Women tied up with wire as raiders ransacked home.

A MAN has been convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of holding a woman prisoner while her home was ransacked for money.

Darren Doody (42), of Oriel Street, Dublin 1, had pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Ashling Heneghan at Rochford Park in Kill, Co Kildare, on October 29, 2006.

Doody was found guilty after a three-day trial and 40 minutes deliberation by the jury. He was remanded on bail by Judge Patrick McCartan until sentencing next month.

Ms Heneghan told the trial she lived in the house with her then boyfriend, William Ward, who was in Spain at the time. She was getting ready to go out and meet some friends when she heard a noise at her letterbox and investigated.

She saw a wrench lying at her front door and brought it inside before going upstairs.

She told prosecuting counsel Tara Burns, that she was in her bedroom when she heard people running up the stairs.

Four men wearing balaclavas and scarves came into her room and she was either forced to the floor or fell down. She said they were looking for money and “turned the place upside down” and overturned the couches.

Stash

One man, armed with a screwdriver, stayed with her for most of the time while the others came in and out of the room. She told them she kept money in her jewellery box but one of the men replied that wasn’t the money they were looking for. She then told them about another stash of money in a wardrobe.

The men bound her hands with the cord of a phone charger and tied her legs with a pair of pyjama bottoms as well as putting a shirt over her head. After they fled she got herself free and called her boyfriend and the gardai.

Detective Sgt Cormac Brennan gave evidence that he spotted a Skoda Octavia on the M50 motorway after the incident. When he pulled it over he found Doody in the driver’s seat and three male passengers.

Four sets of car keys were also found including one for a BMW 5 series car which matched those of the victim’s live-in boyfriend. Ms Heneghan told the jury that after the raiders left she noticed the BMW keys were gone.

Youth punched woman in breast.

Dundon death threats accuser is dating rapist.

A WOMAN who alleges two men threatened to kill her after she ended a relationship with their youngest brother is in a relationship with a convicted gang rapist, a court heard.

The trial of Wayne (33) and John Dundon (30), who deny charges of threatening to kill four members of a Limerick family on dates between September 2010 and April 2011, continued in the Special Criminal Court yesterday.

RINGLEADER

Mr Justice Paul Butler, Ms Justice Alison Lindsay and Judge Cormac Dunne heard that the defendants’ brother, Ger Dundon broke up his prison cell in April 2011 after his former girlfriend, April Collins (24), ended their relationship. They have three children together.

Ms Collins and her mother, Alice, told gardai last year that the two Dundon brothers threatened to kill them in Limerick city.

Defence barrister for John Dundon, Brian McCartney told the court that after April Collins ended her relationship with Ger Dundon, she began a new relationship with Thomas O’Neill.

The court heard that O’Neill, who has 36 criminal convictions, led a crew of five men in a horrific gang rape of a woman in the Cratloe Woods, Co Clare in 2004 for which he received a 10-year sentence.

Mr McCartney said it was common knowledge that O’Neill was the ringleader of that offence and that he also threatened the life of a garda officer.

The court was told that O’Neill was singularly responsible for terrorising a family from their home in Limerick and various reports cited him as “dangerous, volatile, unmanageable, unruly and depraved”.

Around the time April Collins made her statements against the two brothers to gardai, she was observed by one officer in a “loving embrace” with O’Neill. April Collins is currently pregnant with O’Neill’s child.

Det Garda James Hourihan said the relationship between April Collins and Ger Dundon ended “acrimoniously”. The officer said after breaking up his cell in Limerick prison, Ger Dundon was disciplined and moved to Portlaoise prison.

Det Hourihan said April Collins was currently before Limerick District Court for numerous road traffic matters and had not received any “special privileges” from gardai.

Video evidence was also shown to court of interviews conducted by Det Michael Murphy with Wayne Dundon after he was arrested last year. The court heard that Dundon felt he was detained in relation to a family dispute.

Wayne denied threatening Alice Collins and asked gardai if April was so terrified, why did she take nine months to make a statement. Wayne claimed that April’s mother had a particular dislike of his brother.

The court also heard that from Padraig Dwyer, for Wayne Dundon, that a letter has been written to the Sunday World newspaper requesting photographs showing his client outside the Regional Maternity Hospital in Limerick on March 25 last. Wayne Dundon is alleged to have threatened to kill Alice, April and Gareth Collins on the same date at 84 Hyde Road, Limerick.

“If we get all the photographs, we might be able to advance the defence,” Mr Dwyer said. The trial resumes next Tuesday.

Speed dating at Elton John’s pre-Oscars party with Katy Perry

and Kim Kardashian? Er, yes please.

A new section of dating sites is playing cupid for people with chronic diseases and disabilities. Melissa D’costa finds out more

Relationships, ailing heart

As each day passes, the dating pool is getting more competitive with survival of the fittest becoming the only way for you to get ahead in the race to find that ‘perfect someone’. And while it may sound clinical and harsh, fact is that’s how most dating sites operate, leaving those ailing and suffering from serious illnesses out in the cold.

Alternatives for an ailing heart

If you too have been feeling left out because of a medical condition, there is hope. You can switch to a new breed of sites including Prescription4love.com, Nolongerlonely.com, Cisforcupid. com and Positivesingles.com which aim to cater to the requirements of people with conditions ranging from bipolar disorder, mental illnesses to sexually transmitted diseases.

Can it work?

Dr Parul Tank, consultant psychiatrist feels the emergence of this new breed of sites indicates a demand from a section of society who often feels marginalised. She adds, “Often people with mental illnesses hide their condition and when the situation worsens post marriage, it leads to complications and disharmony. These websites can help people find others who will be able to understand them better and hopefully find lasting happiness. However on the other hand, these conditions are unstable and dating sites never tell the entire truth. Therefore it is difficult to gauge the severity of the situation. This can create discomfort later.”

Pros and cons of these sites

Psychiatrist, Anjali Chhabria, adds, “Such a dating system definitely could be a boon or blessing for people suffering from medical conditions. But the pros and cons need to be considered carefully before one enters such a set up.”

Pros:

-Both need not be fearful of their own condition. It is important to realise there are many people going through the same that you are

-Health may not be the factor determining the relationship, thus making the person feel less insecure and more confident

-The person may feel more accepted

-Both the individual would be able to understand and empathise better as each one has been going through the same pain and trouble individually

-This will definitely add more meaning to their life

Cons:

-There is a chance one may not be completely honest about their medical condition or its severity

-If either one is going through a clinical or psychological concern due to the medical condition, the relationship may suffer such as depression, anxiety, etc.

-Starting a family could impose genetic complications and threats

-In case of deterioration of the medical condition, couples could be unable to support each other due to their personal health limitations

Tanks sums it up with a cautionary note, saying, “These sites set the stage for permanent discrimination and will never allow people of different disabilities to get absorbed in the community and lead a ‘normal life’ which we all aspire for!”

Washington, D.C. best city for cheating,online  dating service.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. On Friday, local teens showcased art work with the common theme of stopping dating violence

The show was called Connecting the Dots and featured a special live presentation by a nationally renowned artist. His subject was a Kansas woman who was a victim of domestic violence.

Jordan Tarrant started with a blank canvas and a picture of 25-year-old Jana Mackey.

“Jana was a law student at the University of Kansas when she was murdered by an ex-boyfriend July 3 of 2008,” Jana’s stepfather Curt Brungardt said.

In life, Jana’s parents say she was an advocate for women’s rights. After her murder, her family created Jana’s campaign to tell her story and make a difference.

“The story of her life and the story of her death in the hopes of reducing violence against women,” Curt Brungardt said.

Which is why when Start Strong Wichita needed a subject for Jordan Tarrant to paint, they knew exactly who to call.

“And we were honored. We were honored,” Jana’s mother Christie Brungardt said.

“What they asked us to do was to provide 20-to-30 words, single words, that best described Jana, “Curt Brungardt said.

Words like women, courage and equality, which is repeated several times in the painting.

“Well the one that I really stressed was equality because Jana believed in equality. That was her strongest value in life so when I sent my list I had equality as every fourth word,” Christie Brungardt said.

Jana Mackey’s portrait in-progress was just one piece in Start Strong Wichita’s Connecting the Dots gallery. Hundreds of works by local middle and high school and even a few elementary students lined the walls.

“We’ve asked kids to create art about what a relationship looks like to them, how do you deal with them when they aren’t what they seem and how can we as individuals be what we call ‘upstanders’ and stand up for each other,” Violence Prevention Coordinator for Catholic Charities Nancy Carroll said.

“I’m convinced that if we’re going to make a difference on this issue you have to start with young people,” Curt Brungardt said.

Jana’s parents will get to keep the painting. They say when they build an office for Jana’s Campaign, the portrait will hang on one of the walls.

Kate Gosselin: I’m lonely, and dating odds are so stacked against me.

“I am lonely,” the former Kate Plus 8 star said during a Wednesday appearance on Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers, People reported.

“I clean up the house, put kids to bed, and there I sit. Ideally I would find that person — I don’t know if I feel ready for that.”

While the 36-year-old single mom isn’t shooting down the idea of dating, she reportedly said the chance of her finding love again is a longshot.

“The odds are so against me, one mom and eight kids,” the former reality TV star noted, adding that she doesn’t have much time to put into a relationship and therefore has no love life.

“I’m too busy. I think a lot of my friends, who are being constructive, say, ‘Gosh, who are you going to meet that is going to be able to deal with eight kids?’ My answer is always, ‘If they can deal with eight kids in our situation, it probably will be the person,’” Gosselin said, according to People.

Despite her slightly pessimistic outlook on her current dating life, Gosselin said on a brighter note, her relationship with ex-husband Jon Gosselin — whom she divorced in 2009 — has gotten a little bit better.

“He basically lives his life and I live mine. It’s more peaceful. Possibly he’s working now and so he feels like he’s living a regular life again and maybe a little happier with himself, so that boils down to peace between us. The kids are now okay going there,” Gosselin reportedly explained.

“I feel like he’s trying again. That’s good. The bottom line is the kids come home basically happy and that’s all that matters.”

Reese Witherspoon would use dating sites to her advantage.

Reese Witherspoon has revealed that she would “investigate” someone she was considering dating using social networking sites if she were still single.

The 35-year-old star, who married second husband Jim Toth last year, last year said that having easy access to social media had its benefit as well as its share of problems.

“It’s a benefit and a curse having social media at your fingertips, where you can investigate the people you’re dating,” Contactmusic quoted her as telling The Independent.

Despite the advantages of modern technology, ‘This Means War’ actress, who has children Ava, 12, and eight-year-old Deacon with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, admits it once caused trouble in her relationship when a boyfriend accessed her photographs without her knowing and even deleted some of the images.

“I had somebody go into my computer without asking me and look at all my photos,” she said.

‘‘I thought that was really uncool. And he deleted some of it! I was like, ‘What?’ I didn’t like that,” she added.

Adele offered £1m to front plus size dating site The Big And The Beautiful

Adele has been offered £1million to be the face of plus size dating website The Big And The Beautiful by America’s Next Top Model winner Whitney Thompson.

Whitney, the site’s president, told The Sun: ‘Adele is a ridiculously talented bombshell. I would be proud to work alongside her to continue to show the world what curvy girls are made of.’

‘A letter has been sent to her agent and an offer is on the table,’ a representative for the site confirmed.

And although Adele’s no longer on the singles market now that she’s hitched up with charity boss Simon Konecki, the London-born singer revealed last year that dating websites are right up her alley.

‘I just signed up for eHarmony. I can’t put a photo of myself, so I don’t get any emails!’ she said.

Whitney created the US site because of her own struggles with online dating after becoming the first plus size woman to win America’s Next Top Model back in 2008.

The Big And The Beautiful is marketed to ‘real women with real curves’.

Whitney states on the site: ‘So what if you have a big butt? Men love extra padding! Whether you’re voluptuous, curvy, athletic, or tall, embrace your shape because the men on this site are just waiting to meet you.’

Narciso Rodriguez

Narciso Rodriguez stuck to his signature, structured style at New York Fashion Week.

The designer debuted a fall collection Tuesday that was colorblocked and architectural at the Lincoln Center tents. Colorblocking, which refers to geometric chunks of bright color, has turned up on a number of runways at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

He must be doing something right. He has dressed first lady Michelle Obama, and sitting in the front row was Golden Globe-winning actress Claire Danes, a few seats away from another Rodriguez fan, singer Gloria Estefan. She said the designer has dressed her for some of the most special moments in her life.

“I love the stitching,” she said. “I love the construction, the materials he uses are great because they hold you in well. He just thinks of the woman when he’s designing these clothes, and sometimes that’s not always the case with other designers,” she said.

Rodriguez sent separates and dresses down the runway, many models wearing black gloves that cut off between their wrists and elbows with stripes of white, orange or chartreuse. They wore boots with chunks of color, also green, white or orange.

The tops had asymmetrical layers and lines, while others were made with a print of large, scattered chevrons (a pattern of V-shaped horizontal stripes). Rodriguez largely used traditional fabrics, wools, crepes and silks. But there were a few interesting choices: ostrich boots and a beaver coat and jacket.

Rodarte

Her hair was a tad windswept and her clothes ever slightly askew, but it was a real lady wearing Rodarte on the catwalk Tuesday at New York Fashion Week.

The Rodarte woman on the runway favored dolman sleeve wool-crepe tops with matching pencil skirts and tiered, chiffon “tea party” dresses, many of them with ruffles. Other tops had lace collars, and she also liked lace, high-neck blouses.

Many of the looks embraced a soft desert-inspired palette with pumpkin and rust, but there were pieces of dusty pale pink and blue, and black and white.

The best coat was a black one made of felted wool and boucle (nubbly yarn) with shearling trim, but there was also a casual shearling jacket that would complement her wool cargo pants and cropped fisherman-knit sweater.

Rodarte designers, sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy, pushed their fashion-forward customer a little bit farther by putting the signature details of coats, such as double-breasted buttons and flap pockets, on skirts and dresses.

It’s something you could imagine front-row friend and actress Dakota Fanning wearing. (One probably can’t say the same for George Lucas, who was also there.)

“They have so much talent. I think they’re pretty magical, and they keep outdoing themselves,” said stylist Rachel Zoe. “It’s real art for the runway.”

Marc Jacobs
For another season the coolest kids in school will be wearing Marc Jacobs.

The designer debuted his Marc by Marc Jacobs women’s and men’s collections Tuesday at New York Fashion Week. He went back to high school with a line of pleated skirts, drum major hats and lace-up booties.

Jacobs, with his hipper than hipster reputation, sent his female models down the runway in cat-eye framed glasses, jacquard culottes and velvet dresses. There were two jumpsuits, one paired with gray motorcycle boots.

Jacobs chose bold florals, checks and polka dots for his prints.

The menswear was a little more military. The male models had officers’ hats, navy sailor suit pants and canvas bags.

There were a few glam pieces for the guys, a gold lame sweater, gold lame trench coat and pants with gold tuxedo stripes.

Jacobs put volume in his outerwear, using puffy boucle (nubbly yarn) fabric and black fur for both men’s and women’s coats.

Marc by Marc Jacobs is considered to be a more affordable label with broader appeal than Marc Jacobs’ namesake brand.

A sexy, sultry woman has emerged at New York Fashion Week, but one that seduces with her confidence, not bare skin. On Day 6 of the fall-collection previews, the Valentine’s Day edition, a dark, romantic sensibility was conveyed on the runways through high collars, falling hemlines and long sleeves, sometimes very long, offset with sheerness for allure or a bit of leather for an edge.

“This is about understated sexy,” said Tory Burch backstage ahead of her runway show. “The picture I had was a young woman, maybe unaware of her own sex appeal, and she gets on the back of a motorcycle with someone who her parents wouldn’t want her to be with.”

The evolution of the Burch muse went from prim Peter Pan collars to leather leggings hand-painted in navy, red and white.

Vera Wang, meanwhile, layered a jacket lined with snuggly boucle (nubbly yarn) over a feather-light chiffon gown, and said in her notes that the clothes reveal the female form “by smoky transparencies that allow a glimpse of skin and of delicate lingerie not meant to be hidden, but seen.”

From her seat at Badgley Mischka, model Coco Rocha said sexy is a state of mind. “It’s about a person and what they exude. If you have confidence and elegance, you don’t need cleavage.”

TORY BURCH

Tory Burch Valentine’s Day gift to New York Fashion Week was a runway backstory of a sheltered — and well-dressed young woman — running off with a little bit of a bad boy.

Tory Burch muse never crossed a line, always remembering her bow-blouse and pearl-embellished roots, but she definitely gained an edge with slim pencil skirts and shiny gold thread woven into her tweed.

Tory Burch singled out as the first piece headed to her personal closet a cropped peplum sweater, paired on the model with tight leather pants decorated with red, white and navy hand-painted stripes.

Tory Burch accessorized many outfits with the long, leather opera gloves that have graced many catwalks during this round of previews.

VERA WANG

Vera Wang was going for sensual with suggestive, sheer champagne-colored layers covering many of the models, showing nothing the audience shouldn’t see — or did they?

There also were comforting, rich touches of boucle (nubbly yarn) and fur, offset by glitzy, substantial crystal-mesh embellishment.

Vera Wang described the look in her notes as “a sensual silhouette — long, narrow, leggy — extending from a high neckline, caught at peplumed hips.”

Peplum, a flounce or flourish of fabric attached to the waist or hips of a garment, is showing up frequently in lines for this and next season.

BADGLEY MISCHKA

Badgley Mischka channeled the look of the 1920s futuristic German movie “Metropolis” into New York Fashion Week. The clothes were leaner and more angular than one often sees from designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka, who largely cater to the eveningwear needs of socialites and celebrities.

E! red-carpet commentators Kelly Osbourne and Joan Rivers sat together in the front row.

It was pretty — that’s what they do — but not in a flowery way.

Badgley said he and his partner saw “Metropolis” this past fall and were struck by the sexy armor-like costumes. They included in their collection many metallic fabrics, including the opening bronze-colored gown made of sequins and chiffon that had fringed shoulders and chains draped across an otherwise open back. There was also a tarnished-gold lame pajama top and pant combination and platinum lame brocade dress with a jeweled collar and cutouts on the shoulder.

One of the last dresses on the catwalk was rose-colored hammered satin gown that, again with cutouts, created the appearance of long gloves even though the model’s hands were bare.

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Jewels were everywhere on Oscar de la Renta runway at New York Fashion Week.

The fashion legend used blown up versions of actual jewelry as inspiration for his prints. He put jeweled headbands in his models hair and he embellished cardigans and coats with the sparklers for his fall collection that debuted Tuesday.

As for colors, there was black, expected for the season, but also ice blue and light pink.

“I used a lot of colors you would not associate with winter colors but today’s woman doesn’t dress for seasons,” he said.

The rest of the runway was filled with the rich, luxury items one would expect from Oscar de la Renta. There was a silver arctic fox collar, Chantilly lace appliqu? on a chiffon blouse, cashmere sweaters and a gown with a gold silk taffeta skirt.

Rare for most designers, Oscar de la Renta listed in detail the jewelry his models wore: Russian gold, pearl and crystal earrings, a multi topaz crystal ring.

The runway ended with a series of gowns with large tulle skirts in shades of rose, blue and silver.

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