Verdict on the Ryan Murder

Got an update on the case covered in "Real-Life Freaks".

A court ruling's been made and the result might surprise you.

The connection to vampires is somewhat tenuous. The article mentions the subculture the murder victim - and the suspects - were affiliated with:

Throughout the trial, which began in October, prosecutors alleged the two used a cyberspace alter-ego to communicate with Ms Ryan and she proceeded to fall in love with the boy who was a member of the "emo" subculture.

Of course, the vampire angle has been touched on with this case, due to the name of the site the trio came into contact with each other: VampireFreaks.com.

Bounty on a Vampire Killer

Edwina Scott's "Reward Posted for Info on Vampire Murder" relates to a $1 million dollar offer for information on the person responsible for killing Shane Chartes-Abbott, who was shot dead in Reservoir on June 4, 2003.

It should be said that Chartres-Abbott didn't exactly keep his nose clean. In fact, at the time he was shot, he was

part-way through a trial in the Victorian County Court facing charges he raped and assaulted a client by biting off part of her tongue after allegedly telling her he was a vampire, older than the city of Melbourne, who drank blood to survive.

Real-Life Freaks

This one isn't about vampires per se, but there's still a tenuous connection.

"Teen 'Met Killers on Vampire Website'" recounts a current murder trial centred around the mysterious death of Carly Ryan, 15, whose body "was found by an early morning swimmer at Horseshoe Bay in South Australia in February 2007."

She met her alleged murderers through popular social networking site, VampireFreaks.com.