The Closing Statements: When Preparation met Opportunity
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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 Glennon was missing her jacket, shoes and bag - those have never been found either. That was one of the many questions raised by the prosecution on the third day of their closing statements. Justice Hall also posed a lot of questions, but to the prosecutor. He queried the evidence around RH17, as well as questioning her statement from the day before, that Mr Edwards intended to kill the Karrakatta rape victim, which led Alison Fan in this episode to query whether Justice Hall was playing devil’s advocate. The lead prosecutor today took the court through the 10 reasons why they say Bradley Edwards is the Claremont Serial Killer. That included the DNA and fibre evidence, but also the similarities in Jane and Ciara’s disappearances, injuries and discoveries, and the fact Bradley Edwards had abducted and raped a teenager from the Claremont area the year before Sarah Spiers disappeared. Sarah Spiers was mentioned during the closing statements, which Justice Hall vigorously questioned, saying he needed to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Edwards was her abductor, and questioned the timeline. The prosecutor said the only way Justice Hall could find Bradley Edwards killed Sarah Spiers is if he first found that he killed Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, which Tim Clarke called ‘reverse propensity’. However, Alison Fan said in this episode whatever the outcome of this trial, the ordeal won’t be over for the Spiers family, because Sarah’s body has never been found. Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Alison Fan as they discuss the beginning of the end of WA’s trial of the century. If you have any questions for the Claremont in Conversation podcast team, send them in to [email protected] The West Australian has also released a two-part video series, as Tim Clarke takes you through the areas which are key to the trial, from Claremont, where the women went missing, to Hollywood hospital and to the sites were Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s bodies were found. 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-ng-b881516606z Part 2: https://thewest.com.au/news/claremont-serial-killings/claremont-serial-killings-trial-tim-clarke-takes-you-to-wellard-and-eglington-ng-b881517153z
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