Laura Lavelle
Laura Lavelle is a multiplatform journalist, reporting from Ipswich for ABC News in Brisbane. She started her career in regional Queensland as a TV reporter, filing for and producing bulletins in Mackay, Bundaberg and Toowoomba before joining the ABC in 2022. Laura is an advocate for domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, acting as a board member for a Mackay charity. You can follow her on Twitter @Laura_Lavelle99
Latest by Laura Lavelle
Two men charged over alleged kidnapping and torture of woman in Brisbane's south face court
Queensland police allege a 43-year-old woman was taken from a property in Doolandella on Friday afternoon by a group of men and assaulted, before being driven to Forest Lake.
Former Australian boxing champ pleads guilty to drug trafficking, will walk free from jail
Michael Katsidis, who won the WBO interim lightweight championship in 2007, will walk free from custody after serving nearly two years in jail.
Clive Palmer loses appeal to have criminal charges thrown out
Billionaire businessman and former politician Clive Palmer has lost his Court of Appeal bid to have criminal charges against him and his company thrown out, with three judges determining he "abused" the court process.
'My whole life was pulled apart': Complaint filed against child protection department, with class actions to follow
Cassie is one of hundreds of claimants to sign up for a landmark class action against five state child protection departments.
Brisbane man charged with more than 100 child sex offences granted bail
Christopher Martin Bulbrook, 63, faced Brisbane's Magistrate Court on Friday.
Two men charged with murder and extortion after death of man in Queensland jail
The ABC understands Benn Schinkel, 31, was seriously assaulted in the gym of the Capricornia Correction Centre in October last year.
Man sued for allegedly making 'deepfake' pornography of high-profile Australian women
An Australian man who is being sued for allegedly making "deepfake" pornography of high-profile Australian women has admitted he continued to publish similar images, even after he was ordered by a court not to.
Queensland government accused of 'modern stolen generation' in class actions alleging discrimination
The Federal Court in Brisbane has been told the Queensland government has racially discriminated against Indigenous children by denying them connection with family and culture.
Prosecution alleges 'the two fought together': CCTV showing Angus Beaumont's fatal stabbing played to court
Prosecution tells the court alleged murderers aren't "scared little boys", arguing Angus Beaumont was not "a serious threat" — rather, he was protecting a friend.
Judge dismisses Clive Palmer's appeal to build thousands of homes on floodplain near sewage treatment plant
Clive Palmer has lost a more than three-year legal battle with the Gold Coast City Council, which would have seen 3,000 new dwellings built next to a sewage treatment plant.
'Haunted by what I did': Women who filmed teen's torture before his death spared further jail time
During the attack, Cian English and his friend were threatened with a knife, forced to undress, assaulted, robbed, degraded and tortured.
'I heard they cut his arms off': Court hears theories about Brisbane man's disappearance
A recorded conversation between a friend and the ex-partner of missing man Lachlan Griffiths, whose body has never been found, has been heard in court.
Man responsible for death of 26-year-old woman in Brisbane eligible for parole in just weeks
The man responsible for the death of 26-year-old Ioli Hadjilyra, whose body was found in a garden bed in northern Brisbane, could be released from prison before Christmas.
'Who would do this to my child?': Queensland duo jailed for fatal Melbourne Cup day attack
Shannon James Finemore was walking home with a friend in Fortitude Valley following a night of celebrations in 2020. But he never made it home.
Queensland Labor MP ordered to pay $50,000 in damages to LNP rival over defamatory border closure comments
Don Brown made a post on his Facebook page in June 2020, stating his opposing candidate was only calling for the borders to open during the pandemic "because she owns a travel agency".
Case of daycare worker facing child sex abuse charges may bypass lower court through ex officio indictment
The case against a former daycare worker, accused of sexually abusing 91 children under his care, could bypass the lower court.
The sinister web of sex and deception that led to a gruesome murder
Sharon Graham has been found guilty of masterminding the so-called 'woodchipper murder' of the mild-mannered Bruce Saunders — a cash-poor but asset-rich man deemed to be worth more dead than alive.
'Despicable human': Woman who counselled lover to murder ex-boyfriend sentenced to life
A Supreme Court jury found Sharon Graham guilty of counselling her lover to kill her ex-partner Bruce Saunders. Mr Saunders' body was fed into a woodchipper on a property near Gympie in 2017.
Man who set bus driver alight should not have been released from mental health facility, coroner finds
Tomorrow marks seven years since 29-year-old Brisbane bus driver Manmeet Sharma died, after he was set alight by one of his passengers.
Woman accused of counselling boyfriend to murder her ex near Gympie chose the 'bad boy' of her two lovers, court hears
Sharon Graham, 61, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 54-year-old Bruce Saunders near Gympie in November 2017.
Hidden police recordings aired in trial of woman whose ex-partner was fed through woodchipper
Secret conversations captured on hidden police recording devices inside the home of Sharon Graham have been played to a jury.
Woman who abducted twin seven-year-old daughters sentenced to three years in prison
A Brisbane court heard the woman and her daughters were on the run for four years, during which they did not attend school, their names were changed, and their hair was dyed.
'This report is rubbish': Psychiatrist stood down from giving further evidence at inquest into spit hood death
An expert giving evidence at a coronial inquest into the death of a woman who died in prison after a spit hood was placed over her head, has been stood down from giving further evidence mid-way through questioning.
Judge grants stay of non-publication order for high-profile man accused of rape in Toowoomba
Lawyers for a high-profile man charged with rape west of Brisbane have formally appealed a court's decision to allow his identity to be revealed
Concreter accused of murdering his boss with wrench and knife
Khalil Ibrahim went to drop off his employee's pay cheque, less than 30 minutes later he was beaten and stabbed.