After 20 years of hiding in plain sight, sadistic killer and brutal rapist Bradley Edwards will likely never leave jail and die without his freedom, after he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 40 years. If he makes it that long, he will be 88, taking into consideration time served. But that just means in 2060 he can apply for parole, it doesn't mean he'll be released. As Justice Hall revealed his sentence, more than a year since his trial began and almost...

Join the Claremont in Conversation team in this special live event at the University of Western Australia. Hear stories never told in court, anecdotes from sitting days and opinions from the journalists who covered the mammoth seven-month trial. You'll also hear some details from Tim Clarke's book, Enigma of the Dark. To get a copy, head to...

Should Bradley Edwards be allowed to participate in rehabilitation programs in prison? Or should the prison just 'throw away the key'? Legal expert Damien Cripps joins Natalie Bonjolo in this last episode until the sentencing, discussing how Edwards might be sentenced, and answer some of your questions. Damien Cripps said Edwards' sentencing will be a difficult task for Justice Hall, and discusses several avenues of how the prosecution and defence will present their cases to the...

Former homicide detective Paul Ferguson has put away his fair share of bad guys. The retired police officer was in charge of the MACRO Taskforce when it was created, after Jane Rimmer disappeared in June 1996, but before that, he worked on, and helped catch one of WA's most infamous serial killer couples - David and Catherine Birnie. But the disappearances of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon was one of the cases that not only haunted WA, but many of the police officers who worked...

Bradley Edwards hid in plain sight for more than two decades, but what he didn’t realise, was that he was just simply hidden, and that meant he could still be found. His DNA was found under Ciara Glennon’s fingernails. She fought for her life, and in that fight, she scratched her killer and hid a part of him to be found by scientists years later. Dr Jonathan Whitaker is the scientist who found a male DNA profile from the microscopic DNA fragments found under Ciara Glennon’s...

May 7, 1990 was the day that changed Wendy Davis’ life. A social worker at Hollywood Hospital, she was going about her day when Telstra worker and now convicted killer Bradley Edwards attacked her, grabbing her from behind and dragged her back towards some toilets. But she fought him off, and her evidence helped in the conviction of the Claremont Killer. But Wendy Davis is so much more than just “the Hollywood Hospital victim”. After her ordeal, she had to go on with her life, so she buried...

Bradley Edwards will 'never' reveal the location of Sarah Spiers. That’s according to leading forensic anthropologist and criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett. In this episode of Claremont in Conversation: The Verdict, we take you inside the mind of a killer. Joined by forensic DNA expert Brendan Chapman and forensic anthropologist, criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett, our guests analyse Bradley Robert Edwards fits the profile of a psychopath and what makes someone kill. During his police...

Bradley Robert Edwards killed Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon. Over the last two days, we’ve heard from the families of those two young, vibrant women taken too soon, their grief unimaginable as their daughters’ killer has been unmasked. But for the family of another young and vibrant daughter, sister and friend, yesterday’s verdict came with more heartbreak. The family of Sarah Spiers don’t have closure. They don’t have her body. They’ve never been able to say goodbye. Today, the podcast...

The Claremont Killer has been revealed. Bradley Robert Edwards terrorised Perth for two decades, he sparked fear into the hearts of people in Claremont and tore apart families. As WA’s Police Commissioner said outside court today, “Bradley Edwards can now be called for what he is - a brutal rapist and a murderer.” 24 years of heartbreak for the families of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, today, some closure for two of those families. Bradley Edwards was found guilty of...

Is Bradley Robert Edwards guilty or not guilty? Only one person knows what the answer to that question is, and he’s taken 12 weeks to make it. But on Thursday September 24, the world will find out. Justice Stephen Hall has the weight of two decades of fear, mystery and grief on his shoulders, and in a week, he’ll have eyes of West Australians on him. Claremont In Conversation is back with the biggest moments of the trial of the century, a week out from the verdict. In this bonus episode,...

95 trial days and 95 episodes (plus a few bonus ones) later, WA's trial of the century has officially come to a close. The trial has been harrowing at times, it's been informative and eye-opening, but ultimately heartbreaking for the families and the three women who's lives were tragically taken too soon. So, what happens next? Justice Stephen Hall reserved his judgement until September 24, and will spend the next three months carefully analysing every piece of evidence, every witness...

Everything’s been said, the evidence is out in the open and now Justice Hall has a massive task ahead of him. After 95 days and more than 200 witnesses, WA’s trial of the century -  the Claremont Serial Killings trial has come to a close, with the defence finishing their closing statement with the words, “A conviction founded on inadequate evidence would not constitute proper closure". Using the final day of his closing statements to focus on the fibre case against his client, Paul Yovich...

On Day 94 of the trial, and the fourth day of Paul Yovich’s closing statements, the defence focussed on Ciara Glennon’s disappearance. The court had previously been told the night the she disappeared, the accused Claremont Serial Killer Bradley Edwards was supposed to be in Dawesville seeing friends, but didn’t show up until the next morning. Those friends told the court the reason he gave for his lateness was because he was ‘trying to reconcile with his wife’. The prosecution say that...

Paul Yovich told the court Sarah Spiers was the victim of a grave crime, but Bradley Edwards didn’t commit that crime. Making sure to tell the court he didn’t “intend to trivialise Ms Spiers’ death, or disrespect her. Quite the contrary.” He told the court Sarah Spiers was the victim of a grave crime, ‘a blameless victim’. The 18-year-old called for a taxi at 2.06am in the early hours of January 27, 1996. A taxi arrived three minutes later, but she was gone, and was never seen...

The defence told court today that Bradley Edwards did not intend to kill his rape victim. That he planned his attack carefully and carried it out efficiently, but murder was not in that plan. During their closing statements, the prosecution said the Telstra worker intended to kill his rape victim, but was spooked by a passing security officer, dumped his victim in the bushes and left with the intention of coming back to finish his crime. But the rape victim, who had pretended to be...

In this episode, the Claremont in Conversation podcast team are joined by leading Perth criminal QC Tom Percy, who weighs in on the defence case, or lack of, and the seemingly new information which came out in the closing statements. In relation to the defence’s case, Tom Percy said, “You find your answer in the prosecution case, not necessarily in your own case.” During his second day of closings, Paul Yovich focussed on the PathWest practises, cleaning regimes and the 10 proven...

The final words of prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo as she wrapped up 7 months of evidence left Tim Clarke saying she believed she could say with authority: "Physical evidence can't be intimidated and it can't forget.” "It sits there and it waits to be preserved, detected, evaluated and examined.” "And it's that forensic evidence which - surrounded and supported by the evidence of the witnesses - has cast light on and unmasked the killer sought by so many and for so long.” "That evidence, all...

Ruthless, efficient, calculating. That’s how prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo described Bradley Edwards when recapping the crimes he’s alleged to have committed, as well as the ones he’s admitted to. She said his MO was to be prepared to take any opportunity, and that he would create those opportunities by driving around Claremont. Did the person who killed Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon take trophies from their bodies? Jane Rimmer was found naked, her clothes have never been found. Ciara...

A disturbing and graphic picture of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s final hours was painted to the court on the second full day of the prosecution’s closing statements. Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo told the court it was likely Ciara Glennon was overpowered by her attacker and forced into the foothold of the car. That’s how those fibres got into her hair. For the first time, it was also revealed that RH17 - the pristine hair sample was found already cut at Ciara Glennon’s crime scene -...

Without any distractions or delays, Day 87 of WA’s trial of the century began. Bradley Edwards’ DNA was found with Ciara Glennon’s fingernail samples because she fought for her life, scratching or gouging at her attacker moments before her death. That was according to the prosecution during closing statements. The prosecution told the court Bradley Edwards’ DNA was preserved under Ciara Glennon’s fingernails, after she tried to fight off her attacker - shown through defensive wounds to her...

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...

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...

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...

“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...