Dead Pool 29th June 2025

Some vaguely familiar faces this week but no points to award. Apologies, but this newsletter sort of ran away with me, some interesting stories just kept cropping up.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

Joe Marinelli, 68, American actor (Santa Barbara, The Morning Show, General Hospital), stomach cancer.
Mick Ralphs, 81, English guitarist (Mott the Hoople, Bad Company) and songwriter (“Feel Like Makin’ Love“), complications from a stroke.
Richard Gerald Jordan, 79, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection.
Rick Hurst, 79, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Steel Magnolias, Earth Girls Are Easy).
Lalo Schifrin, 93, Argentine-born American film and television composer (Mission: Impossible, Dirty Harry, Rush Hour), complications from pneumonia.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, Japanese convicted serial killer, execution by hanging.
Wayne Larkins, 71, English cricketer (Northamptonshire, national team).

In Other News

TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan has revealed he has been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. The former ITV, BBC and Sky News journalist, 67, said he was “responding positively” to treatment and was “feeling well”. “I’m fortunate to have a simply outstanding medical team looking after me, who I can’t thank enough – they are administering the best possible care with expertise, compassion and sensitivity,” he wrote on Twitter. Murnaghan presented the main news programmes on ITV and the BBC before spending 16 years as one of Sky’s lead anchors, and has also hosted BBC Two quiz show Eggheads. His post started: “Some personal news……I’ve been diagnosed with Stage IV advanced prostate cancer.” He continued: “I’m responding positively to their excellent treatment, and feeling well. I’m blessed to be fortified by the monumental love and support of my wife, family and close friends. Needless to say my message to all men over 50, in high risk groups, or displaying symptoms, is get yourself tested and campaign for routine prostate screening by the NHS. Early detection is crucial. And be aware, this disease can sometimes progress rapidly without obvious symptoms.” He added that he is hoping to take part in a charity bike ride organised by Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, who also has prostate cancer, in Glasgow in September.

Singer-songwriter Jessie J has announced that her cancer has not “all gone” after a previous post about her experience was “misunderstood”. She shared an update on her journey this week following her recent surgery. Jessie, 37, announced three weeks ago that she had been diagnosed with “early” breast cancer. She shared that she was preparing to have surgery and earlier this week she revealed that the procedure had gone ahead. She wrote on Monday: “I am home now, to rest and wait for my results.” Following the surgery, it was reported yesterday that Jessie had said that her “cancer is all gone” in an update on Instagram. She’s however now said it was a “positive affirmation” and highlighted that she used a fingers crossed emoji. Addressing the update having made headlines, she wrote in a post this evening: “You have misunderstood my post. I posted a list of pros and cons of having breast cancer surgery. The first pro I put was … The cancer has all gone [fingers crossed emoji].” She clarified: “This was a positive affirmation NOT a fact. I don’t have my results yet. I added the emoji in thinking people would understand and clearly a lot didn’t.” Jessie added: “A weird situation. My fault for not being clearer.” She went on to share her hope that the statement comes true, writing: “But for now I do not have my results after surgery which was only 6 nights ago. I pray it will be true soon but the journey of cancer isn’t that simple unfortunately.”

With Glastonbury-goers descending on Somerset’s Worthy Farm this weekend, no doubt some mesmerising chaos at the fabled festival is about to ensue. But underneath the hedonism and glitter lies a darker side to the world-renowned event. Since its inaugural days in the 70’s, the capacity has stretched from a humble 1,500, with 210,000 revellers now setting up camp at Glasto each year. But accommodating the population of a large town for almost a week has seen Glastonbury experience its share of tragedies and mishaps over the years.

The 1994 Glastonbury line-up saw The Levellers and Rage Against The Machine headline, but away from the stages, a terrifying incident unfolded. On the Saturday night, a gunman started firing indiscriminately into the unsuspecting crowd. Five people with shot, and at around 10pm, police were called as the emergency situation evolved. The man was discovered to be wielding an automatic pistol, and began to shoot fans who had innocently attended the festival to enjoy the music. Two women and three men all sustained gunshot wounds before being rushed to hospital for treatment. Thankfully, the victims, aged between 18 and 44 only suffered minor injuries and recovered fully.

Over the years, multiple bodies have been recovered at the festival, with the most recent deaths being discovered in 2023. One was a a medical incident in which a man in his 40’s was found fead on the old railway line. The body was that of radio DJ Jason Winder, 48, who died in the early hours of Sunday at the 2023 festival. Avon & Somerset Police said he’d suffered a ‘medical incident’ on the old railway line footpath shortly before 4am and died at the scene.

Christopher Shale, a senior Conservative, was discovered dead in a toilet at Glastonbury on the Sunday morning of the 2011 event. An aide and friend of David Cameron, Shale, 56, was found hours after describing the Tories as “graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take” in a leaked strategy document. Despite the unfortunate timing, an inquest found that the MP, who had no drink or drugs in his system, died from natural causes. Pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told the inquest at Wells town hall that the asthmatic’s weight had put “an excessive workload” on his heart.

In 2016, a heartbreaking incident saw a 27-year-old Bristol juggler, who taught young children circus skills, kill himself in a devastating incident. Ashton Launcherley, who was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder, set fire to himself on the Glastonbury site, the Monday before the festival was due to start. The inquest heard how Launcherley, who had been detained in mental health hospitals and previously sectioned, had been plagued by voices who spoke in strange accents. He was found crouching in the lotus position in a ditch, doused himself in petrol and deliberately set himself on fire.

A whistleblower has warned more deaths are to come, after the senior manager slammed the festival for their approach to security. Speaking to the Flying Monkeys, the ex-manager said: “Worst-case scenario, people are going to die, I think they’re going to have some massive issues this year.”

On This Day

1864 – At least 99 people, mostly German and Polish immigrants, are killed in Canada’s worst railway disaster after a train fails to stop for an open drawbridge and plunges into the Rivière Richelieu near St-Hilaire, Quebec.
1971 – Prior to re-entry (following a record-setting stay aboard the Soviet Union
‘s Salyut 1 space station), the crew capsule of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft depressurizes, killing the three cosmonauts on board. Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev are the first humans to die in space.
1995 – The Sampoong Department Store collapses in the Seocho District of Seoul, South Korea, killing 502 and injuring 937.
2007 – Apple releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone.

Deaths

1933 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1887).
1967 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (born 1933).
1995 – Lana Turner, American actress (born 1921).
2003 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (born 1907).
2023 – Alan Arkin, American actor (born 1934).

The Twitter Killer

For the first time in three years, Japan has carried out a capital punishment sentence by hanging a man known as the “Twitter killer.” Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, was hanged to death on Friday, at Tokyo Detention House. He was convicted and sentenced to death for killing and dismembering nine people in his apartment in 2020.

Takahiro Shiraishi’s was found guilty of sexually assaulting and robbing eight of his female victims aged between 15 and 26 in 2017. He lured them to his apartment near Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo using a Twitter handle that roughly translates to “hangman.” The victims were all suicidal and Shiraishi had falsely promised them that he would die with them, posting things like “Won’t you die with me?” The sole male victim was the boyfriend of one of the women.

Shiraishi would dump the mutilated bodies of the women in garbage disposals and other places around Zama. In October 2017, police searched his house to investigate the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had expressed suicidal thoughts on social media. The woman’s brother who accessed her social media, led the police to Shiraishi’s apartment where they found cooler boxes and containers in with body parts. Some were stashed in boxes filled with cat litter, which he used to hide evidence.

He had admitted in court that he killed them for sexual gratification. His defence council had filed an appeal with the Tokyo High Court but Shiraishi withdrew it himself which finalised his sentence.

Before he moved to Zama, Shiraishi used to work as a scout that lured women into sex work at clubs.

One of the victim’s father told NHK, a Japanese media agency, that the execution changed nothing and that it would have been better for Shiraishi to have lived so that he could reflect on his crimes.

The execution was ordered by Japan’s Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki who said that he ordered it after “careful consideration.” In a press conference, the minister said that “the case caused the extremely serious outcomes and dealt a major shock wave and unease to the society.” he also said that “it is not appropriate to abolish the death penalty while these violent crimes are still being committed.”

In a government poll conducted every five years, 80 per cent of Japanese citizens showed support for capital punishment. The last time capital punishment was used in Japan was in 2022, to execute a man who went on a stabbing spree and killed seven people after crashing a truck in a district in Tokyo.

Last Meals

Richard Jordan, Mississippi’s longest-serving death-row inmate, requested chicken tenders, fries, strawberry ice cream and a root beer float for his last meal ahead of his execution on Wednesday.

Marc McClure, regional superintendent for the Mississippi Department of Corrections, announced the meal choice during a 2 p.m. press conference at the Mississippi State Penitentiary’s visitor centre in Parchman. He was joined by MDOC Commissioner Burl Cain.

McClure said Jordan ate his final meal at 4 p.m.

Jordan was sentenced to death in 1977 for the 1976 kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter, a Gulfport bank executive’s wife. He’d lived on death row for 48 years, making him the state’s longest-serving death row prisoner.

When asked what kind of inmate Jordan had been during his decades on death row, McClure said only that he has never been a “problematic inmate.”

Last Week’s Birthdays

Gary Busey (81), Amanda Donohoe (63), Mel Brooks (99), John Cusack (59), Kathy Bates (77), Felicia Day (46), Alice Krige (71), Elon Musk (54), J.J. Abrams (59), Tobey Maguire (50), Emma D’Arcy (33), Meera Syal (64), Aubrey Plaza (41), Nick Offerman (55), Ariana Grande (32), Ricky Gervais (64), Sheridan Smith (44), Erin Moriarty (31), Iain Glen (64), Peter Weller (78), Nancy Allen (75), Rosie Jones (35), Joel Edgerton (51), Frances McDormand (68), Melissa Rauch (45), Selma Blair (53), Joss Whedon (61), and Bryan Brown (78).