Court tangles leave RSPCA in limbo

Unresolved court cases have left the RSPCA's Malaga shelter a full house. Picture: Stewart Allen Source: PerthNow

THE RSPCA's Perth shelter is in crisis, overwhelmed by an influx of seized animals and unable to move them on because of unresolved court cases.

The charity warned in February that it was at breaking point after an unprecedented number of neglected and mistreated animals were brought in.

More than 350 dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and livestock are currently housed at the Malaga site, which has room for only about 200 animals.

Some 300 animals were rescued from just three properties between late 2012 and early this year, including 132 taken from one suburban property in December.

Caring for the extra arrivals has cost the RSPCA about $175,000.

The RSPCA said rehoming animals was often held up by legal processes and people challenging their convictions under the Animal Welfare Act 2002.

But it uses foster carers and other programs to ensure the animals are as comfortable as possible until the cases are resolved in court, RSPCA WA chief executive David van Ooran said.

The RSPCA has been unable to take any cats for months because that part of the shelter is particularly overstretched.

"We're in a very busy holding pattern,'' Mr van Ooran said.

"The animals seized by RSPCA inspectors remain in the care of the RSPCA until court cases can be resolved.

"Once the court case has concluded, we are then able to put the animals through our rehoming process which involves micro-chipping, desexing and behavioural assessment to ensure the animals go to the right homes.''

Mr van Ooran said the RSPCA was grateful to local legal firms that had saved it hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in fees by working on the cases pro bono.

He also urged the public to donate clean blankets and towels to help keep the animals warm during the colder months.

The RSPCA's biggest fundraising event of the year, the Million Paws Walk, will be held on May 19 across the country.

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Jockey was pushed to her limit

Nikita McLean (left) with fellow jockey Michelle Payne after her five-month suspension was cut in half by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board. Picture: Andrew Brownbill Source: Herald Sun

A SYMPATHETIC appeals board slashed in half a five-month suspension imposed by stewards on jockey Nikita McLean for the assault of her teenage sister, Jackie.

Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board chairman Judge Russell Lewis was frank in his support of 27-year-old McLean, who pushed and punched 18-year-old Jackie Beriman at a recent race meeting at Hamilton.

"He (McLean's husband) had it off with her younger sister," Judge Lewis said.

"She's not a robot."

Earlier on the same day at Hamilton, McLean's estranged husband, jumps jockey Brad McLean, had tapped her on the behind with his whip, upsetting her and contributing to her later assault of her sister.

McLean told stewards at an earlier hearing the sight of her sister parading in front of her in the jockeys' room had also upset her; "a very provocative thing to do", according to Judge Lewis.

Judge Lewis added McLean was vulnerable at Hamilton because it was the first time she had shared a racecourse with her ex and Beriman since their August 2012 affair.

"There is no doubt this young woman has been drawn to the limits," he said.

In successfully arguing that the stewards' penalty of five months was "manifestly unjust", Patrick Whelahan, for Nikita McLean, said the circumstances of the assault were "extreme".

He said McLean had acted "very courteously and professionally" towards her sister since learning of the affair. Judge Lewis described the brief affair as a "gross betrayal".

Mr Whelahan said the five-month suspension would have robbed his client of about $70,000 in earnings; a penalty "completely out of step".

The board heard McLean, now living in Ballarat, shared ownership of a home in Warrnambool with her estranged husband, who lives there, but only Nikita McLean was making mortgage payments.

Board member Brian Forrest asked her if Brad McLean was a "freeloader", and she said "yes".

She later vowed to mend the fractured relationship with her sister and urged other jockeys to also forgive Beriman.

Racing Victoria and the jockeys' association intends to begin mediation and increase counselling for the sisters. Jackie Beriman had been ostracised by other jockeys since the affair.

Nikita McLean's suspension ends on June 30.

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Patients burn alive in hospital fire

A fire in a psychiatric hospital near the Russian capital Moscow has killed at least 38 people.

• 29 of the 38 were burnt alive and death toll also includes two doctors
• Many patients were sedated and did not wake up
• Patients at the facility ranged from 20-76 years old

A FIRE swept quickly through a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow early Friday, killing 38 people, most of them in their beds, officials said.

The one-story brick-and-wood hospital building housed patients with severe mental disorders, Health Ministry officials said. An emergency ministry official said the fire started in a wooden annex and then spread to the main brick building which had wooden beams.

The patients were under sedatives and most of them did not wake up, Yuri Deshevykh of the emergency situations ministry told RIA Novosti.

At least 29 people were burned alive, said Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee.

Firefighters extinguishing fire in the burning psychiatric hospital where inmates were trapped inside behind barred windows. Picture: AFP PHOTO / MOSCOW REGION EMERGENCIES MINISTRY

Investigators said 38 people, including 36 patients and two doctors, have died. They said a nurse managed to escape and save one patients, while another patient got out on his own. The emergency services also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76. Gumennaya told Russian news agencies that most of the people died in their beds.

Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyev said some of the hospital windows were barred. Gumennaya quoted testimony of the surviving nurse who said that doors inside the hospital were not locked.

Officials from the Russian Investigative Committee said they are looking at poor fire regulations and short circuit as possible causes for the blaze that engulfed the hospital in the Ramenskiy settlement, some 85 kilometers north of Moscow.

Police said the fire was caused by a short circuit. Picture: AP Photo/Pavel Sergeyev

Vadim Belovoshin of the emergency ministry said that it took fire fighters an hour to get to the hospital following an emergency call because a ferry across the canal was closed and the fire fighters had to make a detour.

Vorobyev told Russian state-television that the fire alarm seems to have worked but the fire spread too quickly.

Russia has a poor fire safety record, with about 12,000 deaths reported in 2012. In January, a fire in an underground parking lot killed 10 migrant workers from Tajikistan who were working and living there. In a similar incident in September, 14 Vietnamese workers were killed by fire at a clothing factory near Moscow.

Firefighters work at a site of the fire where 38 people including 36 patients and two doctors died. Picture: AP Photo/Pavel Sergeyev

In one of the most high-profile case of negligence, more than 150 people died in a night club in the city of Perm after a pyrotechnic show ignited a wooden ceiling.

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Geelong players a pair of Cat bunglers

Billie Smedts leaves Kardinia Park. Picture: Mike Dugdale Source: Herald Sun

BILLIE Smedts and Josh Caddy should stick to kicking a Sherrin, because as Cat burglars they make mighty fine footy players.

When the duo decided to play a prank on Jackson Thurlow, the "innocent fun" they decided on was a spot of housebreaking at their teammate's new digs.

But the concept of a fleet-footed Raffles doing a midnight flit across the rooftops without a trace eluded them.

For a start, it wasn't dark yet. On top of that, they got the wrong house.

So when a woman looked out her window and noticed two balaclava-clad men trying to force their way in, not unnaturally she called 000.

And soon after making their getaway back to Kardinia Park, the hapless pair found themselves staring down the barrels of guns levelled at them by five of Geelong's finest.

"Oh, mate, it was scary - very scary," a sheepish Smedts said.

Caddy said: "We are both sorry to that lady. In hindsight, we shouldn't have done it."

Josh Caddy says it was an ''innocent'' prank which went wrong. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Caddy said it was simply a prank gone wrong.

"It was just some innocent fun with me and Billie, which unfortunately scared people.

"We were just in the $2 shop and saw them (balaclavas) and thought it would be a bit of fun to scare young Thurlow at his new house he'd just moved into," Caddy said.

"We're a little bit embarrassed, but it's been dealt with."

Smedts added: "If (police) want us to go and apologise, we will. But it's all done and dusted, and they know it was a big prank and a big misunderstanding."

Inspector Gary Bruce said police had attended several burglaries in the South Geelong area in previous weeks and so responded swiftly to the call from Yarra St about 5pm on Wednesday.

He said the pair were given official cautions.

"They were extremely apologetic. It placed our members in danger in responding quickly to the call and caused potential danger, not only to our members but also those two."

He said police had spoken with club management.

Club media manager Kevin Diggerson said no further action would be taken.

"It was a misunderstanding and the boys hadn't done anything wrong," he said.

"There was no malice or attempt to cause any drama."

Asked whether Geelong players would be spoken to about pranks, he said: "We think our players are a mature group of people and will take out of it what they like."

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US ambassador: Stop pirating Game of Thrones

Emilia Clarke played Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. Picture: Supplied Source: news.com.au

Game of Thrones is one of the most pirated TV series. Supplied by Foxtel Source: news.com.au

•  Extraordinary plea: Aussie piracy out of control
• We're the world's worst Game of Thrones pirates
• No excuses for Aussies anymore: US official

THE top US official in Australia has taken the extraordinary step of pleading with us to stop pirating Game of Thrones.

Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich - who confesses to being a fan of the 'great epic' - says he is troubled with news we're one of the world's biggest pirates of the HBO fantasy series.

"Unfortunately, nearly as epic and devious as the drama, is its unprecedented theft by online viewers around the world," Mr Bleich wrote in a Facebook post.

"As the Ambassador here in Australia, it was especially troubling to find out that Australian fans were some of the worst offenders with among the highest piracy rates of Game of Thrones in the world."

He added that Australians can no longer use the excuse of the time delay between the series broadcast in the US and Australia to steal episodes.

"While some people here used to claim that they used pirate sites only because of a delay in getting new episodes here, the show is now available from legitimate sources within hours of its broadcast in the United States," Mr Bleich wrote.

Parents of young fans who refuse to pay for a subscription, or issues with copyright law are not valid excuses either, he said. "None of those reasons is an excuse - stealing is stealing."

US Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich. Picture: Ray Strange Source: News Limited

Downloading content illegally is not a victimless crime, he said, as artists like the Game of Thrones crew can only do their work if they can be paid for it.

If the four million people who watch Game of Thrones legally had been illegal downloaders, Mr Bleich writes, the latest hit season would never have been made.

"Buying a book in store costs more and takes longer than stealing it from your neighbour's house, but we all know it is the right thing to do and allows authors to make a living and write more books," Mr Bleich argued.

The series is understood to be one of the most expensive currently broadcast on television, with E! reporting the series costs around $6 million per episode.

One episode was illegally downloaded over four million times in 2012 according to BitTorrent trackers. That's the same number as the amount of people who watched it on TV.

Episodes are filmed on location in countries such as Malta, Iceland, Croatia and Morocco.

More than one million viewers illegally downloaded the debut episode of the third season, which went to air in the US on March 31 this year.

Ambassador Bleich was appointed US Ambassador to Australia by President Obama in November 2009.

Contact this reporter: Daniel.Piotrowski@news.com.au | @drpiotrowski
 

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Father and abducted daughter reunited

Camilla Ellefsen Lunetta and her daughter Reya. Picture: Today Tonight Source: Supplied

Reya age-progressed to 10. She was allegedly abducted by her mother, Camilla Lunetta. Picture: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Source: Supplied

Camilla Ellefsen is believed to be living in Australia with her daughter Reya. Picture: Megan Slade Source: The Courier-Mail

Camilla Ellefsen Lunetta in 2002. Photo: Supplied. Source: Supplied

• Desperate dad reunited with abducted daughter
• Brozzi Lunetta trying to help ex-wife leave the country
• Trio plan to evade authorities until agreement struck

A DESPERATE dad has been reunited with his abducted daughter after his decade-long search for her ended near Sydney yesterday.

But in a bizarre twist, American father Brozzi Lunetta has gone into hiding with the ex-wife who stole her from him.

Camilla Ellefsen Lunetta abducted their daughter Reya from the United States in 2002 amid a bitter custody dispute.

"Today we're basically hiding from any kind of police action and trying to find some way to get them safely back to Norway and to get them into some sort of protection from the Norwegian Government," he told news.com.au this morning.

"Right now we're still in the Sydney area. They're safe and very close by.

"(Camilla) is a Norwegian citizen who we're trying to stop from going to prison in America (from where Reya was abducted) and have returned to her own country."

Brozzi Lunetta with daughter Reya before she was abducted. Picture: supplied. Source: Supplied

The 40-year-old father, now based in Norway, returned to Australia last week after news.com.au revealed that Ms Ellefsen Lunetta and Reya were living in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Yesterday Mr Lunetta and a Today Tonight television crew confronted the pair at a property about an hour's drive from Sydney after receiving a tip-off.

The pair had reportedly been hiding there for more than a week.

In a strange twist, mother and daughter are now holed up with Mr Lunetta. News.com.au is not aware of their exact location.

"Camilla's very worried and fearful," he said.

"She wants to just disappear with her people and have them try to get her out (of Australia) on a fake passport or something.

"It's (been made) very clear to her that if she does a runner we'll have no choice but to call the police.

"There will be complete absolute police action if she disappears from the custody we have."

Camilla Ellefsen Lunetta in 2002. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Mr Lunetta said his ex-wife could flee again.

"I'm close by but I'm not in the same room," he said.

"They have their own bedroom and a shared bed. They're together, they're safe."

Channel Seven, which has paid for Mr Lunetta's flights and accommodation during this trip, has not responded to questions from news.com.au about whether the television station is also paying for Ms Ellefsen Lunetta's accommodation.

"Nobody is being hidden, they are acting of their own free will," a Seven spokeswoman said.

"We are under no obligation to report this matter to the authorities.

"Both parents have indicated to us they want to deal solely with the Norwegian Embassy."

Camilla Ellefsen Lunetta and Reya in 2002. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied

Mr Lunetta said they were trying to "keep very low key" until the consulate re-opened tomorrow.

"I'm absolutely completely hiding from (authorities) right now," he said.

"No one knows where I'm at except Today Tonight.

"We're praying the consulate will be open tomorrow because to hide for three or four days will be impossible."

Mr Lunetta said he hoped the trio could leave Australia within days.

"We just need to get through another 24 hours and tomorrow we can get the Norwegian Government and the Australian Government on the same page as to what's best for the child," he said.

"Hopefully by Saturday we can all be on a flight back to Norway.

"I've said all along, I don't want Camilla to go to jail and that's what she's facing now.

"There's an election coming up in Australia and does the government really want to see another kid taken away by the AFP screaming and crying? I don't think so."

An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman said they could not act on new information without orders from the Family Court.

The FBI recently confirmed its investigation was ongoing. A felony California state warrant was issued in 2002 for Camilla Lunetta for deprivation of child custody. A federal warrant for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution was issued in U.S. District Court (federal) in 2004 after the District Attorney requested assistance.

"Obviously, with good reason, Camilla's very scared of the authorities, she doesn't want to go to prison and she doesn't want to be separated from her daughter for years," Mr Lunetta said.

"I've offered her that if we can get them to Norway she will have primary custody.

"I don't want my daughter to see her mum taken away in handcuffs. That's what I'm trying to avoid."

Brozzi's search for his daughter Reya brought him to the Sunshine Coast in 2010. Picture: Megan Slade Source: The Courier-Mail

Ms Ellefsen Lunetta has been unlawfully in the country since 2003.

A NSW Police spokesperson said that under the Migration Act 1958 NSW Police Officers can detain an unlawful non-citizen.

"Police liaise with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to determine whether or not a person is lawfully in Australia," they said.

A Department of Immigration spokeswoman said they could not discuss individual cases for privacy reasons.

"Any person found to be in the country without a valid visa may be subject to compliance action."

This morning Mr Lunetta updated his hundreds of Facebook followers.

"EVERYBODY PLEASE READ - I am with Camilla & Reya, literally hiding them from the potential arrest and extradition back to California for a prison sentence for felony kidnapping," he wrote.

"We have been trying for hours to get the Norwegian government to intervene, work with the Aussies to deport back to Norway for the visa violation. But the Norwegian Government has been unwilling to do a f***ing thing.

"If you are in Norway PLEASE put pressure on the authorities to Help This Child, my daughter. –Brozzi"

Mr Lunetta told news.com.au that his ex-wife was cooperating.

"Absolutely, as much as she is capable," he said.

"She's been running this show underground for the last 10 years.

"She thought she'd be able to get out of here without me finding her but I've found her.

"Given the situation she's in she knows she doesn't have the leverage she used to have."

Camilla Ellefsen Lunetta and Reya on April 24, 2013. Picture: Today Tonight. Source: Supplied

He said his daughter was doing well considering her confusing ordeal.

"She's OK. By bed time last night she was cool," he said.

"For Reya it's overwhelming. She's not scared of me so I can tell there's been no vilification.

"The possibility that my daughter will be with me in Norway in a month … this could have such a happy ending if we could just get off the rocks."

Both mother and child remain listed as missing on the Family Court of Australia website.

Email kristin.shorten@news.com.au or follow @itsKShort on Twitter

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Man king-hit in Kwinana for defending daughter

A man is in a critical condition after being king-hit in Kwinana. Picture: Bohdan Warchomij Source: PerthNow

A MAN suffered serious head injuries after he was king-hit in front of his two daughters in Kwinana last night.

The attack happened just before 9pm when the 50-year-old man and his daughters were waiting for a taxi at a BP service station on Chisham Ave.

Police believe the man began arguing with a passenger in a vehicle after comments were made about his daughter.

The suspect then got out of the vehicle and punched the man in the back of the head, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.

He was taken to Royal Perth Hospital in a critical condition.

The attacker fled the scene in a small, dark hatchback.

He was described as fair-skinned, with black hair and a beard.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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100,000 turn out for Anzac Day

The Anzac Day parade along St Georges Terrace in Perth. Picture: Theo Fakos Source: PerthNow

A PLEA for the next generation to keep the Anzac spirit alive was heard in the west, as tens of thousands gathered in Perth to honour diggers past and present.

An unprecedented 45,000 people had set their alarms to attend the dawn service at Perth's King's Park - making it the largest in the country - and an estimated 100,000 then lined the streets to honour more than 7000 marching through the city.

Regional areas from Albany to Exmouth also reported record numbers at services and marches.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Willis, whose grandfather Robert Lowson was one of the Anzacs to land at Gallipoli in 1915, led WA's main Anzac Day march on a new route.

Former POW Eric Roediger, who turned 103 yesterday and was the oldest to march, turned out with the 2/3 Australian Machine Gun Battalion.

With a focus on serving personnel and the future of the Anzac tradition, WA's Returned Services League also used the occasion to encourage new members.

Vietnam veteran, former state and federal politician and now RSLWA president Graham Edwards said the best way to honour the sacrifice of servicemen and women down the years was to live by their code every day.

"Perhaps we ought better honour our Anzacs in our daily lives with those same qualities of humour, honour, sacrifice, mateship and a fair go for all,'' Mr Edwards said.

"Indeed if those same qualities were practised by all of us, including our nation's political, corporate, and civic leaders, then we could give surely give truth and meaning to the saying - we will remember them.''

A leaflet urging ex-service personnel and family to join the RSL was handed out at the commemorative service.

Eighteen-year-old RSLWA Youth Ambassador Angela Gazey urged her generation to study the experiences of their forebears.

"Our freedom came at a cost, and it is important we learn about these events and learn about our past,'' Ms Gazey said.

Wing Commander Dave Turner, of RAAF Pearce, told those gathered at Perth's dawn service it would be a "national disgrace'' if Australians ever became cynical about Anzac Day.

"It is as relevant to Australian society today as ever before,'' Commander Turner said. Todd Gordon brought his family, giving daughters Laura, 4, and Claire, 2, an early lesson in the Anzac spirit - with Laura proud to say she was already learning about Anzac Day in school.

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'The moment I found the Boston bomber'

David Henneberry, the man who found the second Boston Marathon bomb suspect. Photo: WCVB.com Source: Supplied

THE man who found one of the Boston Marathon bomb suspects hiding in his boat in his backyard has told of how he discovered him during the manhunt.

David Henneberry went to check on his boat at his Watertown home after the lockdown order was lifted in Boston.

Earlier in the day, when he was holed up inside, Mr Henneberry noticed that two of the pads he puts near the boat to prevent chaffing were out of place.

"It was really windy, so I didn't think twice about it," told local station WCVB.

US police have released thermal image pictures that they said helped to track the Boston bomber suspect.

When he went to adjust the pads, he found a strap was a lot "looser" than it normally would be on the boat.

"So I went out in the yard and felt the freedom that everyone is Watertown was feeling.

"When I pulled the strap, it was a lot looser than it usually is. But again, the wind could have loosened things up,' he told WCVB.

Police release new thermal imaging video of Boston suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lying in a boat as a flash bang grenade explodes near him. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

He saw what he described as "a good amount" of blood on the inside of the cabin.

At first he thought it may have been from a previous incident where he might have cut himself.

"And I looked back and forth a couple of times and my eyes went to the engine block and there was a body," he said.

He then ran back to his house and called the police, who immediately rushed to the scene.

Mr Henneberry and his wife are still unable to return to their home while investigators are searching the area for more evidence.

He has dismissed claims that he is a national hero, saying that if anything, he is an "incidental hero".

"It makes me feel wonderful that people that are thinking like that, but it is my boat. People lost lives and lost limbs," Mr Henneberry said.

"I am lucky I am alive. These other people were killed. Sometimes, I just sit and say, "Wow,"' he said.

Today, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has admitted to planting the explosives. The women closest to the Boston bomb suspects have told of their shock.

The American wife of Tamerlan Tsarnaev is co-operating with authorities probing the attack, her lawyers say.

Katherine Russell, 24, who married Tamerlan Tsarnaev in June 2010 and has a three-year-old daughter with him, is "doing everything she can to assist (the) ongoing investigation'', her lawyers said today in a media statement.

And the suspects' sisters - who live in New Jersey - have expressed their sadness over the "callous acts" of the Tsarnaev brothers.

The Boston Globe reported that Tsarnaev admitted to planting the bombs and killing MIT police officer Sean Collier with his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a police shoot-out.

The Boston Marathon attack left three dead and at least 264 people wounded.

Tsarnaev reportedly told authorities on Sunday that he and his brother were behind the attacks, and said his brother had become radicalised in part because of US action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The statement from the Russell family said news that the two brothers may have been behind the carnage came as an "absolute shock'' to Tsarnaev's wife and her family.

"As a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife, Katie deeply mourns the pain and loss to innocent victims, students, law enforcement, families and our community,'' it said.

"In the aftermath of this tragedy, she, her daughter and her family are trying to come to terms with these events.''

Watch Mr Henneberry's interview with WCVB here.

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Police probe fatal Mandurah taxi crash

A crash on the Kwinana Freeway has claimed the life of one person. Picture: Seven News/Facebook Source: PerthNow

TWO passengers who exited a taxi before a crash that killed the driver are being sought by police as they investigate the fatality.

Police said a white Swan Taxis 'maxi taxi' was between driven on Mandurah Road between 10am and 10.30am when it suddenly swerved into Rouse Road and struck what is believed to be a removalist van.

The truck left the scene and police believe the driver of the truck may not have known the taxi had hit his vehicle.

The 67-year-old male driver of the taxi died at the scene and a passenger in the taxi is assisting major crash officer with their investigation.

Police are seeking to speak with two other passengers, who they believe exited the taxi somewhere along Mandurah Road before the crash.

Anyone with information or who witnessed the crash is asked to contact CrimeStoppers.

One killed in Kwinana Freeway crash

Up to six cars may have been involved in a crash on Kwinana Freeway that claimed the life of one man and saw another person airlifted to hospital.

Freeway lanes northbound between Safety Bay Road and Mundijong Road in Baldivis have now been reopened after being shut for much of the afternoon.

The RAC Rescue chopper transported one person to Royal Perth Hospital, while fire and rescue crews helped free several people trapped after the crash.

The age and gender of the man has yet to be released.

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