1. Five year old boy found ‘drunk on mouthwash’ sparks arrest of parents for child abuse.
The child told police he was forced to drink toilet water — but that was nothing compared to the “whoopins” https://t.co/Ni3S1kTjir
— New York Post (@nypost) May 22, 2017
A five-year-old boy from New Mexico in the United States was so thirsty after being denied water he was forced to drink from the toilet and drink mouthwash, according to the New York Post.
The boy’s history of abuse was uncovered when he was hospitalised with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit for adults. The young boy told police he was forced to drink mouthwash when he was denied water by his parents.
Authorities also discovered a number of bruises over his body. The boy’s father, 25-year-old Tyriese Howard and his 23-year-old girlfriend, Breya Allen, were arrested and now face child abuse charges involving at least two of the three children who lived at their Albuquerque home.
The boy and his two siblings – aged six and three – told authorities they were choked, punched and beaten with objects like hangers, belts and cords by their father and step-mother.
According to KOB-TV, the children didn’t tell anyone about the abuse because they were told by their parents that “snitches get switched”.
A neighbour told the news outlet that she didn’t see the children very often and had no idea of the abuse they were suffering.
“I saw them occasionally but I didn’t really hear any screaming, nothing like that,” Diana Yesville said.
“I feel bad like I should have heard something. I mean there’s lost of music, maybe that’s it.
“I thought I would have heard something.”
The three children are currently in the care of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.
2. Woman ‘blackmailed’ into sex with teacher after he threatened to tell colleagues about her abortion.
Woman ‘effectively blackmailed’ to have sex with #goldcoast teacher, court told https://t.co/h5zjhhNiK4
— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) May 22, 2017
A teacher at a Gold Coast Catholic school was allegedly raped by a colleague after he threatened to reveal she’d had an abortion, AAP reports.
At the start of his trial in the Southport District Court on Monday, the man pleaded not guilty to three charges of rape for allegedly forcing himself on the woman on three occasions between December 2014 and February 2015.
The court heard the pair had started a relationship in April 2013, and the man began tracking her menstrual cycle to determine when they should have sex to increase the chance of her falling pregnant.
Crown prosecutor Michael Connelly said the woman already had two children from a previous relationship and did not want another child.
When she became pregnant in August 2013, she arranged to have an abortion in South Australia.
Mr Connelly said the man threatened to tell staff and parents at the school about the abortion, and release explicit videos and photos of the pair if she wouldn’t keep having sex with him and attempt to fall pregnant again.
The man also issued the woman with an ultimatum to either marry him, become “friends with benefits” or a third option he described as “worse than the worst thing you can imagine”.
“He effectively blackmailed her into submission,” Mr Connelly said.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
3. Family of pregnant woman killed in Sydney beg for the speculation over her death to stop.
Max Spencer behind bars after Hayley Mcclenahan-Ernst death in Kingswood. https://t.co/WToCM313Vz @PeterFegan7 #7News pic.twitter.com/UqJYGzh35l
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) May 22, 2017
The family of a 21-year-old pregnant woman who died in suspicious circumstances in her home over the weekend have begged the public to stop the speculation over her death.
Hayley Mcclenahan-Ernst’s sudden death sparked an outpouring of grief on her Facebook page, but family members have posted messages asking for “everyone to back off”.
“Please leave both families alone unless you have something supportive to say…We are grieving, let us do so. Thank you,” Katy-Jane Mills wrote on Hayley’s page.
Hayley’s cousin, Michael Crofts, also wrote that those who only wanted to argue about what led to her death were disrupting the family’s ability to grieve properly.
Their appeals come as court documents reveal a man accused of breaching an apprehended violence order the night his 21-year-old girlfriend died has a lengthy history of violence and was on parole at the time.
Max Spencer, 21, who police believe is Hayley’s boyfriend, was arrested after her death and charged with contravening an AVO.
Court documents say he has a history of violent crimes, including assaults against Ms Mcclenahan-Ernst.
Spencer did not appear at his first court mention at Penrith on Monday but his lawyer Ben Archbold entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. He did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.
Mr Archbold asked on Monday that Spencer receive a psychological assessment while in custody and the matter was adjourned until July 3.
4. Big game hunter ‘crushed to death’ by the elephant he was hunting in Zimbabwe.
A big game hunter was crushed to death after an elephant, that his friends had shot, collapsed on top of him https://t.co/xJnsvDlRdi pic.twitter.com/UUuXZG0yFe
— CNN (@CNN) May 22, 2017
A professional ‘big game’ hunter was crushed to death by an elephant he was hunting in Zimbabwe, CNN reports.
51-year-old Theunis Botha, a father of five from South Africa, was hunting with friends at the Good Luck Farm in Zimbabwe when the group discovered a herd of breeding elephants.
The group was reportedly attacked by the group of female elephants, with one picking Theunis up with her trunk. The elephant was shot, before she fell and died, crushing the man in the process.
The death occurred in the same park where Cecil the Lion was controversially killed by an American hunter in July 2015.
According to his website, Mr Botha had been leading hunting salaries since 1989, and specialised in hunting lions and leopards. His website also notes that animals including giraffes, buffalo and elephants could be hunted on his expeditions.
A spokesman for Zimbabwe National Parks told CNN the hunt Theunis was killed on was legal.
5. Unvaccinated toddler sparks measles fears for plane passengers flying to Melbourne.
Measles alert in Melbourne. These incidents are increasing. Please vaccinate your kids https://t.co/hmyIl0AGFl
— Dr John Weiner (@AllergyNet) May 22, 2017
An unvaccinated toddler had an infectious case of measles on a flight from Jakarta to Melbourne, and Victorian health experts want anyone with symptoms to seek treatment.
Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Brett Sutton says the three-year-old was admitted to hospital on the weekend after flying into Melbourne on Garuda Indonesia flight GA 716 on May 13.
“Anyone developing symptoms is advised to ring ahead to their GP or hospital first and tell them that they have fever and a rash,” Mr Sutton said in a statement on Monday.
“If you know you have been in contact with a measles case, please alert your GP or hospital emergency department.”
In a statement issued to doctors and hospital emergency departments about the incident, it says the toddler acquired the infection while in Indonesia and medical staff should be prepared.
“Be alert for measles in patients presenting with a fever at rash onset, particularly associated with international travel,” Dr Sutton said.
“Isolate suspected cases to minimise the risk of transmission within your department/practice.”
Measles symptoms usually present similarly to common cold symptoms which develop into a rash three to seven days later.
The health department says people aged 26 to 42 have the lowest immunisation coverage to the disease but those of any age who are immunocompromised are also at higher risk.
This includes people undergoing cancer treatment or on high-dose steroids.
Most cases of measles in Victoria are linked to international travel.
Suspected cases must be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services on 1300 651 160.
6. Four dead on Mt Everest in one weekend, including an Australian.
“Our community is a poorer place without Frank”. Australian climber Francesco Marchetti dies on Mt Everest https://t.co/h1yyKQq3gq via @smh
— Megan Levy (@meganlevy) May 22, 2017
The body of an Indian climber has been spotted on Mount Everest, the fourth fatality during a busy and tragic weekend on the world’s highest peak.
Sherpa rescuers spotted the body of Indian climber Ravi Kumar, but it was impossible to retrieve the body, said Thupden Sherpa of Arun Treks and Expedition. It appeared that Kumar had fallen some 200 metres below the route, he said.
Climbers from Australia, the United States, Slovakia also over the weekend. Because of bad weather conditions, climbing to the summit had been delayed this year, leading to a rush in the last few days to get to the summit.
Kumar, 27, fell sick on his way down from the summit on Saturday and did not make it to the nearest camp, though his accompanying Nepalese Sherpa guide did reach camp. The guide also was sick but managed to drag himself to the camp at South Col, located at 8000m.
Kumar and his guide reached the 8850m summit at about 1.30pm Saturday, which is considered late, and not many climbers were around when they were returning.
Tourism Department official Kamal Prasad Adhikari confirmed that Roland Yearwood, 50, from Alabama, died Sunday, but it was not clear if or when his body would be brought down.
A Slovak climber, Vladimir Strba, 50, also died on Sunday, Tourism Ministry official Gyanendra Shrestha said. His body was brought to the South Col camp.
Australian climber Francesco Enrico Marchetti, 54, from Queensland, died on the Chinese side of Everest, according to the Himalayan Times newspaper. Other details were not available.
The number of climbers who have died on Everest during the current spring climbing season, which began in March and runs through the end of this month, has now reached six. A typical spring season sees around six deaths on Everest, according to mountaineering officials.
The Nepalese Tourism Department issued a record 371 permits this year to people to scale the mountain.
The increased number of climbers this year is likely because many people were unable to climb in 2014 and 2015, when deadly avalanches disrupted the climbing seasons.
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