The Claremont Serial Killer: Bradley Robert Edwards

The Crime that Shattered Perth to its very core…..

Perth in Western Australia had always been a laid-back, country-like city.  It was safe to go out at night – it was safe for females to walk on their own at night.  Nothing ever happened in Perth.  Except that wasn’t exactly true. Because Perth, and particularly the suburbs of Claremont and Cottesloe, had been hunted by predators on more than one occasion.

In living memory, David and Catherine Birnie hunted women in Claremont and the surrounding areas before raping and murdering them and dumping their bodies in the forest. And before that, Eric Edgar Cooke also known as ‘The Night Stalker‘ hunted and killed in exactly the same area before being the last person hung at Fremantle Prison in 1964.

Then in the 1990’s – another serial killer appeared on the scene. Hunting exactly the same area for young blonde women.

More Reading:

The Night Sarah Spiers Went Missing

On the 27th of January 1996, Sarah Spiers, a bubbly and affectionate office worker who worked in Subiaco and only 18 years of age, called for a taxi to get a ride home after a night out with friends at a nightclub (Club Bayview) located in the middle of Claremont. Sarah shared a flat with her sister in South Perth, however, she had made arrangements to stay at a friend’s house at Mosman Park that night.

At about 2am, Sarah walked a short distance to a phone booth to call for a taxi. The call was made at 2.06am.  However, when the called taxi arrived (only three minutes after the phone call), Sarah was nowhere to be seen  Despite a massive search, no trace of Sarah has ever been found. The whole of Perth came together to try and find Sarah.  Fliers went up on power poles all over Perth.  Friends and family of Sarah door-knocked.

What no one knew until decades later, was that loud, blood-curdling screams were heard in the vicinity of Mosman Park on the very night Sarah went missing.

The people of Perth were rattled, but it was only one girl. She could have just run away…… Then another girl went missing.

The Disappearance of Jane Rimmer

Just a few months later on the 9th of June 1996, Jane Rimmer, 23 years of age and a childcare worker also disappeared after a Saturday night out with friends in Claremont, but unlike Sarah Spiers, her body was discovered in bushland South of Perth at Woolcott Road, Wellard about a month later.

Jane Rimmer was a bit teary and emotional that night. She felt ‘unattractive’ and really wanted a boyfriend. Her friends tried to cheer her up. When her mates left, they offered Jane a shared taxi ride home but Jane declined. It was the last time Jane Rimmer was seen alive.

CCTV of Jane leaving the hotel was released in 2008.  The footage showed that Jane was standing outside waiting for a ride, then a man walks past and she smiles at him – a smile of recognition. No identification of that male has been made.

A friend of Jane’s later said that she had befriended a man named ‘Bogsy’ who had previously offered her a ride home. But her friends had not met him, and they didn’t know his real name.

It wasn’t until August 3rd 1996 that Jane’s body had been found naked by a woman looking for Lillies in the rural area of Woolcott. Although her cause of death was not released at the time, autopsy results revealed a significant ‘defect’ on her neck caused by a sharp instrument.

Rural neighbours in Woolcott did report loud high-pitched screams on the night Jane was murdered. But many thought it was just kids playing around.

When Jane’s body was found, Police, and the people of Perth suspected that a serial killer was at large.

A Third Woman Disappears from Claremont

On the 14th of March 1997, Ciara Glennon, a 27-year-old lawyer also vanished after a night out in Claremont. It was a Friday night and she had not long returned from overseas to work in Perth. After drinks in the city, Ciara and her friends arrived at the Claremont Hotel, but she only stayed a short while before heading home for an early night. Left on her own to catch a taxi, she too was never seen alive again.

Her body later was found on the 3rd of April 1997 in scrubland north of Perth.

Her mother remembers, immediately fearing the worst when Ciara didn’t arrive home that night and received no peace from phone calls to her friends. She guessed that her daughter too had fallen victim to the same killer responsible for previous deaths. She said that she knew 100% that Ciara probably wouldn’t be found alive. Three weeks later, Ciara’s body was found by a bushwalker.

Ciara was not found naked like Jane, however, her skirt had been pushed up around her waist suggesting a sexual assault.  Her throat had been cut.  It was apparent that Ciara had fought for her life.

Much later, DNA was found beneath one of Ciara’s nails. All three women had been seen at the local hotel, The Continental (now known as the Claremont Hotel), before their disappearances.

It was at this time that the police realised they were searching for a serial killer.

Hunt for the Claremont Serial Killer

The local community was filled with a sense of fear for the safety of their kids, terrified to realise there was a killer in their midst. It was suggested at one point that the perpetrator may be a taxi driver as all three women had been looking for a way home after their night out and phone records had proven Sarah Spiers had called for a taxi. This led to many young women refusing to catch cabs and instead relying on alternative methods of transport or designating drivers amongst their friendship groups.

A police task force was set up. Codenamed ‘Macro’, the WA Police called in experts from across Australia and around the world. At Easter in 1997, thousands of WA taxi drivers were DNA tested and had their backgrounds extensively checked with no new leads found.

The Suspects in the Investigation

There were suspects though. One such suspect, Lance Williams, a public servant, lived close to Claremont. He had been spotted regularly driving around Claremont at night, following women as they left the local clubs and bars. He was kept under police surveillance for several years, day and night, and although he was subjected to a number of intensive interviews, even failing a lie detector test, he has never been charged. He has not, however, been eliminated as a suspect entirely.

Other persons of interest included a taxi driver and tenant of the former Mayor of Claremont, Peter Weygers. A thorough investigation resulted in no evidence being found linking him to the crimes. Peter Weygers was also the mayor at the time of the disappearance/killings and was targeted by the victims’ families concerning the town’s duty of care regarding the security of the area. Mr Weygers had many investment properties, one being inhabited by an ex-taxi driver who had a few old taxis on his property.

Even Bradley James Murdoch, the man charged and jailed for the murder and disappearance of Peter Falconio has been investigated as a possible suspect.

In 2006, DNA samples were requested from UK officials for Mark Dixie (AKA Shane Turner), who was convicted in the UK of the 2005 murder of model Sally Bowman. WA Police later stated that although he had been a prime suspect, he had been thoroughly investigated and subsequently ruled out as a suspect.

Twelve years after Jane Rimmer’s disappearance, CCTV footage was aired on television of Jane talking to an unidentified man outside the Claremont Hotel, where she had been drinking that fateful night. Although Crime Stoppers received 150 calls in response, it proved unfruitful.

CCTV of Jane Finally Released to the Public

In August 2008, Western Australian Police released CCTV footage of Jane Rimmer leaving the Continental Hotel.

Finally, An Arrest is Made

Finally, on the 22nd December 2016, Police announced an arrest had been made.  Bradley Robert Edwards, 51 was charged with the three murders.  The DNA found under the nails of Ciara Glennon was a match for the abduction and rape of a 17-year-old woman back in 1995 at the Karrakatta Cemetery.

The woman said that she had been out for the night at Club Bay View in Claremont and was walking home through Rowe Park, Claremont when she was grabbed from behind, a piece of cloth stuffed in her mouth and she was tied up with cord and a bag placed over her head. The man drove around for 20 – 30 minutes before taking her to a remote part of the Karrakatta Cemetery.

The woman was brutally raped multiple times in the cemetery.  The woman pretended to be unconscious and the man ‘threw’ her into some bushes before driving away. The woman ran from the cemetery naked to the nearby Hollywood Hospital where a rape kit was undertaken and the DNA was taken.

The woman described her attacker as very heavily built, tall and caucasian with brown hair.

The DNA also matched an attack on a woman in Huntingdale in 1988.  The man broke into a house and attacked a girl, however she managed to scream and her parents (in the next room) came to her rescue.  The man left behind a Kimono with semen stains.

Bradley Robert Edwards around the time of the murders

Who is Bradley Robert Edwards?

Bradley Robert Edwards grew up in Huntingdale with his parents and younger brother and sister.  His father worked for Telstra and Bradley followed in his footsteps and worked for Telstra as a technician his whole working life.

Whilst Edwards was living with his parents in Huntingdale, he became a peeping tom. He would steal underwear off clotheslines from nearby Huntingdale residents and then further progressed to masturbating in public.

Bradley Edwards was married young and moved into a home near his parent’s place in Huntingdale.

But just prior to his marriage, Bradley Robert Edwards had his first brush with the law. Working on a Telstra job at Hollywood Hospital, Edwards attacked 40-year-old Wendy Davis. Wendy was sitting at her desk when a young Telstra worker asked her if he could use the toilet that was situated behind where Wendy worked. Wendy said yes, and then kept working. All of a sudden, Wendy was grabbed from behind and dragged violently towards the toilets. She fought her attacker and kicked him hard.

Edwards let her go before saying ‘Sorry, sorry…’. Police attended and Edwards was charged with assault and had to undertake 12 months of counselling. A member of Telstra spoke to Wendy a few days after the assault and apologised for his behaviour. But Edwards did not lose his job. In fact, just a few years later, he was promoted.

His excuse for his behaviour at the time was that his girlfriend was pressuring him to get married.

They did get married shortly after. But the marriage didn’t last. Edwards became obsessed with his computer and his wife felt neglected. When a male friend of hers moved in to help them pay the bills, the two began a relationship.

The wife and her lover moved out of the home. Sarah Spiers went missing soon after.

A few months later, Edward’s now ex-wife rang him to tell him she was pregnant with her new partner (who was the flatmate). Soon after Jane Rimmer went missing.

When he was arrested, he had recently separated from his second wife of 20 years, and was residing with his step-daughter in a home in Acton Avenue, Kewdale. The two had met in 1997 when he had attended her workplace to do telecommunications work and he asked her to go out with him.  This was only two weeks after the murder of Ciara Glennon. 

Frighteningly, on their first date which was at McDonalds, his wife took her two-year-old daughter to meet him.

Key Dates in the Claremont Serial Killing Case

February 15, 1998

An 18 year old woman is assaulted in her home when a man broke into her house in Huntingdale.  Her attacker fled when the girl raised the alarm.  The attacker left behind a semen-stained Kimono.

February 12, 1995

A 17-year-old woman is attacked from behind when walking home from the Claremont area.  She is bound and gagged and raped in the Karrakatta Cemetery.  DNA is taken from the rape.

January 27, 1996

18-Year-old Sarah Spiers disappears after a night out in Claremont.  She leaves the club before calling for a taxi to take her to Mosman Park. She is never seen again and her body has never been found.

June 9, 1996

23-year-old Jane Rimmer disappears after leaving Club Bayview in Claremont.  She is last seen on CCTV waiting outside the club.

August 3, 1996

Jane Rimmer’s body is found in Wellard.

March 15, 1997

27-year-old Ciara Glennon is last seen walking along Stirling Highway after a night out at the Continental Hotel in Claremont.  She was last seen leaning into a white Commodore.

April 3, 1997

Ciara’s body is found in bushland in Eglington, north of Perth.

October 16, 2015

A forensic link between Ciara Glennon and the woman who was raped in Karrakatta is established.

December 23, 2016

Bradley Robert Edwards is arrested for the rape of the women at Karrakatta, and the murder of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.

February 22, 2018

The accused is also charged with the murder of Sarah Spiers

November 25, 2019

The judge-alone trial starts in the Western Australian Supreme Court

The Trial of Bradley Robert Edwards

On the 24th of September 2020, Bradley Robert Edwards was charged with the murder of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.  As there was not enough evidence to prove that he murdered Sarah Spiers, the charge was not guilty.

Read the formal court transcripts here