,000 tonnes of soil and a number of holes dug here in the Castalloy site, unfortunately we haven’t turned anything up,” he said.
“There is a tinge of disappointment in my voice … but at the same time I am gratified and satisfied that we gave this one hell of shot.
“I think we can walk away satisfied we’re not going to find the remains here.”
Nine-year-old Jane, seven-year-old Arnna and four-year-old Grant went missing from Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach on Australia Day in 1966.
At the time, several witnesses provided a description of the children being seen with a tall, tanned, thin-faced man, with short blond hair.
The private search at the Castalloy site started on Saturday, February 22 by a local earth-moving firm in conjunction with two forensic archaeologists.
It was the third search at the site with previous searches also held in 2013 and 2018.
Mr Pangello said that although the unsuccessful search was disappointing, it has generated a renewed interest in the cold case and has seen fresh information come to light.
“There has been some significant information that has been passed on to me from extremely credible people,” he said.
“I’ve already spoken to Major Crime… and I gave [them] my assurance that any information we have gleamed and people would like me to pass on, will be passed onto South Australian Police.”
Mr Pangello said he received a large amount of support from the wider community and dismissed claims the search had been a “failure”.
“People all want to achieve one thing and that is to see the matter resolved and solved and the remains found,” he said.
“The thing is this story hasn’t ended here, there’s a chapter that’s been closed at the Castalloy site … however, it [the story] continues and it will continue as long as people show an active interest in trying to get the answer of what happened on January 26, 1966.
“The failure would be if suddenly everyone decided to switch off and not show an interest in what happened to the Beaumont children.”
Mr Pangello said he still holds hope the three siblings will be found “in [his] lifetime”.
“Somebody knows something, please come forward if you know,” he said.
Mr Pangallo previously said the search would be more extensive than those conducted before, adding new information had since come to light suggesting the 2018 excavation might “not have gone deep enough”.
SA Police announced at the time that they had been kept apprised of the plans of those involved in the search.
“The individuals conducting the fresh excavation at the site are following a theory that SAPOL believes is not supported by evidence and available information,” a police spokesperson said.
The site on Mooringe Avenue at North Plympton was once owned by Adelaide businessman Harry Phipps – who police had previously described as a person of interest in the case.
Mr Phipps, who died in 2004, was among about a dozen others who police had listed as a person of interest.
Mr Phipps’s son Haydn, who was 15 at the time the children went missing, claimed to have seen the children at his family home in Glenelg – he also told police he was violently abused by his father as a child.
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