Birmingham man dies after massive firework exploded in his home

A man in Birmingham has died and his partner has suffered multiple leg fractures after an arson attack with a huge firework, leading to a murder enquiry.

Tony Nicholls' home after the arson attack - screen capture from YouTube/Showbiz Us-Uk

Tony Nicholls, 56, suffered from severe burns and smoke inhalation after a large firework, said to consist of approximately 200 tubes of explosives, was placed in his Birmingham home and set alight. The firework caused a massive blaze in the house, severely injuring Nicholls and leading to his partner jumping to safely from a window upstairs and suffering several leg fractures.

Nicholls was taken by firefighters to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Thursday for treatment for severe burns and smoke inhalation from the fire and was placed in an induced coma. However, he didn’t regain consciousness and passed away early on Tuesday morning. Birmingham police have now launched a murder enquiry into the incident.

Murder probe launched as arson attack victim dies after yobs blast his house with huge commercial firework https://t.co/NPAhX776eC

— Media Beast (@Mediabeast3) November 7, 2017

The downstairs floor of the property was left blackened by the blaze, which ripped through the home at around 11 p.m. on Thursday. Firefighters believe the massive firework likely took two minutes to fully discharge, quickly setting the home on fire.

According to a report by the Birmingham Mail, police had said in an earlier statement that the firework was a multi-shot commercial firework, around 2ft x 1ft in size and that once ignited, it would have lasted for approximately two minutes. They stated that the type of firework is normally used for an outdoor public firework display, adding that the impact inside a small house would have been terrifying.

As reported by the Guardian, West Midlands Police are urging anyone who has sold a firework of this type, or is missing one, to contact Detective Inspector Paul Joyce of the Homicide team. 

Murder inquiry launched after man dies following blaze caused by firework in homehttps://t.co/csjVYAtYCe pic.twitter.com/someTTM4hY

— ITV News (@itvnews) November 7, 2017

Joyce said the huge firework would have been heavy to carry for any distance and he urges anyone who spotted a person carrying a large box in the neighbourhood to contact police. After Nicholl’s death, Joyce said they are treating the incident as a murder enquiry. He said they are following up on several active lines of enquiry and are particularly looking into CCTV in the local community, which may have picked up the suspect.

Nicholl’s partner is still in hospital, being treated for her injuries. His daughter thanked emergency services, as well as medical staff at the hospital, for caring and treating her father.

Police have asked anyone with information relating to the incident to contact police locally on 101, or to phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Two Canadian teenage girls arrested for killing fellow student on Facebook Live

Two teenage girls in Canada, aged 16 and 17, beat a fellow student to death while streaming their actions on Facebook Live.

Once again Facebook Live has been in the news for a horrific and brutal reason. Two teenage girls have been arrested in Sagkeeng First Nation, northeast of Winnipeg in Canada, on charges of second-degree murder. The girls allegedly streamed a video on the social media platform, which showed the pair beating another teenager to death. 

The unidentified teenagers, aged 16 and 17, are students of Sagkeeng Anicinabe High School and are now in custody, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Teenage girls share brutal video footage via Facebook Live

As reported by the New York Daily News, the two girls shared the brutal and disturbing footage on their social media page and on a private instant messaging app, showing their violent assault of a fellow student, 19-year-old Serena McKay of Powerview-Pine Falls, Manitoba. The video footage was reportedly streaming on Facebook Live for almost four hours before it was finally taken down.
 

School principal believes drugs may have been involved in the attack

CBC News Manitoba reports that McKay was due to graduate this month. Her family last saw the teenager on April 23. However, that same day, the teenager was found dead near her home.

Claude Guimond, principal of the Sagkeeng Anicinab High School, told CBC News he believes drugs might possibly have been a factor in the brutal murder of McKay. He said after viewing the video footage, he believes no one in their right mind would commit such a terrible crime unless they were high and totally “out of it.”

The RCMP is still investigating the incident and is aware of the video, but would not, reportedly, confirm whether the person being attacked in the footage was McKay. According to Sgt. Paul Manaigre, authorities are reviewing the video to find out if it does form part of their investigation. Manaigre said that posting videos online is not a crime in itself. However, if someone was actively involved in a crime, that is a different aspect that would be investigated.

Two teen girls face murder charges for beating student to death on Facebook Live: report https://t.co/GShxhyaNad pic.twitter.com/9dKgQIB8Jd

— The Informer (@The_lnformer) May 4, 2017

Manaigre added that it is shocking that such violent footage is currently being shared by people on social media. He said he cannot imagine what the family and the community is going through. Manaigre added that the Internet, as it is today, can be dangerous with everything people are putting out there.

A case of mistaken identity

The RCMP is also investigating a case of mistaken identity, after officers grabbed and handcuffed the wrong 16-year-old girl at a local bus stop. Police said in a statement that as soon as it was learned she was not one of the suspects in the crime, the girl was immediately released. However that teenager’s parents have reportedly filed a formal complaint about their daughter’s mistaken arrest.

Classmates of the teenagers are in shock over McKay’s death, according to Guimond. The principal added that the students interacted with the teenagers involved in the crime on a daily basis and cannot believe that something as horrific as this could happen. He added that grief counselors are on hand to speak with the students as and when they need it.

Source

Teenager who shot friend and posed for a selfie receives prison sentence

An 18-year-old Pennsylvania teenager is facing 15 to 30 years behind bars after shooting his friend, then posing for a selfie with the dying boy.

   

Maxwell Morton of Jeannette, Pennsylvania turns 19 this week, but is now facing a sentence of 15 to 30 years behind bars. Morton was convicted of third-degree murder in February 2015, after shooting his friend, Ryan Mangan, 16. The teenager then posed for a selfie with his friend as he lay dying.

Pennsylvania teenager not aware the handgun was loaded

Morton testified that he and his friend were playing with a handgun, which he believed wasn’t loaded. However when he pointed it at his friend and pulled the trigger, Mangan was shot and fatally wounded. As reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Morton said the reason he took the selfie was to document the accident and the teenager then said he was planning to kill himself. In court on Monday, he told the Westmoreland County Judge that while sorry isn’t enough, that is all he has to give. Morton went on to say that he doesn’t want to be remembered as a “savage,” but did admit the situation was “messed up.”

Jeannette 'selfie' killer gets prison sentence, reports @RichCholodofsky https://t.co/KIAHMN1hkO pic.twitter.com/sKalaNSlKX

— TribWestmoreland (@TribWestmoreCo) May 15, 2017

Pat Thomassey, Morton’s defense attorney, said during the trial that the shooting was accidental, saying the handgun used one was of several weapons Mangan had in his possession, which his parents reportedly did not know about. Thomassey said that was a factor in the accidental shooting. As reported by the New York Post, he went on to argue that this was “two kids” playing around with guns and said if his client had rather called 911 to report the incident, he most likely would not have faced charges.

Morton bragged about the shooting to a friend while playing online video games

While Morton and his lawyer had insisted the shooting incident was accidental, a teenager from Springville, Wisconsin testified in court that Morton bragged that same evening about the killing of his friend, while they were playing an online video game. Morton reportedly said he had “got his first body.” While the teenager believed he was being pranked, Morton later texted a link to a news item about the story and also posted the selfie on Snapchat.

Assistant District Attorney Tom Grace cited two previous convictions held by Morton for assault as a juvenile and a further violent incident that happened during Morton's incarceration for Mangan’s shooting. Grace is seeking a maximum prison sentence of up to 40 years.

News post: "Teen who took selfie with murdered friend learns fate" https://t.co/bbLWaT8aA0

— Major Victor Bravo (@Conservatexian) May 16, 2017

Taking a selfie instead of calling 911 ruined the teenager’s life

Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio noted Morton’s age and said that the fact the teenager took a selfie instead of calling authorities substantially altered the case. According to a forensic pathologist who testified during Monday’s trial, Mangan did not immediately die and would have survived if he had received the proper medical care after he was shot. Bilik-DeFazio told Morton that he looked like a “little boy”, pointing out that things would have been very different if he hadn’t taken the photograph. The judge added that no one could understand the though process behind taking the selfie.

Both teenagers were classmates and had attended Agape, an alternative school and day treatment center for trouble youth in the Jeannette school district.

Sources: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and New York Post

Man confesses to murdering his sister in Fuengirola, Spain

A 22-year-old man is now in custody after he confessed to killing his sister following an argument.

 

Photo by and copyright © Spanish News in English

Police discovered the body of the 25-year-old woman, known only as Erika, at 9:15 a.m. on Monday in the family's beachfront apartment on the Paseo Maritimo in Los Boliches, close to the Confortel Hotel in Fuengirola.  Police had been alerted by calls from concerned neighbours who had overheard the argument.

At 9:39 a.m., the dead woman's brother phoned the police and confessed to the killing. Shortly afterwards police arrested the man and he is currently in custody.

A forensic team from the National Police inspected the property and removed the body at 11:45 a.m. 

Police found the body of Erika in a bedroom, although they believe the woman was killed in the bathroom of the apartment and some of the blood had been cleaned up by the brother.

According to police sources, the woman had suffered a violent death. Diario Sur reports her throat had been deeply cut.  Other media sources quote the murder as a beheading..  Spanish media outlets have noted that the family is of Ecuadorian origins and that the young man apparently had a restraining order against him for mistreating their mother.

Impassioned plea to world leaders from Norwegian doctor working in Gaza

This is a brief extract - go to article to read more:

"The last night was extreme. The "ground invasion" of Gaza resulted in scores and carloads with maimed, torn apart, bleeding, shivering, dying - all sorts of injured Palestinians, all ages, all civilians, all innocent.

The heroes in the ambulances and in all of Gaza's hospitals are working 12-24 hour shifts, grey from fatigue and inhuman workloads (without payment all in Shifa for the last 4 months), they care, triage, try to understand the incomprehensible chaos of bodies, sizes, limbs, walking, not walking, breathing, not breathing, bleeding, not bleeding humans. HUMANS!..." :  read more