Children’s court feature artwork by Marija Ercegovac

Last chance court:Balancing the scales of justice for teen criminals and the victims they traumatise

The weight of the new bail laws hangs heavy at Victoria’s Children’s Court,where young offenders – most of whom are victims of trauma themselves – face their final shot at reform.

  • Melissa Cunningham

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Acting Police Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent will not seek the permanent job.

‘My time is precious to me’:Victoria Police acting chief commissioner won’t apply for top job

It means Victoria will have had at least three different chief police commissioners in 2025,with applications for the permanent role closing this Friday.

  • Alexander Darling,Rachel Eddie,Kieran Rooney andMelissa Cunningham
Victim Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan,who went by the name Toots,ran popular store Bellizzima Online Shop.

Czarina watched her children arrive at school. Minutes after the bell rang,she was found dead

Jessie James Tumaliuan allegedly stabbed his estranged partner to death at her Werribee home opposite a primary school.

  • Erin Pearson andMelissa Cunningham
Police at the scene of a suspected homicide in Werribee.

Man charged with murder after woman found dead at Werribee home

Police say homicide detectives are still trying to establish the circumstances of the death.

  • Melissa Cunningham,Erin Pearson,Marta Pascual Juanola andBrittany Busch
A 15-year-old boy accused of a machete attack and armed robbery in St Kilda.

‘Bad to worse’:Teen who slashed man with machete in St Kilda jailed for another three months

The attack with the machete was one of a string of violent offences over which the teenager was charged including a separate attack on a night nurse in a foiled carjacking months earlier.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Financial planner Anthony Del Vecchio defrauded almost $4.5 million from his former partner,cousins,primary school friends and several clients of Freedom Finance Australia to fund a “voracious” online gambling addiction.

‘Blown our family apart’:Financial planner gambled away $4.5m in 52 betting accounts

Anthony Del Vecchio was sent free tickets and push alerts to keep gambling,sometimes up to $20,000 a day,as he fed a voracious addiction with stolen money from family and friends.

  • Cameron Houston andMelissa Cunningham
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Michael and Pauline Hodder lost their 24 year-old daughter Elise who was killed by a driver who was intoxicated and driving without a licence at the time of the crash. Elise’s friend was also seriously injured. The driver was immediately bailed after the incident. They are now for law reform in Victoria which would allow victims of crime to have a greater voice in the justice system.

Two days after Elise’s car crash death,her parents were dealt another devastating blow

The hours after Elise Hodder’s death are forever etched in her parents’ mind. But Michael and Pauline Hodder weren’t given a chance to have their say in court.

  • Melissa Cunningham
Vincent Fantauzzo and his wife,Asher Keddie.

Thief tried to steal Asher Keddie’s husband’s motorcycle,then fainted

Artist Vincent Fantauzzo and a passerby managed to restrain the alleged thief until police arrived,a court heard on Tuesday.

  • Melissa Cunningham
A still from passenger Daniel Defina’s footage of the teenager being restrained by a Jetstar employee,Barry Clark and the pilot.

Safety breach probe at Avalon Airport as accused teen gunman fronts court

A lack of police presence at the airport meant officers had to race nine kilometres to arrest a teenager who claimed to be carrying a bomb on board a Jetstar flight.

  • Melissa Cunningham,Cameron Houston andMarta Pascual Juanola
Footage of the teenager being restrained after attempting to board the flight with a gun.

‘Bombs in my bag’:Accused teenage gunman fronts court

A 17-year-old boy allegedly boarded a Jetstar plane armed with a long-arm firearm,ammunition and a fake bomb,a court has heard.

  • Marta Pascual Juanola,Melissa Cunningham,Cassandra Morgan andCameron Houston