A Melbourne underworld matriarch faced court yesterday in connection with the execution-style murder of her brother-in-law.
Gangland widow Judy Moran was one of three people charged over the slaying of Des “Tuppence” Moran, a former underworld enforcer who died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head on Monday while having coffee in a suburban cafe.
The Moran family played a major role in a gang war for control of Melbourne’s drugs trade that claimed some 30 lives between 1995 and 2006, sparking fears the latest shooting could lead to a renewal of hostilities.
Moran, 61, was shot at close range by two balaclava-wearing gunmen in a noon hit in a cafe in the city’s busy Ascot Vale area.
Witnesses who saw the killing reported that Judy Moran arrived at the scene screaming “Dessy! Dessy!”
The 64-year-old lost her husband Lewis and two sons Mark and Jason in the Melbourne gang war, which was dramatized in the hit Australian series Underbelly. Since then, she has traded on her notoriety as a gangland black widow with frequent TV appearances portraying her family as unwitting victims of underworld violence.
But she was accused in a late-night court session on Tuesday of helping orchestrate the latest killing and charged with being an accessory in Desmond Moran’s murder. No motive has so far been suggested.
Police told the court that officers saw Judy Moran dumping the getaway car used in the murder that contained a rifle and gun case, while telephone taps captured her discussing disposing of items used in the killing.
A subsequent search of her house revealed handguns, clothing and a wig fitting the description of items used in the slaying, police said.
She was refused bail after reappearing in court yesterday, with magistrate Jelena Popovic saying she was concerned about the safety of members of the community.
Family friend Suzanne Kane has also been charged with being an accessory and Kane’s boyfriend Geoffrey Armour faces a murder charge.
BLOODSHED: North Koreans take extreme measures to avoid being taken prisoner and sometimes execute their own forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said that Russian and North Korean forces sustained heavy losses in fighting in Russia’s southern Kursk region. Ukrainian and Western assessments say that about 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy swathes of territory after staging a mass cross-border incursion in August last year. In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy quoted a report from Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi as saying that the battles had taken place near the village of Makhnovka, not far from the Ukrainian border. “In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka,
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland on Tuesday expressed concern about “the political crisis” in Georgia, two days after Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of the South Caucasus nation, cementing the ruling party’s grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia. “We strongly condemn last week’s violence against peaceful protesters, media and opposition leaders, and recall Georgian authorities’ responsibility to respect human rights and protect fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to assembly and media freedom,” the three ministers wrote in a joint statement. In reaction
BARRIER BLAME: An aviation expert questioned the location of a solid wall past the end of the runway, saying that it was ‘very bad luck for this particular airplane’ A team of US investigators, including representatives from Boeing, on Tuesday examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea, while authorities were conducting safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. All but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. Video showed the aircraft, without its landing gear deployed, crash-landed on its belly and overshoot a runaway at Muan International Airport before it slammed into a barrier and burst into flames. The plane was seen having engine trouble.
REVELRY ON HOLD: Students marched in Belgrade amid New Year’s events, saying that ‘there is nothing to celebrate’ after the train station tragedy killed 15 Thousands of students marched in Belgrade and two other Serbian cities during a New Year’s Eve protest that went into yesterday, demanding accountability over the fatal collapse of a train station roof in November. The incident in the city of Novi Sad occurred on Nov. 1 at a newly renovated train facility, killing 14 people — aged six to 74 — at the scene, while a 15th person died in hospital weeks later. Public outrage over the tragedy has sparked nationwide protests, with many blaming the deaths on corruption and inadequate oversight of construction projects. In Belgrade, university students marched through the capital
RSS