Crime
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Police warn landlords about leasing stores to tobacconists amid turf war
Investigators have found illegal tobacco products in about 100 of the stores they have raided.
- by Marta Pascual Juanola
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‘The Punisher’ targeted in second hit attempt after trying to muscle in on illicit tobacco trade
The former bikie and professional boxer has played a key role in the revival of the Brothers 4 Life gang to try to gain a slice of the lucrative market.
- by Chris Vedelago, Marta Pascual Juanola, Nick McKenzie and Alex Crowe
Analysis
Naked City
Why ego should be a gangster’s dirty word
Instead of hiding in the shadows, gangsters are flaunting their wealth. Changes to the law may make them trip over their extravagance, right into trouble.
- by John Silvester
Teeth and a charred watch: The police search for missing campers’ remains
At the base of a fallen tree off a remote alpine track, forensic experts spent three days meticulously looking for answers to the disappearance of Russell Hill and Carol Clay.
- by Erin Pearson
‘Shattered into a million pieces’: Mother speaks of loss after son drowns on school trip
A judge has grilled lawyers for the Education Department about why they did not pass on swimming proficiency information before an eight-year-old boy drowned on a school excursion.
- by David Estcourt
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Courts
Inside Melbourne’s ‘graffiti war’ and the crew that took police 20 years to crack
To some, it’s art. To others, a blight on the city. Decades after “Stan”, “Meow”, “Renks”, “Karl” and “Bonez” tagged trains and landmarks around Melbourne, the law has caught up with one of the 70K crew’s chiefs.
- by David Estcourt
‘Jealousy, rage, entitlement’: Bodybuilder sentenced to 30 years for murdering girlfriend
Sven Lindemann, who shrugged off the attempts of a 10-year-old girl to save her mother as he stabbed her to death, has been jailed.
- by David Estcourt
Graphic content
Domestic violence
Anger, revenge, domestic violence: Why do fathers kill their children?
The Lismore father suspected of killing himself and his two-year-old son has left a community bereft. Many are asking what is behind such a heinous act.
- by Jordan Baker
Alleged sex assault victim found police station closed when she went for help
After allegedly being attacked by a “rideshare driver”, a 20-year-old persuaded him to drop her near a police station. But the station’s front desk hours had been cut back.
- by Madeleine Heffernan
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Catholic church
Abuse victim sues parole board for letting paedophile priest access children
A man abused by notorious priest Michael Glennon has launched legal action believed to be the first attempt in Victoria to extend culpability for historical clerical abuse.
- by Chip Le Grand
Co-ordinating chaos: Counter-terror drill nine months in making as crews prepare for worst
In a large-scale counter-terrorism exercise, Victoria’s emergency services have tested how they would respond to a major attack.
- by Marta Pascual Juanola