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Claremont serial murdersA series of unsolved murders
Country:
 Australia |
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The Claremont Serial Murders
The Claremont serial murders were a series of unsolved murders that took place in the affluent suburb of Claremont, Western Australia, in the late 1990s. The string of killings began on January 26, 1996, when 18-year-old Sarah Spiers went missing. She had been at a nightclub and had taken a taxi home, but she never arrived. There were no clues or evidence found, not even a record of her taxi call that night.
On July 9, 1996, another young woman, 23-year-old Jane Rimmer, disappeared in the same part of the city. Again, there were no leads, but it was speculated that she may have used a taxi, just like the first victim. Her body was discovered a month later near Wellard, Western Australia. The third victim, 27-year-old successful lawyer Ciara Glennon, went missing on March 14, 1997, in the same area as the previous victims. Only after her disappearance did the police acknowledge that a serial killer was at large. However, this realization came too late for Ciara, as her body was found on April 3, 1997, in a northern suburb of Perth.
Investigation and Suspects
The initial lead for the police was the nightclub 'The Continental,' where one of the three victims had been seen shortly before their deaths. Australian journalist Liam Bartlett suggested that Sarah was not the first victim of the killer, pointing out the unsolved disappearance of 22-year-old student Julie Cutler in 1988.
The investigative task force named 'Macro' was established to solve the series of murders. The police then systematically screened taxi drivers, narrowing down the initial 2000 drivers to a smaller pool. They checked their criminal records, violations, family backgrounds, and other pertinent information. The conclusion was that stricter screening processes and stricter requirements for obtaining a taxi license should be implemented. However, despite the improvement in service quality by transportation companies, the police did not make any breakthroughs in solving the crimes.
The first suspect was a junior officer of the investigative task force who was found to have known more about the crimes than he was authorized to know. He underwent several months of investigations and multiple interrogations, but nothing could be proved against him. Years later, he was declared innocent, although some still openly accuse him of involvement. The task force employed various interrogation methods, including the bold question, "Are you the killer?" This direct tactic was not well-received by all, as those questioned ranged from ordinary taxi drivers to city council deputies and even the former mayor, who was in office during the women's disappearances.
The task force took a particular interest in the city council deputy, but after numerous DNA tests and countless interrogations, he was able to prove his innocence. In October 2006, another suspect named Mark Dixie was arrested for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, but the situation remains unclear to this day.
In 2007, well-known journalist Estelle Blackburn wrote a book called 'The End of Innocence,' in which she provided explanations for some of the murder cases and named another suspect - her ex-boyfriend. She claimed he had the capability to commit murder and had access to the vehicles of one of the taxi companies. While this theory did not play a significant role in the investigation, it formed the basis for a two-part documentary titled 'Australian Story,' filmed in November 2007.
