Leigh Leigh was a 14-year-old girl from Fern Bay on the east coast of
Australia, who was murdered on 3 November 1989. While attending a
teenage birthday party at Stockton Beach (location of party pictured in
2014), Leigh was kicked and spat on by a group of boys after she
publicly asserted she had been raped. Leigh left the party shortly
afterwards. Her naked body was found in nearby sand dunes the following
morning, with severe genital damage and a crushed skull. Matthew Webster
(18 years old) pleaded guilty to her murder and served 14½ years in
prison. A 19-year-old male pleaded guilty to assault; a third male (aged
15) pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor. The murder investigation
proved controversial as several people who admitted to various crimes,
including assaulting Leigh, were never charged, and Webster's confession
did not match the forensic evidence. The extended media coverage of the
murder, which has been cited as an example of victim blaming, tended to
focus on the lack of parental supervision at the party, drug and alcohol
use, and Leigh's sexuality. The murder inspired a theatrical play
entitled Blackrock, as well as a feature film of the same name.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Leigh_Leigh>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
In Angola, New York, US, the last coach of a Lake Shore Railway
train derailed, plunged 40 ft (12 m) down a gully, and caught fire,
resulting in 49 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola_Horror>
1892:
The first performance of the fairy-tale ballet The Nutcracker
was held at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker>
1939:
Second World War: The German Luftwaffe victory over the Royal
Air Force in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight greatly influenced both
sides' future air strategy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Heligoland_Bight_(1939)>
1996:
The school board of Oakland, California, passed a controversial
resolution officially declaring African American Vernacular English as a
separate language or dialect.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Ebonics_controversy>
2009:
The Copenhagen Summit on climate change ended with the drafting
of the non-binding Copenhagen Accord.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Accord>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pergola:
A framework in the form of a passageway of columns that supports a
trelliswork roof; used to support and train climbing plants.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pergola>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
God buries his workmen, but carries on his work.
--Charles Wesley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley>