Abigail Hunt

Vikki Soloman, 44, was found dead at her home in Edinburgh on July 20. Her former partner, Lee Greenan, 46, was charged with her murder and two assault offences after allegedly arriving at a local pub covered in blood and confessing to the killing. Greenan was remanded at HMP Edinburgh, where the Scottish Prison Service later confirmed he had died; the death is understood to have been suicide. Police Scotland is investigating, while the Procurator Fiscal has been notified. Tributes have been paid to Soloman, and a women’s organisation highlighted the wider impact of domestic violence. The article also recalls the unresolved 2011 death in Spain of Chris Lindsay, the father of one of Soloman’s children.

A teenage girl and a woman in her forties died after several people were pulled from the sea near Seaview Avenue at West Mersea beach in Essex. Essex Police confirmed two additional people were hospitalized, one in serious condition. Emergency responders, including the Coastguard and East of England Ambulance Service, deployed extensive resources, including air ambulances. Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with footage to assist in determining what happened.

Two children aged seven and nine died after their boat struck a channel marker in the Intercoastal Waterway near Berkeley Township, New Jersey, throwing them into the water. Their grandparents, Stephen and Laurie Schneider, found them unresponsive before they were pronounced dead at a hospital. The New Jersey State Police are investigating the incident. In an unrelated event, two firefighters were killed in a blaze near Bordeaux Airport, temporarily grounding flights before operations resumed.

Two 18-year-old men were arrested in Hersham after reports of an armed individual prompted lockdowns at Three Rivers Academy, Three Rivers Primary School and Toad Hall Nursery. Armed officers responded within minutes, and the suspects remain in custody on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. Police praised the swift safeguarding actions taken by the schools. In a separate case, Anthony Durkan admitted 26 voyeurism offences, with police seeking additional victims after finding a large cache of illicit recordings.

An inquest concluded that an unidentified man whose dismembered, mummified remains were found in weighted bags in the River Stour in 2020 was unlawfully killed. Coroner Nigel Parsley cited evidence of violent trauma and attempts to hinder identification, including removal of hands and significant skull damage. Despite DNA analysis and international database searches, the man remains unidentified. Police determined the remains were deposited between August 13 and 19, 2020, and suggested the killing likely involved criminal activity, possibly by someone with butchery skills. Forensic analysis indicated repeated blows to the head and potential long-term storage or freezing of body parts, though the exact cause of death could not be established.

A 15‑year‑old boy appeared at Wellingborough Youth Court facing 22 charges including rape, sexual assault and child image offences involving eight girls aged 10 to 15. The case, covering alleged incidents from 2023 to 2025, was sent to Northampton Crown Court due to its seriousness. The boy, accompanied by his mother, was granted conditional bail with restrictions on contact with victims and girls under 16 and must work with the local Youth Justice Service.

Ellis Heather received a life sentence with a minimum term of 28 years for fatally stabbing Stephen Morrison during a 2020 music video shoot in Epping Forest. The court found the attack to be an unjustified act of extreme violence, with the judge noting that Heather later boasted about the killing. Morrison’s family described the profound impact of his loss, while Essex Police highlighted the extensive six‑year investigation that led to the conviction.

A teenage boy admitted via video link from a youth detention centre that he pushed his 13‑year‑old ex‑girlfriend, Aurora Tila, from a seventh‑floor balcony in Piacenza after previously claiming she had taken her own life. The confession emerged during his appeal of a 17‑year sentence for aggravated murder, which prosecutors built on evidence of controlling behaviour, stalking and witness testimony that Aurora was clinging to the railing before being forced off. Aurora’s family and their lawyer welcomed the clarity but opposed any sentence reduction. The appeal has been postponed until September pending a behavioural report on the boy.

Shabir Ahmed, a ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang convicted of 30 child rapes, has been released from prison but cannot be deported because the Immigration Act 1971 protects Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973. Despite losing his British citizenship and renouncing his Pakistani nationality, he must remain in the UK under strict curfews, electronic tagging, exclusion zones and lifelong registration as a sex offender. Authorities confirmed all deportation options were exhausted, while victims were informed of his release and the restrictions imposed on him.