Ivan Milat

Ivan Robert Marko Milat (born December 27, 1944 in Guildford , New South Wales , Australia - † October 27, 2019 in Sydney ) was an Australian serial killer . In 1996 he was convicted of the murder of seven backpackers in the Belanglo State Forest . His deeds are also known as The Backpacker Murders .

Life

Ivan Milat was the son of Stephan and Margaret Milat in Guildford. He was born as the fifth of a total of 14 children. Milat attended Brother High School in southern Sydney . His Croatian father worked hard, but it wasn't enough to support the large family. So the children also had to quickly contribute to the family income.

Since his older brothers had already learned to shoot, he was introduced to firearms at a very early age. Milat left school at 15 and became a construction worker. He later got a job with the city, where he worked for 15 years. In the late 1970s he met his future wife and married her shortly after their first meeting. The marriage ended in divorce in the early 1980s because his wife accused him of infidelity. In 1992 Milat received a large amount of money from his employer. He used this to build a house with his sister Shirley Soire in Eagle Vale.

Deeds

On September 19, 1992, Ken Seily and Keith Caldwell discovered a woman's corpse who was identified as the missing British woman, Joanne Walters, while hiking through the Belanglo State Forest. A few meters away from the first body, the body of Walters' friend Caroline Clarke was found, who had been shot several times in the head from a very short distance.

In October 1993, police came across the bodies of Deborah Everist and James Gibson. They were also buried under branches and had similar injuries. Shortly afterwards, the bodies of Simone Schmidl, Gabor Neugebauer and Anja Hendung were also uncovered. All of them were brutally murdered and showed signs of severe torture.

Since the victims were usually killed in pairs and different types of killing (knife, rifle) were found, the investigators initially assumed two perpetrators.

Enlightenment and conviction

Milat came into the crosshairs of the investigators because he had been accused of kidnapping and raping two women in 1971; however, he was not convicted at the time. He was also known as a gun freak , owned property near Belanglo State Forest, and sold a Nissan Patrol SUV shortly after the discovery of the first bodies became public .

Ultimately, however, the testimony of the British Paul Onions was decisive for the success of the investigation. He was hitchhiking on a trip through Australia in 1990 and was picked up near Sydney by a man in a Nissan Patrol who posed as Bill . On the way, the driver suddenly pulled a gun and threatened Onions, who was able to flee.

Onions identified at a comparison of Milat as the man who had threatened him at the time. Milat was arrested and interrogated early in the morning on May 22, 1994. During the subsequent house search, objects from the victims' possession and the weapons were seized. Shortly thereafter, he was charged with seven murders and was sentenced to seven life imprisonment plus 18 years in prison. A reduction in the term of imprisonment or a pardon was excluded in the judgment. He has been held in the maximum security prison in Goulburn since an attempt to escape from another prison . According to the prosecution, the motive for murder was lust for murder .

In 2010, the remains of a youth were found again in the Belanglo State Forest. In November 2010, a relative of Milat's was charged with murder in the case. In October 2011, he made a confession.

Detention

On January 26, 2009, Milat cut off his little finger with a plastic knife, which he later claimed to send to the Supreme Court. He was taken to Goulborn Hospital under tight security. However, since the little finger could not be sewn back on, Milat was returned to prison on January 27, 2009.

This incident was not the first of its kind. By 2001 he had already swallowed razor blades, staples and other metallic objects.

In 2011, Milat went on hunger strike to get a PlayStation. He lost 25 kilograms in the process, but did not receive the game console.

In May 2019, Milat was diagnosed with esophageal and stomach cancer. He succumbed to the disease in late October 2019 at the Long Bay Correctional Center in Malaba, a suburb of Sydney.

Victim

Deborah Everist

The skeletonized body of 19-year-old Deborah Everist was found on October 5, 1993 after three and a half years. It was therefore difficult for the coroners to pinpoint the exact cause of death. Her skull was shattered and she had at least one stab wound, which could be seen from the fractures in the bones. But it was not possible to find out whether the fractured skull was inflicted on her after death. Her jaw was also broken twice, indicating that she was beaten. However, one could no longer prove with which object this happened. Her murderer buried her in a forest near Belanglo, in a place that was only covered with brush.

James Gibson

The remains of 19-year-old James Gibson were found like the Deborah Everists on October 5, 1993. It is believed that the two were killed at the same time. Examination of the bones revealed that he had received multiple stab wounds. One of the two victims was clearly supposed to be beheaded, but this did not succeed. Only his hat, which was found in the grave, helped with the identification. A brooch was attached to him so that his parents could identify him.

Simone Schmidl

The 21-year-old Simone Schmidl was a German from Regensburg. She disappeared in January 1991 and was found on November 1, 1993. Her body was also covered with stab wounds and, like the other victims, she was buried in a shallow grave covered with scrub. Schmidl's utensils were found in Milat's household.

Gabor Neugebauer

The 21-year-old Gabor Neugebauer was a German who went on a tour of Australia with his German partner Anja Hsehen. He was found on November 4, 1993. But he was not buried like the other victims, but leaned against a tree. Both knife wounds and six headshots were found on Neugebauer's body.

Anja H Farewell

The 20-year-old Anja Hendung died on the same day as Gabor Neugebauer. Gunshot and stab wounds were found on her corpse. Her head, which has not yet been found, was also severed.

Joanne Walters

Joanne Walters, 22, was found buried in the same way on September 19, 1992. She also had numerous stab wounds and the police assumed sexual abuse was never confirmed.

Caroline Clarke

The body of 21-year-old Caroline Clarke was found the day after the remains of her friend Joanne Walters. In addition to knife wounds, 10 bullets were found in the head. The police also assume sexual abuse in her case.

reception

Serial killers Ivan Milat and Bradley John Murdoch were the inspiration for the 2005 Australian thriller Wolf Creek , which resulted in a 2016 television series of the same name .

literature

• Jaques Buval: The backpack killer. One of the largest criminal cases in history , Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-89604-519-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Harriet Alexander: Ivan Milat, Australia's most notorious serial killer, dies. In: Sydney Morning Herald , October 27, 2019 (English). Retrieved October 27, 2019.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Ivan Milat: Australia's 'backpacker killer' and unanswered questions , bbc.com, October 27, 2019
3. ↑ The prosecutor's question that was the beginning of the end for serial killer Ivan Milat , The Daily Telegraph , August 8, 2014
4. ↑ ^{a b} The motive was solely the desire to kill , Die Welt , March 27, 1996
5. ↑ Mark Morri, Katherine Danks: Milat's relative charged with allegedly killing teen David Auchterlonie on his birthday. The Herald Sun , November 23, 2010; accessed January 12, 2012 . 
6. ↑ A male relative of serial killer Ivan Milat pleads guilty to murder of David Auchterlonie in Belanglo State Forest. The Daily Telegraph , October 23, 2011, accessed January 12, 2012 . 
7. ↑ Yoni Bashan: Ivan Milat on hunger strike over Playstation . In: news.com.au , May 15, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011. 
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Ivan Milat, Australia's most notorious serial killer, dies aged 74 , The Guardian , October 26, 2019
9. ↑ Wolf Creek - Australian drama, thriller, TV series from 2016 , filme-wahrebiegenheiten.com
10. ↑ Ivan Milat , schnittberichte.com