life

SWMRstab – by Faye Mayern A ‘calculating’ husband who stabbed his wife and stepson to death has been given a life sentence. Calogero Ricotta, 64, murdered Maria Nugara, 54, and her Son Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Morreale, 29, at their family home in Ugley, Essex on May 28. Officers were at the scene within minutes where ‘coercive and controlling’ Ricotta was quickly arrested and later charged with two counts of murder. He was also charged with one count of causing actual bodily harm to a third victim who was present in the address at the time. The court heard Ricotta was ‘calculating,…

SWMRsavings – by Tom Bevan A woman has been jailed for defrauding her elderly neighbour out of his life savings – to fund her gambling addiction. Chelsea Iles, 29, was locked up for more than four years after she exploited her relationship with the victim to steal almost £290,000. Iles previously pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position and one count of making/supplying an article for use in fraud. During a hearing at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday 13 February it was heard that Iles had defrauded the man, aged in his 80s, out of £287,825…

SWMRgunpoint – by Ross McCarthy This is the moment police arrested a man who had raped two women at gunpoint – as he is jailed for life. Troy Tomlin, 27, targeted the women after making contact via an escort website. He disguised himself by wearing a face covering, demanding money before raping them both. Both of the women managed to flee from the property and raise the alarm, before Tomlin fled the scene. Tomlin was jailed for life with a minimum of 17 years at Birmingham Crown Court after being found guilty of four rapes, two counts of possession of…

SWMRguilty – by Elizabeth Hunter Two men who murdered a neighbour in a row over rubbish have been given life sentences. Mark Sothcott and Martin Carty were convicted of the murder of Franklin Ingram, 68, at a block of flats in Yeovil in Somerset last year. An argument had begun after Carty left rubbish near the victim’s flat on 22 June. At 11pm that evening, Mr. Ingram was fatally wounded in a confrontation at Carty’s flat – with Carty waiting 18 hours to contact emergency services. When Carty did phone 999 he falsely claimed to have found Frank deceased on…

People with a positive outlook on life proved more resilient during the COVID pandemic, according to new research. Adults with high levels of “playfulness” showed stronger resilience during lockdowns compared to more serious individuals, said American scientists. They excelled at “lemonading” – creatively imagining and pursuing the positive, according to the findings published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, Study leader Dr Xiangyou “Sharon” Shen of Oregon State University (OSU) said the findings are important because playfulness is a vital but underappreciated resource for building resilience and maintaining well-being during difficult periods such as the pandemic. And she emphasized that…

SWLSferrari – by Bruno Brown and Faye Mayern A Ferrari driver who died in a car crash despite the efforts of a passing team of bodyguards escorting ex-Prime Minister David Cameron has been named. Benjamin Gladman, 31, died when his red Ferrari 360 came off Bow Hill, a leafy B-road on the outskirts of Marlingford in Norfolk on January 25. Among the first to arrive on the scene of the crash was Lord David Cameron who had been on a shoot in the area. His bodyguards tried to save Mr Gladman’s life, but he was pronounced dead by the roadside.…

With an explosion in popularity as of late, more people are taking to their vans to live a life on the road, but one internet expert takes a closer look at the tools they may need to do it right. – More and more people living a nomadic lifestyle out of their vans. – Interest in the van life has exploded thanks, in part, to social media posting trends. – A fast and reliable internet connection, even in remote areas, named as one of the most essential tools for van living. Van life, the nomadic lifestyle trend that sees people…