Notorious serial killer Ivan Milat could have claimed the lives of 20 more victims, including a 20-year-old pregnant woman whose body was dumped in a field, experts have claimed.
Milat murdered seven young backpackers and dumped their bodies in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, between 1989 and 1992.
He was 74 years old when he died in October 2019 at Long Bay jail’s hospital from oesophageal and stomach cancer.
The backpacker murderer will now be the focus of a true crime series airing this weekend on Channel 7, which will reportedly expose new evidence that Milat was responsible for other killings.
Milat murdered seven young backpackers and dumped their bodies in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, between 1989 and 1992
Crime experts believe Keren Rowland (pictured), 20, was actually Milat’s first victim. Ms Rowland was reported missing after she failed to turn up to a party in Deakin, Canberra on February 26, 1971
Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro appeared on Sunrise on Friday morning ahead of the show’s release, where they made bold claims about the secrets Milat took to the grave.
‘Milat’s a psychopath, a marauding serial killer, no remorse. He clearly enjoyed what he did,’ Mr Watson-Munro told hosts David Koch and Natalie Barr.
‘I’ve worked with a lot of people over 40 years. Nothing had prepared me for the evil and horror of this particular offender.’
The pair believe Keren Rowland, 20, was actually Milat’s first victim.
Ms Rowland was reported missing after she failed to turn up to a party in Deakin, Canberra on February 26, 1971.
Her remains were found at the Air Disaster Memorial almost three months later.
ACT Police are still appealing for information over the unsolved homicide.
‘Tim and I looked at the victimology, so the type of victim, the circumstances under which she was taken and perhaps most importantly, the circumstances under which she was found,’ Dr Mallett said.
Milat (pictured) died in October 2019 at Long Bay jail’s hospital from oesophageal and stomach cancer
Melbourne couple Deborah Everist (left), 19, and James Gibson (right), 19, were two of Milat’s victims
‘It was so similar to Belanglo. It really spoke to us, to have all of the same hallmarks as the Ivan Milat victims that we know are attributed to him.’
Mr Watson-Munro said they are sure about six deaths being linked to Milat.
‘We’re very firm on others. But in a generic sense, there’s lots of victims out there,’ he said.
‘There are other serial killers operating in Australia right now.’
Milat was born two days after Christmas 1944, one of 14 children of Australian-born Margaret and Yugoslavian-born Steven Milat who lived in Sydney’s west.
He left school at 15, had minor dealings with the police and worked on the roads for years, around Sydney and country NSW.
The self-confessed gun enthusiast was regarded as a conscientious employee, with one boss saying he was ‘the best worker we ever had’.
His former wife Karen, who left him in 1987 after four years of marriage, described him as ‘gun crazy’, recalling him killing kangaroos on a visit to Belanglo State Forest.
Caroline Clarke (left) and Simone Schmidl (right) were two victims of the backpacker murderer
Milat murdered seven young people including German couple Anja Habschied, 20, and Gabor Neugebauer, 21
‘Ivan pulled out a rifle, shot the first kangaroo, shot the second kangaroo, slit its throat and kicked it to make sure it was dead,’ she said.
The outing could be seen as a gruesome preview of his frenzied attacks on the seven hitchhikers – Melbourne couple Deborah Everist, 19, and James Gibson, 19; German traveller Simone Schmidl, 21; German couple Anja Habschied, 20, and Gabor Neugebauer, 21; and British friends Joanne Walters, 22, and Caroline Clarke, 21.
Their bodies were found covered with branches and leaf litter in the forest between between September 1992 and November 1993.
One victim was decapitated, another shot 10 times in the head. Many were stabbed so savagely their bones were chipped, some had been gagged or bound, and some were suspected of having been sexually assaulted.
Milat also was found guilty of kidnapping British backpacker Paul Onions who escaped his clutches in January 1990, near the turn-off to the forest.
The crimes made headlines around the world, shattering Australia’s standing as a safe haven for budget-conscious young travellers.
Over the years, Milat has been linked to the disappearance of other young men and women.
Ivan Milat: Buried Secrets airs on Channel 7 this Sunday at 7pm
Milat (pictured) was born two days after Christmas 1944, one of 14 children of Australian-born Margaret and Yugoslavian-born Steven Milat who lived in Sydney’s west
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF IVAN MILAT
EARLY LIFE
* Ivan Robert Marko Milat born in Sydney on December 27, 1944, the fifth of 14 children.
* He served time in a juvenile correction centre and prison for relatively minor charges.
* In 1974, he was cleared of raping one of two young hitchhikers he picked up three years earlier near the same highway where the seven murdered backpackers were picked up.
MILAT’S VICTIMS AND THEIR REMAINS
* Melbourne couple James Gibson and Deborah Everist, both 19, are last seen in inner-Sydney in December 1989 after planning to hitchhike. Their skeletal remains are found in Belanglo State Forest in October 1993.
* German backpacker Simone Schmidl, 20, vanishes while hitchhiking from Sydney to Melbourne in January 1991. Her remains are found in the forest in November 1993.
* German backpackers Gabor Neugebauer, 21, and Anja Habschied, 20, disappear from Kings Cross having planned to hitchhike from Sydney to Darwin in December 1991. Their remains are found in November 1993.
* British backpackers Caroline Clarke, 21, and Joanne Walters, 22, leave a Kings Cross hostel in April 1992. Their bodies are found in the forest in September 1992.
THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY
* British backpacker Paul Thomas Onions flees from a driver with a gun near the turn-off to the forest on January 25, 1990. He gives a description of his assailant to police on the day of the attack but only identifies Milat as that man from 13 photographs shown to him by police four years later.
THE TRIAL
* Police raid a home in Eagle Vale, on the outskirts of Sydney, on May 22, 1994 and arrest Milat.
* He is charged with seven counts of murder and one count of kidnapping Mr Onions.
* He is found guilty of all charges in July 1996 and jailed for life.
* Both the crown and defence agree the murderer is a Milat.
* Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi, QC, says the evidence points to Ivan Milat being the killer although it is likely he didn’t act alone.
* Defence barrister Terry Martin argues it is a reasonable possibility it was his brother Richard, perhaps aided by another sibling Walter or a friend.
WHO SAID WHAT
* Mr Tedeschi tells the jury up to 40 features relating to Milat matched the description Mr Onions gave of his attacker.
‘It is my submission there is only one person in the whole of Australia who matches all of those descriptions – the man, the car, the equipment and the place – and that is the accused,’ he said.
Submitting that the killer was not Ivan Milat acting alone or in company, Mr Martin suggests one or two of his brothers could have planted items, including gun parts linked to some murders, at his house.
‘Do you think a person capable of these most brutal of crimes would give two hoots about planting gear on a brother?’ he asked.
* In a quivering voice, the trial judge Justice David Hunt jails Milat for life on the day of the verdicts.
‘These seven young persons were at the threshold of their lives, with everything to look forward to – travel, career, happiness, love, family, and even old age,’ he said.
SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
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