Claremont: The Claremont Serial Killings

After a two-week break, the trial of the century resumed at Perth’s Supreme Court, only to be adjourned again after just half an hour. The reason? Prosecutors needed to go to a stationary store to buy projector screens to block out gruesome images of the burial sites of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s bodies that were set to be shown as evidence. The families of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon had voiced their concerns about the evidence being shown to the public, and the judge agreed the vision and images would simply be too distressing. The court was packed out for the resumption of the trial, so closing the court while the gruesome evidence was shown wasn’t going to be an easy option. So instead, when video of the day Jane Rimmer’s body was found was shown, only the judge, the lawyers, the witnesses and Bradley Edwards could see it. Tim Clarke, Natalie Bonjolo and criminal defence lawyer Damien Cripps discuss why this was an unusual move, and what it means for the rest of the trial. Send in your own qu

Emotional turmoil. That’s the motive the prosecution say led Bradley Edwards to attack a woman at Hollywood hospital, rape a teenager and kill three women. Family and friends told of the mild-mannered Bradley Edwards in the first four weeks of the trial. The man who didn’t react when he caught his wife kissing another man in their house, nor reacting to the news of his estranged wife having a baby with her lover. The prosecution say he didn’t react publicly to these events, instead he took out his emotions on lone, vulnerable women. Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon. The prosecution say they also have DNA and fibre evidence to back up their claim. DNA which they say Bradley Edwards left on his rape victim and Ciara Glennon, as well as on a kimono he left behind after a terrifying home invasion known as “The Huntingdale break in” But the defence have a case of their own. They say the DNA got on all three samples not through Bradley Edwards committing all of the offences, but through cross conta

Before WA’s trial of the century resumes for 2020, we take you through the evidence which has been presented so far. A lot of you have told us the trial jumped around from date to date, so we’ve collated all the evidence and put it in chronological order for you, so you can refresh your memory before jumping into the maze which will be the DNA and fibre evidence. Starting with the Huntingdale attack, through the disappearance of three women and the discovery of two bodies. Then 19 years after that, in 2016, the arrest of Bradley Robert Edwards, a man who wasn’t even on WA Police’s radar. A Telstra employee and social footy player with a wife and step-daughter. In this bonus episode, Claremont in Conversation’s Natalie Bonjolo, Alison Fan and Tim Clarke take you through the series of tragic and horrific events which ended in the arrest of Bradley Robert Edwards, taking us to present day, as he stands trial for murder. Go to thewest.com.au to see the exhibits released during the trial. See omnystudio.com/l

Before it was known as the hunting ground for one of WA’s worst serial killers, Claremont was the go-to destination for young people wanting to be seen. Every weekend the pubs and clubs were packed. Some of WA’s wealthiest called Claremont home. And it was safe. But a rape, followed by three murders changed that. All of the victims were out in this affluent suburb, on their own. Within the space of nine months, Claremont would never be the same. Women stayed in packs and men worried they’d be suspected of these horrible crimes. While Northbridge, another entertainment district of Perth became popular instead. Even some 20 years later, before an arrest, “The Claremont Serial Killer” was someone generations of West Australians grew up fearing. The killer could still be out there. Veteran journalist Alison Fan raised her kids in Claremont, covered this case extensively and even helped search for Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer then Ciara Glennon. She grieved with both the Rimmers and Glennons when sadly, thei

If Bradley Edwards is convicted, will he be asked where Sarah Spiers is? Why wasn’t Lance Williams eliminated as a suspect earlier? Will Bradley Edwards be cross-examined? In this bonus episode, criminal defence lawyer Damien Cripps and The West Australian's legal affairs editor Tim Clarke answer some of the burning questions you’ve had from the trial of the century. We’ve received hundreds of questions from listeners all over the world and hope to answer as many as we can. From true crime fans, to those who remember growing up in Perth at the peak of the crimes, this trial has captivated so many. Keep the questions coming in at claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au Stay tuned to Claremont The Trial podcast over the Christmas break for more bonus episodes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was by pure-chance Jane Rimmer's body was found. A woman driving with her husband and children driving in Wellard stopped on the side of the road after a rooster ran out. Kids being kids, they wanted to chase it. The mother, Tammy Evans decided to pick some death lilies and out of the corner of her eye, 'the biggest death lily' she had ever seen popped into view. Before grabbing onto it, something brushed her leg. She thought it was a stick, but it was a foot. That was the only feature that assured Tammy that what she had stumbled across was human. She had found Jane Rimmer's body. While her husband went for help, she said she just couldn't leave Jane and stayed with her until police arrived. That was August 3, 1996. The third victim, Ciara Glennon went missing on March 15, 1997. With two women missing and one dead, the state was on high alert. Then, the day police had been dreading, a second body found. April 3, 1997, a man looking for wild cannabis leaves came across Ciara Glennon's body off a bu

March 14, 1997 was the last time Ciara Glennon was seen alive. She’s been at a work function, by all accounts she didn’t want to go out that night, because she had her sister's hen's night the next night. But she was convinced to go out to Claremont. She’d only been back in Perth for two weeks, after travelling for six months. In this podcast, Tim Clarke and Damien Cripps ask whether she had known about the other missing girls as well as the rest of Perth, simply because she wasn’t in the country when Sarah Spiers and Jane Rimmer went missing. In May 1997, WA Police released a re-enactment of Ciara’s final hours in a desperate attempt to jog someone’s memory of the night of March 14, and the early hours of March 15 1997. 11 people did see Ciara that night. On day 16 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial, They gave evidence of seeing a woman matching Ciara’s description walking alone on Stirling Highway. Some witnesses say they saw her talking to a man in a white car, even starting to get in. In a tragic

On August 3, 1996 - 55 days after 23-year-old child care worker Jane Rimmer went missing, a woman picking flowers with her family found her body. She immediately told her husband who rushed for help. Jane’s body was badly decomposed, covered in leaves and small shrubs. Meanwhile a couple riding horses nearby found a knife on the ground not too far away. When they reached the woman who found the body, she told them she had stayed with Jane because “she didn’t want to leave her alone.” We heard a witness break down on the stand today as she recalled that day Jane’s body was found. We also heard from the woman who could be one of the last people to see Ciara Glennon alive on March 14,1997. During her testimony, for the first time, we heard about the police investigation and the man who was the prime suspect, subjected to years of being watched by police, pretty obviously as well. As Alison Fan - the only journalist to interview Lance Williams while he was a suspect - explained, as soon as she finished ta

The night Jane Rimmer disappeared, on June 9, 1996, two couples - separately - heard blood-curdling, ’traumatic’ screams. One witness recalled hearing a scream that just suddenly stopped. Then silence. The two couples lived in the then-rural area on the outskirts of Perth called Wellard. 55 days later Jane’s body would be found in bushland in between their houses. As The West’s Emily Moulton - who has been live blogging the court proceedings - explains, one couple remembered a smell coming from just off the road as they regularly drove past. They said they dismissed it as a dead animal. Day 14 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial also recounted Ciara Glennon’s final night. She was the last woman to go missing. She had only been home for two weeks from 6 months abroad when she disappeared. Her parents were on high alert at this stage in March 1997, with two girls missing and one their bodies having been found, as soon as they reported their daughter missing, police swooped. Join Natalie Bonjolo, Emil

Jane Rimmer disappeared in the early hours of June 9, 1996 from Claremont. her body was found 55 days later on August 3 in bushland in Wellard. On June 9, 1996, a man was riding a horse in Wellard, when his horse spooked. He fell off and found a guess watch. That watch turned out to be Jane Rimmer's. Day 13 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial heard the man didn't report the watch to police until after Jane's Body was found. It turns out he fell just two metres from where her body was dumped. Before she disappeared, friends of Jane Rimmer relived the decision the 23-year-old made to stay out alone while her friends caught a taxi home the night she disappeared. One friend, Lynda Donovan remembered a conversation she had with an emotional Jane the night she disappeared - a typical conversation many friends have had after a few drinks, only now it's a heartbreaking reminder of her friend, and her feelings about herself that night. The court was shown more CCTV of the night Jane Rimmer was last seen alive

The last pictures of Jane Rimmer alive were shown to a stunned court room on day 12. The images of the smiling and laughing 23-year-old was shown to the people in the court, who watched on in silence for the entire time the videos were played. Jane was last seen outside Club Bayview in Claremont at 12.04am on June 8, 1996. At the time, the security cameras recorded on a loop, only capturing 13 seconds at a time. The CCTV shows Jane standing outside the club. The security vision flicks over to other cameras around the club, and 32 seconds later it comes back to that same spot, but Jane is gone. 32 seconds is all it took for Jane Rimmer to vanish. It wouldn’t be until almost 2 months later that she would be found. Her body found in bushland in Wellard, half an hour south of Claremont. She’d been murdered, her throat cut. As Natalie Bonjolo, Alison Fan and Tim Clarke discuss, how different this investigation would be if those security cameras flicked over at different times, would we see what happened to J

**WARNING: this episode contains distressing content*** The terrifying, graphic and distressing account of a regular night-turned living nightmare of a teenager, who was abducted and raped by Bradley Edwards was read to the court on day 11 of his murder trial. In February 1995, the 17-year-old was walking to a friends’ house from a night out in Claremont, when she was grabbed from behind, a cloth was shoved in her mouth, her hands were tied and a hood placed over her head. Completely helpless, she was carried to a car, driven to a cemetery and raped. Bradley Edwards was charged with her rape, along with the three murders in 2016, but up until this year had always maintained his innocence. That was until three weeks before his trial, he pleaded guilty to the rape. Today, the victim’s words - taken from a police statement days after the attack - echoed through the court room, and even though it was read out by the lead prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo, as Tim Clarke explains, he’s sure almost everyone in that

In this bonus episode, by popular demand we take you through the evidence given by the man now known as the ‘third wheel’ in Bradley Edwards’ marriage to his first wife. The bizarre living arrangement, affair and pregnancy which the prosecution say led to the ‘emotional turmoil’ which caused Bradley Edwards to kill Sarah Spiers and Jane Rimmer, then Ciara Glennon. Salacious and intimate details were revealed in court, as the man who came in between the accused Claremont Serial Killer and his first wife gave his evidence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Valentine’s Day in 1988 in Huntingdale, a teenager went to bed alone after spending the day with her boyfriend. She was woken up by someone lying on top of her. Thinking it was her boyfriend, she said she didn’t feel scared. That was until she touched that person’s face. The person lying on top of her wasn’t her boyfriend, but was an intruder. That intruder was Bradley Robert Edwards, who pleaded guilty to the attack 30 years later. Day 10 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial heard from victim, as she told of her ordeal, and of the kimono that was left behind after the attack. That kimono would become crucial in the police investigation, and the prosecution’s case against Bradley Edwards. The day also heard from the family of the second woman to disappear, Jane Rimmer, and the ordinary day that would turn out to be her last. Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Alison Fan as they dissect the day’s events. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The voice of Sarah Spiers haunted the court as her final phone call, a call to a taxi service was played during evidence on day nine. Sarah Spiers was last seen in the early hours of January 27, 1996. She was out with friends at Club Bay View, and just after 2am decided to go leave. Alone. She called a taxi to take her to Mosman Park, but she never got there. Today, we heard from one of those friends she was out with that night, recalling the final words she ever said to her friend. The prosecution say, instead of getting home in a taxi, Bradley Edwards picked her up and murdered her. The court heard from three people who heard screams in Mosman Park at around 3am that night, describing the 'blood curdling screams' that have stayed with them for more than two decades. It was a highly emotional day, with a statement read out from Sarah's sister Amanda, a court room in tears and a witness consoled as she left the stand after giving her evidence.  Justice Hall said he has decided not to release Sarah's las

A taxi driver who accepted a job at 2am, a man who saw a lone woman on the side of the road, and the missing minutes of the last time Sarah Spiers was ever seen. Three minutes was all it took for the 18-year-old to disappear. She called for a taxi at 2.03am on January 27, by the time the taxi arrived at 2.06am, she was gone. Day eight of WA's trial of the century tried to shed some light on that time, with the taxi driver who was supposed to pick her up taking the stand, as well as a man who could have been the last person to have ever seen Sarah Spiers in a 15-second glance. The day also heard from more women who say they had encounters with a man in a white Telstra van in the mid-1990s in the Cottesloe and Claremont areas, known as "The Telstra Living Witnesses", and as podcast guest, criminal defence lawyer Damien Cripps explains, why it could be a misunderstanding. Join Damien, along with Natalie Bonjolo and Tim Clarke as they dissect the day's events. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat

It was massive day in court, with eight witnesses taking the stand, including the woman who was attacked from behind by the accused Claremont Serial Killer, Bradley Robert Edwards in 1990, who spoke about her ordeal publicly for the first time. He pleaded guilty and was convicted on common assault. As Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Alison Fan discuss, her testimony was animated and detailed, and she recounted the terrifying ordeal, now known as "The Hollywood Hospital Incident" like it was yesterday, the day she said she thought she was going to die. For the first time, it was revealed that Western Australian Police were looking into Telstra vehicles as early as July 1996, just a month after Jane Rimmer went missing and before Ciara Glennon was murdered. The court also heard from three other women, known as 'The Telstra Living Witnesses' who the prosecution say had close encounters with a man in a white van, driving around Cottesloe and Claremont picking up vulnerable women. See omnystudio.com/listener

As a new week of evidence starts in the Claremont Serial Killings trial, the court took on a different format for the day. While the court waited to hear from the man who impregnated Bradley Edwards' first wife, two former Telstra employees gave evidence, and they were asked  - very specifically - about uniforms. The West's legal affairs editor Tim Clarke explains why the specific colour of the Telstra uniforms, when they were issued and the process of ordering them is so important to this trial. Stay tuned to Claremont In Conversation to hear the details of the affair that the prosecution say led Bradley Edwards to kill Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon tomorrow. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In what’s already been a week of bombshells, day five, despite being a shorter day, was no exception. Former friends of Bradley Edwards, a couple named Murray and Brigita Maria Cook took the stand. Mr Cook told of his annoyance when Edwards never showed up to a pre-planned holiday in Dawesville, an hour south of Perth, on March 14 1997 - the night Ciara Glennon disappeared. He said Edwards told him he was trying to reconcile with his wife, who told the court on an earlier day that he never tried to reconcile with her. In an eerie admission, Mrs Cook said they had no TV and no radio, so they didn’t know Ciara Glennon was missing. Join Natalie Bonjolo, Alison Fan and Tim Clarke (in the studio) as they discuss the days’ events, as Tim described them, a reverse-alibi. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day four of the Claremont Serial Killings trial saw a parade of Bradley Edwards’ former lovers take the stand, with intimate details told to the court. Two of Edwards’ former lovers told of their brief relationships with him, one saying she was ‘fond’ of Edwards. Day four was also the first day Bradley Edwards appeared to show emotion, seeming to smile as home videos during his time with his second wife were played to the court. But when his second wife took the stand, she revealed the meticulously detailed journals she kept of his bank statements. Journals she kept because she said she ‘feared for her life’. Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Emily Moulton discuss day four. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.