7 h. ago Cal review – grieving Helen Mirren superb in compassionate Troubles romance

Mirren won best actress at Cannes in 1984 for her role as Marcella, who forms a relationship with John Lynch’s Cal – a man complicit in her husband’s murderPat O’Connor’s Northern Irish movie from 1984, adapted by author Bernard MacLaverty from his own novel, holds up very well for its rerelease; better in fact than most of the movies and TV drama made about and during the Troubles. It has an unhurried, thoughtful and very human quality; Helen Mirren won the best actress award at Cannes for her performance here and in fact it is very well acted across the board by a blue-chip cast.Mirren plays Marcella, a woman from a Catholic background, married across the sectarian divide to a reserve police officer murdered at his parents’ farmhouse by an IRA man who had bullied a bewildered local guy into being his getaway driver; this is Cal, played by the gauntly intense John Lynch. Cal lives with his widowed father; a gentle performance by Donal McCann, who was Gabriel Conroy in John Huston’s...

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11 h. ago Confessions of a Parent Killer review – a grisly tale of the murderer who lived with her mum and dad’s corpses

This look at Virginia McCullough tells a deeply strange story. Unfortunately, it also leaves the viewer in suspense about her motive for so long it feels horrifically manipulativeWell, what do you think a 90-minute documentary entitled Confessions of a Parent Killer is going to be about? That’s right, well done! It’s the story of a murder by an (adult) child of her parents. Virginia – Ginny – McCullough killed her mother, Lois, and father, John, and confessed immediately to police when they raided her home in 2023 that she had done so four years previously. The twist was that she had been living with their bodies ever since. “She was weird at school,” says a childhood friend. “But not ‘kill your parents and hide the bodies’ weird.”You can probably tell from such unimpeachably phlegmatic commentary that this case occurred in England. Great Baddow, Essex, to be exact, and the film paints a portrait of quintessential small-town, almost-rural life in these sceptred isles that has gone u...

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43 h. ago Stella McCartney gets tested for killer disease with sister on same day

Sir Paul McCartney’s daughter Stella has spoken out about the pain of losing her mum Linda, nearly three decades after her tragic death.

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47 h. ago New horror drug causing carnage in Britain: They're sold as anxiety pills, are 50 times more powerful than heroin and feel like a 'bomb in your brain'. No wonder bereft parents say: 'They're murder'

Thinking back, John Melbourne estimates that he summoned police to the family home almost 30 times in a single year because of his son.

Events

47 h. ago Stella McCartney gets tested for killer disease with sister on same day every year

Sir Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda's youngest daughter Stella speaks on the heartbeaking loss of her mum nearly three decades ago

Events

6 d. ago See the dramatic moment cops charge the accused killer of Pheobe Bishop with her murder at his parents' caravan

James Wood can be seen barefoot wearing grey sweatpants, a chunky silver identity bracelet and a black 'Phantom Menace' t-shirt as cops arrested him.

Events

2 w. ago Parents of murder victim Claire Inglis warn new bail law risks women's lives

Claire’s parents want First Minister John Swinney to explain why victims are being placed “in the line of fire" via new laws that make it easier for violent domestic abusers to be bailed from court.

Events

2 w. ago Parents of murder victim warn 'more women will die' under new domestic violence bail law

Claire’s parents want First Minister John Swinney to explain why victims are being placed “in the line of fire" via new laws that make it easier for violent domestic abusers to be bailed from court.

Events

3 w. ago Family of Sarah Everard murdered by police officer slams major jail change plans

The parents of Sarah Everard, who was was abducted, raped and murdered in 2021, are among bereaved families to criticise plans to let prisoners out of jail earlier for good behaviour

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3 w. ago ‘Sick of this’: Erin Patterson told friends she wanted ‘nothing to do’ with in

Victorian supreme court shown Facebook messages in which murder accused vents frustration at estranged husband’s parents Who are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom murders trial?Erin Patterson told a Facebook group chat “this family I swear to fucking god” and said she wanted “nothing to do” with her parents-in-law, according to messages shown in a Victorian court.Messages written by the user Erin Erin Erin, which the court has previously heard was one of three Facebook names used by Patterson, also included saying she was ““sick of this shit” and “fuck em” about the parents of her estranged husband Simon. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Daughter who murdered her parents and kept their bodies for four years features in 'extraordinary' new documentary

Ginny McCullough has spoken out for the first time in a new documentary Confessions of a Parent Killer which will air on Paramount Plus on June 12

Events

4 w. ago Former doctor lived with mummified corpse of her 600lb son for nine months

New Orleans cops found the body in a fly-infested house with chickens wandering around

Society

4 w. ago 'My sister killed our parents and lived with their mummified bodies for four years'

Virginia McCullough is now serving a minimum of 36 years behind bars after killing both her parents - her sister Louise Hopkins has spoken out about the horrifying crime

Events

4 w. ago 'I fell apart when my sister killed our parents and lived with mummified bodies'

The sister of twisted killer Virginia McCullough has spoken out about coming to terms with her parents' deaths after they were battered and stashed in their home for four years

Events

4 w. ago Woman says she FORGIVES her killer sister who murdered their parents and lived with their mummified bodies for four years

Louise Hopkins, 49, was left stunned when police called her out of the blue with fears that her parents, John and Lois McCullough, might be dead.

Events

4 w. ago What to know about the Menendez brothers' lives and what lies ahead

Erik and Lyle Menendez will have a shot at freedom for the first time in decades after being convicted of their parents’ murder 30 years ago

Politics

4 w. ago Menendez brothers ‘huge step’ closer to freedom as judge reduces sentences

Brothers, convicted of parents’ 1989 murders, resentenced to 50 years to life, making them immediately parole eligibleAfter months of delays and decades behind bars, Erik and Lyle Menendez now have a long-awaited chance at freedom after a judge reduced their sentences for the 1989 killings of their parents.Their family and extensive network of supporters celebrated on Tuesday when Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers from life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life. The judge’s decision means they are immediately eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because of their young ages at the time of the murders. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago After 35 years, the Menendez brothers have a chance for parole. Was that the Netflix effect? | Zoe Williams

It is hard to prove the judicial impact of two shows inspired by the notorious double murder case. But undoubtedly, they heightened public scrutinyWhen the true-crime documentary Menendez Brothers: Misjudged? aired in 2022 on Discovery+, its impact was not immediate, except on TikTok, where – chicken and egg-style – it was hard to determine whether people were talking about the case because of the show or because a general cultural osmosis had brought the topic to the fore.Erik and Lyle killed their parents in 1989, when they were 18 and 21. They alleged a childhood of sexual, psychological and physical abuse by their father, which their mother knew about but didn’t act on. The judge disallowed what was called the “abuse excuse” at the time, and the prosecution successfully landed the argument that they had murdered their parents for their inheritance, resulting in whole-life sentences without the possibility of parole. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Menendez brothers who murdered parents in mansion have sentences cut

They have been in prison for 35 years.

Events

4 w. ago Will the Menendez brothers be released from prison after their resentencing?

Erik and Lyle Menendez, notorious for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, have been granted their first opportunity for freedom in decades.

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