Trump's casting call as he builds out his administration: TV experience preferredStock market today: Wall Street ends mixed after a bumpy weekTweet Facebook Mail As festive season gets underway, new research shows Australians continue to pivot to low- or zero- alcohol drinks, as the national consumption shifts. DrinkWise said 62 per cent of Australians aged 25 and over felt more empowered to choose to not drink alcohol compared to 10 years ago. And they said 51 per cent of consumers drank - at least sometimes - zero-alcohol products, compared to 35 per cent in 2021. READ MORE: Home buyer battles neighbours swimming in her $1.29m backyard People are more likely to drink low- and zero-alcohol drinks this holiday season. (Nine) However - and relevant to the season - office parties tend to be the scene of heavier drinking. DrinkWise said 35 per cent of people who drank at parties where employers were footing the bill tended to drink more than four standard drinks, compared to 23 per cent who exceeded that limit when paying for their own alcohol. Nonetheless, 73 per cent of respondents said it was important for people to have access to zero- and low-alcoholic drinks, and 53 per cent said they wanted to cut back. READ MORE: Bank withdrawal fees, cashless trend slammed as 'kick in the gut' Australia's most trusted and distrusted brands View Gallery "We continue to see positive shifts in attitudes and behaviours towards alcohol, with parties and celebrations the main occasion where people alternate between full and lower or zero strength alcohol (71 per cent)," DrinkWise CEO Simon Strahan said. "This demonstrates a growing awareness of the benefits of more responsible drinking habits." DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP : Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play .
Nikita Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Ms Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euro (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor said in a post on social media on Friday that he intends to appeal the decision. That post has since been deleted. Justice Minister Helen McEntee praised Ms Hand’s bravery and said she had shown “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. “I just want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her determination and the leadership that she has shown in what has been – I’ve no doubt – a very, very difficult time for her and indeed, for her family. She added: “Because of wonderful people like Nikita, I hope that it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there are supports available to people, and that there is justice at the end of the day.” Ms Hand said in a statement outside court on Friday that she hoped her case would remind victims of assault to keep “pushing forward for justice”. Describing the past six years as “a nightmare”, she said: “I want to show (my daughter) Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” During the case, Ms Hand said she was “disappointed and upset” when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the case after she made a complaint to the Irish police. In a letter to her in August 2020, the DPP said there was “insufficient evidence” and there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction. Ms Hand asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was being treated differently because one of the suspects was famous. Asked about the DPP’s decision not to prosecute, Ms McEntee said: “We have a very independent system in this country, and I think that’s right. “Our DPP, she’s independent in the decisions that are taken, and for good reasons that there should never be any political interference in that process. “There is always an option for an individual to ask for reasons to be outlined as to why the DPP made a particular decision, and that is open to any individual or any case, but I have, since becoming minister, given priority to and enabled a new office within the DPP to open specifically focused on sexual offences, so that this issue can be given the focus and the priority that it needs. “But... it is independent, and I really think it’s important that we respect that independence.” Get all the latest news from around the country Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the countryMarvell Technology, Inc. Reports Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2025 Financial ResultsTight race for the North Carolina Supreme Court is heading to another recountS&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Dow Jones Sustainability Indices 2024 Review Results
Editor's note: This story includes graphic descriptions of violence that some readers may find disturbing. Whoever duct-taped JonBenét Ramsey’s mouth shut, bludgeoned the six-year-old Colorado girl and strangled the child beauty queen in her own home has evaded capture for almost 28 years. Now, a new Netflix documentary series reexamines the gruesome December 1996 killing and suggests modern technology might help solve the homicide that has riveted and perplexed the country for decades. Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey features lengthy interviews with JonBenét’s father and namesake, John Bennett Ramsey, who has lived under a cloud of suspicion despite being formally cleared in 2008. "Our big frustration almost from Day One is that we knew the police did not have the capacity or the capability or the experience to deal with this case," Ramsey, now 80, told CNN Tuesday. While researching the case, director Joe Berlinger was stunned by "just how trampled the crime scene was." But even after the initial, botched police investigation, Berlinger said he believes advanced technology, such as genetic genealogy, "can solve the crime." Here’s what we know about the quest for JonBenét’s killer, including the overseas arrest of an innocent man and how investigators are trying a new strategy after 21,000 tips: The little girl was a local celebrity – and may have drawn unwanted attention By age six, JonBenét had amassed more titles and tiaras than many beauty queens several times her age: Little Miss Colorado. Little Miss Charlevoix. Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl. America’s Royale Miss. National Tiny Miss Beauty. The kindergartener was already wearing high heels and following the footsteps of her beauty queen mother, Patricia “Patsy” Ramsey, a former Miss West Virginia. John and Patsy Ramsey, shown in May 1997, pleaded for the public's help in finding their daughter's killer. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) A week before her death, JonBenét was featured in a Boulder Christmas parade – with her name displayed along the side of her float. Her father later told CNN that may have been a mistake. On the night of December 25, 1996, JonBenét, her brother Burke and their parents returned home from Christmas dinner at a family friend’s house. Patsy Ramsey tucked her daughter into bed. The next day, JonBenét’s lifeless body was found in the family’s basement with a cord around her neck. A cryptic ransom note and a grisly discovery The morning after Christmas, Patsy Ramsey went to the kitchen to make coffee. On her way down the spiral staircase, she found a lengthy, bizarre ransom note. The note was written on paper taken from Patsy Ramsey’s notepad. It demanded a peculiar amount of money – US$118,000 – the same amount John Ramsey received for his Christmas bonus as president of Access Graphics. It's still not clear why that exact dollar amount was demanded, or by whom. Fearing her daughter had been kidnapped, Patsy Ramsey called 911. Investigators found no immediate signs of forced entry into the family’s upscale house. For several hours, no one could find JonBenét. Officers didn’t properly secure the sizeable home, and family friends came and went freely. Eventually, John Ramsey and a friend went down to the basement and opened a cellar door. "JonBenét was there. I saw her immediately," John Ramsey told CNN in 2016. "And it was a rush of relief. I thought, 'God, I found my child.' And then I pretty quickly realized that she may not be alive." JonBenét had a rope embedded deep into her neck. At the end of the rope was a broken paintbrush that looked like it was from Patsy Ramsey’s art set. There was also evidence the six-year-old had been sexually assaulted. The coroner who performed JonBenét’s autopsy said the child died from suffocation in conjunction with forcible trauma to her skull. JonBenét had an 8.5-inch skull fracture. Almost three decades later, it’s still not clear why someone wrote a ransom note describing a kidnapping when the killer left JonBenét’s mutilated body in the house. ‘We were aghast’ after the botched police response, JonBenét’s father says Law enforcement and forensic experts have said local authorities made mistakes in the early hours and days of the investigation. Failing to secure the house while people drifted in and out meant the crime scene had been compromised. Potential evidence was not promptly collected to eliminate the possibility of contamination. John Ramsey said he believes police spent too long focusing on him and Patsy rather than looking for whoever actually killed their daughter. "We knew they were totally focused on Patsy and I, and we were aghast," he told CNN’s Kate Bolduan Tuesday. "But I said to them, 'OK, great. Let’s work through that and then don’t stop there.' Well, they did stop there. And our big frustration with the police all along has been that they’ve refused help from the outside that could have helped." But Boulder police have reiterated their efforts to find JonBenét’s killer. "The killing of JonBenet was an unspeakable crime and this tragedy has never left our hearts,” Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said in a statement posted on X Tuesday. "We are committed to following up on every lead and we are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved." Last year, Boulder police announced a new strategy in trying to resolve the case that has haunted the community for decades. "Boulder Police Department (BPD) convened a panel of outside experts (Colorado Cold Case Review Team) to review the JonBenét Ramsey homicide investigation," the department said in December 2023 . "The purpose of the review was to generate additional investigative recommendations and determine if updated technologies and/or forensic testing might produce new intelligence or leads to solve the case." This week, police refuted the notion that detectives aren’t using every investigative tool possible. "The assertion that there is viable evidence and leads we are not pursuing — to include DNA testing — is completely false," Boulder police said Tuesday. "Additionally, it was the Boulder Police Department — not the Colorado Bureau of Investigation — who convened the Cold Case Review Panel in December 2023 as part of its investigation efforts." A grand jury voted to indict her parents ... but no charges followed After two years of public fascination, rampant speculation and no suspect arrested, the Boulder County district attorney convened a grand jury in 1998. The grand jurors met regularly over 13 months to hear testimony from law enforcement and civilians – including JonBenét’s brother, Burke, who was in the house at the time of his sister’s death. But John and Patsy Ramsey were not asked to testify. The grand jury voted to indict the parents on charges of child abuse resulting in death and being accessories to a crime – though that news didn’t come to light until more than a decade later, after the district attorney declined to file charges. In 2013, the Boulder Daily Camera broke the news that grand jurors voted to indict John and Patsy Ramsey back in 1999. But at the time, District Attorney Alex Hunter said there was insufficient evidence. And in an extraordinarily rare move, the county’s top prosecutor went against the grand jury’s wishes. "There had never been a circumstance quite like this," Stan Garnett, another former Boulder County district attorney, previously told CNN. "A grand jury had returned a true bill, the DA had refused to sign it and ... it remained secret for a long time. And eventually its existence became known." Back in 1999, the grand jury didn’t have DNA findings that emerged in 2008. Over the years, DNA testing improved – and eventually led authorities to clear the Ramseys of suspicion in JonBenét’s death. Forensic scientist Dr. Angela Williamson said a DNA sample had been taken from the crotch of JonBenét's panties, where the girl’s blood was found. The DNA of an unknown male was detected – but the DNA didn’t match anyone who had been near the scene or who had handled her body. The results excluded John, Patsy and Burke Ramsey. Patsy Ramsey didn’t live to see the 2008 apology from a Boulder County district attorney clearing her and her husband of suspicion in their daughter’s death. She died of ovarian cancer at age 49 in 2006. Modern DNA technology reveals a new clue More than a decade after JonBenét’s death, a test using touch DNA – or trace DNA – from JonBenét’s long johns indicated the same unknown male made contact with the young girl’s underwear, Williamson said. "Whoever committed this offense must have pulled down her long johns – but then they pulled them back up, because she was found dressed," Williamson told CNN. Technicians tested DNA on both sides of the long johns’ waist band. "It’s the same DNA," Williamson said. "It’s the same male that’s in the underpants that’s on the side of the long johns.' But the identity of that male remains a mystery. A teacher claims he killed JonBenét Only one arrest has been made in connection with JonBenét’s death – but it turned out to be the wrong man. In 2006, teacher John Mark Karr was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand. The 41-year-old repeatedly said he loved JonBenét and was with her the night she died. He also insisted her death was an accident. Karr allegedly told an investigator that he had drugged JonBenét and sexually assaulted her before accidentally killing her. But soon after his arrest and return to Colorado, prosecutors said DNA evidence proved he had nothing to do with her death. The district attorney decided not to charge him. Thai police escort American teacher John Mark Karr at the Thai Immigration Department in Bangkok on August 17, 2006. (SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) New DNA techniques fuel hope for answers In the decades since JonBenét’s death, detectives have probed 21,000 tips, travelled to more than a dozen states and spoken with over 1,000 people in connection with her killing, Boulder police said. Despite myriad dead ends, authorities have not given up on finding JonBenét’s killer. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said if critical evidence or information emerges, JonBenét’s killer could be brought to justice. The challenge is finding that elusive information. "Whether it is DNA or other evidence," the district attorney said, "more is needed to solve this murder." Both Berlinger and JonBenét’s father said they hope genetic genealogy will help bring JonBenét’s killer to justice. "Certain cold cases in recent years have been solved because of that," Berlinger said. "Golden State Killer, Green River Killer – there have been a lot of advances, particularly with genealogical DNA." Investigative genetic genealogy combines DNA analysis from a lab with genealogical research, such as tracing a person’s family tree via GEDMatch – a free website where people can upload their DNA raw data files. Investigators can take an unknown suspect’s DNA profile and upload it to a public database to learn about the suspect’s family members. Investigators can then use the genealogical information and other evidence to build back through the family tree and identify potential suspects. Police aren’t saying what investigative avenues are currently being pursued. A grieving father’s relentless search for justice Since Patsy Ramsey passed away 18 years ago, John Ramsey has remarried and moved to Utah. But the agony of JonBenét’s death follows him everywhere. Despite helping with the Netflix documentary, John Ramsey said he doesn’t intend to watch it. "I don’t think I’ve ever watched any of the broadcasts that I’ve participated in over the years ... it’s hard to watch that stuff," he told CNN. "My wife Jan is watching it. She will be my filter and say, 'Well, you watch this part, but don’t watch this part. It’ll be too hard for you emotionally.'" Ramsey said he doesn’t expect the grief to subside for his family. "This has not gone away from our life for 28 years." __ CNN’s Julie In, Faith Karimi, Eric Levenson and Andi Babineau contributed to this report.
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