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Marie Kusters-McCarthy

Marie Kusters-McCarthy was born in Ireland and educated at an international boarding school with girls from different cultures, traditions and cuisine. Upon leaving Ireland, she has lived and worked in several countries which include the United States, England, Israel, Lebanon, South Africa, Croatia and Holland
where she currently resides. Marie has worked for the United Nations, on and off, for 17 years. She has recently completed a cook book entitled <i>Dining with the World</i> that offers a comprehensive collection of recipes from the 193 member states of the United Nations.

The Murder of Yaseen Ege – The Little Boy Who Was Slow to Memorize the Koran

April 10, 2013

Yaseen Ege

The murder of 7-year-old Muslim child in Cardiff, Wales in 2010 brought his mother and father to trial. Did the jury convict the wrong parent?                

by Marie Kusters-McCarthy

Arranged marriages are an integral part of Indian Hindu and Muslim culture. Parents, and family members, become involved in the search for a prospective bride or groom through acquaintances, advertisements or marriage brokers. In modern India there has been a move towards flexibility. However, there are still marriages where the bride and groom see each other for the first time at the wedding ceremony. The family will consider several factors such as background, wealth, social status, caste and education. More and more young women in India are university educated and the families are taking that into consideration when choosing a suitable partner.

The custom of arranged marriages in India can be traced back to the 4th century. It began as a means to unite, and maintain, the upper caste system. Eventually it spread to the lower caste as a way of staying within their social status and preventing unsuitable “love” matches. Even today 95 percent of Indian marriages are arranged.

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From Boyfriend to Murderer

Feb. 20, 2013

Lyndsay van Blanken

Eighteen-year-old Lyndsay van Blanken, a promising cartoonist for Walt Disney Animation in Sydney, Australia, was strangled to death by her former boyfriend.

by Marie Kusters-McCarthy

It was the second marriage for Lyndsay van Blanken’s mother, Cynthia Pleasant, in the summer of 2001. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Sydney, Australia. Lyndsay’s parents had an amicable divorce a couple of years earlier and there was no animosity between them. Family and friends were enjoying the good food and music provided by a talented quartet. However, 16-year-old Lyndsay only had eyes for the handsome cellist, William Matheson. During a break he approached her and it was clear the attraction was mutual. They were soon involved in a relationship which was fun but, at times, intense due to William’s possessive nature.

Lyndsay was a talented artist and in August 2003 had been selected, from hundreds of applicants, to join Walt Disney Animation as a trainee cartoonist in their Haymarket office in Sydney.  This was her dream job and her superiors and colleagues were very impressed with her talent and it was obvious she had a bright future ahead of her.    

Like a lot of people, Lyndsay liked to play video games on the Internet which led to the beginning of a special friendship with a 21-year-old hairdresser, Brandon Leonard, who lived in Seattle, Washington.  Brandon said it began as an intellectual relationship but they both soon realized they were falling in love. Lyndsay then ended her involvement with William which he didn’t want to accept. He began to show up unexpectedly at her work place and her home. This behavior made Lyndsay very uneasy and she asked him to please leave her alone.

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The Facebook Murder

Nov. 13, 2012

facebook murder Joyce Winsie Hau

 Joyce "Winsie" Hau

 In January of 2012, a 14-year-old “hit man” stabbed to death a 15-year-old girl in her home in Arnhem, Holland for comments she made about her best friend and her boyfriend on Facebook.

by Marie Kusters-McCarthy

The Netherlands, also called Holland, is a country less than twice the size of New Jersey with a multi racial population of 16,696,000. It is a country of tolerance, steeped in culture, and has produced some of the world’s most well known, and admired, Old Masters such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Frans Hals and Vermeer.

With a population of over 16 million, Holland has its share of crime. But nothing prepared the Dutch people for the stabbing death of a 15 year old girl by a 14-year-old hit man in January 2012. Because of his age the killer is known only as “Jinhua K,” and was hired by the victim’s former best friend known as “Polly W” (16) and her boyfriend “Wesley C” (17).  The amount promised for the killing varies between $50 and $180.

The victim, Joyce “Winsie” Hau, of the Chinese-Dutch community in Arnhem, had a falling out with her best friend Polly and her boyfriend Wesley. What started as an online tiff escalated, over several weeks, as Polly had accused Winsie of posting some derogatory comments about them on Facebook. This tiff led Polly and Wesley to hire Jinhua K. to murder Winsie.

Jinhua K. was an acquaintance of Polly and Wesley and in late 2011 the three met up, on several occasions, to discuss the murder of Winsie. Polly provided the erstwhile hit man with the victim’s address and movements and suggested the best time to find her at home. The blood money was agreed upon and the promise of drinks once the victim was dead.

Jinhua K. seemed excited at the prospect of murdering an innocent 15-year-old girl and told several of his friends what he intended to do. Unfortunately, nobody took him seriously as he was known for telling tall stories and was considered a bit strange.

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