news

Tuesday's news in 5 minutes.

1. “What did you do with the body?” Chilling encounter in Karen Ristevski search area where human remains were found.

Police established a crime scene in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges after a body was discovered beneath a log on Monday.

The remains, believed to belong to a woman, were found by a walker near Loch Rd at 12:30pm.

The region is the same in which police have been searching for missing Melbourne mother Karen Ristevski, who disappeared from Avondale Heights on June 29 last year.

Mrs Ristevski’s nephew, Chris Ristevski, was first told of Monday’s discovery by The Herald Sun.

“I’m shocked, I haven’t heard anything about this so I’m still trying to take it all in,” he reportedly said. “We haven’t heard anything from the police.

“Obviously you fear the worst but we will just have to wait and see if it’s her.”

DNA testing will be undertaken in attempt to identify the remains.

According to The Herald Sun, a witness, who arrived at the scene, told police he saw a man with a shovel an unknown period before the discovery of the remains on Monday.

The witness allegedly joked “What did you do to the body?”, but the man did not respond.

No recent missing persons cases have been reported in the Macedon area.

2. A 10-year-old will face court accused of raping an eight-year-old boy in Perth.

A West Australian child will face Perth Children’s Court today charged with raping an eight-year-old boy.

The accused, aged 10, has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual penetration of a child and one count of threatening to kill, according to The West Australian.

The paper understands that the child will continue to attend school while the case is before the courts, a move that has reportedly outraged parents connected to the northern suburbs primary school and prompted some to withdraw their children’s enrolment.

An Education Department spokeswoman told The West Australian that the child would be under constant supervision by two members of staff while one school grounds.

The boy’s alleged victim is not a student at the school.

3. Police plead for help in their search for a missing man and three children.

Police are on the hunt for a missing Queensland man and three children reported missing overnight.

Scott Willmott is believed to be on his way to Melbourne with Annabella, 8, Memphis, 5, and two-year-old Noah and was last seen 11pm Saturday in a red Ford Laser with Queensland number plates 737 EMO.

Police say there are reports they were sighted in the southern NSW town of Bega and are urging anyone with information relating to the four people’s whereabouts to call emergency services on 000.

4. Elderly woman finds a rare note worth $81,1000, pledges to donate it to needy children.

A British woman who found a rare five-pound note worth roughly £50,000 (AU $81,100) has pledged to donate the money to charity.

The note, one of just four painted by micro-artist Graham Short and circulated throughout the UK, was reportedly found by an elderly woman in Northern Ireland.

Short told the BBC, “An old lady found it and she said ‘I don’t want my picture in the papers’ and she said ‘if it sells for a lot of money it will be better if young children could benefit from it’.”

The Birmingham-based artist painted tiny, 5mm portraits of Jane Austen on the transparent part of four notes to mark the 200th anniversary of her death, before spending one each in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The Irish woman’s discovery leaves just one in circulation.

5. Identity of woman killed in head-on collision with erratic driver confirmed.

The woman killed in a head-on collision with an erratic driver over the weekend has been identified as Jenni Pratt.

The 61-year-old woman’s vehicle was struck by a Toyota Landcruiser driven by a 45-year-old who crossed onto the wrong side of Bussell Highway at Capel, in Perth’s southwest on Saturday afternoon.

She died at the scene.

Pratt’s heartbroken children yesterday thanked those who had risked their lives in an attempt to help her and friend Karen Williams, as the Landcruiser burst into flames nearby.

“Mum’s brightness, beautiful smile and the way she listened and cared, meant that so many people loved and relied on her as a companion, someone to confide in and a true friend,” they said in a statement, according to The West Australian.

“One friend in particular described Mum as a Pilbara sunset, warm and always beautiful.”

The driver of the Landcruiser is reportedly fighting for his life in hospital.

Police investigations are continuing.

6. More tragedy for family of murdered man Jake Lasker after death of second son.

The parents of a Queensland man who was brutally murdered five years ago are facing another tragedy – the death of their second son.

Adam Lasker, 21, was found dead in his bed yesterday morning by his father John.

“He never sleeps in so when I walked into his room and saw him, I just knew,” John Lasker told The Toowoomba Chronicle.

“I have no idea what I’m doing, my wheels are still spinning in mud if you know what I mean.

“I’m lost.”

The family is now awaiting the results of an autopsy.

Adam’s brother, 19-year-old Jake, who had Asperger’s syndrome, died in November 2012 after being stabbed 102 times by a man he believed was his best friend.

Max Peter Smith was sentenced to life imprisonment in November, 2014, after pleading guilty to murder, while co-accused Kyle Mitchell Dumesny last year pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Do you have a story to share with Mamamia? Email us news@mamamia.com.au

Related Stories

Recommended