Claremont: The Claremont Serial Killings

The lead prosecutor - looking under the weather soldiered on during the beginning of her closing statements on day 86 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial, but it didn’t last long - just an hour, in fact. As Tim Clarke said, the only thing in worse health than Carmel Barbagallo was the video link. As it cut out an hour into her closings, the screen went black, and the court was delayed again. But in the hour the lead prosecutor was delivering her statement, she outlined the 25 reasons why she says she can prove Bradley Robert Edwards is the Claremont Serial Killer.   They came in four key areas - DNA, clothing fibres, car fibres and propensity - The similar crimes of the Karrakatta rape in 1995 and Huntingdale attack in 1998, which Bradley Edwards has pleaded guilty too. In front of a packed court room, which included all of the three victims’ families and well as the Karrakatta rape victim and the Huntingdale attack victim, as well as Mr Edwards’ parents, prosecutor Tara Payne asked for the trial to

On the day that was supposed to see the closing statements of WA’s trial of the century to begin, an 11th-hour decision was made to delay proceedings for 24-hours, due to sickness. As Tim Clarke explains in this episode, the WA Courts said a “public health concern” was the reason for the delay. It’s believed it was the lead prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo who was unwell, however, that hasn’t been confirmed. If that is the case, Claremont in Conversation resident defence lawyer Damien Cripps said any lawyer needs to be in the best condition possible to be able to deliver their case to its full potential. And after all, we’re no longer being told to ‘soldier on’ through sickness in any workplace. The message now - if you’re sick, stay home. As the accused parents waited inside court and around 30 members of the public were queuing outside this morning, they were told court wouldn’t be happening. The decision so last-minute, even the accused Bradley Edwards had been transported from Casuarina prison to attend

Jane Rimmer was a happy, vibrant 23-year-old childcare worker, just starting out in life. She loved her family, her friends, and she liked to have a good time with them. And it was on June 8, 1996 that she decided to go out to have a few drinks with her friends in Claremont. That was the last night she was seen alive. Claremont was the safe, opulent, go-to place for young people in Perth in the 90s. 18-year-old Sarah Spiers had disappeared from the streets of Claremont just five months previously, but that didn't stop hundreds of people flocking to the nightspot that June night. We saw Jane's last known movements through CCTV vision. As Tim Clarke explains in this bonus episode, the haunting image of Jane's now elderly mother watching her daughter, forever 23 through grainy CCTV vision in court stuck with him. Sarah Spiers' disappearance was a tragic time for Perth and her family, but it wasn't until Jane Rimmer disappeared that the words serial killer started to echo throughout the city. Then, when her

“Brace yourself, Bradley,” is what Detective Senior Sergeant Joe Marrapodi said to Bradley Edwards during the final part of his police interview. He was telling Mr Edwards to brace himself, because they had the DNA results back - from a swab he gave to detectives around 12 hours earlier. “The expert scientists have now come back to us to confirm your DNA is a positive match,” Set Snr Sgt Marrapodi said. It was also the first time we’ve see any emotion from Bradley Edwards, when he was told his DNA matched that found on Ciara Glennon, the Karrakatta rape victim, and the kimono found from the Huntingdale attack. Following that, he was shown photos from the room in which the Huntingdale attack happened, the Karrakatta rape victim, and most poignantly - a photo of Ciara Glennon. He was then he appeared to be starkly aware of what he was accused of - rape and murder. These were some of the final pieces of evidence the court heard before it seemed to end, to the surprise of the public, and the podcast team.

Day 84 was the day the court heard directly from Bradley Edwards, through his police interview, recorded after his arrest in 2016. Today, we heard his response, as he was told he was accused as being the Claremont Serial Killer. “I just want to go to sleep and to wake up and for this to all be a bad dream.” Those were the words spoken by Bradley Edwards, his head in his hands as he as being questioned by police following his arrest in 2016. It was the first time anyone has heard from the accused man during this trial, and the public, despite coronavirus restrictions, seemed to want to see the interview for themselves - the court packed, in scenes not seen since the first few days of this mammoth trial more than 5 months ago. Detective senior sergeant Joe Marrapodi took the stand, he was one of two detectives who interviewed Bradley Edwards on the day of his arrest. In handcuffs, sitting on the floor of his house, Joe Marrapodi told how he approached Mr Edwards, then police began recording video, and tha

In this episode, the podcast team look ahead into the evidence which has been anticipated for weeks - Bradley Edwards police interview - which Damien Cripps said gives ‘shivers down his spine’ in anticipation of the video to be played to the court, and is expected to be “the most significant piece of evidence the prosecution is going to bring”. That video is expected to be played tomorrow. While we’re still waiting for the police interview to be played, Day 83 saw a piece of evidence that was hotly objected by defence lawyer Paul Yovich - before the evidence was even heard. The statistics on unsolved murders and missing persons in WA was deemed ‘irrelevant’ by the defence, but despite that, the prosecution was allowed to proceed by Justice Hall. The court was told that police found more than 1500 unsolved  cases including murders, attempted murders, dangerous driving causing deaths between 1994 and 1997. When they filtered those down by suburb, six unsolved murders were in the Western Suburbs, which incl

As the court waited for a reasonable time in the UK to video call Dr Ray Palmer for his final day giving evidence, two witness statements were read into the court. One of them was from a former Perth taxi driver, who said he avoided Claremont, and preferred to drive in Northbridge because Claremont was 'too much trouble', that people were often very drunk and disorderly. He was one of the cab drivers who drove a cab number that WA Police specifically looked into. In this Podcast, The West's Emily Moulton explains why his specific cab number was looked into. In another witness, a cold case detective revealed he was tasked with searching through old TV guides to find episodes of the X-Files. Earlier in the trial, Edwards' first wife and the man who went on to become her lover, bonded over watching the x-files together, and to corroborate those claims, detectives had to see if the x-files was actually shown on the TV in the 90s - which he found they were. When Dr Ray Palmer was called later in the evening,

The state’s key fibre expert has detailed how the combination of fibres and the types of fibres found in Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s hair, as well as critical fibres no matched for their personal items, led him to believe it was more likely the two murdered women were in the Car Bradley Edwards drove, than not. In Ciara Glennon’s case, Dr Ray Palmer said he thought there was ‘very strong’ support to indicate Ciara was in that Holden VS Commodore, owned by Bradley Edwards in the mid-late 90s. He also told the court, generally blue polyester fibres - like the ones from the Telstra pants - accounted for 5% of the fibres found in people’s hair, while polypropylene fibres - like the fibres found in the carpet of the car - are not commonly found in people’s hair. Day 81 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial saw Paul Yovich begin his cross examination of Dr Ray Palmer, in which the beginnings of a contamination theory seemed to be put forward by the defence. Before the key fibre witness took the stand, earl

Day 80 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial sat late to accomodate an expert witness from overseas. But before Dr Ray Palmer gave evidence, the defence asked the prosecution to call up a witness. This witness gave a terrifying account of her encounter with a man in a white van who she accepted a ride from while she was walking on Stirling Highway in the mid 90s. A man who tried to grab her leg while he was driving her before she yelled to stop, ran as fast as she could from the car and hid behind a letterbox until he was gone. This encounter is eerily similar to the Telstra Living Witnesses, except, her description of the man was very different to their descriptions, and the description of Bradley Edwards at that time. A tactic in reasonable doubt? Criminal Defence Lawyer Damien Cripps joins the podcast team to discuss that question, and the evidence from the prosecution’s ket fibre witness - Dr Ray Palmer, who literally wrote the book on fibres. During Dr Palmer’s evidence, he told the court he though

After spending nine days on the stand, Chem Centre scientist Rees Powell finally wrapped up his evidence on day 79 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial. It was during the end of his evidence-in-chief that it was revealed not only were fibres from the bodies of Ciara Glennon and Jane Rimmer analysed, the fibres from another WA cold case - which we have spoken about before on the podcast - the murder of Gerard Ross, was analysed along side the MACRO exhibits. The fibres were also compared to see if there were any matches. It was revealed there were matches, — but only from so-called “adventitious” sources, possibly from overshoes worn by police and sheets used in the state mortuary. During his mammoth time on the stand, Mr Powell detailed the huge amount of fibres that had been collected during the investigation, and the number of fibres Chem Centre tested, dating back to 2009, numbered in the thousands. On the final day of his evidence, a report put together by Mr Powell said the MACRO investigation is

**BREAKING: We’ve received a last-minute email from the WA court, there will be no Claremont Trial tomorrow (Friday April 24), court will resume on Tuesday, after the Anzac Day long weekend*** Fibres from anywhere and everywhere the victims went, alive and dead were tested by Chem Centre to try and find any matches to the critical fibres. There was a huge amount of detail put into the testing - Fibres from the carpet of the Continental Hotel, Jane Rimmer’s hairbrush, Ciara Glennon’s hairbrush. Socks, a toy rabbit, a ribbon from a diary and the carpet from Ciara’s room. Her car and Una Glennon’s sewing machine. Even the zipper lining from the inside of the body bag Ciara Glennon was placed on. A huge level of detail. What they found was none of the fibres from around Jane and Ciara’s lives - before they disappeared - matched the critical fibres. But 98 fibres found on their bodies after their murders match Telstra shorts and the car Bradley Edwards drove in the 90s. The full 98 fibres have now been discu

For the first time, the court was shown a picture of a pristine hair sample, which was never touched before RH17 was the hair sample taken from Ciara Glennon when her body was found in bushland off Pipidinny road in Eglington on April 3, 1997. This hair sample is so important because it was taken before anyone had a chance to inspect Ciara’s remains, and is seen as one of the most accurate pieces of evidence showing exactly what was on Ciara Glennon before any investigators, pathologists, detectives and scientists were in contact with her samples from her remains. During the post-mortem portion of the trial, avid listeners will remember the person who collected this fibre was never really known, because the police video at the scene didn’t capture it - the mostly likely reason was because during the collection of this fibre, the camera operator was changing the camera battery. During today’s evidence, it was revealed two fibres were found. Those fibres were found to match the fibres from the Telstra pants

Tiny strands of Ciara Glennon’s hair were sent to the FBI in 1999. Those hair strands in a Petri dish have become vital in the prosecution’s case - allegedly linking Ciara Glennon to the Karrakatta rape victim, and both of them to Telstra shorts, the like Bradley Edwards used to wear as a technician in the 1990s. The blue polyester fibres were two of 41 critical fibres found on Ciara Glennon. Other critical fibres found from who the prosecution says is the third victim of the Claremont Serial Killer, Ciara Glennon, were compared not only the Holden Commodore VS series 1 which Bradley Edwards drove in the late 90s, the database created for the investigation also found several other cars - of different makes and models seemed similar to the grey fibres found in Ciara Glennon’s hair. A Ford Falcon, a 1995 Toyota Camry and a 1997 Toyota Camry were among the cars tested. As both Tim Clarke and Alison Fan explain in this episode, what’s interesting is that the grey fibre ‘corresponded’ with the carpet fibres fr

One slide of two microscopic fibres compared to each other shown to the court on day 75. That’s the first piece of physical evidence in the trial - 5 months in - that forensically links Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon. The blue polyester fibres, found on Ciara’s shirt and in Jane Rimmer’s hair were compared on a slide and shown to the court. This is one of just a handful of evidence that the prosecution can present that shows Jane and Ciara are linked to the crime, outside of circumstantial evidence. You can see that fibre at thewest.com.au We got through 25 fibres today, and as Tim Clarke explains in this episode, while it feels like Groundhog Day, the evidence is important, because it's what the prosecution say links two of the murder victims, along with the rape Bradley Edwards has admitted to, to him, his car and his workwear. To watch those videos, head to: Part 1: https://thewest.com.au/news/claremont-serial-killings/claremont-serial-killings-trial-tim-clarke-takes-you-on-a-visual-tour-of-claremont

During day 74’s evidence, the court heard that Ciara’s hair mass was split into 16 sections, and was meticulously examined for 17 days at Chem Centre. During his fourth day on the stand, Chem Centre scientist Rees Powell was again giving evidence, today focussed on the 41 critical fibres found on Ciara Glennon. We got through 8 today, and 32 of the full 98 fibres critical to the prosecution’s case. As Tim Clarke explains in this episode, the prosecution may have been optimistic with their timeline of the fibre evidence. It takes around 8 hours to go through eight fibres, so luckily this podcast helps break down that immense detail. The part of the evidence Tim Clarke said he finds interesting, is how close the investigations into the fibres were to the start of the trial. One of the critical fibres was found in 2018, and a comparison with fibres from Bradley Edwards’ car made in May 2019 - just two months before the trial was originally due to start. As we know the trial was delayed for further fibre evi

The sheer lengths ChemCentre scientists went to, to test the MACRO exhibits were again showed during the day’s evidence. After Jane’s hair was separated, run under a polilight, tweezed, shoock and looked over many times to find fibres, another method was used to try and find more. Her hair mass was washed and filtered - and 1000 new fibres were found. As Forensic expert Brendan Chapman explains, it’s not a method commonly used. 22 of those fibres are critical to the prosecution’s case. And one of them is unique - a blue-grey polypropylene fibre. When the car Bradley Edwards drove in the 90s was seized in 2016, that lone fibre found in Jane’s hair ‘matched’ with a fibre from the boot of the car. This evidence came right at the end of the day, and there’s more to come. In this episode, Brendan Chapman explains what it means when the witnesses say fibres ‘matched’ with one another, and why he doesn’t like using that word, even though it’s the best word to describe fibre features corresponding with each ot

Although the MACRO taskforce had investigated Jane, Ciara and Sarah’s disappearances together since the moment Jane went missing, but before 2012, there was no physical evidence linking the murders. On Day 72 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial, a ChemCentre scientist recounted the moment the first alleged forensic links were made, connecting Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s murders. In 2012, blue polyester fibres found in Jane’s hair and on Ciara’s shirt were compared to each other, and matched. For the first time, a forensic, physical, tangible link was made to link the murders of Jane and Ciara. But they didn’t know where it came from. It wasn’t until after Bradley Edwards’ arrest in 2016 that they tested Telstra pants - and they were found to match the colour and fibre make-up of the fibres found on Jane and Ciara. Mr Powell also detailed how blue fibres found on the shorts the Karrakatta rape victim was wearing, also matched fibres of Telstra shorts from the 1990s, which police had sourced from f

Today in court we found out a world-first fibre database was created specifically for the Claremont Serial Killings trial, which led to a ground breaking new way of investigating fibres now used as the standard method of fibre matching. The scientists who were testing the fibres found in Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s hair saw that they looked similar to those found in cars. So, they took off their lab coats and went out into the field, specifically wrecking yards, the police compound and tested cars - though trial and error. After years of finding fibres, testing and ruling them out, they finally found their needle in a haystack - the fibres were strikingly similar to those found in a Holden Commodore Stationwagon VS 1 or 2. The incredibly detailed work was done by scientists who had to cross reference more than 4000 fibres they found on the victims. The scientists literally had to take each fibre one-by-one and look at them through a microscope to compare to the MACRO fibres - and they did it in the h

That crucial Telstra Blue fibre was again under the spotlight on day 70 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial, this time by the defence. Joined by prominent Perth criminal defence lawyer Tom Percy QC, the podcast team discuss what the defence will try to argue to place enough reasonable doubt in the fibre evidence. The argument - that the ‘Telstra Blue’ colour wasn’t always exclusive to Telstra, the colour was supplied to other, smaller businesses throughout the 90s. But the prosecution say that it’s the combination of the fibre material - the unique mixture of cotton and viscose - and the Telstra blue colour that makes it exclusive to Telstra workers’ uniforms. Hear the opinion of one fo Perth’s top criminal defence lawyers about how he thinks the trial is going, and whether he thinks - if convicted - the location of Sarah Spiers could be revealed. Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Tom Percy QC as they discuss day 70 of WA's trial of the century. The trial will take a break over Easter, returning o

Telstra Blue. The fibre that delayed the trial of the century for more than four months. And it’s the fibre which the prosecution say was found in Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s hair. A piece of material, from a pair of Telstra pants which were used in 1996 and 1997 was tested as late as May 2019. The trial was originally due to start, but the prosecution - and the judge found this evidence important enough to delay the trial until November. On day 69 two witnesses told the court in minute detail, of how fibres are woven into pieces of fabric, which fibres are used and how they’re dyed. Criminal defence lawyer Damien Cripps joins us for today’s podcast episode, he describes how the prosecution are trying to prove - beyond reasonable doubt - that the fibres found in the hair of Jane and Ciara are from pants worn by a Telstra worker through the fibres and that Telstra worker is Bradley Robert Edwards. As Alison Fan explains, the colour of the Telstra pants was made specifically for Telstra, in fact the