Butcher served justice

CONFESSED violent rapist Bradley Robert Edwards has been found guilty of two of the shocking Claremont murders that have haunted Western Australia for decades — but was acquitted of a third killing.

Justice Stephen Hall handed down his verdict on Thursday, bringing an end to the state’s so-called “trial of the century” in the WA Supreme Court.

Edwards, a former Telstra technician who called himself the “bogeyman” online, was convicted of murdering childcare worker Jane Rimmer, 23, in 1996 and solicitor Ciara Glennon, 27, in 1997. But he was found not guilty of killing secretary Sarah Spiers, 18, whose remains have never been found.

Justice Hall said there was no forensic evidence in Ms Spiers’ case, but there were some general similarities between her disappearance and the other two victims.

“The prosecution has failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the accused killed Ms Spiers,” he said. “If an inference consistent with innocence is open then the accused cannot be found guilty.”

Justice Hall noted there were significant similarities between Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon’s respective disappearances and deaths, including how they sustained defensive wounds to their hands and the fact their bodies were dumped in bushland.

“They were killed in a similar manner, that is by a sharpforce injury to the neck,” he said. “There were defensive wounds indicating that they had sought to defend themselves from an attacker.”

Two types of evidence — DNA and fibres — were critical to the case, he said.

“The evidence establishes beyond reasonable doubt that the DNA of the accused was under the nails of Ms Glennon’s left hand and that it got there in the course of a violent struggle,” he said.

Justice Hall also noted the fibre evidence established the women were in a car habitually driven by a Telstra employee and Edwards, 51, drove such a vehicle.

“I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was the killer of Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon,” he said.

Justice Hall could not determine how Edwards got Ms Rimmer into the car, but he drove her to semirural Wellard and at some point they had a violent struggle.

Justice Hall also could not determine how Edwards got Ms Glennon into the car, but said at some point she clawed at him, getting his DNA under her nails.

Like Ms Rimmer, she also suffered a defensive wound to her arm and was stabbed or slashed to the neck, likely in semirural Eglinton where her body was dumped.