Major breakthrough in Claremont serial killer cold case

SBS World News Radio: There has been a major breakthrough in one of Australia's longest-running murder cases.

Major breakthrough in Claremont serial killer cold caseMajor breakthrough in Claremont serial killer cold case

Major breakthrough in Claremont serial killer cold case

In the mid-1990's three young women vanished from bars in the upmarket Perth suburb of Claremont.

Today, police charged a 48 year old man with the murder of two of the women and attacks on two other teenagers.

It is the cold case that has captivated the country for two decades.

Dubbed 'The Claremont Killings', the disappearances of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon sparked one of Australia's longest and most expensive investigations.

And today, nearly 21 years since the mystery began, West Australian Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan announced a breakthrough.

"Detectives from the special crime squad have charged a 48-year-old Kewdale man with the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, and attacks on two other young women. The commitment of the WA Police and its officers have never wavered. We never give up."

The women were killed over 14 months in the mid-1990s.

18-year-old Sarah Spiers vanished in January 1996 after leaving a Claremont nightclub.

Her body has never been found.

That June, Jane Rimmer also went missing.

The body of the 23-year-old found two months later.

And a year after that, in 1997, 27-year-old lawyer Ciara Glennon's body was discovered in bushland.

She too disappeared following a night out in Claremont.

Yesterday morning tactical response officers raided a property in suburban Kewdale.

Neighbours say police arrested the man inside.

"I heard a real loud yell, and then it sounded like a scream. And I didn't think all that much about it."

After nearly 24 hours of questioning, police charged Bradley Robert Edwards for the 'wilful murders' of Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon.

Commissioner O'Callaghan says he was also handed a series of other historic charges for assaulting two teenagers in 1988 and 1995.

The latter victim was just 17 year old.

"It will be alleged that she was restrained and forced into a vehicle, and then driven to Karrakatta cemetery, where she was sexually assaulted."

Police allege the accused acted alone.

The victim's families have been long desperate for answers.

WA Premier Colin Barnett paid tribute to them, as he praised the arrests.

"I hope for the families that they also...while in a very, again distressing time for them, also find at the end of the process, that there will be justice for their daughters."

The suspected murder of Sarah Spiers remains unresolved.

Bradley Robert Edwards fronted a Perth court where we was formally remanded in custody.

He will appear before a magistrate in the new year.

 

 


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By Omar Dabbagh

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