History was made this week after the first person in England and Wales was convicted of a cyberflashing offence – after he sent a picture of his genitals to a 15 year old girl.

Millions of women will have breathed a sigh of relief that the problem is finally being taken seriously, after navigating the horror of being cyber-flashed in public, on dating apps and even from romantic interests.

Women don’t have to venture far be confronted with inappropriate sexual imagery, as women have told FEMAIL how they’ve been sent pictures from the bathroom of busy clubs, closely-cropped snaps on a train and even, on Christmas Day, a picture of a penis covered in tinsel. 

The phenomenon is nothing new, one woman, now in her late 30s, recalled to FEMAIL how she woke up after a night out, in the early days of camera phones,  to find someone had sent her a picture of their penis. 

Speaking to FEMAIL, another victim entailed how bizarrely common it is to receive explicit imagery from strangers – they have been AirDropped on a tube station, messaged in over Instagram, and are even at times accompanied by videos.

Others revealed men sent them mirror selfies ‘bent over to see their anus’ , while another man inadvertently revealed himself as a catfish with an unsolicited sexual picture.

Karen Whybro, 45, from Essex recounted one particularly harrowing incident which she says left her feeling ‘intimated’.

‘Personally, I’ve experienced cyberflashing on multiple occasions by various methods, including through direct messaging on Instagram, and via AirDrop,’ she said.

‘The AirDrop incident was probably the most intimidating for me as I was in a tube carriage and knew the person was physically close enough to be able to access my phone. I had no idea what he would do next.’

Karen, who works as a Women’s Safety Consultant, revealed that it’s ‘exceptionally common’ for women to endure such violations.

‘One recent stat showed that something like 80 per cent of 12-18 year old girls had received explicit images and I think the estimate of 50 per cent of millennial women is very, very low,’ she added.

‘Almost every women I speak to has experience of this.’ 

Other recipients of unsolicited so-called ‘d**k pics’ include a divorced mother, and women dipping their toes into dating online after painful break ups.

A mother-of-three, who recently turned 40, explained: ‘After a painful separation from the father of my child, I was encouraged to take a dive into the world of app dating. 

‘With great trepidation I decided “what the heck” and began my swiping journey. 

‘Needless to say it was a mixed bag. Two incidents of note involved being sent an excited penis with the days paper propped behind as proof of the “live” nature of the picture. 

‘Another unasked for picture came via Tinder from “Jake”, an all-American looking lawyer according to his profile picture, but who was actually an aged Asian man judging by the aesthetics of his penis.’

One woman, who is now in her late 30s, recalls getting one in the mid 2000s on an early camera phone. 

She remembers waking up one morning after a night out to find an unsolicited image on her phone from an unknown number.

‘It was from someone I had been talking to the night before, seemed like a totally normal, if somewhat, shy bloke. 

‘I had given him my number as I thought he seemed like a genuine sweet man. Next morning I woke up to that. 

‘No “hello”. nothing. Just a closely cropped, grim, red picture of his penis. I was staying at my friend’s house and we laughed it off at the time. 

‘It was just part of life then. People did it all the time and it was kind of treated like a joke – a “why the f*** would anyone think I would want to receive a faceless, context-free phallus”. 

‘In what world has this ever worked out for anyone? What woman ever receives one and thinks: “Oooh lovely, yes, let’s meet up.””

Another victim recalls: ‘I was in my late 30s out with colleagues for a birthday at a bar round the corner from work. 

‘Everyone was drinking and dancing and the place was packed with lots of people not just our small group. It was a place that had three floors. 

‘Anyway I got separated from my friends so fished my phone from my bag to give one a call and as I did a picture flashed up. 

‘A full d*** pic but also included the flooring from the bathrooms of the pub I was in. And it wasn’t send via text – I had left my Bluetooth on accidentally and it was airdropped to me. 

‘I have no idea by who but it was clear they were nearby and had literally just dropped their pants to do this. 

‘It absolutely freaked me out and I went home. It was hard not to see that as an aggressive move and pretty threatening. Knowing the person was nearby but not having a clue who it was.’

She added: ‘Ones from people I was dating I was just “urgh this isn’t the turn on you think it is”. But anonymous dick pics it’s just – what’s your end game here? Are you thinking there’s a chance I’m going to respond wanting a hook up? It’s just a quite threatening.’

Another added: ‘Heads up men (excuse the pun). On the whole, women are not turned on, threatened, or impressed by the sight of your comically framed penis. They are amused. And then they show their friends. And then they all laugh at you. ‘ 

Other women’s experiences have even been comical.

One woman, a playwright and poet and widowed mother-of-one, said: ‘The worst wasn’t a d*** pic to be honest. I was once sent a picture of a man bending over looking into the mirror so I could see his anus.

‘It was quite a thing when Snapchat was new , I remember deleting Snapchat for that main reason, men flashing up their c***s.

‘I once had a guy send me a photo of him half-dressed, leg cocked up on a chair with tinsel round his penis saying ‘Happy Christmas’. Men are bizarre.’

‘It was quite a thing when Snapchat was new , I remember deleting Snapchat for that main reason, men flashing up their c***s.

‘I once had a guy send me a photo of him half-dressed, leg cocked up on a chair with tinsel round his penis saying ‘Happy Christmas’. Men are bizarre.’

Karen, who works in Women’s Safety, explained that receiving the images makes her feel both ‘furious’ and ‘violated’. 

‘The sheer entitlement of a man to be able to invade my privacy, to cause such shock and upset to someone is sickening,’ Karen explained.

‘It also questions my own safety both online and in the physical world and makes me worry what could happen if this escalates.

‘It has marginalised by own use of the internet and my trust in those around me.’

When it comes to the conviction, she says the man being jailed has sent a ‘strong message’. 

‘But it was an straightforward case where the offender was already on the sex offender register and pleaded guilty,’ she said.

‘The vast majority of cyberflashing cases will not be so easy to prosecute do to the requirement to prove an intent to cause distress.

‘I would love this law to be strengthened by making it a consent-based offence.’

Earlier this week, cyberflashing victim and campaigner Sophie Gallagher – who was sent 120 images of male genitalia via AirDrop while she was on the tube – spoke to Good Morning Britain about how women are expected to simply put up with the issue.

‘I didn’t know who it was from because it’s anonymous… all you know is they’re within 30ft because the function has a 30ft sort of radius so I knew it was someone nearby,’ she said.

‘Ironically the tube carriage is also about 30ft but you don’t know who it is. I felt angry, I obviously felt quite scared, I didn’t know if he was going to escalate it to something physical, will he follow me off the tube, does he know it’s me, is he planning to escalate this in some way?’

She agreed with presenter Martin Lewis that enduring unsolicited sexual images is seen as ‘socially acceptable’ – and something women simply have to go through.

‘When it’s this commonplace I do think it’s seen as like a tax that women pay for existing online.

MailOnline has reached out to Apple and Meta for comment. 

Apple’s website says that viewers are able to adjust AirDrop settings so that users can choose who can see their device and send them content – and also choose to receive warnings about photos or videos which may contain nudity before opening them.

 It comes as a paedophile who sent a picture of his genitals to a 15-year-old girl has become the first person in England and Wales to be jailed for a cyber-flashing offence.

Nicholas Hawkes, who was already a convicted sex offender, sent unsolicited sexual photos to the girl and another woman on February 9, who reported him to police the same day after taking screenshots.

The 39-year-old appeared at Southend Magistrates Court just three days later where he admitted two counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress or humiliation.

This week, he was jailed for 66 weeks in the first case of its kind in England and Wales.

The offence of cyberflashing only came into force on January 31 as part of the Online Safety Act and carries a maximum two-year jail term.

The court heard the girl had been left ‘overwhelmed and crying’ by the experience.

Prosecuting, David Barr said the offences ‘fall as part of an established pattern of behaviour of the defendant’.

The court heard Hawkes’ offending has been exclusively sexual in nature and started after he was kidnapped, stabbed and held at a £5,000 ransom demanded from his father when he was 31 years old.

Barry Gilbert, defending, argued Hawkes does not receive sexual gratification from his offending and instead ‘does it to create chaos when he’s under personal pressure’ as a result of his PTSD following the attack.

However, Judge Samantha Leigh rejected the argument that he did not receive sexual gratification and said ‘you clearly are deeply disturbed and have a warped view of yourself and your sexual desires’.

She added: ‘There is a duty that I have that is a duty to protect, there is only one sentence for this set of offending – it clearly crosses the custody threshold.’

Despite his previous offending, Hawkes has reportedly not received any treatment.

Though he was offered 12 appointments with a psychiatrist, he never received them as the waiting list was too long, the court heard.

Hawkes admitted during an earlier hearing at Southend Magistrates’ Court to two counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation.

He was jailed for 66 weeks at Southend Crown Court after being convicted under the act. 

He must also comply with a 10-year restraining order and will be subject to a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. 

Campaigners welcomed the sentence, saying it sent out an important message to men and boys who send unsolicited intimate photos.

Professor Clare McGlynn, an expert in sexual violence and online abuse at the University of Durham’s law department, said: ‘It’s a very significant day because today we see an abusive man being held to account for actions that are often trivialised and reduced to banter.

‘It’s sending a clear message to men and boys that this type of behaviour is wrong and it could be a criminal offence and importantly, to women and girls, who will no longer have to put up with this and they can take action and report it to police.’

But she added the law contained a loophole as the prosecution must prove the offensive image was sent with an intent to cause distress or for the purpose of sexual gratification while being reckless about causing offence.

‘These are thresholds that are a challenge to evidence and unfortunately these thresholds were included in the legislation,’ she told Radio 4’s Today programme.

‘Myself and others wanted an offence that was more straightforward and just based on consent but this is the legislation we have at the moment.’

Zoe Billingham, a former Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue, said the prevalence of cyberflashing was ‘eye-watering’.

She added: ‘It’s a really important day. It’s a demonstration of the state’s intent to tackle violence against women and girls and to take crime against them seriously.’

The NSPCC said: ‘The sentencing of Hawkes today shows how a part of the new Online Safety Act is working to tackle online sexual abuse experienced by women and girls.

‘No one should have to receive unwanted sexual images online. Cyberflashing is a serious crime and it is important cases like these are taken forward by law enforcement.’

The explosion in the use of social media and direct messaging, particularly among children, has led to sickening levels of unsolicited perverted images being seen.

A third of women have been victims of cyberflashing, according to a report from women’s social network Communia. This rises to 37 per cent among 16 to 34-year-olds.

The Angiolini Inquiry report into Wayne Couzens, the police officer who murdered Sarah Everard after no action was taken for a series of flashing offences, emphasised that police must take cyberflashing seriously.

Hawkes sent the photos from his father’s phone which he borrowed after saying he needed it to call probation.

He went into another room and sent an explicit image to the woman, who is in her 60s. Minutes later he sent another to the girl.

Both victims, who have an automatic right to anonymity, took screenshots and the woman reported the incidents to Essex Police.

Hawkes was already on the sex offenders register until November 2033 after last year being convicted of sexual activity with a child under 16 years old and exposure, for which he also received a community order. 

The state of Kansas will pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit over the death of Adrian Jones, who was murdered by his father and fed to pigs.

The lawsuit, filed in 2017 by the child’s mother and relatives, said the state child protection agency took him from an abusive home before starving and torturing him.

Police found the 7-year-old’s remains in a pigsty on the property of his father and stepmother Michael and Heather Jones in November 2015.

Both are serving 25 years to life sentences for his murder, after beating Adrian and locking him in a shower stall and watching him deteriorate on surveillance camera.

Gov. Laura Kelly and top leaders of the Kansas Legislature approved the settlement Tuesday during a brief public meeting.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families received reports that Adrian was being abused several years before his death.

Their last physical contact with him was nearly four years before his death, according to more than 2,000 pages of documents released by the agency in 2017.

The records showed that all three moved regularly between communities in Kansas and Missouri.

The lawsuit argued that the state and social workers “could have intervened at any time and saved Adrian,” but “chose to act as disinterested bystanders.”

The Kansas agency argued that frequent moves made it difficult to monitor the boy.

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, one of the lawmakers who approved the settlement, said she believes the state bears “a lot of responsibility” for what happened.

Kelly said the problem wasn’t the potential harm in a lawsuit, but the lawsuit distracting from “the mission at hand” to improve the child welfare system.

“It really had to do with us wanting to get that settled and not spend time litigating in court for months, maybe even years,” she said.

Matt Birch, a lawyer representing the family, said: “This has been a long journey for Adrian’s family.

“The most important thing for the family was to hopefully make a change and make sure this is less likely to happen in the future.”

Police had responded to the home in 2015 for a domestic violence call, with Heather Jones accusing Michael Jones of beating and choking her.

Once there, she blurted out that the boy’s father had fed him to their six feeder pigs two months earlier, in late September.

The investigation into her claims revealed harrowing evidence of years of abuse with Heather, sickeningly proud of the way she tortured her stepson and captured it in photographs.

He was locked behind a plywood door in a shower, forced to stand in standing water up to his neck for hours, chained, tied up, starved and beaten.

His stepmother called him “the boy” instead of using his first name. While she and Adrian’s father cared for their six girls, he was accused of abuse of the worst kind.

The injuries photographed included deep cuts to his face and lips, suffered while trying to fight his way out of the cardboard cell his parents had created for him in a shower stall.

He was also photographed with a cutting board tube taped to his chest and strapped to an inversion table.

The pair were arrested in 2015. Heather pleaded guilty to murder in November 2016 and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years.

In May 2017, Michael Jones received the same sentence after also pleading guilty in March that year.

In 2013, Adrian told a staff member at the Children’s Department in Missouri, where the family lived at the time, that his father kept hitting him in the head.

“My dad keeps hitting me on the head and punching me in the stomach and my mom keeps pulling on my ears and it really hurts.

‘Mom and dad lock me in my room alone. Mommy and daddy can’t feed me,” he said during the interview, which was promoted by an anonymous phone call raising concerns about Adrian’s well-being.

Shockingly, he was allowed to continue living with the couple and shortly thereafter they moved to Kansas City, Kansas.

When he died, Adrian was a little bag of bones and his last months were hell.

Instead of a proper burial, the child was fed to pigs that his father had bought specifically to get rid of his emaciated body.

The boy’s death was followed by a multi-year overhaul of child welfare system laws.

In 2021, “Adrian’s Law” required officers and case workers to visually observe children suspected of being victims of abuse or neglect.

The state has also taken steps to improve training for doctors to recognize abuse and provide “wraparound” services to struggling families.

Birch said he and the family hope that with the lawsuit and the 2021 law, “more eyes will be on these children.”

Adrian’s relatives also filed a lawsuit in 2017 in Jackson County, Missouri, also in the Kansas City area, against officials in that state.

The case was settled in 2020, but details were not immediately available and Birch said he could not comment.

EXCLUSIVE

An Australian father-of-two plunged to his death from a restaurant on the roof of a five-star hotel in Bali as his partner screamed in horror as she tried to save him, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.

Zoran Vidovic, 53, from Geelong, Victoria, fell eight meters to his death at the Apurva Kempinski Hotel in Sawangan, Nusa Dua on Sunday, January 28, around 7pm.

His partner, Melbourne lawyer and mother-of-two Zagi Kozarov, 50, allegedly grabbed his clothes as he teetered on the edge, police said.

But he slipped from her grasp and crashed into a flowerbed on the terrace of the luxury hotel three floors below.

The couple was staying at the spectacular hotel, where rooms cost up to $2,566 a night, when Mr Vidovic was spotted outside the venue's Bai Yun hotpot restaurant. Then he fell dead.

Hotel staff rushed to help him and took him to hospital by car because they feared it would take too long for the ambulance to arrive.

But Mr Vidovic, who had checked into the hotel three weeks earlier on January 8 and was due to leave the next day, is believed to have died during the 10-minute journey to the nearby BIMC Siloam hospital, 5km away.

According to local media, local police are now investigating whether it was a suicide or possible negligence on the part of the hotel.

“It is still under investigation,” said Ketut Sukadi of the Denpasar police.

“Hotel staff went to the spot where the victim fell and called the Kempinski Clinic Team, but the clinic staff arrived too late.”

Medical staff reported that Mr Vidovic died of cardiac arrest after suffering multiple injuries during the fall, including cuts and broken bones.

Ms Kozarov was interviewed by police the next day as a witness to the tragedy and told Daily Mail Australia on Monday: “I'm grieving.”

The death of the passionate cricket and football coach has shocked the close-knit sporting community south-west of Melbourne.

He was a popular member of Bell Park Cricket Club, where he captained the third grade team and won the GCA2 third batting average during the 2021-2022 season.

Mr Vidovic was also an assistant coach for the Bell Park Dragons in the Geelong Football League and a board member of the Bell Park Sport and Recreation Club.

His death prompted an outpouring of tributes from loved ones and others who knew him.

“Our grief is deep as Zoran was deeply loved by all of us,” his grieving family said in a statement.

“He will forever hold a place in our hearts, and we are determined to preserve his memory forever.”

“Zoran left an indelible impression on all who had the pleasure of knowing him,” Bell Park Dragons said in a tribute.

“Zoran's boundless optimism and mentorship had a significant impact on our junior and All-Abilities programs, creating inspiration and respect from everyone at Bell Park and within the broader sporting community.

'His competitive spirit, combined with an honest and passionate approach to sport, perfectly captured the essence of true sportsmanship and the spirit of our club.'

As a footy junior, Mr Vidovic played in an under-16 premiership, two under-18 premierships and a reserve premiership in four consecutive years between 1986 and 1989, sharing the GFL under-18 goalkicking award in 1988.

Friend Michael Lymer started one GoFundMe to raise money to repatriate his body to Australia and support his two young daughters.

“Zoran was a beloved member of our community, a beloved friend to many, and especially a devoted father to his two daughters, Bella and Lulu,” Mr. Lymer wrote.

“His sudden departure has left us all in shock and sadness as we struggle to come to terms with this immense loss.”

He described Mr Vidovic as a “vibrant spirit” who was known for “his kindness and his unwavering devotion to his daughters.”

“He worked tirelessly to care for them and ensure they had a bright future,” Mr Lymer said.

“Now, in the wake of this tragedy, Bella and Lulu face an uncertain future without the guidance and support of their father.”

More than $25,000 has been raised.

Proceeds will go towards repatriation costs to ensure Mr Vidovic can be buried in his home country.

Donations will also go towards immediate and future living and education costs for Bella and Lulu.

“In these moments of deep sadness, the generosity and kindness of the community can make a significant difference,” Mr Lymer continued.

“No contribution is too small, and every act of kindness will be a step toward helping these young girls rebuild their lives.”

“Zoran's legacy is one of love, laughter and compassion. Let's honor that legacy by coming together to support his most precious treasures, Bella and Lulu.”

Mr Vidovic is survived by his mother Ruza, sister Suzanna, brother-in-law Nick and his daughters.

The date of his funeral is yet to be confirmed. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Kempinski Hotel chain for comment.

If this story has raised any issues for you, please contact LIFELINE on 13 11 14 or BEYOND BLUE on 1300 22 4636

A witness has recalled his frantic efforts to save the life of a teenage girl killed in a horrific boating accident on Australia Day, as her heartbroken younger brother pays tribute to his big sister.

Darcy Sutherland, 16, was in one of two cans, both driven by 16-year-old boys, that collided near the Grays Point boat ramp, in Sydney's south, shortly after 10.15am on Friday.

Ms Sutherland was thrown into the water and spent up to five minutes face down in the water before onlookers began performing CPR, witnesses claim.

Paramedics frantically tried to resuscitate the teenager on the coast before she was rushed to St George Hospital in Kogarah in Sydney's south-east, where she later died.

Scott Edwards witnessed the accident and was one of several bystanders who rushed to pull the teen from the water and return her to shore.

Mr Edwards said he was still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

“It was extremely difficult to watch,” he wrote on Facebook.

“I did everything I could to save her life.”

Despite online speculation that speed could have been a factor in the accident, Mr Edwards said this was not the case at all.

'None of the boats involved were speeding or blaring. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention,” he said.

'[It was] just a tragic accident.

“My heart goes out to Darcy's family.”

Meanwhile, Darcy's younger brother Zayn has paid tribute to the beloved teenager, while friends flocked to Ms Sutherland's TikTok page to send their condolences to the family.

“God bless you sis,” Zayn wrote, alongside a heart emoji, in the comments section of her most recent video.

Ms Sutherland's cousin Finley Docherty shared a video of photos of the pair together when they were younger.

He described her as the “best cousin in the world” and said she would “stay in my heart forever.”

“I don't want to say goodbye because this means forever,” the video script read.

“Now you're in the stars, six feet has never felt so far.”

Friend Amelie said Mrs Sutherland always looked after her.

“I will never forget the times you helped me,” she wrote.

'I will love you forever. Rest in peace, my beautiful girl.'

“It will always be the most beautiful,” another friend wrote.

Meanwhile, a Grays Point Facebook page said the “entire community is shocked by the tragedy.”

It shared a link to one GoFundMe page for Ms Sutherland's family, which has already raised more than $20,000.

“We know everyone is feeling a little helpless and don't know what to say to those affected – here's a way to contribute to the beautiful Darcy's family to show your support,” the fundraiser creator wrote.

'We have received numerous requests about how we can help and we are creating this page to help the family with the necessary arrangements.

“Thank you for your love and support and coming to assist the family during this difficult time.”

Donors left messages of support for the Sutherland family.

“I am heartbroken that this beautiful girl is gone too soon,” one person wrote.

“I pray that your family may find the strength to live with their forever broken hearts and keep your memory alive. Rest beautiful girl.'

The GoFundMe link was shared by the Miranda Magpies FC football club.

“Yesterday's tragedy on the water has affected our Magpies family,” the message read.

“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the Sutherland family at this very difficult time.”

Distraught witnesses could be seen hugging and comforting each other as paramedics worked to revive Ms Sutherland on Friday.

The two 16-year-old boys driving the two ships were taken to St George Hospital for mandatory tests.

The boats have been seized for investigation and police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Mia Schem was held hostage in Gaza for three days as she reportedly underwent surgery for a gunshot wound suffered during Hamas’s attack on Israel. For days, forced to share a room with her captor, she was given no painkillers and had to change her own bandages.

The account of Ms. Schem, who spoke about her 55 days of captivity to two television stations and in a photo essay published in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper, has struck a chord in Israel.

It mirrors that of other hostages: a lack of food and water and minimal access to medical care. But her interviews and written accounts, which could not be independently confirmed, have provided the most detailed look at what life was like in captivity. Her family did not agree to an interview with The New York Times.

Ms. Schem, a 21-year-old Israeli French citizen from Shoham, Israel, was kidnapped by Hamas after fleeing the Nova music festival during the October 7 terrorist attack that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel. Early in the war, the group released a video of her in captivity, the first of one of more than 230 hostages.

In her memories since her release, Ms. Schem describes being held in a family’s home in Gaza, in a room with her captor, and with his wife and children in the adjoining room. Her only time alone was in the bathroom, where she occasionally stuck her tattooed fingers out of the window in the hope of being recognized, she wrote in Yediot Ahronot.

One day, as Ms. Schem struggled with a bun in her hair, her captor approached with a pair of scissors, she wrote. She yelled at him and told him she would handle it herself, which ended up taking her almost two weeks because of her injured arm, she said.

Ms. Schem told Israeli television that her captor’s wife would “bring him food” some days, without bringing anything for Ms. Schem.

“There were days when she wouldn’t let me eat,” Mrs. Schem said.

She told Israeli television that her captor at one point called her to watch television footage of her mother speaking at a press conference, saying he did so “to hurt me,” but that she nonetheless drew from seeing her mother.

On another day, her captor was upset after his friends were killed in an Israeli bombing, she said, adding that she only comforted him to “play the game.” Other times the bombardment was close.

“The windows of the house I was in were broken,” she says.

Ms Schem said that in the last few days before her release, she was taken to tunnels almost 60 meters underground where it was difficult to breathe.

In her hostage video released by Hamas, Ms. Schem begged to go home and described undergoing surgery. She told Israeli television that she had been told to say she was being taken care of.

“You do what you’re told,” she said in describing the video. “You’re afraid of dying.”

Ms. Schem was eventually released in late November during a brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Since then, she said, she has had more surgeries because her bone was badly damaged when she was shot.

Now home, she struggles to come to terms with her experiences in Gaza and leaving other hostages behind.

“I can’t get it out of my head,” she told Israeli television.

The Von Erich family, originally from Texas, is well known in the wrestling world – but it is perhaps even more notorious for its ‘curse’ – which saw a members racked by a string of fatal tragedies.

By the time star athlete and patriarch Fritz, dubbed ‘The Iron Claw’ in the ring due to a signature move, died at the age of 68 in 1997, five of his six sons had already lost their lives; three of them by suicide.

His firstborn, Jack Jr., had died at only six years old after a freak drowning accident.

Chris, Mike, David and Kerry all passed away between the ages of 21 and 33.

Kevin – who is played by Zac Efron in The Iron Claw, an A24 film about the renowned family coming out today – is the last surviving son.

The movie sets to explore not just the harrowing deaths that plagued the Von Erichs, but pressures put on them by their father Fritz and the legacy of their celebrity status in wrestling. 

Here, FEMAIL looks at the inexplicably devastating events that had haunted the father and sons in real life…

JACK ADKISSON JR.

Fritz’s firstborn son, Jack Jr., died in 1959, at only six years old. He got electrocuted after touching a live wire while playing at their trailer park in Niagra Falls, New York.

Afterwards, the young boy fell into a puddle of melting snow and drowned.

According to D Magazine, the horrific accident was ‘a nightmare’ for Fritz and his wife Doris – who would tell her husband that she ‘wanted to die too’. 

The outlet revealed that Doris was so shaken by the tragedy, she would still measure time in relation to Jack Jr.’s death years later.

‘”It happened nearly 12 years after Jackie died,” she will say about some family event.’

DAVID VON ERICH

David Von Erich – played by Harris Dickinson in the film – died in 1984, aged only 25.

Acute enteritis, which is an acute inflammation of the intestine, was said to be the reason. 

As reported by the Dallas Morning News at the time, the sports star was in Tokyo, Japan for a match and was found dead in his hotel room by a referee when he failed to show up at the lobby. 

The disease is not usually fatal but can become so if the intestine becomes inflamed and loses protective lining, the outlet explained.

In an interview with D Magazine, the family said he had been throwing up before leaving for Japan. 

However, many also believe that the real cause was actually a fatal drug overdose.

In his autobiography To Be The Man, fellow pro wrestler Ric Flair, who David famously had a professional feud with, alleged that ‘everyone’ in the industry believes that David died after taking narcotics, which a fellow athlete would have flushed down the toilet before authorities arrived.

David – known for his overpowering stature and prowess in the ring – was called ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas’ and was notorious for his fiery temper in interviews.

He had been married twice. In 1978, David wed Candy McLeod and the couple had a daughter that same year.

Tragically, she passed away in infancy and the pair divorced in 1979. He then married Patricia Matter in 1982, two years before his death.

MIKE VON ERICH

Just three years after David’s death, tragedy struck once again – following news that Mike Von Erich had killed himself at 23, after overdosing on drugs and alcohol.

The shy, quiet son of the family – played by Stanley Simons in The Iron Claw – is understood to have been reluctant about going into pro wrestling, but felt a pressure to follow in his family’s glory.

In 1985, he suffered an injury to shoulder while wrestling, and needed surgery. 

However, complications during the procedure led to toxic shock syndrome, which left him, physically, much weaker. 

Mike – whose name in the ring was ‘Inspirational Warrior’ – made a return to wrestling, but was never the same. 

As reported by D Magazine, ‘in one match he tried to execute a dropkick and landed right on his face’.

His brain functions were affected too – Mike would forget moves as he began them, and lose track of what he wanted to say.

One match in Austin saw him going to grab the mic and yell at the opponent, but freezing as he couldn’t recall the line. 

In 1987, Mike’s body was found in a sleeping bag in by Lewisville Lake, Texas – not far from his childhood home.

His car, which was abandoned nearby, contained what appeared to be a suicide note which read: ‘Mom and Dad, I am in a better place. I’ll be watching.’

He left behind his wife – Shani Danette Garza – who he had married only two years prior.

CHRIS VON ERICH 

Chris – the baby of the family – was known for his weaker physical stature, having been only 5’4′ and suffering from asthma and brittle bones. 

At the age of 21, he short himself in the head with a handgun in 1991. 

It is understood that he was affected not just by the tragic loss of his older brothers, but also his lack of success in the industry.

According to Today, via the Baltimore Sun, he was found by his mother and one of his brothers at their Texas ranch. 

KERRY VON ERICH

Kerry Von Erich is portrayed in the film by Jeremy Allen White – known for his success in Shameless and The Bear.

The pro wrestler died at 33, after shooting himself in the chest in 1993.  

He was known as the most successful athlete of the Von Erichs during his time.

According to Pro Wrestling Stories, Kerry faced tragedy after slamming into a police car with his motorbike in 1986.

He was rushed to hospital and required surgery, where the doctors couldn’t save the foot – and Kerry’s leg was amputated.

Shockingly, he was able to return to his wrestling career and get back in the ring – but kept his disability a secret from the public.

Despite his challenges, Kerry still went on to win the WWE – but was also now grappling with pain killer addiction at this time.

He had faced two drug arrests, and was potentially looking at prison time.

Just a few days after his 33rd birthday, Kerry shot himself in the heart, on his father’s ranch in Denton County, Texas.

He left behind his two children- including Lacey Von Erich, 37 today, who also went on to become a professional wrestler, having divorced their mother Catherine Murray just a year before his death.

Kerry’s last words to his father Fritz were reportedly: ‘Dad, I love you.’ 

Pro wrestler Bret Hart wrote in his autobiography – My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling – that Kerry had told him of his plans years earlier and expressed wanting to join his late brothers.

Last year, before he started shooting The Iron Claw, Jeremy told GQ that he was planning to gain 40lbs of muscle for his part. 

He also shed light on his personal connection to his character, musing: ‘There’s something human about never feeling like you are really your own man.’

The Shameless star added: ‘All great drama is about family, whether it’s blood or not. It’s about acceptance, it’s about belonging, and just getting away from loneliness.’

FRITZ VON ERICH

Fritz Von Erich – played by Holt McCallany in the clip – is known as the patriarch of the family’s athletic legacy. 

The Von Erich wrestling tradition began not with the brothers but with their father Jack, who adopted the ring persona of a Nazi called Fritz Von Erich.

Realising the surname stuck, Fritz stuck with it as a stage moniker for the family.  

Fritz died of cancer in his 60s, in 1997, leaving behind a legacy as the mastermind behind the family’s wrestling clan.

He was also known for his prowess in the ring. His signature move – the Iron Claw – saw him spread a hand over an opponent’s face and squeeze hard.

Speaking to D Magazine in 1988, he hit out at their family’s ‘curse’. 

‘The hell of it is that now people watch us to see what tragedy will happen next. I wish I could explain it, but I can’t,’ he said. ‘We’re better known now because we die,’ he said.

The outlet also recounted Fritz’s strict upbringing of the boys, with the father saying he was ‘absolutely’ not too hard on his kids

‘One time Kerry yelled at me that he shouldn’t get a beating, so I tore his butt off even harder,’ he added.

Fritz also said he had taught his sons everything from hunting to riding motorcycles, and encouraged them to fight back bullies if they ever hurt them.

KEVIN VON ERICH 

Kevin Von Erich is the family’s last surviving son, and is 66 today. He is played by Zac Efron in the movie. 

He is married to Pam Adkisson and the pair have four children together. Two of them – Ross, 36, and Marshall, 31, are pro-wrestlers too.

Kevin is also a one-time world champion in the sport.

Last week, Zac Efron spoke about how hard he worked for his upcoming film in his Variety cover story.

Ahead of the premiere of the pro-wrestling biopic, the 36-year-old actor got candid about the intense preparing for the film and admitted he became ‘obsessed.’

‘It was a singular focus for months,’ he said about working on the movie. ‘And your life goes out the window during prep.

‘That necessity to be perfect… became an obsession,’ he confessed. 

For his latest project, he told the outlet that he worked out for multiple hours in a day and did volume training in order to gain 15 pounds of muscle.

He also revealed that he would actually wrestle while filming the matches, which lasted seven to 15 minutes long, multiple times a day and consecutive days in a week.

He noted that his intense training helped prepare him for that. 

‘I was able to incorporate old-school body-building and Olympic lifting, and really achieved that specific look of pro wrestlers’ he explained, adding it was ‘really hard’.

Zac explained that the physical transformation helped him live in his role but he found himself ‘withdrawing’ just like his character.

‘It was an unforeseen ally,’ he said. ‘Having all that weight on, you don’t feel normal.

‘And the delayed-onset muscle soreness was through the roof,’ he admitted.

‘During preparation, it’s one thing to mange that — you don’t have to be super social. I found myself withdrawing quite a bit’. 

In an interview with TMZ last year, the real Kevin Von Erich showered praise on Zac, saying with a laugh that ‘I saw a picture of the guy – he looked great, man, I don’t think I ever looked that good!’ 

Kevin also spared a few warm words for Sean, adding: ‘I talked to the director. He seemed like a really nice guy.’ 

While he predicted that the movie would be a ‘hard job’ because of all the ‘information’ and the lengthy time period that has to be crammed into the script, he was optimistic that ‘they’re gonna do great.

Steph Claire Smith has revealed how her past eating disorder inspired her hugely successful business, Keep it Cleaner.

Steph, who owns the health empire with her business partner Laura Henshaw, said she began developing an unhealthy relationship with food during her career as a full-time model a decade ago.

In the lengthy note written to accompany a TikTok video, Steph, now 29, said she “constantly fell into the comparison trap” between other female models and the beauty standards set in the industry.

“My entire worth was attributed to the way I looked. There wasn’t a second in the day that I wasn’t thinking ahead about food, limiting myself to foods I loved, and overeating everything I allowed myself to eat,” the mother of one said.

She added that she often made herself sick or became upset “out of disgust and disappointment” at falling into the vicious cycle.

Steph explained that she only decided to embark on a career path towards health and body positivity when she became friends with her current business partner Henshaw, who had gone through a similar experience.

‘In 2015 we had around 500,000 followers on Instagram. It was through connecting with this online community that we knew we were not alone in our struggles and that we wanted to do something about it,” she continued.

“It started with a recipe ebook, then a subscription blog, published a hard copy book, then launched a web program, then a grocery label, and in 2018 we launched the Kic app.”

The Keep it Cleaner (KIC) app is a health-based app that offers nutritious recipes, exercise programs, and mindful activities like meditation.

Steph said that with the help of Henshaw and the ‘incredible experts’ of the KIC team, they have helped ‘hundreds of thousands of people around the world change their relationship with wellbeing and themselves for the better’.

She continued her candid post by moving on with her family life.

Steph and her husband Josh Miller welcomed son Harvey in 2021.

“I’m the wife of a man I’ve been in love with since I was 12, I’ve been dating for over a decade and married for four,” she said, adding that her journey through motherhood was “without” . undoubtedly the most challenging yet best thing that could ever happen,” she said.

The Melbourne-based entrepreneur concluded her post by thanking her longtime fans and followers for their continued support.

Steph, who is known for her stunning looks and enviable physique, now radiates good health.

It’s not the first time she’s opened up about a bad relationship with her body.

In 2018, she shared a before and after photo showing herself as a slim 19-year-old next to one of her current self.

“This before photo is from when I was 19, 10kg lighter than I am now,” she captioned a photo of her slim body.

“It’s crazy how much our bodies can change depending on our age and lifestyle,” she captioned her current image.

Steph shared the post as a way to talk about her experiences as a then-19-year-old model who felt pressured to look a certain way to get work.

“At this age, I was taking full advantage of my fast metabolism, eating a lot of junk food and barely exercising,” she said.

‘It was the year I went to America to get signed, the year BEFORE I fell into restrictive eating and binge eating and hating my body because I wasn’t skinny enough…’.

She said recovering from disordered thinking about herself meant finding a way to accept that her body was changing over time.

“The change in my body was scary at first… my measurements went up, stretch marks and cellulite appeared,” she wrote.

Henshaw has also spoken about her experience with body dysmorphia early in her career.

Body dysmorphia as a mental illness is characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with perceived flaws or flaws in one’s physical appearance, while those flaws are unnoticeable to others or are very minor.

People with BD affect approximately two percent of the population and usually have a strong focus on the skin, hair or face. Nevertheless, it can include any aspect of physical appearance.

“Five years ago I was on extreme diets, obsessed with the models I followed on social media and had a really bad relationship with food, but now I have such a different approach,” the 25-year-old told Body and soul.

“I care about eating well and exercising well, and I don’t really care how many calories I put on the scale or how many calories I eat.”

An upcoming documentary will unravel the harrowing true story of the “wilderness therapy camp” that promised to reform wayward teens.

Former military special forces officer Steve Cartisano founded the Challenger Foundation in the Utah desert in the 1980s, and its popularity skyrocketed.

It charged parents $15,900 for the 63-day program and promised to “wear kids down until they’re good again.”

But it would later be engulfed in scandal and eventually closed after multiple allegations of child abuse and negligent homicide following the death of a 16-year-old girl.

Here, FEMAIL has exposed the sordid details of the camp as Netflix is ​​about to release Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare.

The new trailer for Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare began by explaining that the Challenger Foundation was founded against a backdrop of social unrest.

It read: ‘The 1980s were a time when the world was changing. There was great concern that America’s youth were taking a wrong turn.”

And it was Cartisano, often called the “godfather of wilderness therapy treatment,” who decided to respond.

He founded the Challenger Foundation in 1988, based on the premise of ‘being made better through struggle’.

Cartisano, who believed in intimidating rebellious children into submission by surviving outdoors, previously said: “These kids need this, we’re saving so many more lives.”

Parents appeared to compete with high-profile attendees, even including two teenagers from the Winthrop Rockefeller family.

Dozens of families have had to pay the high registration fee, with the program reportedly raising $3.2 million in its first year.

The rules were strict and would involve “strip searches and military haircuts,” as Cartisano “adopted a drill-sergeant style of speaking that shouted ‘Yes sir!’ required. answers,” said Highland News.

There were also severe punishments for children who did not follow instructions properly, including having their rations taken away and being forced to carry heavy loads of cow dung in backpacks all day.

It seemed like Cartisano was getting results to some extent as many hailed him as a “genius” who was “ahead of his time” with a “great idea.”

But his bubble burst in spectacular fashion.

In 1990, camp participant Kirsten Chase, from Florida, had been hiking across the desert’s rugged Kaiparowits Plateau when she complained of a headache.

The 16-year-old girl, who had arrived at the program only three days earlier, then collapsed and died.

Her autopsy would later list the cause of death as “exertional heat stroke.”

Cartisano and the program were charged with negligent homicide and multiple counts of child abuse stemming from Chase’s death and allegations that other teens were starved and physically abused.

The allegations included children being “tied to trees” and “physically dragged.”

A witness in the trailer revealed: “They were emaciated, they were dirty, you couldn’t even tell they were children.”

And another claimed: ‘The doctor counted over 80 scars, marks and bruises.’

During the trial, Kane County Sheriff Max Jackson testified that Cartisano, then 38, had been “flippant” when told about Chase’s death, according to Tampa Bay Times.

He also said the Challenger Foundation does not have adequate procedures in place to deal with medical emergencies, adding From the moment the girl became ill, it took almost two hours for professional medical help to arrive.

The camp filed for bankruptcy and was closed in the aftermath.

Cartisano was ultimately acquitted of all criminal charges, but was civilly indicted.

He was subsequently banned from running any child treatment program in Utah, but later set up offshoots in Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Tragically, many attendees did not solely blame Cartisano for their traumatic experience.

In the trailer, a former contestant fought back tears as she concluded, “The hardest part about being there is knowing my parents did this to me.”

Cartisano, father of four children, died in 2019 at the age of 63.