murder

Some locals claim the tunnel is haunted by the ghost of a murdered teenager.

Hidden at the bottom of the world is a tunnel which is shadowed in years of history. Thousands of cars travel through it daily, and as they do, they sound their horns.

The tunnel is a cacophony of beeping and tooting at all hours of the day and night – all thanks to a murder which has haunted the city since 1931. The Mount Victoria Tunnel is part of a well-used stretch of highway in Wellington, New Zealand.

According to legend, the reason drivers lean on their horns as they travel through the tunnel is in tribute to murdered teenager Phillis Symons.

Phillis was buried alive in dirt fill during the tunnel’s construction.

She was only 17 and was pregnant when her boyfriend George Coats, a worker on the construction of the tunnel, knocked her unconscious with a pipe.

George then dumped Phillis in the dirt fill. Her body was found hunched over, meaning she had tried to escape the soil.

George was sentenced to death for the murder, and was hanged in December 1931.

The tunnel was opened to the public in the same year.

Now, almost a hundred years later, the 632 metre long tunnel echoes constantly with the sound of car horns which residents believe either wards off spirits, or pays tribute to the memory of Phillis.

Some locals say the tunnel is haunted – others say the constant beeping is the only thing that haunts the road.

The tunnel is the subject of a £1.27billion (between NZD$2.9b and NZD$3.8b) infrastructure project which would see a second tunnel built alongside the first to try and alleviate the severe bottlenecks which occur in the tunnel.

The current one is only two lanes, and frequently closes due to crashes, causing traffic jams that can last hours.

According to RNZ, the project has been granted fast track approval – but as of last week there was still no expected start date.

Four people have been arrested in South Africa in connection with the murder of boxing champion Zolani Tete, who was shot dead outside his home on Friday.

Tete, 38, was gunned down in what has been described as an ambush in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape. A young woman who was with him was also shot and is in hospital.

One of the men being held, a 22-year-old who was arrested on Saturday, will make an initial appearance in court on Monday, and faces murder and attempted murder charges.

Tete held the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019, as well as the IBF super-flyweight title in 2014. He was later given a four-year ban, which lapsed in July this year.

The remaining suspects, who were arrested on Sunday, are due in court on Tuesday. Two have been charged with unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. It is unclear whether they will also be charged with murder and attempted murder.

Tete was in his car waiting for the gate to his house to open when two armed suspects in balaclavas emerged from a vehicle and fired “multiple shots” at him and a 27‑year‑old female passenger, according to officials.

The motive behind the attack is unclear.

Tributes have been pouring in for the two-time world champion since his death. South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said: “South Africa has lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced.”

Former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula also paid tribute to Tete, lamenting the loss of a “a great South African who has made an immense contribution in the sport of boxing”.

Tete beat Liverpool’s Paul Butler in 2015 in one of the eight times he fought in the United Kingdom.

He also holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest knockout in a title fight, ending his match with Siboniso Gonya inside 11 seconds in 2017.

Tete last fought in July 2022, beating Briton Jason Cunningham by knockout In London, but it was later ruled a no-contest after he failed a drugs test.

He tested positive for anabolic steroid stanozolol and was given a ban by the UK Anti-Doping Agency.

After his death, manager Mla Tengimfene confirmed he had been training for a comeback fight after his ban ended.

Tete had 29 wins in 34 fights, with four losses and one no-contest.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

According to the latest crime statistics, covering the period between January and March this year, around 58 people were killed each day.

They were two killings that rocked the rap world.

In 1996, Tupac Shakur was gunned down off the Las Vegas Strip. Then, less than a year later, Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G., was killed in a drive-by shooting in front of the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard.

The two killings have long been tied together in popular culture.

Now, a detective says the investigation into Wallace’s death helped lead police to the suspect on trial in Las Vegas in Shakur’s slaying.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a onetime Compton gang member, is accused of orchestrating the Sept. 7, 1996, killing of Shakur. Prosecutors say the killing was rooted in a war between Southside Crips-Burris Street, led by Davis, and Mob Piru, a gang long associated with Death Row Records. Shakur was closely affiliated with the record company.

Authorities say Davis was in the car with his nephew, who grabbed the murder weapon and fired the fatal bullet.

On Wednesday, former LAPD Homicide Det. Daryn Dupree said Davis set out his role in Shakur’s killing in detail in 2008 to a joint LAPD federal task force that was formed to investigate Wallace’s murder.

To force Davis’ cooperation, Dupree said investigators gathered evidence that Davis, now 63, had sold a large quantity of PCP through his home, exposing him to a potential life sentence and leaving his family open to charges.

The task force questioned Davis about a car he owned that was similar to the one used in Wallace’s L.A. killing. Davis was given a proffer agreement, according to Dupree, meaning he agreed to provide information in exchange for possible benefit.

Davis said he knew about the Smalls shooting and then indicated, “we did the other one,” Dupree testified. That statement, he said, shifted investigators’ focus to the Shakur killing.

“We were talking about Christopher Wallace,” Dupree said. “We didn’t ask him any questions about Tupac. He offered that on his own.”

In a second interview, Dupree testified Davis stated that his nephew Orlando Anderson had been jumped, spurring Davis and cohorts on a hunt for revenge against Shakur.

The attack on Anderson occurred at a Mike Tyson fight earlier on the night of Sept. 7 in Las Vegas, according to Clark County prosecutors. Earlier in the trial, video was shown of Shakur’s entourage attacking Anderson, allegedly in retaliation over a chain that Anderson had previously stolen.

“They went looking for Tupac, Suge and anybody who was involved basically in the beatdown of Mr. Anderson,” Dupree said. Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight was in the car with Shakur the night he was killed.

When they found Shakur, the former detective testified, Davis “had the gun at first, but they came up on the passenger side,” where Knight was seated, “so he could not shoot across the driver. So he handed a gun to Dre in the back seat.” Deandre “Big Dre” Smith was among those in the white Cadillac in addition to Davis and Anderson.

“Davis said Deandre Smith was afraid to shoot,” Dupree testified, so “Anderson grabbed the gun and shot across Mr. Smith into Mr. Knight’s car.”

Davis told the task force they used a .40-caliber handgun, according to testimony.

Prosecutors said they would begin playing all five hours of the interviews to jurors on Thursday.

Dupree said Davis was signed up as a confidential informant in March 2009. He said Las Vegas police were not aware of the secret conversations at the time.

Dupree testified that Davis told investigators that former rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs had been involved in targeting Shakur and Knight through East Coast drug dealer Eric “Von Zip” Martin.

He testified that Davis pledged to rekindle his relationship with Martin to gather evidence. But Martin had cancer, and that was not possible, Dupree said. Martin died in 2012.

Combs was never connected to the Shakur case and has denied ever being involved. Others have questioned Davis’ credibility on this and other points.

The Times in 2008 published a story suggesting a Combs link to Shakur’s killing. But it later retracted the story, saying it was based on documents that appeared to have been forged.

Prosecutors in Davis’ trial say the motive was straight revenge for the beating of Anderson, and that Martin allegedly gave Davis a gun. But they have made no allegations against Combs, who has long denied any role or connection to Shakur’s killing.

Michael Sanft, Davis’ defense attorney, told jurors in opening statements there would be no evidence linking his client to the shooting. Sanft noted that previous investigations did not take his client’s statements seriously because they were not credible. The defense attorney, in an unusual move, repeatedly undermined his own client’s credibility, saying Davis’ memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” where he talks about the Shakur killing, was a work of fiction for money and his client wasn’t in Las Vegas.

Under cross-examination, Dupree said Davis faced a life sentence in the PCP case and that his wife and family were in jeopardy because of it, so he needed to help authorities.

He said that LAPD Det. Greg Kading, the task force leader, left the department after investigating the Shakur and Smalls cases and published a book in 2011 that revealed Davis’ interview.

Dupree said the task force was trying to determine if money was really offered to kill Shakur. He said they were trying to build a racketeering case. “This is trying to solidify that Death Row Records was built on narcotics and Bad Boy Records.”

Dupree said he personally did not doubt Davis when he talked about Anderson killing Shakur.

“I knew he loved his nephew.”

For all the notoriety of the rapper killings, neither has yet led to convictions.

Wallace was leaving a music industry party at the Petersen Automotive Museum on March 9, 1997, sitting in the front passenger seat of a Chevrolet Suburban, when his killer pulled up alongside in a dark Chevy Impala.

As the SUV idled at a stoplight, the gunman opened fire, hitting the 24-year-old four times. He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m.

From the beginning, police said they struggled to get leads and cooperation.

As The Times reported back in 1997, “although more than 1,000 people were said to be at the party, police said they had few eyewitnesses and even fewer solid leads … Detectives said they are investigating whether Wallace’s death is linked to bicoastal tensions within the rap world, but had nothing solid to go on.”

Despite many theories and a long LAPD investigation, the case remains unsolved.

There have been numerous books, documentaries and civil litigation that make allegations, but police said they could never build a case.

In 2017, an LAPD detective told The Times: “The shooter is most likely dead. You cannot ask him who paid him.”

BBC cameras follow NHS staff dealing with everything from stabbings to car crashes

A new BBC series shows the stark realities of working in NHS emergency care.

The six-part docuseries comes from the makers of revered true crime show Murder 24/7, and follows a very similar format. However, rather than showing real-time investigations into crimes, it instead centres around staff dealing with a host of emergency cases at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

From stabbings and third-degree burns through to car crashes, the talented teams within the emergency department are shown handling each case from the patient’s arrival through to diagnosis and treatment.

The season debut opened with the devastating case of two friends, Luke and Kieran, who were involved in a motorbike crash, leaving both with severe injuries. As the teams treat the pair, they fear irreversible damage to Luke’s nerves which could leave him unable to walk.

Viewers will have to tune in to episode one, now streaming on BBC iPlayer, to discover how the duo’s story played out. Meanwhile subsequent episodes of Emergency 24/7 air every Tuesday at 9pm on BBC Two.

Luke recently appeared on BBC Radio Bristol to discuss his story, sharing: “I don’t remember the actual accident itself.

“I remember picking my friend up and just going out for a ride on the bike.

“He was on the back, I was driving, and then the next thing I knew, I blinked, and about five or six days had gone by, and I was in Bristol ICU.”

Reactions to the new series have been positive so far, with one viewer writing: “I enjoyed it. Really rammed home how busy they are. Also highlighted the rubbish they have to deal with.”

A second shared: “It’s really well done, set over the time period of one shift and follows a couple of patients closely and then you get an update at the end with how they’re doing.

“They also give a good explanation of why hospitals do things like corridor care, what’s being shown on the scan, how the team works when there’s a major trauma, the impact abusive patients can have on the department as a whole by removing staff from other areas to deal with them etc.”

Meanwhile others reported being left in “awe” at the work of the teams featured. A third viewer show fan shared: “Watching #emergency 24/7 #emergency24 on BBC2. I’m in awe of the surgeon putting that spine back together, and all the staff in A and E.”

Emergency 24/7 airs weekly on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC Two. Episodes are available to stream via BBC iPlayer after broadcast.

Police added that officers have trawled hours of public and private CCTV footage as part of the investigation, while door-to-door enquiries are also continuing.

The last sighting of either man had been on Friday morning.

Police also said the Chancellor Street property where the bodies were found was the home of one of the victims, and that the two men knew each other.

Det Supt Kelly said: “I am appealing directly to anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant they feel it may be, to come forward and speak to us.

“Please do not assume that the police already know the information you have.

“We are keen to hear from anyone who knew Paul and Gary or who was in the Partick area near to Chancellor Street from Friday morning from 09:00, who saw Paul or Gary, or saw or heard anything suspicious.”

Supt Craig Brady said: “I would like to extend my sympathies to the family and friends of Paul and Gary as they try to come to terms with their loss.

“We understand the significant impact this will have on the local community and I would like to thank everyone for their help so far.”

Post-mortem examinations took place on Monday and Tuesday and confirmed the causes of death as being murder.

A major incident public portal has been launched, external as part of the investigation.

In opening arguments, the prosecution portrayed Davis as the ringleader of the group responsible for the shooting – and point to a memoir he co-authored where he wrote in detail about the night of the shooting.

“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told the jury. “Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.”

Davis’ attorneys called the narrative “fiction”, dubbing the case a product of a flawed-decades-long investigation. Davis has distanced himself from the memoir, saying he didn’t write all of it and parts were fictionalised to sell more copies.

Davis, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, sat with his defence team as they questioned why no one had been arrested for nearly three decades and asked why “no one corroborates any of this”.

“What facts do they have after 30 years?” his attorney Michael Sanft questioned.

The prosecution’s first witness was Garry Dale, who was working for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at the time of the shooting in September 1996.

The officer detailed riding in an ambulance with Shakur after he’d been shot. He said the rapper refused to offer any information on what happened and who had shot him. “We’ll take care of it,” Shakur said, according to the officer’s testimony.

At the core of the case is East Coast vs West Coast rap rivalries and turf wars between the Bloods and the Crips street gangs that were immortalised in rap lyrics and news reports in the 1990s.

Police have long said said a lack of cooperation in the case led to dead ends in their investigation. Members of the rapper’s entourage, though, have accused authorities of initially treating them like suspects and failing to follow important leads.

Throughout the day on Monday, prosecutors painted that picture for the jury, explaining that there were no formal criminal charges in the shooting because in the world of guns and gangs “silence means survival”.

But “one person” who had a hard time staying silent was the defendant, prosecutors said, noting that Davis gave a “number” of statements on the case between 1998 and 2003.

Prosecutors allege Davis planned the shooting after his nephew Orlando Anderson was involved in a fight with Shakur in Las Vegas hours earlier. They argued Davis believed the attack on his nephew could not “go unanswered”.

The iconic rapper was just 25 years old when he was gunned down after a Mike Tyson boxing match on 7 September 1996. He died six days after the shooting.

Prosecutors contend that Davis – a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang – was the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur.

The murder case had largely gone cold until public statements made by Davis himself, who published a memoir in 2019. In it, and in various interviews, Davis has claimed he was a passenger in the vehicle that fired into Shakur’s car that night.

He said in the book that he gave the gun used in the murder to his nephew, Anderson, who shot the rapper.

His attorneys have argued the book is fiction and shouldn’t be used as evidence in a criminal trial relating to a case from three decades ago, but a judge ruled it could be used in court.

His defence team has pointed to missing police reports, disputed evidence and “biased, sloppy and incomplete” detective work.

They alleged prosecutors relied on “unreliable people with criminal records, financial motivations and inconsistent statements”.

The defence also argued witnesses changed their stories over time and were influenced by money, media attention or information supplied by investigators.

NICK Reiner has been indicted in the deaths of his parents after they were found fatally stabbed in their family home in December.

Nick, 32, previously pleaded not guilty to the murders of his film director dad Rob Reiner and his mother Michele, but a newly unsealed indictment reveals an additional allegation.

Rob and Michele were found with their throats slashed on December 14 inside of their Los Angeles home.

Nick, the couple’s youngest son, was indicted by a grand jury on the updated murder charges, replacing the initial charges filed against him in 2025.

He has since pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder with special circumstances allegations of lying in wait and personally using a knife, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The indictment was returned on July 20 and unsealed on Wednesday after Nick entered his plea.

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The new lying in wait allegation carries the possibility of a life sentence without parole or the death penalty.

The indictment allows prosecutors to speed up the process for Nick’s case to go to trial, avoid a preliminary hearing and avoid witnesses testifying about the circumstances and Nick’s history.

“This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman.

“We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice.”

Rob and Michele attended a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien with Nick on December 13, and later got into a heated argument with their son.

Their daughter Romy found them dead inside their home on December 14 around 3:30pm PST.

Nick, who has a history of substance abuse and mental illness, was arrested later that night and has since been held inside the Twin Towers jail in California.

His arraignment in January was postponed after his star lawyer Alan Jackson, who represented Karen Read, withdrew from the case abruptly, saying he had “no choice” but to leave.

Nick is scheduled to appear in court on September 15.

Prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will seek the death penalty in his case.

A family friend told The U.S. Sun that Nick’s siblings Jake and Romy want him to avoid the death penalty.

“Rob & Michele’s family, despite everything, do not want Nick to get the death penalty, as they insist this horrific incident was the byproduct of a mental health crisis,” the insider said.

Jake released a lengthy Substack post in April titled “Mom and Dad,” where he revealed the moment he learned of his parents’ deaths.

“It was at that moment I received a call from my sister Romy telling me our father was dead,” the 34-year-old wrote.

“Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead.”

Jake took an “unendurable” 45-minute Lyft ride to his parents’ home, writing in his Substack post, “My world, as I knew it, had collapsed.”

Timeline of Rob and Michele Reiner’s death

Rob Reiner and his wife of Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home on December 14, 2025.

Timeline:

• December 13, 2025: Reiner and his wife Michele attended a holiday party on the evening of December 13 with their son, Nick.
• Sources conveyed to The U.S. Sun that the couple and their son were engaged in a heated public argument while at the event.
• December 14, 2025: Reiner and Michele were found dead in their Brentwood home in Los Angeles at around 3:30 pm PST.
• The couple’s daughter, Romy, reportedly discovered her parents’ bodies.
• Online police records show Reiner and Michele’s 32-year-old son, Nick, was arrested at 9:15 pm PST on December 14.
• December 15, 2025: Authorities in Los Angeles announce that Nick Reiner was arrested and charged with murder.
• Nick was booked into a Los Angeles jail at 5:04 am and was being held on $4 million bail, which was later revoked.
• December 16, 2025: Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman formally charged Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder.
• Hochman said his office would consider the death penalty in Nick’s case.
• Nick’s scheduled court appearance on December 16 was postponed due to what his attorney said was a procedural issue.
• December 17, 2025: Nick Reiner briefly appeared in court. A plea was not entered.
• December 23, 2025: The death certificates of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner disclosed that the couple died of multiple sharp force injuries caused with “a knife, by another.”

Jake did not name Nick in his writing, referring to him only as his “brother.”

“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” Jake said.

“Sure, any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it.”

Rob was a famous Hollywood filmmaker, known for directing films like The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally.

He famously rewrote the ending of When Harry Met Sally after meeting his wife.

Nick and Rob worked together to create the film Being Charlie in 2015, with characters that thinly resembled versions of the father and son.

The film explored how drugs could harm a relationship between a successful actor and his son.

Jake remembered his mother as “the engine, the backbone, and the heart of our entire family,” in his Substack post.

“My dad is my hero. I love how he would analyze my dreams or how I felt I could come talk to him about anything. No subject was ever off-limits,” Jake said of his father.

“He was authentic, passionate, and his sense of humor has always been my sense of humor.”

Coronation Street fans have predicted that a shock reunion is on the cards for Sarah and Gary after they became wrapped up in the murder of Theo Silverton earlier this year

Sarah Platt broke up with Kit Green on Monday night’s episode of Coronation Street – and fans think they know exactly why.

The legendary soap character, who has been played by Tina O’Brien since 1999, was revealed to have killed evil Theo Silverton earlier this year by hitting him over the head with a pipe, marking the end of a vicious cycle of abuse he had inflicted on her best friend Todd Grimshaw.

She chose not to inform Kit when everything unfolded on that dramatic night, for fear of what it could do for his career, and instead called Gary Windass (Mikey North), whom she had a relationship with almost a decade ago, to help her. He helped cover everything up and hid the murder weapon but Sarah couldn’t take the guilt in the months that followed and eventually confessed all to Kit.

Currently in prison having been charged with murder, Kit is doing everything he can to try make sure Sarah gets away with her crimes, and he recently pressured Gary into confessing that he had a hand in it. To make matters worse, Gary’s wife Maria (Samia Longchambon) initially lied to the police to give Gary a false alibi before she even knew of his involvement, and even she was hauled in for questioning on the latest episode of the ITV soap.

Whilst at the station, incompetent copper DS Lisa Swain, who usually puts innocent people in prison, started to plant a seed in Maria’s head. She said: “He must really care about her, though. To risk everything for her like that. You wouldn’t just do that for anybody, would you?

“Only someone who means a lot to you… or you were in love with. I mean, does that not bother you? Not only that, but by getting you to give him a false alibi, it seems like he’s quite happy to risk you getting arrested for perverting the course of justice.

Maria was let go due to lack of evidence, but was furious when she got back home to Gary, as she raged: “Even Lisa said that for you to have done what you did, covering up for her, you must still have feelings for her.”

Meanwhile, Sarah instructed Kit to come to the prison rather than speak to him in person. Almost on the verge of tears, she told him: “I love you. I love you so much. I do. But I can’t watch you jeopardise everything that you’ve worked for, and I can’t watch you do this to yourself. He’s hardly what I’d call a keeper, your Gary, now, is he?”

“You never used to be jealous. Ever. And now you don’t trust me. I can see it in your eyes when you look at me and anything I ever say, or whatever I tell you, you’re never gonna believe a word I say.

“I’m not having a go, because I get it. I know it’s my fault. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t watch you throw your career away because of me. You know as well as I do if I get sent down for us, you’re not gonna be able to stay on in the police force.

“A copper with a convicted murderer for a partner – that’s not gonna work! No, it’s over. Okay? You need to forget about me and move on.” Kit looked on in disbelief but viewers were quick to suggest that, despite Sarah’s protests, she does in fact still love Gary and this will lead to them getting back together.

Reacting to the emotional scenes, one fan wrote on X: “After all this, sarah and gary have to end up together, right? I mean, Gary’s risked his livelihood for sarah and she keeps trying to protect him.”

Another said: “Gary & Sarah have been protecting each other over & over for real crimes while hurting their actual partners. All I’m seeing is Gary & Sarah endgame“

A third wrote: “I would’ve understood if Sarah had been convicted but all the things she’s mentioning are only relevant if she gets sent down. She’s giving up on Kit so easily while gladly going to prison for longer just so Gary doesn’t have to for committing a crime to protect her.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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