Category: News

The mother of murdered toddler Tavia Michella Ximenes Da Costa has been refused a variation of bail conditions to permit her to reside at the address when the incident occurred.

Tavia was just two weeks off her second birthday when she was found dead in bed on October 13, last year.

Her mother’s partner Januaria Sarmento Ximenes (29) is charged with her murder.

The mother Suzi Augusta Jacinta Da Costa (21) is charged with manslaughter and along with her sister Suzana Da Costa Ximenes (24) jointly accused of causing the death of the child and knowing she died by an unlawful act.

All three, who resided at Windmill Court, Dungannon are accused of wilful ill-treatment between 1 August to 13 October 2024.

Ximenes wasn’t Tavia’s father but began a relationship with Da Costa in June, moving in with her and her sister in August.

On the morning in question, Da Costa rang her mother saying there was something wrong with Tavia who told her to go to hospital.

Da Costa, who was “normal and calm” refused instead asking her mother to come to the house.

She arrived with her bother and were met by Ximenes who, emotionless said, “Let’s resolve this as a family”

Tavia’s grandmother found her in bed and believed she had been dead some time.

Her brother rang 999 while Ximenes told him, “I’m a good man. That’s why I saved your niece.”

An ambulance crew notified police and the defendants were arrested.

A postmortem found Tavia died from brain injury caused by blunt force trauma.

She was covered in bruises including to her head and face, grip marks to her arms and a burn on her ear.

Ximenes was in a nightclub the evening before an “angry and aggressive” when leaving around 2am.

Approximately 30 minutes later a witness heard two women “screaming hysterically” in Tavia’s home.

During interview Da Costa claimed her daughter had fallen and insisted Ximenes “was a great guy” then changed to say he was violent with this increasing from 9 October 2024.

Despite this she left the child alone with him days before the murder.

She claimed Tavia’s breathing was terrible the night before and, in the morning, she was dead.

Ms Ximenes accepted not liking Ximenes and stayed out of his way, but insisted she didn’t see or hear anything.

All three accused were refused bail, although Ms Ximenes has since been released.

Da Costa was later granted High Court bail on condition she obtained an appropriate address and refrain from entering Dungannon.

In January her lawyers sought compassionate bail at Dungannon Magistrates Court for her release to attend with the Housing Executive to register as homeless in order to obtain accommodation.

However District Judge Francis Rafferty refused stating: “I don’t accede to these applications. I’m aware some judges do, but I do not. I have been told in person by the Head of the Prison Service that there is a facility within the prison to address such matters.”

At the most recent sitting a further application was made with the defence stating Da Costa has been unable to secure alternative accommodation by Housing Executive transfer of her tenancy as the PSNI had not provided any evidence of risk should she return to the Dungannon area.

They requested the exclusion zone is removed and Da Costa be permitted to reside at her former address at Windmill Court, Dungannon.

Judge Rafferty cut matters short, refusing the application.

Da Costa remains in custody and the case of all three accused will be mentioned again on April 9.

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Influencer Grace Mongey has been keeping us all very entertained over the last week or so, as her due date came and went and there was still no sign of her new little son.

But, Hallelujah! the time has finally arrived, as she shared with her followers that she’s reached the stage of labour where she can head to the delivery ward to get on with the job at hand.

RELATED: Grace Mongey reveals how she’s prepared her kids to welcome their new little brother

The mum-of-two is thrilled to be set to welcome another little boy to the family, and has been keeping us up to date with her pregnancy that was hampered with a rush to the A&E as well as more fun times, like her baby shower.

She previously opened up about how she and husband Chris Gernon have been preparing their older children, Sienna, seven, and Hayden, five, for the arrival of their baby brother.

She told the Everymum, The Podcast. ‘They just want them here. I think Sienna will be a great help… I keep saying, “The baby’s going to cry a lot,” just to prep Hayden so he’s not like “What is going on? Why is this baby crying so much?”‘

Baby Gernon has taken his time to come, he due date came and went last week, and each day since she’s posted a funny video declaring ‘still no baby’! until Thursday, when she shared a photo waling up the staircase in the maternity hospital.

After a long night of contractions, the moment has finally arrived to be whisked away to the mecca that is the delivery suite.

Bouncing on a ball to ease her pains, and laying out her baby boy’s first outfit, Grace looked to be absolutely excited to get things moving.

We can’t wait to hear her news! Good luck Grace!

Share your thoughts on this story or any other over on our discussion boards.

The Princess Royal has visited The Royal Navy Sailing Association (RNSA) in Gosport to mark the charity’s 90th anniversary, according to statement issued by the royal family on Friday.

The statement said, “As the charity’s newly appointed Admiral and Patron, Her Royal Highness has visited the RNSA to acknowledge the contributions of their 5000-strong community. “

“Founded in 1935, the RNSA’s mission is to encourage the sport of sailing in the Royal Navy. Her Royal Highness’s new role of Admiral follows in the footsteps of her father, Prince Philip and grandfather, George VI.”

During the visit, Princess Anne had the opportunity to meet with the charity’s trustees, key personalities and supporters before finding out more about their work and latest achievements.

The statement added, “Her Royal Highness also presented the Life Flag Officer’s Burgee to the Royal Navy Sailing Association’s Manager, Wayne Shirley, in recognition of his longstanding support to the RNSA. “

An American influencer who shared distressing footage showing herself taking a baby wombat from it’s mother has fled Australia.

Officials made it clear Sam Jones was no longer welcome in the country in wake of the incident, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese branded an ‘outrage’.

The Montana-based content creator, who touts herself as a ‘wildlife biologist and environmental scientist’, sparked fury on social media after sharing the shocking video.

It showed Jones laughing as she picks up a baby wombat from the side of the road and runs towards her vehicle, while the joey’s mother is seen frantically following her.

As she held the visibly-agitated animal up to the camera, Jones said while grinning: “I caught a baby wombat!”

Take a look at this:

The wombat appeared to make hissing sounds while attempting to wriggle out of Jones’ clutches – which campaigners say are telltale signs that the animal was in distress.

The influencer seemed to be aware of the upset she was causing to both the mother and child as Jones then remarked: “Okay, mom is right there…and she is p**sed. Alright, let’s let him go.”

The footage then shows her placing the joey back on the side of the road, while attempting to facilitate a reunion with it’s parent, as she yelled out: “Come here mama, come here!”

Jones, who also goes by the name Samantha Strable, was met by sheer disgust online after the clip went viral and Aussies called for her to be deported.

An online petition calling for her to be shown the door reportedly gained more than 30,000 signatures.

The online star, who boasts nearly 100,000 followers, later deleted the Instagram post and has since made her account private.

Anger erupted among politicians in Australia, who branded the stunt ‘cruel’, while emphasising that this is no way for a guest in the country to behave.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged Jones to see how she’d get on while toying with less forgiving animals in a furious statement.

“[Wombats] are gentle, lovely creatures…I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she should try some other Australian animals, maybe she should try a crocodile.

“Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother.”

Australia’s Home Affairs minister Tony Burke announced that his department was looking into revoking Jones’ visa in response to the footage.

Explaining they would investigate ‘whether immigration law has been breached’, he said at the time: “Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers. I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don’t expect she will return.”

However, Jones had already cut and run before officials had the chance to kick her out.

“There has never been a better time to be a baby wombat,” Burke said on Friday (14 March).

It is not clear whether the government would have had grounds to terminate Jones’ visa, as she has not been charged with a crime or deemed a threat to the nation.

The US influencer was seen running away with the baby wombat while its mother trailed behind (Instagram/@samstrays_somewhere)

The American attempted to clarify the situation in since-deleted comments on her post, according to the BBC.

She claimed that the baby wombat was ‘carefully held for one minute in total and then released back to mom’ before ‘they wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed’.

“I don’t ever capture wildlife that will be harmed by my doing so,” Jones added.

However, wildlife experts aren’t so sure – as Yolandi Vermaak, founder of animal care charity Wombat Rescue, warned that it’s mother could have rejected her offspring after Jones’ interference.

She told Sky News: “My biggest concern is that we didn’t actually see mum and baby getting reunited. When she put it down, it looked disorientated.

“It was turned away from where the mother was last seen. So we don’t know if mum and baby actually found each other again.”

Vermaak also claimed the footage appeared to show that the joey was suffering from a skin disease and urged Jones’ to reveal the location of the video.

“The baby has mange and it’s a matter of time before it dies of mange, so it’s important for us to find where this happened and to get this baby and its mum treated as soon as possible,” she added.

She later returned the joey to the side of the road (Instagram/@samstrays_somewhere)

The Wombat Protection Society also slammed Jones for the ‘appalling video’ of her ‘mishandling a wombat joey in an apparent snatch for social media likes’.

“The individual, who appeared to have no understanding of wombat behaviour or the severe stress caused by human interference and separation from its mother, She then placed the vulnerable baby back onto a country road—potentially putting it at risk of becoming roadkill,” it said in a statement.

“There is no clear evidence that the joey was successfully reunited with its mother. A baby of this size is highly dependent on its mother, and prolonged separation could have fatal consequences. Additionally, without proper training in wildlife handling, the tourist not only risked injuring the joey but also putting herself in danger.”

Wombats are a legally protected species in Australia and maintain a close bond with their parent even after emerging from it’s mother’s pouch.

National Geographic explains that joeys ‘frequently crawl back in [the pouch] to feed or to escape danger’.

A 17-year-old was sentenced on Thursday, March 13, to 12 years’ imprisonment, plus seven years’ probation, for killing his parents and setting fire to the family home during the night of November 26, 2023. The juvenile court in Bourgoin-Jallieu, near Lyon, composed of a juvenile judge and two non-magistrate assessors who are child professionals, went slightly below the 13 years requested in the morning by the prosecutor, the maximum Valentin, as he is identified, could have faced.

The psychiatrists who examined him had unanimously considered that his discernment was impaired at the time of the facts, as the teenager suffered from an autistic disorder associated with depression and psychotic symptoms. The prosecution accepted the assessment without debate. Altered discernment results in an automatic one-third reduction of the maximum sentence – 20 years – that can be handed down to a minor convicted of murder. “What does it cost to plan and execute both parents?” the prosecutor had asked. “This sentence has to mean something. You have no choice but to be realistic,” she added, addressing the court.

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Veteran actor Deb Mukherjee passed away at 83 due to health complications. Several actors from Bollywood arrived to pay their final respects.

Ayan Mukerji’s father, veteran actor Deb Mukherjee passed away at 83 on Friday morning. Actor Ranbir Kapoor promptly returned from his Alibaug vacation to be by close friend Ayan. He also turned pallbearers at the funeral, carrying Deb’s body on his shoulders. (Also read: Jaya Bachchan gives a long hug to Kajol as she arrives to pay final respects to Deb Mukherjee. Watch)

Ranbir at Deb Mukherjee’s funeral

A new picture shared by a paparazzi account on Instagram shows Ranbir as a pallbearer along with many other men from the family. They carefully brought Deb’s body out on a stretcher wrapped in white cloth. Ranbir was spotted wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

The actor arrived along with wife Alia Bhatt from their Alibaug vacation on Saturday morning after hearing the news of Deb’s demise. Ayan and Ranbir are close friends in the industry, and the two of them have collaborated in Wake Up Sid, Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani and Brahmastra: Part One- Shiva. At the media meet-up a few days ago to celebrate Alia’s birthday, Ranbir had announced that Brahmastra: Part Two was in the works. Ayan is currently busy with War 2.

Celebrities pay their final respects

Meanwhile, several Bollywood celebrities arrived at Ayan’s residence to pay their final respects, including Anil Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol, Jaya Bachchan, and more.

Deb passed away at 83 on Friday morning due to age-related health complications, his spokesperson confirmed to Zoom. A respected figure in the Samarth-Mukherjee family, Deb was the father of filmmaker Ayan Mukerji and the father-in-law of director Ashutosh Gowariker.

Ranbir was last seen in Sandeep Reddy Vanga‘s Animal. The actor is currently shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love and War. He also has the sequel of Animal, titled Animal Park, and Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana in the pipeline.

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The family of a woman who was shot dead in a possible case of mistaken identity have described their “unimaginable loss” as they paid tribute to her.

Joanne Penney, 40, died after being shot in the chest on Sunday evening at an address in Llys Illtyd, in Talbot Green, South Wales.

In a statement following her death, her family said they were “devastated by the tragic loss of our beloved Joanne”.

“She was a daughter, mother, sister, and niece – loved deeply by all who knew her,” they added.

“Her kindness, strength, and love for her family will never be forgotten.”

The family asked for privacy as they “begin to process this unimaginable loss” and said they “appreciate the support and condolences from the community”.

“We would be grateful if anyone with information could share this with the police investigation team”, they added.

Five people arrested on suspicion of murder remained in custody on Thursday.

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South Wales Police said a distinctive beige Nissan and a black Volvo left the Leicester area after 10.30am on Sunday and travelled to South Wales before leaving after the shooting.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ceri Hughes said previously: “The investigation has continued at pace, and we are working hard to establish a motive for Joanne’s killing.

“We are exploring several lines of inquiry, including the possibility that she was the victim of mistaken identity.”