Claremont: The Claremont Serial Killings

The police officer who went digging for the fingerprints that would blow the Claremont Serial Killings investigation wide open give his evidence today. Sgt Colin Stuart Beck took the stand to tell his massive involvement in one of WA’s most infamous cold cases, how his good old fashioned police work finding fingerprints from a series of break-ins, which led to fingerprints linking the Claremont cases to Huntingdale cases, and the database match with threw up the name Bradley Robert Edwards. All of these links, however didn’t have any DNA evidence. That’s when WA police set up an undercover operation to follow Bradley Edwards. Long-time listeners of the podcast and the case will remember in late December 2016, Bradley Edwards went to the movies. He had no idea police were watching his every move. He dropped a Sprite bottle into the bin as he left, police picked that bottle up and it was immediately sent to the lab. Police waited anxiously for the results, which eventually showed an exact match to Hunting

With a video link to China, technical difficulties plagued the morning’s proceedings. When the technical issues were sorted, day 67 took a deep dive into fibres, VIN numbers and cars. Tim Clarke says in this episode, you would have had to be a car buff for the day’s evidence to keep you interested and focussed the whole day. Luckily, Tim Clarke was in court all day and takes us through the most important aspects of the day. A former Holden manufacturer, who told the court the particular colours of the fibres of the car - found in Jane and Ciara’s hair - were only found in that make and model of car. It was a narrowing down exercise today, narrowing down the chances that the car police found could be the car which Jane and Ciara were in, and possible take to where they were killed. Join Natalie Bonjolo and Tim Clarke as they discuss the day’s evidence, and make it easy to understand. Send any questions you have for the podcast team to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for priva

Could the inside of the Holden Commodore VS series be the last thing Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon ever saw before they were killed? It was revealed CSI took three days to dismantle and examine the Holden Commodore that Bradley Edwards drove in 1996 and 1997. Hundreds of exhibits were taken from the car - ChemCentre looking for fibres, PathWest looking for biological material, police looking for investigative clues, polilight exams, swabs, mats, seat covers and door panels taken away. Anything that could be examined, was. Even though the car was assigned to Bradley Edwards in April 1996, the witness today - CSI officer Acting Senior Sergeant Steven Mark told the court they still looked for any signs of Sarah Spiers, who disappeared on January 26, 1996. Nothing from Sarah Spiers or DNA was found, but fibres were - and that’s what this car brings to the case. The prosecution say the seat fibres were found on Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon. So, what is the importance of this car and fibres to this case? Cri

The police officer who seized the car Bradley Edwards drove in the 90s told the court of the breakthrough police had when they realised the car still existed. That car was the Holden Commodore seized in December 2016 - the same day Bradley Edwards was arrested. It’s been revealed it was the car Bradley Edwards drove in 1996 and 1997 - and the prosecution say it was the car he drove to abduct Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon. It’s become vitally important in the case, because the prosecution says fibres found on the victims match the fibres of the seat inserts of the car. Other fibres which the prosecution say link the victims to Bradley Edwards are blue fibres. As Tim Clarke explains in this episode, a lot of people present at the crime scenes, post mortems and fibre collection also wore blue - police officers. But the prosecution says that blue was specially made for Telstra by workfare company Yakka, the colour called Telstra Blue, and ChemCentre can prove that because their technology is s

On Day 64 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial, two forensic police officers detailed how they painstakingly sifted through Jane Rimmer’s hair mass 13 years after her post-mortem. It was a sensitive operation for two reasons. After being in frozen storage for more than a decade, Jane’s hair mass was extremely brittle, and still had icicles on it. But these officers were very aware they were sifting through the hair of a murdered woman. As forensic expert Brendan Chapman explains in this epsidode, while collecting and retaining a hair mass during a post-mortem is common, actually testing a hair mass isn’t - because mostly, it’s taken as a, what he called the “one per center” a “last resort” exhibit to examine. Through his experience, cases tend to get solved before sifting through a hair mass is needed. But this was a “one per center” case, and the prosecution would say that one per cent chance of testing paid off. The prosecution say 22 fibres, 20 of which the prosecution say matched a white commodor

Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the judge presiding over the Claremont Serial Killings trial, Justice Hall effectively told the court on day 63 that the trial must go on. At the end of the shortened day for the cross examination of former forensic police officer Victor Webb, Justice Hall told the court he is prepared to make changes to the process to allow witnesses to give evidence from home. But for day 63, former forensic police officer Victor Webb was grilled by the defence about storage and transfer of critical exhibits, as well as the car he drove in the 90s. As Tim Clarke and Emily Moulton explain, the defence will try to argue that instead of the critical fibres linking Bradley Edwards to Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon through his Telstra car and shorts, instead, they were found on the victims through contamination and fibre transfer. It’s previously been revealed several police officers drove police cars, some of of which were commodore station wagons to the crime scenes of Jane Rimmer and Ciara

Just as day 62 of the Claremont serial killings trial was ending, drama erupted in the courtroom. Coronavirus-related drama. Justice Hall hauled a security staff member into the courtroom after it emerged some pensioners and students were banned from entering the court. He told the security their actions, which were approved by the court’s general manager could amount to contempt of court, saying, “I take this extremely seriously. The public has been discouraged from attending but not excluded." And "No one is to be excluded from this court other than by my order.” During proceedings, former forensic police officer Victor Webb gave evidence, who told the court knives owned by the prime suspect at the time - Lance Williams’ - was sent to the FBI along with Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s hair and clothes. Despite finding nothing, police still pursued him, overtly and round the clock, for years. It wouldn’t be until 2008 that Lance Williams would be cleared. Along with MACRO exhibits, exhibits from oper

WA’s trial of the century will likely take a couple of days off each week in an effort to try and limit the amount of time the lawyers, witnesses and police are in the room. It’s been a fast changing process of how this important trial can continue through the COVID-19 crisis, all the players are working together to try and get a result, as well as stay safe. Justice Hall told the court “We will pull together” That means streamlining the witnesses. Today, three forensic scientists took the stand, giving evidence about the search for clues from the bodies Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, and the clothes of Ciara and the Karrakatta rape victim. One of the former forensic officers told of how police were so desperate for clues, they sent the hair masses of Jane and Ciara to the FBI to expert hair analysts, as Tim Clarke explains, they were world leaders at the time in fibre analysis. Another scientist, Bernard Lynch told the court he analysed the Karrakatta rape victim’s shorts, looking for carpet fibres - fi

After a 10-day break, WA’s trial of the century resumed - with strict and widespread cleaning and social distancing measures to ensure this mammoth trial can continue. Compared to previously in the trial - when the public gallery was packed to the point  a separate room was set aside for overflow - one person from the public was in court. And what they heard was the beginning of the fibre evidence, which focussed on Jane Rimmer’s hair mass. Fibres are critical to the prosecution to link Ciara Glennon’s fingernails - which they say contained Bradley Edwards’ DNA - to Jane Rimmer and the Karrakatta rape victim. Without any DNA evidence linking Jane to the accused, or any DNA evidence at all, the prosecution say 22 critical fibres were found in Jane’s hair, which came from specially made Telstra pants that Bradley Edwards would have worn in the mid 90s. They say those fibres got there through Bradley Edwards taking Jane in his car, and getting close enough to her when he was killing her. The defence, howev

Now the DNA portion of the trial is over, and before we delve into the world of fibre evidence, the Claremont in Conversation team have consolidated all of the DNA evidence which is crucial to the case. Ciara Glennon’s fingernails, the Karrakatta rape victim’s swabs and a kimono - the three pieces of evidence which the prosecution say led them to Bradley Edwards. Joined by forensic expert Brendan Chapman, Natalie Bonjolo and Tim Clarke answer the questions you’ve asked about all things DNA in relation to the Claremont Serial Killings trial. If you’re just jumping in, hear about the advanced DNA technique at the time which found microscopic fragments of DNA from a broken fingernail, the international agencies involved in the testing, and the fluke cold case reinvestigation which blew the Claremont case wide open. And if you’ve been following the case from the beginning, recap the last six weeks of DNA evidence before the trial of the century resumes on March 23. If you have any questions for the Claremont

Despite restaurants and pubs closing, and events being cancelled, WA’s trial of the century will still be going ahead. In a last-minute, urgent hearing called at 3pm today, Justice Stephen Hall announced the news not many people, including the Claremont in Conversation team were expecting to hear. Court will resume on Monday, March 23. As Alison Fan explains in this special update episode, Justice Stephen Hall virtually told the court that nothing will stop this trial from going ahead, even if it’s the only criminal trial running in the building. What followed that extraordinary news was extraordinary, unprecedented measures implemented by the court to allow it to run. As the podcast team discusses, it’s so fortunate that this mammoth trial is judge alone, because if there was a jury, it would be likely that it would have been stopped, to start all over again in the future. Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Alison as they give you an update on the Claremont Serial Killings Trial. See omnystudio.com/

We’re in an unprecedented time, a confusing time. As we’re being asked to self-isolate and work from home to try and stop the spread of Coronavirus, there are many professions where that simply isn’t possible. Shops, cafes and restaurants may close, but hospitals, police stations, any emergency services can’t stop. And the justice system - for the moment can’t either. This week, Western Australia, like many other states and countries, announced that no new jury trials will be listed for three months, to try and protect any potential jurors. Our legal expert Damien Cripps tells us what impact that will have on trials, the backlog that’s expected to happen - and for us, what that will mean for the Claremont Serial Killings trial. Fortunately, the Claremont trial is judge-alone, but what will happen if some of the lawyers, a witness, the judge, or even the accused Bradley Edwards gets sick? Can the public still watch the trial? Will the media be allowed in to bring you the details? Natalie Bonjolo, Tim

March 14, 1997 was a day like any other. 27-year-old Ciara Glennon, having only just arrived back in Australia from travelling the world, was drinking with colleagues. The lawyer had been back at work for a week, her colleagues wanted to celebrate that, and being a Friday, they decided to have a few drinks, then hit the town. But Ciara didn’t want to, she wanted to go home to be with her family before her sister’s hens the next day. She was eventually convinced to go out to Claremont - a fateful decision which would see her become the third victim of a serial killer. She disappeared that night. Several people would later say they saw someone matching her description walking along Stirling Highway just after midnight, some seeing her leaning into the passenger side window of a white station wagon. That was the last time anyone saw her alive. Her body was found 19 days later in bushland, 40 km north of Perth. Today on this bonus episode of Claremont in Conversation, we remember Ciara Glennon, the loving,

The DNA portion of the trial has officially come to an end, and as tonight’s guest on the Claremont in Conversation, Alison Fan puts it, “It was fitting that the man who started it all, ended it all.” Dr Jonathan Whitaker dismissed the defence’s two DNA contamination theories, by saying it was ‘highly improbable’ that Bradley Edwards’ DNA was found with Ciara Glennon’s samples because of any type of contamination. In this episode, Alison Fan says that comment is the closest a scientist - who never say never -  will come to say an event is ‘impossible’. In his own opinion, Dr Whitaker told the court it was ‘highly likely’ Bradley Edwards’ DNA was found with Ciara’s samples ‘because she scratched him’. The prosecution say Ciara scratched Edwards while fighting for her life. The last DNA expert took the stand, she told how the male DNA profile was 80 million times more likely to belong Bradley Edwards than any other Australian Caucasian man he’s not related to. She also told the court Edwards was 20 billion

He was flown in especially from the UK to give evidence at the Claremont Serial Killings trial. He’s considered the prosecution’s star witness for DNA. Why? Because he helped develop the Low Copy Number technique that found the male DNA profile - which the prosecution says is Bradley Edwards’ DNA - on Ciara Glennon’s fingernail samples when no one else could. Dr Jonathan Whitaker has given evidence at some of the biggest trials around the world, including the now-famous Australian trial which convicted Bradley John Murdoch for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio. But part of his evidence in what could be considered one of WA’s most famous trials, did catch our DNA expert by surprise, in fact, Forensic DNA Expert Brendan Chapman said it could be controversial if left unchallenged. Our forensic expert breaks down the complicated DNA evidence into an easy-to-understand language on day 58 of WA’s trial of the century. As we get to the end of the DNA portion of the trial, What Tim Clarke thinks o

Welcome to part two of this recap series of Claremont in Conversation. In the last episode, we took you through the fear that swept through Perth as police realised a serial killer was at loose in their city after the disappearances of three women. In the trial, we heard from the people who knew the women, the people who last saw them alive and watched in stunned silence as CCTV and final phone calls were played. In this episode, we hear from the people who were woken by distressing screams that have stayed with them for more than 20 years. We also hear from the people who found two bodies - the bodies of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon. Then, the trial moves into a new phase - the investigation. The court heard of the massive police response to the discovery of Jane and Ciara’s bodies, then the unprecedented event in court, which saw WA’s top lawyers being sent to Officeworks. Find out why in this episode. The DNA portion of the trial is complicated and lengthy, so in this special episode, we run you th

Welcome to this special catch up episode of Claremont in Conversation. We’re at the half-way mark in WA’s trial of the century. If you’ve never listened before, this is your perfect chance to get up to speed on everything that’s happened in WA’s trial of the century, without having to listen to 57 episodes. If you’ve been following the trial since day one, this is your perfect chance to recap the last three months before the trial moves into fibre evidence. It’s been the trial WA has waited more than two decades for. Between 1996 and 1997 in the affluent, beautiful and safe suburb of Claremont, the disappearance of three women struck fear into the lives of the people of Perth, Western Australia. Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon are names most people in WA know. They’re known because they’re the three victims of the Claremont Serial Killer. Sarah was the first to go missing, in the early hours of January 27, 1996. She called a taxi from a Telstra phone box in Claremont just after 2am. Three mi

“Impossible” is not a word scientists like to use. But during his fifth, and last day on the stand, forensic scientist Scott Egan got as close as possible to that definite term. He described a potential contamination of Bradley Edwards’ DNA into samples of Ciara Glennon’s fingernails as being highly unlikely, going as far as saying the two were tested 13-months apart. Defence lawyer Damien Cripps says in this podcast, it’s looking like this is a full stop on this contamination theory, and the defence would have to start looking elsewhere for other ways they can weaken the prosecution’s case. During re-examination, the prosecution asked just one question: In that 13-month period between the two samples being tested at PathWest, how many times would the lab have been cleaned? He replied, with a slight smirk as Tim Clarke observed, “hundreds, if not thousands of times.” Join Nat, Tim and Damien as they take you through day 57, and the last day for week 13, as the court takes a day off to prepare for new wit

Only one sample of Bradley Edwards’ DNA was created from the Karrakatta rape victim’s intimate swab, and it was revealed that sample sat in an evidence box from 1999 to 2008. The prosecution argues this means there was no way Bradley Edwards’ DNA and and Ciara Glennon’s fingernail samples could have come into contact with each other. Previously the court had been told Bradley Edwards DNA was initially extracted in 1995, and tested in 1996 and 1997, then placed into storage. The Forensic scientist Anna-Marie Ashley, who tested Ciara Glennon's fingernails previously told the court the closest time frame the fingernails and the Karrakatta rape samples ever came to each other was two weeks. Forensic scientist, Scott Egan, who was on his fourth day on the stand said: “The DNA would have had to get out of the tube with the lid on it, out of the box, which has the lid on it, though the box with the lid on it, and then into the tube (of the other sample) with the lid on it.” While the defence proved more contami

Ciara Glennon’s body was found 19 days after she went missing, in bushland 40 kms north of Perth on April 3, 1997. She was found fully clothed, her shirt covered in blood.  After her post-mortem, her shirt was sent off for DNA testing, but what scientists found was unusual. They found nothing, not even Ciara’s own DNA. This was explained by senior forensic scientist Scott Egan, who told the court it was likely exposure to the elements destroyed all DNA, even Ciara’s. But when asked how DNA was found under her fingernails, that’s because, according to the forensic scientist, they were somewhat protected.  It was the testing of the DNA of Ciara’s fingernails which came under questioning again today, this time by the prosecution, and as Tim Clarke and Alison Fan explain in this episode, they managed to get some ground back after an embarrassing end to the week for PathWest, with seven contamination events found on Claremont exhibits. Mr Egan told the court, however, in total, PathWest counted 28 ‘quality i