John Leslie Coombs charged with the murder of Rachael Betts
Herald Sun
November 03, 2009 12:01am
A MAN charged with the murder of Rachael Betts chopped her up in a bathroom before throwing her off a Phillip Island pier in Victoria, a court heard.
John Leslie Coombes, 55, faced an out-of-session court hearing, charged with the murder of the 27-year-old childcare worker, the Herald Sun reports.
Ms Betts disappeared on August 11 from Heidelberg Heights in Melbourne and her left leg was found washed up on a Phillip Island beach five days later.
She was initially identified by a distinctive floral tattoo on her left leg before DNA tests later confirmed the leg belonged to Ms Betts.
The court last night heard Mr Coombes, from Preston, admitted the killing to police after his arrest yesterday.
Detective Senior Constable Tom Hogan claimed Mr Coombes allegedly strangled Ms Betts following an argument while the pair were in bed at the Phillip Island home of friend Nicole Godfrey.
He alleged Mr Coombes placed Ms Betts in a "sleeper-hold" and a "figure-four-headlock" before strangling her until she died.
It was alleged that after killing Ms Betts, Mr Coombes retrieved a box of knives and some cord from his car before carrying her to the bathroom where he placed her in the tub and tied her feet to the taps.
The court was told he used five knives to dismember Ms Betts before placing her arms, legs, head and torso in plastic bags allegedly supplied by Ms Godfrey.
The court heard Mr Coombes used a vehicle owned by Ms Godfrey to transport the body parts to a Newhaven pier where he threw the plastic bags into the sea.
"He cut open the bags, threw the contents into the water, sliced the abdomen to release the gases in the stomach to avoid the parts floating to the surface," the court heard.
Ms Godfrey, 26, of Phillip Island, was charged with being an accessory to murder.
The court heard she helped dispose of Ms Betts' body before cleaning the bathroom.
She told Bail Justice Kathy Faucett: "I didn't say anything because I was too scared."
Ms Betts was last seen on August 11 after telling friends she was meeting a person or group at shops in Waterdale Rd, Heidelberg Heights.
Her car was later found several hundred metres from the shops.
Her family held a pilgrimage to the site where her leg was found and threw bottles into the sea bearing messages to Ms Betts, a sociable young woman who loved going out and the company of others.
But they remain haunted by having no body to mourn.
The 400 people who attended an emotional memorial service last month for Ms Betts were told by her mother Sandra of a young woman with a strong sense of humour and a determination to succeed.
"Her life has been stolen from her and stolen from us," Mrs Betts said.
Mr Coombes and Ms Godfrey, remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court today, were among four people charged in relation to the murder.
Maureen Renwick, 54, of Viewbank, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and trafficking a drug of dependence.
Ryan Buscema, 25, of Mill Park, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice
Child rapist to be beheaded, crucified
From correspondents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Reuters
November 03, 2009 07:43pm
A SAUDI court of cassation upheld a ruling to behead and crucify a 22-year-old man convicted of raping five children and leaving one of them to die in the desert, newspapers reported today.
The convict was arrested earlier this year after a seven-year old boy helped police in their investigation.
The child left in the desert after the rape was three years old, Okaz newspaper said.
International rights groups have accused the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, of applying draconian justice, beheading murderers, rapists and drug traffickers in public.
So far this year about 40 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia.
In Saudi Arabia, crucifixion means tying the body of the convict to wooden beams to be displayed to the public after beheading.
Insurance worker kicked to death for standing up to yobs who stole his girlfriend's Halloween witches' hat
By Christian Gysin and Claire Ellicott
Last updated at 9:46 AM on 03rd November 2009
An insurance worker on a Halloween night out was kicked to death after confronting a gang that stole his girlfriend's witch's hat.
Ben Gardner, 30, apparently asked for it back but one of the thugs responded by spitting in it.
Seconds later Mr Gardner was allegedly punched to the ground and kicked senseless.
Attack: Ben Gardner, 30, was punched and kicked to death after asking a gang to return his girlfriend Alana's Halloween hat after a night out
He died in hospital 16 hours afterwards, without regaining consciousness.
The appalling attack happened in the early hours of Sunday in Sutton, South London.
Mr Gardner and his 28-year-old girlfriend Alana were walking home at 3.30am after enjoying a Halloween-themed night at a club.
As they passed a large group of men and women outside a takeaway one drunk grabbed the hat, which had a wig attached.
When Mr Gardner
asked for the items back, the thief spat in them before handing them over.
Almost immediately, another man allegedly punched Mr Gardner in the back of the head and he fell to the ground where he received a further flurry of kicks and punches.
His girlfriend, whose full name has not been released, was also allegedly punched and kicked and suffered minor injuries.
The attack happened only yards from Sutton police station in an area covered by several CCTV cameras.
Mr Gardner was taken to a South London hospital but doctors could not save him.
Ben Gardener confronted yobs outside this pizza delivery shop in Sutton, south-west London
A close friend called the attack 'completely senseless'.
Will Fearnley-Whittingstall, 30, a cousin of TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, had known Mr Gardner for 25 years.
He said: 'He was like a brother to me and was best man at my wedding six weeks ago. He was godfather to my three-year-old son.
'We grew up as neighbours and used to ride bikes together in the park.
'Ben was not an aggressive man but would have stood up to someone if they picked on someone he cared for.
'He died at 8pm. I was there and he never regained consciousness. Ben was very happy-go-lucky. He was everyone's friend and always had a smile on his face.'
Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall said Mr Gardner, who had recently bought a flat in Sutton, was a member of darts and bowling teams, played pool and was a keen supporter of Liverpool Football Club.
He said Mr Gardner's mother had died when he was 12 and he was brought up by his grandmother.
'First she's lost her daughter and now Ben. She's just devastated - as are all his family.'
Mr Gardner worked for Legal & General at their offices in Kingswood, near Tadworth, Surrey. He had previously been at a branch of Union Credit Bank in Sutton.
His grandmother Margaret Winsbury, 78, was being comforted by relatives and was too upset to comment.
A Sutton taxi driver said the town has become increasingly violent in recent years as the number of nightclubs there has grown.
The Metropolitan Police said five men and two women, aged 20 to 26, were being questioned. Detective Inspector Bob Campany said: 'This appears to be a violent unprovoked attack on an innocent man'.
An Australian boy has escaped with just cuts and bruises after he jumped from the family car moments before it plunged off a cliff.
Published: 7:00AM GMT 03 Nov 2009
It is believed the seven-year-old had been playing the car and accidentally released the handbrake. The vehicle then rolled down a driveway, crashed through two fences and went over an eight-metre cliff onto a beach below.
Witnesses said the boy jumped out of the window of the moving car when it was less than three metres from the edge, landing in a nearby bush.
Police who attended the scene of the incident, which took place two hours south of Sydney, said the child had "redefined the word lucky".
The drama took place at about 9.50am after the boy's mother parked the 4WD at the top of a 30-metre long driveway.
The woman, the boy and another adult went into the house to visit a relative, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
A short time later, the adults noticed the boy was missing, police said.
"A small boy was in the vehicle and let the handbrake [off] ... and the car rolled across Lawrence Hargrave Drive, across the highway, down a concrete path, tore out about 30 metres of a white fence and he jumped out the window just as it went over the cliff," a witness told Fairfax Radio.
The car, which was severely damaged by the impact, landed with its front end facing the cliff, suggesting it had flipped over in the fall.
The boy escaped the ordeal with minor cuts but was taken to a local hospital for further checks, police said.
Let my little boy die: Heartbroken mother fights father for right to switch off disabled baby's life support
By Beth Hale
Last updated at 10:37 AM on 03rd November 2009
A heartbroken mother took centre stage on Monday as the High Court was asked to let her seriously disabled son die.
She is backing a hospital's application for the year-old baby to be taken off life support.
The baby's father, however, insists he must live and says a simple operation could even lead to him being cared for at home.
Life or death dilemma: Judge Justice McFarlane listens to the case as Baby RB's father (centre) and mother (centre-right) look on
The couple, now separated but still on good terms, sat just yards apart in the Family Division of the High Court.
The anxious faces of the young parents - she in a cream jumper dress and leggings and he in a suit with purple tie - spoke volumes of the ordeal they were facing.
Their son, named only as Baby RB, has an extremely rare genetic condition which means almost all his muscles are useless.
Tragically, his brain is not affected, so he can hear, feel and see but is 'locked' in a helpless body. He also has to endure regular painful treatment to clear his lungs and his mother, who cannot be named, says his suffering must be ended.
She is at his bedside every day, and her solicitor Anthony Fairweather said outside the London court: 'She has seen the pain he experiences just to survive.
'In her mind, the intolerable suffering experienced by her son must outweigh her own personal grief should she lose her child.'
Last night a member of the mother's baby said she was anguished by the little boy's plight, and did not want him to suffer.
'RB's mother loves him very much. She's his voice and she only wants what is in his best interests.'
If the hospital's application is successful it would the first time a British court has, against the will of a parent, determined that life support can be withdrawn from a child who is not suffering brain damage.
Michael Mylonas, acting for the hospital trust involved, said Baby RB was one of the most severely injured children in its care, and nursing staff would give 'compelling' evidence to that effect.
He said the little boy, who should now be taking his first steps and saying his first words, cannot even smile in the normal way.
He should be allowed 'a peaceful, calm and dignified death' with palliative care to prevent suffering.
Legal bid: The baby's father wants the High Court to stop the hospital turning off his life support - but the child's mother is backing the doctors
Mr Mylonas said: 'RB is different from a number of other children who have found themselves before this court in similar circumstances because CMS is not thought to affect his brain function at all.
'The effect is that he has normal cognition and normal brain function.
'Witnesses for the trust will say that the fact is that cognition will simply make his own plight all the more unbearable for him. As he gets older he will see glimpses of what others are able to do.'
He said the essential regular process of 'suctioning' the child's lungs, involving disconnection from the ventilator, caused pain, choking and was 'akin to ones lungs simply being paralysed'.
Mr Mylonas insisted that the application was a decision that had not been made with haste.
But Mr Justice McFarlane and the court were also told that Baby RB is able to bang a drum and paint with his hands and feet.
He is also able to show pleasure when for instance being bathed, and can shed tears.
Video footage will be shown of him holding a drumstick and banging it against a drum as well as holding a piece of silver foil and crunching it up.
Medical notes to be shown to the court include comments such as 'RB enjoyed half an hour of hand and foot painting'.
Another note describes his reaction when his father arrived and started speaking to him.
It says: 'Opened his eyes, appeared to smile, wiggled arms and legs in way babies appear to do when excited.'
His parents say that although he cannot physically move his mouth to smile, they can tell he is happy by the relaxation of his tiny body and the intensity of his eyes.
The baby's plight is a result of congenital-myasthenic syndrome - a condition which affects the junction of nerves and muscles.
The court was told that he suffered breathing difficulties within minutes of his birth and was put on a ventilator.
'Very soon' he needed to be ventilated and then rushed to intensive care. Since then he has been transferred twice, but has remained dependent on a ventilator ever since.
Trials to see if he could survive without ventilation failed - the first time he breathed unaided for 40 minutes, the second for just 30.
Mr Mylonas said the condition was 'not necessarily progressive but certainly not a condition that is likely to improve'.
Three drugs had been tried but had no effect on the baby. The latest drug trial concluded just a month ago but the court was told that 'sadly it provided no benefit at all'.
Baby RB's father, however, believes that a simple tracheostomy - an operation which creates an opening in the neck to deliver oxygen to the lungs - would allow his son to be discharged.
But Mr Mylonas said clinicians were against the idea because, even after the operation, he would lead a 'miserable, sad and pitiful existence'.
The court was told that even if the hospital's application failed and a tracheostomy was possible the baby's mother would 'under no circumstances give up on RB.'
An expert witness is due to examine Baby RB this weekend to assess whether he would be suitable for a tracheostomy. It could have implications for the case.
Video evidence filmed by doctors and the boy's father is expected to be played to the court and both parents are likely to give evidence.
Describing the behaviour of the parents, the judge said that both of them were held in respect by the clinicians.
Mr Justice Macfarlane also acknowledged that the parents were in 'awful circumstances'.
Speaking outside court, a spokesman for the NHS Trust said: 'Baby RBs case is a deeply tragic one. At the trust where RB had been cared for, we understand how difficult this legal process must be for both parents and RBs extended family and friends.
'However all those involved in the care of RB are taking these steps because they consider it is in RB's best interests.'
The case continues.
Woman Calls 911 To Report Herself As Drunk Driver
Wisconsin Woman Calls 911 To Report Herself As A Drunk Driver, Then Pulls Over
(AP) NEILSVILLE, Wis. (AP) - The call came into the 911 dispatcher: "I don't want to hurt anybody. I'm drunk." And with that, Mary Strey, 49, of Granton, reported herself as a drunken driver about three miles northeast of Neilsville in central Wisconsin.
Clark County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jim Backus said Monday that Strey's call on Oct. 24 led deputies to cite her for misdemeanor drunken driving with a blood-alcohol level double the legal limit to drive. She makes her first court appearance Dec. 10.
Backus said drunken drivers reporting themselves is rare.
In the 911 call, Strey said she wanted to report a drunken driver and the dispatcher asked if she was behind the suspect vehicle. "I am them," Strey said. She then followed the dispatcher's advice to pull over and turn on her flashers, telling him she had been "drinking all night long."
Bulgarian girl, 11, gives birth to her daughter... on her wedding day
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:28 PM on 03rd November 2009
An 11-year-old girl became one of the world's youngest mothers - and went into labour on the way to her wedding.
Kordeza Zhelyazkova, from Sliven in Bulgaria, was still wearing her wedding dress and tiara as she was rushed to hospital, where she gave birth to 5lb 8oz Violeta.
Proudly displaying her baby, she told reporters: 'I'm not going to play with toys any more - I have a new toy now.'
My new toy: Korteza Zhelyazkova, 11, shows off her baby Violeta - the 19-year-old father is facing six years in jail for having sex with a minor
Kordeza - who fell pregnant within two weeks of her 11th birthday - spent the night in hospital with Violeta and then headed back to church for her wedding with 19-year-old Jeliazko Dimitrov.
Kordeza told the News of the World: 'It feels strange to be a mum and have a baby.
'I used to play with my toys but now she is my new toy.
'She is so beautiful, I love her. Violeta is the child and I must grow up. I am not going back to school - I am a mother now.'
The couple met when Jeliazko rescued Kordeza from bullies in the playground.
However he now faces six years in jail for having sex with a minor, telling the paper his fears when he found out Kordeza was pregnant.
He said: 'I was really scared.
'We didn't plan to have sex or a baby although I fell in love with Kordeza the moment I saw her.
He added: 'I was walking past the school when I saw some boys mocking her and I told them to leave her alone.
'Then she arranged to meet me and asked me out on our first date. I thought she was 15. She didn't tell me she was 11.'
Kordeza added: 'I didn't want to say in case he wouldn't fancy me.'
Their daughter was conceived within a week of their meeting.
Kordeza said: 'I didn't know I was pregnant until my grandmother saw I had put on weight. I just thought I'd eaten too many burgers.'
Her grandmother Dida, 55, said: 'It's normal for our girls to have babies young. It's our tradition. But I didn't want it for my Kordeza - I felt she was too young.'
The family planned a three-day Roma wedding for October 22 - so Kordeza and Jeliazko could be married before the baby was born.
But Kordeza went into labour a week early, on the second day of the ceremony.
She said: 'I had been having pain in the morning and a couple of hours into the wedding it got worse.'
She was rushed to hospital and gave birth 20 minutes later.
Kordeza said: 'It was quite easy but painful too. I was very happy when I saw her. She has a nose like me and hair like Jeliazko.'
Both grandmothers will be guardians of baby Violeta, and Kordeza and her daughter will receive £70 a month in state benefits.
The age of consent in Bulgaria is 14
Maid Jailed for Poisoning Malaysian Boss
Monday, November 02, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A court sentenced an Indonesian maid to six years in jail for trying to kill her employer in Malaysia by poisoning her coffee and soup, a lawyer said Tuesday.
Maid Nurhayati Ahmad, 22, pleaded guilty in the court in eastern Pahang state Monday to attempted murder, said her lawyer, Mohamad Fadly Hashim.
He said the maid, from the Indonesian island of Lombok, added herbicide to the drink and food of her female employer, Jaharah Daud, in July last year. She had told him she could no longer stand the scolding after a month of working there, he said.
Mohamad Fadly said Jaharah, aged 77, was hospitalized after drinking the poisoned coffee but has recovered. Attempted murder carries a maximum 10 years in prison, or more if hurt is caused.
Some 300,000 Indonesian women work as maids in Malaysia.
It is rare for maids to hurt their employers. But maids frequently complain of mistreatment, overwork and unpaid salaries, causing Indonesia to stop sending domestic workers to Malaysia in June. Malaysia has since pledged to ensure greater protection for maids
Drunken mother whose six-week-old baby died after she took her to bed faces jail
By Graham Smith
Last updated at 12:23 PM on 03rd November 2009
Facing jail: Rebecca Ireland, from Preston, admitted neglect. Her baby daughter died after she took her to bed when drunk
A drunken mother whose six-week-old daughter died after she took her to bed was today warned she faces a jail sentence after she admitted neglecting the child.
Rebecca Ireland, 24, was 'heavily under the influence' of drink when she decided to take her baby daughter Katie into bed with her.
The baby died overnight and Ireland was arrested and charged with wilfully neglecting her daughter.
Ireland, from the Ribbleton area of Preston, initially denied the charge but pleaded guilty on the basis her actions did not necessarily cause the youngster's death.
Preston Crown Court heard that Ireland had been drinking and was suspected of having taken drugs before taking Katie to bed with her on April 12 last year.
But prosecutor Julie Taylor told the court two expert witnesses who could not confirm the cause of Katie's death.
Dr Alison Armer, a child pathologist, said the evidence suggested Katie had suffocated.
But Dr Backman, acting on behalf of the defence, said it was not possible to rule out Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Miss Taylor said: 'The Crown has taken the view that when two experts are in dispute it is often not appropriate to ask a jury to try to resolve that issue.
'(Ireland) has never denied that she took the baby into bed whilst under the influence of alcohol but the Crown has to prove that the death resulted from suffocation.'
Judge Stuart Baker accepted Ireland's plea to neglect, and agreed it would not be possible to confirm Katie died as a direct result of that neglect.
He said: 'It is not simply a case of putting the two opinions into a set of weighing scales and balancing them as to which is the most attractive.'
Miss Taylor said she had spoken to some of the family and friends who filled the public gallery to explain the basis of plea.
She said: 'I have spoken to Katie's father and both grandmothers and they understand the direction.
'Sadly for the father, he feels that he would like to know for definite the cause of death.
'I have explained that we may never know and he understands that.'
Ireland, who was dressed all in black, spoke only to confirm her name and enter her guilty plea.
Ireland said after the case t she had been subject to intimidation following the death of her young daughter.
She added that she had not set out to harm her daughter and said Katie's death had been 'heartbreaking'.
Judge Baker said: 'Wilful neglect of a child must always be regarded as serious and the court reserves all sentencing options.
'One of these is a custodial sentence.'
Ireland will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on December 4.
Bug Spray May Have Killed Infant, Injured 2 in South Carolina
Monday, November 02, 2009
WILLIAMSTON, S.C. — Authorities say bug spray that produces a fog to kill insects may be to blame for the death of a 10-month-old South Carolina boy and his critically injured 2-year-old brother.
Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown said the boys' mother had been using foggers because of an insect problem. Elizabeth Whitfield called 911 on Sunday to report her youngest boy was having trouble breathing. Paramedics took all three to a hospital, where Jacob Whitfield died.
Kenneth Whitfield remained in critical condition, and Elizabeth Whitfield returned to the ER with breathing problems
McCown says investigators found seven fogger containers in the single-wide mobile home
. He says a single fogger is typically used to treat 6,000 cubic feet
Madeleine McCann: Is this what she looks like today?
By Vanessa Allen
Last updated at 9:23 AM on 03rd November 2009
In one she is sun-tanned and virtually unrecognisable. In the other there is just a hint of familiarity.
This is Madeleine McCann as British police believe she could now look.
More than two years after she vanished from a Portuguese resort, the latest digitally-aged images show the dramatic effect different climates may have had on her appearance.
As she might look now: Digitally age-compressed portraits of Madeleine McCann in a cooler climate (left) and in a warmer country (right)
The picture above right depicts her as a six-year-old who has been smuggled into North Africa. There were a cluster of potential sightings of Madeleine in Morocco within days of her disappearance.
Her hair is darker as any abductor could have dyed it to make her less noticeable.
On the left, she appears as if she had been kept in a colder climate.
Psychologists have warned that being raised in a different culture may have left her with no memory of life with parents Kate and Gerry.
The dramatic images were unveiled yesterday as British police launched a worldwide internet video campaign to shame her captors into coming forward.
Madeleine as a three-year-old before she disappeared (left), and an earlier police e-fit showing how she might have looked (right)
Mr and Mrs McCann, both 41, begged officers for help over fears that other appeals for information had dried up.
Madeleine vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, days before her fourth birthday.
The one-minute video message, which includes the age-progressed images, was launched at midnight.
Police say it is designed to play on the guilt of anyone who knew the girl's abductor.
Jim Gamble, of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, said: 'It could be the mother, partner or a friend of the offender.
'They may have struggled with their conscience in keeping this terrible secret.
'We want to tell that person that it's never too late to do the right thing.
'It's never too late to come forward and end the anguish of Madeleine's family and friends.'
Parents: Kate and Gerry McCann begged British police officers to release the new pictures after fears that other appeals for information had dried up
The video also features poignant photographs of Madeleine playing with her brother and sister Sean and Amelie and boarding the plane which took the family to Praia da Luz.
It is being circulated through emails, bloggers and social networking websites in English, Arabic, French, Gernotman, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, and is the first time that the elite anti-paedophile unit based at CEOP has used such a technique.
Mr and Mrs McCann, both doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire, said in a statement: 'If you know what has happened to Madeleine, it is still not too late to do the right thing.
'We love Madeleine. Please help us bring her home.'
Toddler Unable to Cry, Tears Trigger Deadly Seizures
Monday, November 02, 2009
Crying is typical behavior among toddlers — but for 2-year-old Tianna Lewis McHugh — the simple act of crying could induce a deadly seizure , the Daily Mail reported.
Tianna suffers from a rare condition called reflex anoxic seizure (RAS) that causes a type of reaction triggered by a temporary cutting off of the supply of blood to the brain.
As a result, her parents face a daily battle of making sure Tianna does not cry. If she does, her skin goes white, her body stiffens, her heart stops beating and she temporarily stops breathing.
Tianna was diagnosed with the condition at 18-months-old and has since survived 10 seizures.
Her mother Ceri, 23, from Brymbo, Wrexham, North Wales vividly remembers the first time her daughter has a seizure.
”I picked her up out of her high chair and put her on the floor and she cried for seconds and then she looked like she had died,” she said. “She went a deathly grey, her lips and around her eyes were blue and her eyes rolled back in her head. I thought she was dead and I was hysterical.”
Reflex anoxic seizure can also be induced by an unexpected bout of pain, fear or fright, or even by a very hot or cold bath.
“When she has fits it’s horrendous,” her father Andy told the newspaper. “When she starts to cry we usually have to flick water in her face to bring her out of the shock. She can do whatever she wants but for 18 months we have been cautious with her so that she doesn’t get hurt or shocked and cry.”
Four sentenced to death after dismembering an albino man
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:35 PM on 03rd November 2009
Superstition about the 'luck' brought by albino body parts runs deep in Tanzania (file picture)
Four men have been sentenced to death by hanging, for killing a 50-year-old albino man.
Tanzanian television footage showed the men, who killed Lyaku Willy and removed his head and legs, leaving the courtroom in Shinyanga region under heavy police escort.
Willy's killing was one of a spate of attacks on the country's estimated 200,000 albinos in the past two years, mostly in the remote northwest of the country near Lake Victoria, where superstition runs deep.
Their body parts are prized in some regions of Tanzania, where witchdoctors say albinos - who lack pigment in their skin, eyes and hair - bring luck in love, life and business.
Albino hunters kill their victims and harvest their blood and body parts such as hair, genitals and limbs for potions.
'We are glad that the family and friends of Lyaku can finally have a sense of justice after this horrific loss,' Peter Ash, founder of Under The Same Sun, a Canadian campaign group, said.
'We urge the authorities to swiftly act on the sentence. Justice delayed is justice denied.'
The convictions bring to seven the number of people sentenced for murdering albinos, following the first conviction of three albino killers in September.
'The albino community still lives in a state of absolute fear,' said Ash, a Canadian albino.
'Just last week (an) innocent 10-year-old was butchered to death in Geita. His father now fights for his life in hospital due to an attempt to save his son.'
Ash called on the government to protect albinos.
The killings have tainted Tanzania's reputation for relative calm in the region, and been condemned by the United Nations and European Union.