Australia’s most infamous serial killer did not have an accomplice, it has finally been confirmed.
Ivan Milat was jailed in 1996 for killing seven young backpackers and dumping their bodies in the Belanglo Forest, New South Wales between 1990 and 1992.
There has been persistent speculation he had a partner in crime but recent forensic testing has revealed he worked alone.
Australia’s most infamous serial killer Ivan Milat (pictured) did not have an accomplice, it has finally been confirmed
Joanne Walters, 22, who was stabbed to death in 1992, was found dead clutching her hair
Ivan Milat was jailed in 1996 for killing seven young backpackers and dumping their bodies in the Belanglo Forest (pictured), New South Wales, between 1990 and 1992
One of Milat’s victims, 22-year-old Joanne Walters, was found dead with a bunch of hair in her hand.
DNA testing at the time found it did not belong to her or Milat, suggesting a third person was involved in her death.
Police kept six strands so they could test them in the future with better technology – and have now found the hair did belong to Miss Walters, suggesting Milat worked alone.
Clive Small, the head detective on the case, said on Monday: ‘There are no longer any outstanding matters in this case.
Backpacker murderer Ivan Milat and his brother Richard singing at a family gathering
DNA testing at the time found the hair in Miss Walters’ hand did not belong to her or Milat (pictured), suggesting a third man was involved in her death
Serial backpacker murderer Ivan Milat. His victims’ bodies were all discovered in the Belanglo State Forest, near Bowral
‘Our forensics originally said it was difficult to profile but appeared to be from a bloke however, we have subsequently had (it) tested at two laboratories and the retesting has found it was Walters’ hair, it was her own hair,’ Mr Small told The Daily Telegraph.
‘Forensic services retested the hair in Joanne’s right hand, which forensic medicine at Glebe had originally concluded belonged to a man, but the DNA testing showed it consistent to Joanne and that was subsequently corroborated again after being sent to another mob for testing.’
He speculated that Miss Walters grabbed her hair while she was being stabbed 35 times.
Mr Small also said all of the victims’ camping and hiking equipment was recovered from Milat and no-one else.
Between January 1990 and April 1992 seven young backpackers were killed by Milat (pictured)
Between January 1990 and April 1992, seven young backpackers went missing while hitchhiking on the outskirts of Sydney, New South Wales.
Their bodies were all discovered in the Belanglo State Forest, near Bowral, south of Sydney and found to be victims of serial killer, Ivan Milat.
Milat’s confirmed victims were Australian, German and British, and aged between 19 and 22.
They were kidnapped, raped, shot, and decapitated alive – earning him the title of Australia’s most prolific serial killer.
Milat was convicted in 1996 and given seven lifetime sentences, to be served consecutively, for the murders. He will die behind bars at Australia’s Supermax prison.
The backpacker murders: The victims of serial killer Ivan Milat
Between January 1990 and April 1992 seven young backpackers went missing while hitchiking on the outskirts of Sydney, New South Wales.
Their bodies were all discovered in the Belanglo State Forest, near Bowral, south of Sydney and found to be victims of serial killer, Ivan Milat.
The victims were:
Australians Deborah Everist and James Gibson (both pictured), 19, were last seen in December, 1989, and were both stabbed multiple times
Briton Caroline Clarke (left), 21, who was shot ten times as if she was target practice and German Simone Schmidl (right), 20, who disappeared in January 1991 and died from multiple stab wounds, including a knife through her spinal cord
Australians Deborah Everist and James Gibson, both 19, who were last seen in December, 1989, and who were both stabbed multiple times.
German Simone Schmidl, 20, who disappeared in January 1991 and died from multiple stab wounds, including a knife through her spinal cord.
German former soldier, Gabor Neugebauer, 21, who was gagged and shot six times and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Anja Habschied, who was decapitated and her spinal cord severed after the diappeared in January 1992.
Last seen in April, 1992, Britons Caroline Clarke, 21, who was shot ten times as if she was target practice and Joanne Walters, 22, who was stabbed.
Ivan Milat received seven life sentences for the murders and will die in Australia’s Supermax prison.
German former soldier, Gabor Neugebauer (left), 21, who was gagged and shot six times and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Anja Habschied (right), who was decapitated and her spinal cord severed after the diappeared in January 1992