7NEWS Spotlight

Bruce McAvaney will sit down with champion teen sprinter Gout Gout ahead of his Maurie Plant Meet.

McAvaney is joined by Olympians Matt Shirvington, Raelene Boyle, and Cathy Freeman.

"[Gout] is just something else," Freeman tells McAvaney. "Watching him race, it's like he's been shot out of a cannon or something. He's quite extraordinary.

"He's probably smarter than I was at that age. He's quicker. But he's certainly got the world at his feet."

McAvaney added: "To think Gout was a cross-country official at what might turn out to be an Olympic Stadium says much about his ambition to compete at home in 2032. It's distant, yet so close."

He's the fastest man in Australia… on track to become the fastest man alive.

In case anyone missed it, in December last year the teenage sprinting phenomenon blasted onto the world stage when he broke the Australian 200m sprint record set by Peter Norman 56 years ago – at just a month shy of 17

The greatest-ever didn't run this fast, at his age. But Usain Bolt went on to set records still to be broken and was unbeaten across three Olympic Games – hence all the fuss about Gout Gout.

Going into the Aussie record books was incredible enough, but it was being faster than Bolt at just 16 that launched Gout into the athletics universe.

The comparisons are obvious. It's not just the times, there's also the technique and the way he wins, coming from the back of the field like a hurricane.

Gout's team have no doubt he's on the trajectory of greatness. His take-no-prisoners coach, Di Shepperd, says that it isn't a question of "might" but "when". Manager James Templeton echoes that sentiment, declaring there is no doubt that doubt Gout will be an Olympic finalist.

In a world-exclusive investigation, Liam Bartlett uncovers the dirty truth behind so-called clean, green electric vehicles & how China is getting away with causing a deadly environmental catastrophe.

Award-winning broadcast journalist Liz Hayes sits down with Lauren Zonfrillo, the widow of beloved TV chef and MasterChef Australia judge, Jock Zonfrillo.

Airing on Seven and 7plus this Sunday at 8:00pm, it is the first time the mother of two has spoken publicly since her husband was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room in May 2023. His cause of death has never been released.

A comprehensive analysis of the key issues from the Leaders' Debate. Hosted by Michael Usher.

In Sunday's 7News Spotlight Liam Bartlett meets Australia's ‘Iced Coffee Killer' - Jessica Wongso, released on parole in Indonesia last year after serving for 8 years in detention.

Almost a decade ago, Australian resident and former NSW Ambulance worker Jessica Wongso was convicted of brazenly and fatally poisoning her former best friend's iced coffee with cyanide in a busy Jakarta café.

It was January 6, 2016, and Wongso was catching up with Mirna Salihin at one of the city's classiest cafes for the first time in four years.

She'd taken the liberty of pre-ordering Salihin a drink. But seconds after she took her first sip, she began convulsing and foaming at the mouth. Just over an hour later, Salihin was dead.

Described as the most compelling murder mystery in Indonesian history, the case shocked Australia and sparked international headlines.

Now out of prison and granted a Judicial Review in the Indonesian Supreme Court having served only eight of a 20-year sentence, Wongso has bizarrely become a successful social influencer and is desperate to rewrite history.

In this major 7NEWS Spotlight exclusive, Wongso – who has always maintained her innocence – comes face-to-face with award-winning correspondent Liam Bartlett in her first ever tell-all interview.

Bartlett presses Wongso in the confronting sit-down on every aspect of the case, including accusations she was motivated by jealousy, her suspicious behaviour in the hours before the murder, her bizarre tendency to smile throughout the trial, and her thoughts on likelihood of acquittal.

"They still can't prove anything," Wongso tells 7NEWS Spotlight in the at times uncomfortable interview.

We also hear for the first time from the Australian woman who helped seal Wongso's fate. Former boss Kristie Carter sits down exclusively with Bartlett to reveal for the first and last time the ‘erratic' behaviours she witnessed in the lead up to the killing, and the trauma she and others endured from Wongso.

Liam Bartlett said: "There's something you just can't pin down about convicted murderer Jessica Wongso. Is she innocent as half the Indonesian population seem to think? Or is she – as those who are convinced of her guilt like to put it – completely mad?

"Either I'm sitting in front of a cold, calculated killer who murdered her best friend on the basis of simple jealousy, or a young woman who is a terrible victim of circumstance.

"It's a plot worthy of a soap opera. But now, nearly a decade on, a family still grieves the incomprehensible killing of a beautiful young woman by her one-time best friend, who continues to protest her innocence."

Denham Hitchcock returns to 7News Spotlight this Sunday, joining Michael Usher and Mylee Hogan in a story on Australian "Love Mules" - women lured into the crime of smuggling drugs across international borders.

One case includes Donna Nelson, recently profiled on Australian Story, sentenced to six years in prison in Japan.

It starts with a message. A charming stranger. A promise of love. And it ends in a foreign prison cell.

This Sunday 7NEWS Spotlight exposes the heartbreaking crime wave targeting some of Australia's most vulnerable – women looking for love, who are being manipulated into smuggling drugs across international borders.

In a global investigation spanning Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong, 7NEWS Spotlight's team of reporters Michael Usher, Mylee Hogan and Denham Hitchcock expose the cruel deception behind the so-called "Love Mules", women like Veronica Watson and Donna Nelson who were lured into romance scams so convincing they risked everything.

Grandmother of nine Veronica was arrested in December, with 1.5 kilograms of cocaine in her luggage, leaving Sao Paulo Airport. She's always maintained she was scammed by a man posing as a love interest.

"I trusted him," Veronica said through tears. "He said he loved me. I thought we were going to get married."

Donna's story is just as devastating. A mother of five and former federal political candidate, she believed she was flying to Japan to meet her fiancé. Instead, she was arrested with two kilograms of methamphetamine in her suitcase and sentenced to six years in a Japanese prison.

These women aren't just criminals. They're victims of a sophisticated and deeply manipulative scam, one that plays out over years, with thousands of messages, video calls, and even detailed wedding plans.

In this exclusive investigation, 7NEWS Spotlight tracks down the scammers behind the heartbreak. Going undercover, Denham Hitchcock follows the trail of the man known only as "Kelly" through the backstreets of Hong Kong, uncovering the bars he frequents and speaking to those who've seen him.

Denham Hitchcock said: "These online relationships were real, in both cases they went on for two and a half years. Messages and video calls. This is a new type of scam, insidious, evil and cruel.

"We're not just telling these women's stories; we're attempting to track down the people who destroyed their lives and show how it can happen to anyone."

In a global investigation, Spotlight exposes a killer on the run – an Indian rapper accused of murdering the father of a western Sydney woman after he met her on TikTok.

Inside El Salvador's mega-prison at the centre of Trump's immigration crackdown. Plus, new witnesses come forward in the tragic death of Amy Wensley.

Spotlight investigates how artificial intelligence is really created, meeting hidden workers who say they're exploited by big tech, and exposing a major Australian company with questions to answer.

Spotlight profiles Brenda Blethyn who plays TV detective Vera Stanhope and investigates the biggest currency heist in history with a former Australian fighter pilot in the middle of it.

In 2015, a married couple and their friend ventured into the remote goldfields of Western Australia. Only one of them came back.

Ray and Jennie Kehlet were a couple in love, chasing a dream of striking gold in Sandstone, WA. But their trip of a lifetime ended in tragedy. In one of Australia's most baffling cold cases, Ray was found dead at the bottom of a mineshaft, while Jennie vanished without a trace.

Their friend and colleague, Graham Milne, was the only survivor.

7NEWS Spotlight delivers the most in-depth analysis yet of a mystery that has haunted Australia for a decade. Reporter Liam Bartlett reveals shocking discrepancies in Graham Milne's story and uncovers new forensic evidence that police seemingly ignored.

7NEWS Spotlight also exposes a bombshell revelation from Milne's estranged daughter. In an exclusive interview, Sarah Hopkins alleges a violent past, painting a dark portrait of the man who walked out of the desert alive.

"Do I believe he knows more than he's saying? A hundred percent I do," says Sarah Hopkins.

Meanwhile, former ADF soldier and search volunteer Rick Heaton reveals he found critical evidence police missed, including a bullet casing and Ray's shirt buried in the mineshaft.

And be watching Sunday to see what 7NEWS Spotlight uncovers after commissioning its own independent testing by forensic expert Dr Dennis McNevin to analyse the evidence.

Liam Bartlett said: "This is a case that should have been solved years ago. The evidence was there. The questions were there. But the answers were ignored.

"We've spoken to the people closest to Ray and Jennie, and the one person who knew Milne better than anyone, his own daughter. What she reveals is nothing short of explosive."
 

New twists in the Lucy Letby case - secret hospital files and shocking claims spark fresh doubts. Could Britain's most notorious baby killer be innocent?

On Sunday, 7News Spotlight addresses the key question following the Erin Patterson guilty verdict: what drove her to commit meticulously planned murders?

Host Michael Usher said: "Erin Patterson's story is one of deception, manipulation and, ultimately, murder.

"Now she's been found guilty, we will be using the full weight of our expert panel to investigate how this unassuming mother became one of this country's worst murderers."

The people who knew Erin Patterson best finally speak out, as some of the country's most qualified crime experts break down her motive, her planning and her lies.

Experts joining the live panel include:

· Geoffrey Watson SC, one of the country's top criminal barristers
· Peter Ashkar, forensic psychologist
· Damian Marrett, former detective
· Tita Smith, the 7NEWS reporter who's been following the story since it broke

Plus, the detective behind the world's only other known mushroom murder case shares his insights into the rare and sinister method of poisoning.

Don't miss this remarkable 7NEWS Spotlight special, a forensic deep dive into the mind of a killer, the evidence that sealed her fate, and the haunting question that still lingers: why?

The inside story of a stunt pilot's miraculous survival after crashing into the ground at 300km/h during the Avalon Airshow. Plus, the dark side of dating apps exposed in a global investigation.

In a global investigation spanning India, the US, UK and Australia, reporterAshlee Mullany pieces together the final moments of Flight 171 using cockpit recordings, black box data and a world-first simulator recreation. 

Aviation expert Alastair Rosenschein told 7NEWS Spotlight: "Shutting down the engines at that point of the flight is going to only have one outcome." 

One of India's most respected aviation experts, Captain Mohan Ranganathan, said: "From some of the information that had been mentioned to me by pilots in India…they did say that the captain had been going through periods of depression, and he had taken medical leave." 

The crash could join a grim roll call. Ten years ago, Germanwings 9525 was deliberately flown into the French Alps by its co-pilot, killing all 149 on board, including Australian mother Carol Friday and her son Greig. 

Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS Spotlight, Carol's daughter Alex Friday said: "He mass murdered 149 people… including my brother and my mum.He ran them into a mountain. He took a machine and ran them into a mountain." 

Ashlee Mullany said "Pilot mental health is an uncomfortable but important conversation, particularly considering recent aviation tragedies. While the odds of a deliberate crash are still so low, the consequences are catastrophic. 

"In the case of the Germanwings crash, that pilot turned out to be one of the worst mass murderers in modern history and his actions are still felt acutely by the Friday family to this day."

A father who lost his three children. And the man who killed them.Samuel Davidson was three times over the legal alcohol limit, drug-affected and out of control when the ute he was driving mounted a footpath and mowed down seven children in the 2020 Oatlands tragedy that shocked the nation. 

Abdallah siblings Antony (13), Angelina (12), and Sienna (8), along with their cousin Veronique Sakr (11), were all killed instantly. Three other children were injured. 

Davidson was sentenced on appeal to 20 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 15 years. 

At the time, many Australians couldn't comprehend how parents Danny and Leila Abdallah publicly forgave him. But now, in an extraordinary act, Danny Abdallah's forgiveness reaches even deeper. 

Five years on from the tragedy, 7NEWS Spotlight has been granted rare access inside one of the country's harshest prisons to capture the raw and emotional encounter between a grieving father and the man who destroyed his world. It is an extraordinary television interview that challenges everything we think we know about restorative justice, remorse and forgiveness. 

For the first time, Australians will also hear from Davidson about that horrific day, including new revelations about the reasons behind his actions and the devastating consequences that followed. 

7NEWS Spotlight'sMichael Usher, who has followed the Abdallahs' story since the beginning, said: "For the past eight months, 7NEWS Spotlight has worked closely with Corrective Services NSW, lawyers and psychologists to make this possible. 

"We spent a week inside one of Australia's hardest prisons where TV cameras are rarely allowed to speak with a high-risk, high-security inmate serving one of the longest sentences for his crime. 

"Danny's journey to forgiveness has been long, complicated, and deeply emotional," he said. "What I witnessed inside those walls is something I never expected to see, and certainly never thought we'd be able to share with the Australian public." 

Where does justice end and mercy begin? And can forgiveness ever truly heal?

This Sunday 7News Spotlight speaks exclusively to an Aussie mum accused of the unthinkable.

Did Lisa Cunningham kill her seven-year-old stepdaughter Sanaa, or was her death a medical tragedy?

In her first on-camera interview, Cunningham speaks candidly from inside a maximum-security prison in Arizona about the devastation of losing her family and the impact of eight years' incarceration without trial.

Lisa said, "It's always been such a mystery to us why it is easier to believe that we tried to slowly kill her with this bizarre, delayed death torture story than it is to simply accept the fact that she entered into the early onset period of serious mental illness."

The alleged killer details the final 10 months of her stepdaughter's life, a time in which prosecutors claim she and her husband, Germayne, subjected Sanaa to abuse that ultimately caused her death.

The exclusive story also features never-before-seen family videos and text messages that prosecutors claim prove their case, texts that Lisa says don't tell the full story.

"If you look at our lives from a distance and you go through our messages and the way we communicated with each other, you are going to form your own opinions," Lisa said.

Reporter Ashlee Mullany said: "The story of Lisa Cunningham is confronting whichever way you look at it. This is either a case of an Australian mother accused of an unthinkable crime, or a woman unjustly stripped of her freedom, family and voice for eight years.

"I covered Lisa's first court appearance after her arrest in Arizona almost a decade ago and what should have been her temporary holding cell has become her home for all these years, without conviction. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but this has been an agonisingly long wait for answers.

"Lisa is adamant she has nothing to hide and wants to share her story with Australia."

7News Spotlight uncovers the inside story of Australia's largest-ever superannuation disaster – the collapse of the First Guardian and Shield Master Funds.

More than 12,000 Australians' super balances wiped, and their futures stolen, with losses totalling over $1 billion and a government regulator that may have been asleep on the job.

Michael Usher speaks to several victims left without a cent to retire on, and an insider who allegedly helped sell them the dream.

Financial adviser Ferras Merhi, who has been banned from travelling and has had his assets frozen by ASIC, told 7News Spotlight: "I don't [sleep], it's hard. It kills me every day that in one shape or form, I've been involved either directly or indirectly in support of this particular product."

Michael Usher said: "Thousands of Aussie investors were conned by these very sophisticated schemes. They did their own research, but they were duped, because at every level, these schemes appeared to be checked and verified by reputable advisers and regulators, who we're meant to trust with our future.

"Australia should be outraged at this billion-dollar theft, which needs to be investigated at the highest levels. To lose every cent of your hard-earned retirement savings is beyond heartbreaking – it has ruined the lives of hard-working Australians."

Also this Sunday, guest reporter Sonia Kruger sits down with Melanie C, in London.

The former Spice Girl and The Voice coach opens up on the comment that nearly broke her and how she almost missed out on the gig of a lifetime.

She also shares how her daughter helped her reconnect with music, and the global movement that made her a household name.

7News Spotlight on Sunday investigates how critical defence infrastructure is alarmingly exposed.

What happens around a warship docked at a major tourist hotspot will shock viewers and raise urgent questions about our national security.

The investigation spans key military sites including Pine Gap, Williamtown RAAF Base, Amberley RAAF Base and Garden Island Naval Base, where billions of dollars in defence assets are housed.

What's exposed are weaknesses in the protection of critical weapons systems: F-35A stealth fighters stored under shade cloth and naval ships and our most important air bases subject to easy intrusion.

Liam Bartlett said: "We found billion-dollar fighter jets stored under shade cloth, warships exposed to drones, and critical bases protected by little more than cyclone fencing. These are critical gaps in our defence capability at a time when our adversaries and neighbours are investing like never before."

Speaking to 7NEWS Spotlight, former Chief of Army Peter Leahy, alongside key military experts and industry insiders, warn that Australia's defence policy may be woefully inadequate for the real-world threats we face.

Lieutenant General (ret) Peter Leahy told Liam Bartlett: "This peace is fast coming to a close, so we better be ready for war. And I don't think we're ready."

Bartlett also travels to the Philippines, to witness how other nations are standing up to China's military aggression now, while Australia's defence plan will not see us combat ready until at least 2030.

Liam Bartlett said: "Our investigation shows that while the threats are evolving rapidly, Australia's response is stuck in slow motion. We're investing in submarines we won't see for a decade, while our current defences are exposed and under-equipped."

In the Philippines, Bartlett catches up with Defence Minister Richard Marles, who has been dodging 7NEW Spotlight's questions for months, to discuss a policy experts say is all words and no action.

"You don't want to be known as minister for show bags," Bartlett said. "There has to be substance to it."

Hundreds of known child predators are right now roaming free across Australia, despite police having proof they have communicated with and transferred money to one of the world's most prolific child traffickers. 

Why are these known offenders still walking our streets, and what's being done to address Australia's worsening child sex offender crisis? 

In a special investigation airing this Sunday at 9.00pm on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight exposes a list of 395 Australians suspected of participating in a disturbing new trend: directing the abuse of children overseas from their homes in Australia.   

7NEWS Spotlight's Liam Bartlett goes undercover with an extraordinary group called Destiny Rescue who track down and expose child sex traffickers. 

Made up of former detectives and special forces operatives, the group's goal is to rescue children sold into sex trafficking. They gave 7NEWS Spotlight's cameras exclusive access as they orchestrate raids with local enforcement agencies. 

Destiny Rescue operative and former homicide detective Matt Valentine said: "I've seen more Australians involved in crimes against children than I have of any other nationality. 

"It's in our Australian backyard. We need to be very, very concerned." 

Back home, 7NEWS Spotlight tracks down one of the 395 men on the client list – a grandad and businessman living in regional Australia – who is free and will never spend a day in prison, even after he directed the abuse of a little girl. 

Psychologist Peter Ashkar tells 7NEWS Spotlight that offenders who use the internet to commit their crimes overseas are posing a real risk to Australian kids: "That type of offender will almost certainly use whatever opportunity that they have to commit a similar type of sexual offense against a similar type of victim in person, if they have the opportunity to do so." 

Liam Bartlett said: "Australian men are fuelling a global trade in child sexual abuse, and they're doing it from the comfort of their own homes in suburbs around the country. The experts tell us one in every two will eventually want to have physical contact with a child in their local community and that is truly disturbing. 

"Destiny Rescue has done the hard work: identifying offenders, rescuing children, handing over names. But good police work means nothing if it doesn't lead to jail time. Letting these men walk free sends a chilling message: that child abuse, even directed from afar, is somehow forgivable. It's not."

One in 20 Australians now live with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder , and more than half are on medication -including hundreds of thousands of school-aged children.

On Sunday 7News Spotlight examines the fast-growing disorder with leading experts, families, and educators to unpack the surge in diagnoses, and speaks to doctors and sceptics who are sounding the alarm over prescription rates.

Professor Jon Jureidini, a psychiatrist and outspoken critic of the ADHD diagnosis, told 7News Spotlight: "ADHD is put forward as a simple explanation for a complex set of problems.

"It's very easy to become a diagnoser of ADHD, and it's also very lucrative. So, we have to be a little bit sceptical about the motivations of people who set up specialist practices to diagnose ADHD."

Ashlee Mullany also takes an exclusive look inside a school unlike any other in Australia, where almost 40% of students have ADHD.

"ADHD doesn't mean you're a Martian or anything. You're still a person," said one student.

Professor David Coghill, a leading world expert in ADHD, told 7News Spotlight: "Most of the time the information about ADHD on social media isn't accurate. Only around 30% of the posts were actually based on facts."

Ashlee Mullany said: "Among the billions of posts about ADHD on social media, we take a closer look at one psychiatrist who has become an influencer, partnering with a drug manufacturer for paid posts about ADHD."

Also this Sunday Michael Usher goes inside the Maclean brothers' record-breaking row across the Pacific Ocean - with exclusive video diaries from their time on board.

For nearly 140 days, Scottish siblings Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan filmed the highs and lows of their 14,000-kilometre journey from Peru to Cairns. From giant waves to sleep deprivation and a few near disasters, cameras caught almost every thrilling moment as they set a new world record for the fastest human powered crossing of the Pacific.

Now back in Sydney, the brothers' look back on their incredible journey, a raw and unforgettable adventure.

"It's incredible what your body can do when you put the work in," said Jamie Maclean.

In a special joint investigation with The Nightly, 7News Spotlight goes inside the crash that claimed Chris "Willow" Wilson's life, revealing the extraordinary lengths to which Outback Wrangler Matt Wright went to hide the truth.

Michael Usher said: "He's been celebrated as an outback hero, but who's the real Matt Wright?

"What happened in court was only part of the story. In partnership with The Nightly, we've obtained new evidence and allegations about Matt Wright's conduct – details the public has never heard."

7News Spotlight reveals exclusive new details about how Northern Territory Police brought down this croc cowboy and how they exposed the full extent of Wright's alleged attempts to obstruct investigations by moving interstate, trying to avoid surveillance and attempting to manipulate the destroyed chopper's flight records.

Speaking exclusively to 7News Spotlight, Northern Territory Police Detective Senior Sergeant, Corey Borton, said: "Mr Wright has his online persona and then there's the way he acts when he thinks no one else is looking."

7NEWS Spotlight also exposes an allegation that Wright tried to bribe tourists and reveals exclusive images that appear to show the TV star killing a protected species.

The Nightly's investigative reporter Kristin Shorten, who has been covering this case since the start, said: "For the first time, we can reveal the extraordinary story of how Darwin detectives uncovered the criminal conduct of Matt Wright and his associates after the fatal crash that killed one mate and left another paraplegic.

"Following Matt Wright's guilty verdicts, Northern Territory Police granted us unprecedented access to key investigators and evidence, allowing us to reveal – for the first time – how their covert operation unfolded and the ‘red flags' that brought the ‘Outback Wrangler' unstuck."

It was one of the darkest days in Australian journalism – the murder of five young television reporters and crew in East Timor, caught in the crossfire of a clandestine invasion. Now, 50 years on, 7NEWS returns to Balibo to honour their legacy and speak to the families still fighting for justice. 

In a powerful special report airing this Sunday at 9.40pm on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Reporter Nick McCallum travels to East Timor to mark the anniversary of the deaths of Seven and Nine journalists Greg Shackleton, Tony Stewart, Gary Cunningham, Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters, who were killed by Indonesian troops in 1975. 

The program features exclusive interviews with the journalists' families, East Timor President José Ramos-Horta, and experts who reveal how the Australian Government knew what was coming and chose to remain silent. 

Evan Shackleton, son of Greg Shackleton, told 7NEWS: "I have an overwhelming pride for all those men that were doing their job and made a decision knowing that there were dangers involved to complete the job that they were sent there for, which was to find the truth." 

Nick McCallum revisits the house where the journalists spent their final night and speaks to those who have turned tragedy into legacy. 

He said: "Standing inside the house where the Balibo Five spent their final night, you can't help but feel the weight of what happened here. It's quiet now, but the echoes of that day still linger. 

"We've had the privilege of speaking with the families, some for the first time in decades, and hearing their reflections on what justice and legacy mean today."