Convicted serial killer Ivan Milat has continued to deny being the backpacker murderer while on his deathbed.
Milat, who lies in Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital with terminal oesophageal and stomach cancer, told his brother and sister-in-law he doesn’t need a priest as he has nothing to confess.
The 74-year-old was convicted in 1996 for the murder of seven backpackers in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, between 1989 and 1992.
Convicted serial killer Ivan Milat has continued to deny being the backpacker murderer while on his deathbed
He is serving seven life sentences for the killings but has always maintained his innocence.
Bill and Carol Milat visited the convicted killer, who they refer to as ‘Mac’, in hospital on Saturday.
‘We asked Mac the question, ”are you guilty?” And he categorically denied it,’ Carol told the Illawarra Mercury.
‘I said ”look, I know you’re a Christian, you have Christian faith, and so do I … did you do it or not? Because if you want to speak to a priest we can arrange it”.
Carol said he then began ‘rattling off’ reasons why he couldn’t have committed the crimes.
She said she apologised to Milat for asking but told him ‘everyone wants to know’ and ‘we know you didn’t do it’.
Carol said they’ve been punished ‘all this time’ because of her surname.
She doesn’t think her brother-in-law will make it back to Long Bay Jail as his condition continues to deteriorate.
Milat, who lies in Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital with terminal oesophageal and stomach cancer, told his brother and sister-in-law he doesn’t need a priest as he has nothing to confess
Bill said they questioned Milat about the killings because everyone wants a ‘deathbed confession’.
He added that he was with Milat during three days where crimes took place.
‘Mac is upset because it has affected all of us, but like I said many times before, people still believe Lindy Chamberlain is guilty even though she was exonerated. They are never gonna change their mind no matter what the truth is,’ Bill said.
Ian Clarke, the father of one of Milat’s victims, remains hopeful for a deathbed confession to bring some form of closure to the parents of other possible victims.
Mr Clarke’s daughter Caroline and her friend Joanne Walters were among the seven young backpackers Milat killed and dumped in the Belanglo State Forest.
‘We still think of Caroline every day but it doesn’t mean to say we have to think of Milat every day,’ Mr Clarke told AAP from his home in Northumberland.
The 74-year-old was convicted in 1996 for the murder of seven backpackers in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, between 1989 and 1992
Of the killer’s demise, he added: ‘It’s a horrible way for anybody to end their life but then it was even more horrible the way our daughter and so many others lost theirs, so sympathy isn’t high on the list, I’m afraid.’
Mr Clarke said a final confession and admitting where any other bodies were disposed of could bring some kind of closure to other families, who he said he feels ‘desperately sorry for’.
‘If he was to finally face up to the fact and admit to any others that he has done, if indeed he has, then I think that would be a wonderful thing for those parents, because for the short time that we didn’t know, I know just how they must be feeling,’ he said.
As well as Ms Clarke, 21, and Ms Walters, 22, Milat was convicted of killing Melbourne couple James Gibson and Deborah Everist, both 19 and German backpackers Simone Schmidl, 20, Gabor Neugebauer, 21, and Anja Habschied, 20.
Milat was diagnosed with cancer in May and reportedly has days to live.
Milat was diagnosed with cancer in May and reportedly has days to live