Amateur sleuthing has produced potentially tantalizing new evidence in the hunt for a photo depicting the mysterious Somerton Man when he was alive.
Key points:
Last month, Somerton Man researchers identified engineer and instrument maker Carl Webb as the unidentified figure
A photo of Swinburne Technical College’s 1921 under-16 football team lists a “C Webb” among the players
But much remains unconfirmed, including which one is Webb and whether his initial “C” stood for “Carl”
A 1921 snap of the under-16 football team from Swinburne Technical College — the forerunner of today’s Swinburne University of Technology — lists a “C. Webb” among the players.
Late last month, researcher Derek Abbott declared he and US forensic genealogy expert Colleen Fitzpatrick had solved the mystery, identifying the Somerton Man as Carl “Charles” Webb, a 43-year-old engineer and instrument maker from Melbourne.
Since that time, a veritable “face race” has ensued — enthusiasts across the globe have assiduously sought to discover a photo of Webb when he was alive, in order to compare it with the posthumous photos of the Somerton Man.
While the Swinburne photo, which has been published on Somerton Man online forums including Nick Pelling’s Cipher Mysteries and Professor Abbott’s Facebook group, falls considerably short of such a breakthrough, there are several facts in its favour.
Detectives say a man arrested over the death of a woman in north Queensland had been in a relationship with the victim for several months.
Key points:
Police say there were no domestic violence orders in place between the pair
Autopsy results are set to be released tomorrow
Authorities say the man was arrested at a service station in Proserpine
Mother of four Tania Trickey, 44, was killed at Bluewater, near Townsville, some time on Saturday morning.
A group of teenagers riding quad bikes discovered the body on a sandy track in bushland that afternoon.
Police arrested a 38-year-old Deeragun man at a service station in Proserpine around 8:30pm on Sunday after his car was spotted by patrolling officers.
“Police were basically able to take him by surprise,” Detective Inspector Jason Shepherd said.
Police have seized the man’s vehicle, which will be subject to forensic examination.
“We hope to obviously find evidence that will link our person of interest and the vehicle to the crime scene [at Bluewater],” Detective Inspector Shepherd said.
Pair allegedly drove to remote area together
Police believe the woman died on Saturday.(ABC News: Lily Nothling)
Police said the man and Ms Trickey had been in a relationship for a few months.
The pair allegedly drove to the remote area at Bluewater together on Saturday where the woman was later found dead.
Detective Inspector Shepherd said they were able to identify the man after his vehicle was captured on dash-cam footage near the scene.
A 63-year-old man has been charged with firearm offenses and will undergo a mental health assessment after allegedly firing multiple rounds inside Canberra Airport yesterday.
Key points:
Ali Rachid Ammoun is facing three charges, including firing and possessing a firearm, as well as intentionally discharging the gun, causing alarm
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours on Sunday afternoon as police swept the terminal
Mr Ammoun has been remanded in custody, to undergo a mental health assessment
About 1:30pm on Sunday, shots were fired inside the airport, and a man was arrested.
No one was injured.
Police allege Ali Rachid Ammoun arrived at the airport about 1:20pm and sat on some seats near the check-in desks on the first floor.
About 1:25pm, they said he drew a firearm and fired a number of shots into the windows of the building.
Australian Federal Police officers who were stationed within the airport terminal apprehended Mr Ammoun.
Bullets damaged the glass windows of Canberra Airport after Mr Ammoun allegedly opened fire.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours as ACT Policing and AFP Airport Police worked in partnership to secure the area and confirmed Mr Ammoun was acting alone.
Canberra Airport returned to normal operations about 5:00pm, with flights resuming shortly afterwards.
Alleged shooter to be sent for mental health assessment
Mr Ammoun appeared by video link in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning.
He is facing three charges, including firing and possessing a Smith and Wesson revolver, and intentionally discharging the gun causing another person to fear for their safety.
In court, his only request was that the ABC be excluded.
Magistrate Robert Cook refused the application, saying it was an open court.
Mr Ammoun did not apply for bail, and has been remanded in custody to undergo a mental health assessment at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
The case will return to court on September 5.
At least three bullet holes are visible in the glass windows of Canberra Airport.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
ABC reporter Lily Thomson, who was at the airport at the time, said she heard loud bangs and then saw people running towards her.
“I just assumed people were running for their flight,” she said.
But she said she realized something was wrong when people started screaming “run.”
She said she was left feeling “shaken” afterwards.
“It’s just the feeling of not knowing, that’s quite terrifying,” she said.
“As soon as we got out, people were on their phones to loved ones, hugging each other, that kind of thing.”
Airport CEO praises police response
Passengers waited on grounded planes while the airport was locked down during the police response to the shooting.(ABC News: Mark Alexander)
Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said despite the “terrifying” nature of the incident, authorities had responded well.
“We had our team both on-site and others coming into play straight away,” he said.
“The AFP has trained for these sorts of situations, where you have an armed intruder in an airport environment, and they have teams that are in place and they respond and indeed engaged immediately.
“In this case the offender was calm and submitted to their arrest.”
He said police had worked “incredibly efficiently and effectively” to sweep the airport and ensure no one else was involved.
“In fact, it was a pretty quick process, taking about three and a quarter hours for the terminal to be fully reopened,” he said.
More security at airports not needed: expert
John Coyne, the head of the Border Security Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the shooting was extremely rare by Australian standards, and there was not much more airports could do to respond to such an incident.
He said extra security at the front entrance, a measure suggested by some, could actually create even more of a risk.
“That could be a good idea, but then all of a sudden you’ve got large crowds of people lining up in the close vicinity of cars on the sidewalk waiting to go in, so that’s an even bigger target where even more casualties could occur ,” Mr Coyne said.
“I’ve always asked, can you make an airport really secure? And I always say, yes you can — what you can do is you can make sure that no plans fly, no one works at the airport and that there’s no travellers, because everything after that is a compromise.”
A 63-year-old man from New South Wales has been charged with firearm offenses after allegedly firing multiple rounds inside Canberra Airport yesterday.
Key points:
The man is facing charges of discharging a firearm at a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a person, causing alarm
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours on Sunday afternoon as police swept the terminal
The man is set to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning
About 1:30pm on Sunday, shots were fired inside the airport, and a man was arrested.
No one was injured.
Police allege that the man arrived at the airport about 1:20pm and sat on some seats near the check-in desks on the first floor.
About 1:25pm, they said he drew a firearm and deployed a number of shots into the windows of the building.
Australian Federal Police officers who were stationed within the airport terminal apprehended the man.
Bullets damaged the glass windows of Canberra Airport after the man allegedly opened fire.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours as ACT Policing and AFP Airport Police worked in partnership to secure the area and confirmed the man was acting alone.
Canberra Airport returned to normal operations about 5:00pm, with flights resuming shortly afterwards.
At least three bullet holes are visible in the glass windows of Canberra Airport.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
The man is set to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning where police said they would oppose bail.
The man is facing charges of discharging a firearm at a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a person causing alarm.
Police have confirmed Jifeng (Eileen) Liu as one of the people found dead in a home in Stretton, in Brisbane’s south, yesterday.
A 49-year-old man has been charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of Ms Liu as well as a man in his early 20s.
Police, who were called to the home at Coolidge Court at 9:40am on Monday, found the man and the bodies of Ms Liu and the man on the second storey of the home.
The 49-year-old man was treated for injuries and taken to hospital where he remains under police guard.
He was charged by detectives overnight.
Forensic police attended the scene. (ABC News: Alfred Beales)
Police confirmed the person who rank triple-0 was the 49-year-old male and the use of a Cantonese interpreter was required at the scene.
The scene remained cordoned off overnight, with forensic investigators remaining at the home. Police said they recovered two “bladed weapons” from the scene.
Police say a 49-year-old man is in custody. (ABC News: Alfred Beales)
The relationships of the three people are yet to be fully established, but the police believed they were “linked”.
Late on Monday afternoon, detectives were seen removing two mobile phones, sealed in plastic bags, from the home.
Police are seeking information from neighbors and have asked anyone with information to come forward.
Mount Isa man Trevor Caulton has been arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly drove a vehicle into a crowd of people, hitting and killing a 13-year-old girl.
Key points:
Mount Isa man Trevor Caulton has been arrested and charged with murder
He allegedly drove a car into a group of people and killed a young girl
After a brief hearing on Monday, the case will next be heard on September 26
Emergency services were called to the corner of Delacour Drive and Dent Street in the Mount Isa suburb of Pioneer after midnight on August 6 and treated the girl for critical head injuries.
Police confirmed she succumbed to her injuries and died at the scene.
Mr Caulton’s lawyer appeared on his behalf via phone at the Mount Isa Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
A full brief of evidence was being prepared and the case would appear for mention at Mount Isa Magistrate’s Court on September 26.
The victim was identified and her family had been contacted, police said.
Paramedics treated the victims at the site of the incident near Dent Street in Pioneer.(ABC North West Queensland: Emily Dobson)
Fears of retribution prompt police warning
Police have called for calm in the community after the tragedy.
Mount Isa Police Acting Superintendent Smith asked the community to assist investigators.(ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
“I do have concerns about unrest in the community — this is a distressing case and this poor girl’s life has been taken,” said Mount Isa Police Acting Superintendent Jason Smith.
“We acknowledge the grief in the community and we implore everyone to remain calm around this incident and to assist police with the investigation.
“Sometimes in our community there can be an urge from some to seek retribution. Please know the law has been executed, the alleged offender is in jail and police have done as much as they can.”
IRVINE, Calif. — Police have arrested an Orange County woman for an investigation of poisoning her husband.
Police in Irvine say a man reported Thursday that he believed he was being poisoned by his wife of 10 years after he grew ill over the course of a month.
The man had video evidence he also provided to authorities, police said in a statement. He had internal injuries but is expected to recover, the statement said.
Yue Yu, 45, was arrested Thursday after investigators interviewed her and searched the couple’s home, the statement said. She is due to appear in court Monday and is being held on a $30,000 bail, online jail records show.
It was not immediately known whether Yu had an attorney.
Irvine woman arrested on suspicion of poisoning husband
Yue Yu, 45, was arrested after investigators interviewed her and searched the couple’s home, police said.
Irvine Police Department
Yu is a dermatologist in Orange County and attended medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, according to her office’s website. A message was left seeking comment at the office.
Providence Mission Hospital, where Yu can see patients, said in a statement Friday that the hospital is cooperating with police and the incident was a domestic issue and has not affected patient care.
A man is dead after he was found unresponsive on a Mount Washington trail on Saturday. Hikers found an unresponsive man on the Jewell Trail around 1:15 pm New Hampshire Fish and Game said the group started CPR right away and called for help.After 40 minutes of CPR, the good Samaritans saw no signs of life and were battling tough weather conditions, freezing temps and high winds, according to the report, and resuscitation efforts ended. The man’s body was carried one mile by volunteer rescue teams and then transported to the base on the Cog Railway. The dog that was with him when he collapsed was placed in a shelter until his family could be reached. The identity of the man has not been released. In the video below, meteorologist Jacqueline Thomas reminds hikers that the weather conditions can change drastically atop Mount Washington, showing what conditions were like on Saturday.
MOUNT WASHINGTON, NH—
A man is dead after he was found unresponsive on a Mount Washington trail on Saturday.
Hikers found an unresponsive man on the Jewell Trail around 1:15 pm
New Hampshire Fish and Game said the group started CPR right away and called for help.
After 40 minutes of CPR, the good Samaritans saw no signs of life and were battling tough weather conditions, freezing temps and high winds, according to the report, and resuscitation efforts ended.
The man’s body was carried one mile by volunteer rescue teams and then transported to the base on the Cog Railway.
The dog that was with him when he collapsed was placed in a shelter until his family could be reached.
The identity of the man has not been released.
In the video below, meteorologist Jacqueline Thomas reminds hikers that the weather conditions can change drastically atop Mount Washington, showing what conditions were like on Saturday.
