Thursday's news in 5 minutes.

1. The teen stepdaughter of a doctor accused of overdose deaths has been found dead.

A close family friend tells @FOX4 the teen was tortured and dismembered. https://t.co/LAKifxRf0z

— Shannon Murray (@ShannonMFox4) July 19, 2017

The body of a 17-year-old woman found floating in a Dallas, Texas, creek on Sunday has been named as the step-daughter of a doctor who was recently arrested on drugs conspiracy charges, the New York Post reports.

Howard Gregg Diamond, 56, was arrested on July 11, accused of conspiring with others to write prescriptions for highly addictive substances without legitimate medical purposes.

His actions are alleged to have resulted in the overdose deaths of at least seven individuals in the past five years, KXII-TV reports.

Authorities have not released the details surrounding how his stepdaughter, 17-year-old Mikayla Mitchell, died, but investigators confirmed they are treating the case as a homicide.

A friend close to the family, Sunshine Grigg, described Mikayla’s death to Fox 4 News as “more gruesome than anyone could imagine”.

“You’re not going to get away with. We’ll find you. You’re going to get punished. We’re coming for you,” Grigg said, in a message to Mikayla’s killer.

She described the teen as a “free spirit” who “like to roam”.

“It’s like she was my daughter. It hurts so bad, it’s unimaginable,” she said.

Her stepfather’s lawyer, Peter Schulte, has denied claims Mikayla’s death and Diamond’s charges were linked.

“There is no connection between my client Dr. Diamonds’ charges and his step-daughters death…media is ruthless,” he wrote on Twitter.

Police have not named any suspects or any possible motive for the teen’s death.

Mikayla’s friend Taylor Hope remembered her friend in a Facebook tribute.

“I used to see you in the hallways and always thought you were so nice and gorgeous,” she wrote.

“You were so fun to be around… I hope who ever did this to you gets their karma.”

2. A toddler has died after he was hit by a car crossing the street with his mother in Sydney.

Eastwood: Police say 3-yr-old boy died at Children’s Hospital at Westmead after being hit by car. 71-yr-old female driver treated for shock. pic.twitter.com/vn1wdoEaET

— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) July 19, 2017

A mother has been left grieving for her three-year-old son after he was fatally struck by a car while they were crossing a road in Sydney’s northwest.

The accident happened at Eastwood on Wednesday afternoon. The boy was rushed to Westmead hospital with critical injuries but couldn’t be saved.

The mother and 71-year-old female driver of the car were not injured. Both women were treated for shock, while the driver was taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol testing.

A witness told 7 News the mother and her young son were crossing the road when the car “collected” the boy.

“A child and a mother were walking past our front door. A car’s come down the street turning right into the corner and has collected the child,” resident Barry Parsons said.

He said the boy’s mother was “distraught” while paramedics tried to save the little boy.

Police are now trying to determine whether the driver was at fault for the accident, or if the boy stepped off the curb.

3. Two children ‘prick their fingers’ on a syringe hidden in a Melbourne supermarket.

Two children have pricked their fingers on a syringe believed to have been planted in suburban supermarket. #9News https://t.co/KPhDdTz9aO

— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) July 19, 2017

Two children have pricked their fingers on a syringe that police believe was deliberately planted in a suburban Melbourne supermarket.

According to 9 News, the first child pricked their finger on the syringe around 1:30pm. The syringe was hidden under a rail in the deli section of the Pascoe Vale Rd store in Broadmeadows.

Another child was pricked around an hour later.

It is unknown whether the affected children required medical attention, or what condition the hidden syringe was in.

A spokesperson for the supermarket said the store was working with police during the investigations.

“Our thoughts are with the customers affected by this event and their families,” a statement given to 9 News said.

Investigators are urging people who noticed suspicious activity near the supermarket’s deli section to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

4. US Congress has voted in favour of granting terminally ill baby Charlie Gard permanent residency.

US Congress takes step toward giving Charlie Gard permanent residency so he can undergo experimental treatment https://t.co/ez46bn2Mgn pic.twitter.com/POyisiGluc

— CNN (@CNN) July 19, 2017

The US Congressional committee has voted in favour of granting a terminally ill baby and his family permanent residency so the 11-month-old can undergo experimental treatment in America, CNN reports.

Charlie Gard’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, have battled for months after a court ruled that Charlie’s life support should be switched off.

Charlie was born last August with a rare disease – mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome – that has left him unable to breathe on his own and brain damaged.

His parents want to take him to the US to undergo an experimental treatment.

The case has drawn international attention, with President Donald Trump and Pope Francis both weighing in on the debate. Trump had previously offered to help the family in a tweet.

Dr. Michio Hirano, the New York doctor behind the experimental treatment for Charlie, will examine the 11-month-old in a London hospital this week.

His treatment has been used on at least one American patient with a similar, but less severe, mitochondrial disease.

The amendment to the law which would allow Charlie and his family into the US will need a vote from the full House and the Senate in order to become law.

5. A man accused of killing his partner in their bath claimed they had ‘suicide pact’.

LALOR: Man allegedly killed partner Ozlem Karakoc in bath as part of ‘suicide pact’, court hears >> https://t.co/vat4X9RYBk

— Herald Sun (@theheraldsun) July 19, 2017

A Melbourne man has handed himself in to police after allegedly drowning his partner while they were both in the bath.

Murat Davsanoglu, 42, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, charged with the murder of young mother Ozlem Karakoc, 34.

According to court documents, homicide detectives were contacted on Monday night by a solicitor who said Davsanoglu wanted to hand himself in after police issued a missing persons alert for the pair earlier the same day, AAP reports.

Davsanoglu told investigators the two had a suicide pact, and he attended Ms Karakoc’s home at Dandenong on Friday night, where the two got into the bath together.

It is alleged Davsanoglu used his full body weight to drown Ms Karakoc as she struggled against him.

After her death, Davsanoglu put Ms Karakoc’s body in the boot of his Ford Falcon and drove toward Mildura, where he planned to dump her body, it is further alleged.

However, he instead returned to Melbourne and is accused of placing her, wrapped in a blanket, in an empty garage at a home at suburban Lalor.

Davsanoglu appeared briefly in court on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning, when he did not apply for bail.
He was remanded in custody to reappear before the court on November 29.

If you or someone you know needs help you can call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyondblue 1300 224 636.

6. Saudi Arabian officials have released a woman arrested for wearing a mini skirt in public.

The Saudi woman arrested for wearing miniskirt has been released https://t.co/EJqmmXQTfc

— TIME (@TIME) July 19, 2017

A woman detained in Saudi Arabia after videos were published of her visiting a historical site wearing a miniskirt has been released without charge, the Ministry of Culture and Information says.

Saudi police released the woman on Tuesday evening after she was questioned for a few hours and the case was then closed, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, AAP reports.

She was released “after she told investigators that a film posted on social media, showing her in a miniskirt as she walked in a historic Saudi village, was published without her knowledge”, it added.

The images of the woman wearing a miniskirt and a crop top were shared on a Snapchat account entitled Model Kholoud, creating a furore in the conservative country.

Saudi law obliges women to cover their hair and bodies, in line with traditional customs.

Saudi official media had said she was taken into custody in al-Shakraa province, north-west of the capital Riyadh.

The ministry statement did not confirm the identity of the woman.

Her arrest sparked online debate over double standards between what men and women are allowed to wear.

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