1. 19-year-old woman pleads guilty to murder of her grandfather.
A 19-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to the murder of her grandfather, Robert Whitwell, 81, at Craigmore in Adelaide.
Brittney Jade Dwyer, 19, made a brief appearance in the Adelaide Magistrates Court yesterday via video link, where she pleaded guilty to her granddad’s murder.
The court heard earlier this week that that Dwyer and her friend, Shelby Lee Angie Holmes, 19, planned to rob Mr Whitwell of $30,000 after travelling from Brisbane to Adelaide.
The pair and a third woman, Bernadette Burns, were arrested by Major Crime detectives after Mr Whitwell’s body was found inside his house on August 8.
He had been dead for several days.
Dwyer and Burns, of Redbank Plains, about 30km southwest of Brisbane, were extradited to Adelaide earlier this month to face charges of murder, reports The Advertiser.
Prosecutors alleged after Holmes sent Dwyer a text message saying “he said ‘hi’ to me, he’s lovely” Dwyer replied “don’t get attached to him, he might have to die”.
Holmes and Burns are yet to enter pleas and have been remanded in custody.
2. Mother awarded $1.8 million after delayed caesarean killed newborn.
A NSW woman whose newborn baby died during childbirth has been awarded nearly $1.8 million in damages by the Supreme Court.
The court heard Sharon McManus, 37, suffered depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and became an alcoholic after her son Cooper died in May 2010 at Wagga Wagga Hospital reports The Daily Telegraph.
The Murrumbidgee Local Area Health Network admitted liability over the death of Cooper.
Justice Harrison found that Cooper’s death had been avoidable if a caesarean section had been performed earlier.
Ms McManus had suffered a severe attack of gastroenteritis while she was pregnant and was hospitalised for three weeks.