Claremont serial killings

The Claremont serial killings is the name given by the media to a case involving the disappearance of an Australian woman, aged 18, and the killings of two others, aged 23 and 27, in 1996–1997. After attending night spots in Claremont, a wealthy western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, all three women disappeared in similar circumstances leading police to suspect that an unidentified serial killer was the offender. The case was described as the state's biggest, longest running, and most expensive investigation.[1][2]

Claremont serial killings
The Claremont Hotel, formerly known as the Continental Hotel, where one of the victims was last seen alive
LocationClaremont, Western Australia
Date27 January 1996 (1996-01-27) -
14 March 1997 (1997-03-14)
Victims2-3
PerpetratorBradley Robert Edwards
Convicted24 September 2020
VerdictGuilty of two counts
Not guilty of one count
Convictions2x wilful murder

In 2016, a suspect, Bradley Robert Edwards, was arrested. He was held on remand and his trial began in November 2019[3][4] and ended on 25 June 2020 after seven months of hearings and evidence from more than 200 witnesses.[5] On 24 September 2020, he was found guilty of the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, and not guilty of the murder of Sarah Spiers, whose remains have yet to be located.[6][7] On 23 December 2020, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.[8]

Background
Bayview Terrace in Claremont

The case began with the disappearance of Sarah Spiers (18) on 27 January 1996, after she left Club Bayview in the centre of Claremont at around 2:00 am.[9] At 2:06 am, Spiers called Swan Taxis from a public telephone booth.[1] Although she was living in South Perth with her older sister at the time, she had requested to be taken to the nearby suburb of Mosman Park.[1] She was then sighted waiting alone near the corner of Stirling Road and Stirling Highway by three eyewitnesses, who also mentioned seeing an unidentified car stopping where she was waiting.[1] However, she was not at the site when the responding taxi arrived at 2:09 am and, in the dark,[2] could have been missed by the driver. Her disappearance soon attracted massive publicity[10][11] and her fate remains unknown.[12][13]

In the early hours of Sunday 9 June 1996, Jane Rimmer (23) from Shenton Park, also disappeared from the same part of Claremont.[14] Similar to Spiers, she had been out socialising with friends the night before. Rimmer's friends explained how they had moved from the Ocean Beach Hotel to the Continental Hotel and then Club Bayview.[1] Noting the long line at the club, her friends then caught a taxi home, but Rimmer opted to stay, and she was last seen on security footage waiting outside the Continental at 12:04 am.[1] Fifty-five days later, on Saturday, 3 August 1996, her naked body was found 40 km (25 mi) south in bush-land near Woolcoot Road, Wellard by a family picking wildflowers.[15][16]

Nine months later, in the early hours of Saturday 15 March 1997, Ciara Glennon, a 27-year-old lawyer from Mosman Park, also disappeared from the Claremont area.[17][18] Like the others, she was with friends at the Continental and had decided to make her own way home. Three men at a bus stop saw Glennon walking south along Stirling Highway at approximately 12:30 am, and observed her interacting with an unidentified light coloured vehicle which had stopped by her.[1] Nineteen days later, on 3 April, her semi-clothed body was found by a bush walker, 40 km (25 mi) north, near a track in scrub off Pipidinny Road in Eglinton.[19]

Investigation

Within 48 hours of the disappearance of Spiers, the case was taken over by the Major Crimes Squad.[1] After the disappearance of Rimmer, the Western Australia Police set up a special task-force called Macro to investigate the two similar cases.[20][21] After the disappearance of Glennon, police confirmed that they were searching for a serial killer, and the Western Australian Government offered a $250,000 reward, the largest ever offered in the state at that time.[1]

Initial suspicion centred on the unidentified vehicles seen at two of the locations, and on an unidentified man seen in the video footage.[1] Suspicion then focused on Perth's taxi drivers, because the women were last seen in circumstances where they may have used taxis. This included a driver who claimed to have transported Spiers the night before her disappearance.[22] A massive fingerprint and DNA-testing exercise was then carried out on the thousands of taxi drivers licensed in Western Australia.[23][24] Given evidence of a number of unlicensed operators, examining standards for eligibility were raised, and 78 drivers with significant criminal history were de-licensed.[2][25] Stricter standards were also applied to verifying that decommissioned taxis were stripped of insignia and equipment.[1] In December 2015, investigators finally revealed that fibres taken from Rimmer were identified as coming from a VS Series 1 Holden Commodore.[2]

Macro attracted both praise and criticism for its handling of the case.[2] At its peak, it had over 100 members across 10 teams. To avoid leaks, strict confidentiality protocols were implemented, and details of the nature of the deaths and injuries were suppressed.[1] One of the tactics used by Macro was the controversial distribution of questionnaires to 110 "persons of interest", including various confrontational enquiries such as "Are you the killer?"[2] Another was its reliance on international experts and use of an imported lie detector machine.[2] Further, one of its officers accepted an offer by David Birnie to assist the investigation.[2][26] Criticism was also laid on its overly narrow focus on the initial prime suspect despite the lack of direct evidence (as occurred in the cases of Andrew Mallard and Lloyd Rayney).[27] Over its lifetime, Macro had 11 police reviews, including one in August 2004 led by Paul Schramm, the officer who led the Snowtown investigation.[2] It was finally wound down in September 2005 and the investigation moved to the Special Crimes Squad.[2]

Suspects
Bradley Robert Edwards
Born (1968-12-07) 7 December 1968[28]
Merredin, Western Australia[29][30]
Criminal statusImprisoned
Conviction(s)2x wilful murder (24 September 2020)
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment with a non-parole period of 40 years
Details
Victims2 known; 1 suspected
Span of crimes
January 1996–14 March 1997
CountryAustralia
State(s)Western Australia

In April 1998, a public servant from Cottesloe, Lance Williams (41), was identified by police as the prime suspect, after his behaviour attracted their attention (e.g. driving around after midnight and circling the Claremont area up to 30 times)[31] during a decoy operation.[32][27] Subjected to a high level of surveillance and police pressure over several years, he continued to maintain his innocence. After interviewing him six times at length, police declared in late 2008 that he was "no longer a person of interest".[33] He died in 2018.[31]

It was reported that police also investigated whether Bradley Murdoch may have been involved,[34] although Murdoch was serving a custodial sentence from November 1995 until February 1997. In October 2006, it was also announced that Mark Dixie was a prime suspect in the killings, and that Macro had requested DNA samples.[35] However, WA Police Deputy Commissioner Murray Lampard was later quoted as saying: "Dixie was closely investigated at the time and eventually ruled out as a suspect."[36][37][38]

On 22 December 2016, Bradley Robert Edwards (b. 1968) was arrested at his Kewdale house in relation to the deaths of both Rimmer and Glennon.[39] The next day, he was charged with both murders.[40] According to ABC News, he is believed to have had no previous link to the case, though he had pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault of a social worker at Hollywood Hospital on 7 May 1990.[41] He was also charged in relation to two other attacks: the house break and enter and unlawful detention of an 18-year-old woman in Huntingdale on 15 February 1988 (where a stolen kimono with his DNA was dropped as the attacker fled), and the unlawful detention and two counts of aggravated sexual penetration without consent of a 17-year-old girl in Claremont on 12 February 1995.[note 1][40][42][43] On 22 February 2018, Edwards was also charged with the wilful murder of the third victim, Spiers.[44][45][46] In all, Edwards was charged with eight offences,[47][48] and on 21 October 2019, Edwards pleaded guilty to the five non-murder charges (at Huntingdale and Karrakatta Cemetery).[49]

Trial

Before the trial, the prosecution applied for Edwards to be tried by judge alone without a jury. The application was granted due to the publicity surrounding the case and the graphic nature of the evidence.[50] The murder trial began on 25 November 2019, before Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall.[51][52][53] During the trial, the court was told that two of the victims had defensive wounds.[54] Edwards' DNA was also found under Glennon's fingernails (and matched to the kimono) although the defence argued this evidence was contaminated in the laboratory.[5]

One of the main pieces of evidence was the Telstra work vehicles. Edwards was working as a technician at the time, and it was claimed that he used company vehicles after hours to execute the crimes. This was corroborated by a witness, a security guard, who recalled seeing a Telecom van parked on multiple occasions at the Karrakatta Cemetery "for no apparent reason", both after the 1995 attack and before Spiers' 1996 disappearance.[3] According to the prosecutor, Carmel Barbagallo, the state presented this evidence as part of a case called "Telstra Living Witness project" where, between 1995 and 1997, a man with a Telstra station wagon stopped to look at women and offer them rides.[3]

1995-1996 Holden VS Commodore Executive station wagon 03

During the trial, a witness from the group of men dubbed "Burger Boys", identified a Series 1 VS Commodore station wagon as cruising past them shortly after Glennon walked past. The vehicle had distinctive tear-drop hubcaps which were present on some Series 1 VS commodores[55] Between April 1996 and December 1998, Edwards drove a white VS Series wagon with Telstra logos.[56] The vehicle was tracked down and impounded on the same day as his arrest. During the hearing, it was revealed that fibres matching carpet in the rear of Edwards' vehicle matched fibres found on the bodies of both Rimmer and Glennon[5] although defence argued these fibres could have come from another source or another vehicle which was not included in the WA crime database.[5]

The trial concluded on 25 June 2020 after seven months of hearings and evidence from more than 200 witnesses.[5] Justice Hall then retired to consider his verdict in the case, flagging that it may potentially be handed down before Edwards's remand in custody ends on 24 September 2020.[5] On the final day of custody, Hall handed down a 619-page written verdict within which Edwards was found guilty of the murders of Rimmer and Glennon, but not of Spiers (though it was "more likely" that Edwards was involved in her disappearance than not).[57] On 23 December 2020, Edwards was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 40 years. Hall said there was a "high likelihood" that he will die in prison.[8]

It has been suggested by journalist Liam Bartlett that Spiers was not the first victim.[32] He wrote that police have told the father of a fourth missing woman, 22-year-old Julie Cutler, that his daughter was probably a victim of the Claremont killer. Cutler, a university student from Fremantle, vanished after leaving a staff function at the Parmelia Hilton Hotel in Perth at 9:00 pm on 20 June 1988.[2] Her car was found in the surf near the groyne at Cottesloe Beach two days later, and her fate remains unknown.[32]

Other possible cases include that of Lisa Brown (19), a sex worker who disappeared on 10 November 1998, and Sara McMahon (20), who disappeared on 8 November 2000.[2]

Media

Notes
  1. The victim was taken in Rowe Park, shortly after exiting Club Bay View. She was tied, raped, stripped, and abandoned in Karrakatta Cemetery. In 2009, DNA evidence linked these cases to the Glennon one.

References
  1. Reel Truth Crime - True Crime (16 December 2018), The Claremont Murders | Crime Investigation Australia | Murders Documentary | True Crime, retrieved 11 June 2019
  2. "Casefile: True Crime Podcast – Case 30: The Claremont Serial Killer". Casefile: True Crime Podcast. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  3. Menagh, Joanna (25 June 2019). "Accused 'malevolent' killer stalked Claremont to abduct women, court told". ABC News. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. Andrea Mayes (27 November 2019). "Bradley Edwards's first wife reveals fight the night before hospital worker attack". ABC News. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  5. "It was a crime that shocked Perth more than two decades ago, now the hunt for a serial killer may be almost over". www.abc.net.au. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  6. McNeill, Heather (24 September 2020). "Claremont serial killer verdict LIVE updates: Bradley Edwards found guilty of 1990's murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon; not guilty of Sarah Spiers murder". WAtoday. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  7. Andrea Mayes (24 September 2020). "Claremont killer Bradley Edwards found guilty of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon murders but not Sarah Spiers". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  8. Andrea Mayes (23 December 2020). "Claremont killer Bradley Edwards gets life sentence for murder of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  9. "Claremont serial killings: Sarah Spiers murder charge for Bradley Robert Edwards". ABC News. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  10. Taylor, Grant; Knowles, Gabrielle (22 December 2016). "The night Sarah Spiers disappeared from a Claremont street corner". The West Australian. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  11. Stewart, Anthony (27 January 2016). "Unsolved serial killings still haunt West Australia". PM. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  12. Flint, John (4 January 2015). "Claremont serial killer: Taxi clue to Ciara Glennon's death". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  13. Thomson, Chris; Hayward, Andrea (28 August 2008). "New footage of Perth serial killer's victim released". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  14. Buckley-Carr, Alana (29 August 2008). "CCTV footage could solve Claremont killings". The Australian. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  15. Beattie, Adrian (30 April 2016). "WA police deny 'inaccurate' reports about Claremont serial killer 'mistake'". WAtoday. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  16. Claremont serial killer video released Archived 12 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The West Australian. 28 August 2008.
  17. Taylor, Grant (22 December 2016). "Nightmare begins for third family". The West Australian. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  18. Wainwright, Robert (25 September 2004). "Closing in on a killer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  19. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Archived 25 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Story, He Who Waits, 9 February 2004
  20. "Police deny talk of Claremont arrest". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  21. Pennells, Steve (31 May 2015). "Why we didn't catch the Claremont killer". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  22. "Police raid lawyer in hunt for serial killer". The Age. Australian Associated Press. 17 September 2004. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  23. "The Courage of our Convictions – The Claremont Serial Killer". Radio National. 25 June 2000. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  24. Kidman, John (1 October 2006). "Murder accused linked to WA riddle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  25. Moulton, Emily (27 May 2015). "Almost 20 years on police have yet to catch the Claremont serial killer". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  26. "Claremont detective turned to serial killer to help him with case". NewsComAu. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  27. "Claremont Serial Killings Podcast". PerthNow. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  28. "Claremont killings: how Bradley Robert Edwards was charged with murder of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon". The Australian.
  29. McNeill, Heather (5 May 2020). "Claremont killer trial LIVE: 'I'm not involved in any of that, I'm innocent': Mr Edwards denies murders". WAtoday.
  30. "Claremont serial killer jailed for life in WA". news.com.au. 22 December 2020.
  31. Allan-Petale, David (6 February 2018). "Former Claremont serial killer suspect Lance Williams dies". WAtoday. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  32. Christian, Bret (1 February 2003). "'Police decoy used in killer hunt sting'". Post Newspapers. Archived from the original on 8 April 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  33. "Claremont serial killings suspect cleared". WAtoday. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  34. "Murdoch's movements probed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 17 December 2005. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  35. "Breaking Australian and World News Headlines - 9News". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  36. Russell, Mark (24 February 2008). "Did this man kill his first victims in Australia?". The Sunday Age. p. 6. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  37. Perpitch, Nicolas (24 February 2008). "WA police defend role in Dixie probe". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  38. "Murder accused linked to WA riddle - National - smh.com.au". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  39. "Claremont serial killings: Man arrested over women's murders still in custody 24 hours later [22 December 2016]". ABC News. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  40. "Man questioned by cold case detectives over Claremont serial killings 23 December 2016". Perth Now Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  41. "Woman attacked by Bradley Edwards in 1990 reflects on seeing Claremont killer in court". www.abc.net.au. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  42. "Casefile: True Crime Podcast – Case 30: The Claremont Serial Killer (update)". Casefile: True Crime Podcast. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  43. "Experts to help prove Claremont DNA not contaminated". The West Australian. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  44. "Claremont serial killings: Sarah Spiers murder charge for Bradley Robert Edwards". ABC News. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  45. "The eight charges faced by Bradley Robert Edwards". The West Australian. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  46. Barry, Heather McNeill, Hannah (17 December 2019). "Claremont killer trial LIVE: Mother becomes tearful recounting finding Jane Rimmer's body while picking lilies". WAtoday. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  47. THE STATE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA -v- EDWARDS, 20 March 2019, retrieved 18 January 2020
    • Count 1 On 15 February 1988, at Huntingdale, the accused broke and entered the dwellinghouse of EWH with intent to commit an offence therein and the offence was committed at night.
    • Count 2 On the same date and at the same place as count 1, the accused unlawfully deprived ALH of her personal liberty.
    • Count 3 On 12 February 1995, at Claremont and elsewhere, the accused unlawfully detained KJG.
    • Count 4 On the same date as in count 3, at Karrakatta, the accused sexually penetrated KJG without her consent, by penetrating her vagina with his penis, and did bodily harm to KJG, and did an act which was likely to seriously and substantially degrade or humiliate KJG.
    • Count 5 On the same date and at the same place as count 4, the accused sexually penetrated KJG without her consent, by penetrating her anus with his penis, and did bodily harm to KJG, and did an act which was likely to seriously and substantially degrade or humiliate KJG.
    • Count 6 On or about 27 January 1996, at Claremont and elsewhere, the accused wilfully murdered Sarah Jane Spiers.
    • Count 7 On or about 9 June 1996, at Claremont and elsewhere, the accused wilfully murdered Jane Louise Rimmer.
    • Count 8 On or about 15 March 1997, at Claremont and elsewhere, the accused wilfully murdered Ciara Eilish Glennon.
  49. Mayes, rea; Hamlyn, Charlotte (21 October 2019). "Claremont trial rocked as accused killer admits to rape, attacks on two women". ABC News. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  50. Hamlyn, Charlotte (30 April 2019). "Judge warns Claremont serial killer trial video, photos are 'particularly graphic'". ABC News.
  51. Hamlyn, Charlotte (24 April 2019). "Claremont serial killer trial of Bradley Edwards may be delayed as new evidence emerges". ABC News.
  52. "WA's 'trial of the century' to begin in November". The West Australian. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  53. "Claremont accused admits rape". www.theaustralian.com.au. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  54. "Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon died while trying to defend themselves, Claremont trial hears". ABC News. 29 January 2020.
  55. Barry, Heather McNeill, Hannah (17 December 2019). "Claremont killer trial LIVE: Mother becomes tearful recounting finding Jane Rimmer's body while picking lilies". WAtoday. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  56. "Accused Claremont serial killer's car and uniform had fibres matching those found on bodies, court told". ABC News. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  57. The State of Western Australia v Edwards [No 7] [2020] WASC 339
  58. "Claremont Serial Killings on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  59. "CLAREMONT: The Trial on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
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