CLAREMONT: The Trial

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S2E68: The Good Old Fashion Police Work that Changed WA History Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

The police officer who went digging for the fingerprints that would blow the Claremont Serial Killings investigation wide open give his evidence today.

Sgt Colin Stuart Beck took the stand to tell his massive involvement in one of WA’s most infamous cold cases, how his good old fashioned police work finding fingerprints from a series of break-ins, which led to fingerprints linking the Claremont cases to Huntingdale cases, and the database match with threw up the name Bradley Robert Edwards.

All of these links, however didn’t have any DNA evidence.

That’s when WA police set up an undercover operation to follow Bradley Edwards.

Long-time listeners of the podcast and the case will remember in late December 2016, Bradley Edwards went to the movies. He had no idea police were watching his every move.

He dropped a Sprite bottle into the bin as he left, police picked that bottle up and it was immediately sent to the lab.

Police waited anxiously for the results, which eventually showed an exact match to Huntingdale and Karrakatta, and a match that couldn’t be ignored for Ciara.

The podcast team take you through the details of Sgt Beck’s evidence - from the phone call of a DNA match, to the arrest of Bradley Edwards and the searches of four houses linked to him, through to finding clothes from the 90s to compare to fibres found in Jane and Ciara’s hair, and the car Bradley Edwards drove in 1996 and 1997.

As always, Bradley Edwards is innocent until proven guilty, and this evidence is the prosecution’s way of trying to prove whether he is the Claremont Serial Killer.

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and forensic expert Brendan Chapman as they discuss day 68.

If you have a question for the podcast team or any of their guests, send them in to Claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E67: The Trial Travels to China Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

With a video link to China, technical difficulties plagued the morning’s proceedings.

When the technical issues were sorted, day 67 took a deep dive into fibres, VIN numbers and cars.

Tim Clarke says in this episode, you would have had to be a car buff for the day’s evidence to keep you interested and focussed the whole day.

Luckily, Tim Clarke was in court all day and takes us through the most important aspects of the day.

A former Holden manufacturer, who told the court the particular colours of the fibres of the car - found in Jane and Ciara’s hair - were only found in that make and model of car.

It was a narrowing down exercise today, narrowing down the chances that the car police found could be the car which Jane and Ciara were in, and possible take to where they were killed.

Join Natalie Bonjolo and Tim Clarke as they discuss the day’s evidence, and make it easy to understand.

Send any questions you have for the podcast team to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E66: The Last Thing Jane and Ciara Could Have Ever Seen Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

Could the inside of the Holden Commodore VS series be the last thing Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon ever saw before they were killed?

It was revealed CSI took three days to dismantle and examine the Holden Commodore that Bradley Edwards drove in 1996 and 1997.

Hundreds of exhibits were taken from the car - ChemCentre looking for fibres, PathWest looking for biological material, police looking for investigative clues, polilight exams, swabs, mats, seat covers and door panels taken away. Anything that could be examined, was.

Even though the car was assigned to Bradley Edwards in April 1996, the witness today - CSI officer Acting Senior Sergeant Steven Mark told the court they still looked for any signs of Sarah Spiers, who disappeared on January 26, 1996.

Nothing from Sarah Spiers or DNA was found, but fibres were - and that’s what this car brings to the case.

The prosecution say the seat fibres were found on Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.

So, what is the importance of this car and fibres to this case? Criminal defence lawyer Damien Cripps says in other criminal trials, fibres are used in evidence to make sure every stone is turned in the investigation. Fibres may not be the most important exhibits in the trial, but they are physical links between Bradley Edwards and the two women.

More than 90 photos of the car were shown to the court, and have been released to the public. As Tim Clarke explains in this episode, the last photo is probably the most interesting because it shows a piece of the puzzle that can’t be seen with the naked eye.

Those photos can be seen on thewest.com.au.

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Damien Cripps as they discuss day 66 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial.

If you have any questions for the podcast team, or any of their guests, send them in to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E65: The Car Seizure that Changed the Investigation Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

The police officer who seized the car Bradley Edwards drove in the 90s told the court of the breakthrough police had when they realised the car still existed.

That car was the Holden Commodore seized in December 2016 - the same day Bradley Edwards was arrested.

It’s been revealed it was the car Bradley Edwards drove in 1996 and 1997 - and the prosecution say it was the car he drove to abduct Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.

It’s become vitally important in the case, because the prosecution says fibres found on the victims match the fibres of the seat inserts of the car.

Other fibres which the prosecution say link the victims to Bradley Edwards are blue fibres.

As Tim Clarke explains in this episode, a lot of people present at the crime scenes, post mortems and fibre collection also wore blue - police officers.

But the prosecution says that blue was specially made for Telstra by workfare company Yakka, the colour called Telstra Blue, and ChemCentre can prove that because their technology is so sensitive, it can pick up colour down to the wavelength, and can determine the exact colour, not tainted by the interpretation of what the human eye sees.

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Alison Fan as they discuss day 65 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial.

If you have any questions for the podcast team, or any of their guests, send them in to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E64: The Sensitive Operation Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

On Day 64 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial, two forensic police officers detailed how they painstakingly sifted through Jane Rimmer’s hair mass 13 years after her post-mortem.

It was a sensitive operation for two reasons.

After being in frozen storage for more than a decade, Jane’s hair mass was extremely brittle, and still had icicles on it.

But these officers were very aware they were sifting through the hair of a murdered woman.

As forensic expert Brendan Chapman explains in this epsidode, while collecting and retaining a hair mass during a post-mortem is common, actually testing a hair mass isn’t - because mostly, it’s taken as a, what he called the “one per center” a “last resort” exhibit to examine.

Through his experience, cases tend to get solved before sifting through a hair mass is needed.

But this was a “one per center” case, and the prosecution would say that one per cent chance of testing paid off.

The prosecution say 22 fibres, 20 of which the prosecution say matched a white commodore station wagon Bradley Edwards had access to at the time, and 2 which they say match specially-made Telstra pants worn by the accused in the 90s were found in Jane Rimmer’s hair.

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and forensic expert Brendan Chapman as they discuss day 64 of the Claremont Serial Killings trial.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E63: The Trial Must Go On Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the judge presiding over the Claremont Serial Killings trial, Justice Hall effectively told the court on day 63 that the trial must go on.

At the end of the shortened day for the cross examination of former forensic police officer Victor Webb, Justice Hall told the court he is prepared to make changes to the process to allow witnesses to give evidence from home.

But for day 63, former forensic police officer Victor Webb was grilled by the defence about storage and transfer of critical exhibits, as well as the car he drove in the 90s.

As Tim Clarke and Emily Moulton explain, the defence will try to argue that instead of the critical fibres linking Bradley Edwards to Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon through his Telstra car and shorts, instead, they were found on the victims through contamination and fibre transfer.

It’s previously been revealed several police officers drove police cars, some of of which were commodore station wagons to the crime scenes of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, as well as to the morgue during their post-mortems, where the bodies were placed on a sheet on the floor.

But the prosecution say the fibres got there from the women being in the car driven by Bradley Edwards.

The prosecution also argue he didn’t necessarily have to be wearing his Telstra uniform at the time of the murders, instead, some fibres from his Telstra shorts stayed in the car, and transferred onto the women while they were in his car.

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Emily Moulton as they take you through day 63.

Send in any questions you have for the podcast team to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E62: Prime Suspect’s Knife Sent to the FBI Mar 25, 2020

Show notes

Just as day 62 of the Claremont serial killings trial was ending, drama erupted in the courtroom.

Coronavirus-related drama.

Justice Hall hauled a security staff member into the courtroom after it emerged some pensioners and students were banned from entering the court.

He told the security their actions, which were approved by the court’s general manager could amount to contempt of court, saying,

“I take this extremely seriously. The public has been discouraged from attending but not excluded." And "No one is to be excluded from this court other than by my order.”

During proceedings, former forensic police officer Victor Webb gave evidence, who told the court knives owned by the prime suspect at the time - Lance Williams’ - was sent to the FBI along with Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s hair and clothes.

Despite finding nothing, police still pursued him, overtly and round the clock, for years.

It wouldn’t be until 2008 that Lance Williams would be cleared.

Along with MACRO exhibits, exhibits from operation Ambrose - the investigation into the murder of Gerard Ross was sent to the FBI too.

In 1999 the FBI had technology that WA didn’t - that’s why the samples were sent there. WA police also sought the advice from the best entomologists and profilers in the world.

They stayed there until 2001, and what would come out of it would be the critical fibres that the prosecution say link Ciara Glennon, Jane Rimmer and the Karrakatta rape victim to Bradley Robert Edwards.

Join Tim Clarke, Natalie Bonjolo and criminal defence lawyer Damien Cripps as they discuss day 62.

If you have any questions for the podcast team, or any of their guests, send them to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E61: The FBI Connection Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

WA’s trial of the century will likely take a couple of days off each week in an effort to try and limit the amount of time the lawyers, witnesses and police are in the room.

It’s been a fast changing process of how this important trial can continue through the COVID-19 crisis, all the players are working together to try and get a result, as well as stay safe. Justice Hall told the court “We will pull together”

That means streamlining the witnesses.

Today, three forensic scientists took the stand, giving evidence about the search for clues from the bodies Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon, and the clothes of Ciara and the Karrakatta rape victim.

One of the former forensic officers told of how police were so desperate for clues, they sent the hair masses of Jane and Ciara to the FBI to expert hair analysts, as Tim Clarke explains, they were world leaders at the time in fibre analysis.

Another scientist, Bernard Lynch told the court he analysed the Karrakatta rape victim’s shorts, looking for carpet fibres - fibres which would have been from the car the perpetrator used when he abducted her, but he didn’t find anything.

What was found almost two decades later, was a blue fibre, which the prosecution say belonged to blue Telstra shorts Bradley Edwards wore.

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Alison Fan and Tim Clarke as they take you through day 61 of the trial, and day 2 of the fibre evidence.

If you have any questions for the podcast team, send them in to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2E60: Unlike DNA, Fibres CAN Fly Around the Room Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

After a 10-day break, WA’s trial of the century resumed - with strict and widespread cleaning and social distancing measures to ensure this mammoth trial can continue.

Compared to previously in the trial - when the public gallery was packed to the point a separate room was set aside for overflow - one person from the public was in court.

And what they heard was the beginning of the fibre evidence, which focussed on Jane Rimmer’s hair mass.

Fibres are critical to the prosecution to link Ciara Glennon’s fingernails - which they say contained Bradley Edwards’ DNA - to Jane Rimmer and the Karrakatta rape victim.

Without any DNA evidence linking Jane to the accused, or any DNA evidence at all, the prosecution say 22 critical fibres were found in Jane’s hair, which came from specially made Telstra pants that Bradley Edwards would have worn in the mid 90s.

They say those fibres got there through Bradley Edwards taking Jane in his car, and getting close enough to her when he was killing her.

The defence, however say contamination is also the way those fibres got into Jane’s hair mass.

If you’re just joining the trial now, you can start from season 2, episode 1, or our special two-part catch up, called JUMP IN NOW: Claremont the Trial Catch Up Part 1 and 2.

If you have any questions about the trial for any of the guests, send them in to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Forensic expert Brendan Chapman as they discuss day 60.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S2Bonus Episode: Your DNA Questions Answered Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

Now the DNA portion of the trial is over, and before we delve into the world of fibre evidence, the Claremont in Conversation team have consolidated all of the DNA evidence which is crucial to the case.

Ciara Glennon’s fingernails, the Karrakatta rape victim’s swabs and a kimono - the three pieces of evidence which the prosecution say led them to Bradley Edwards.

Joined by forensic expert Brendan Chapman, Natalie Bonjolo and Tim Clarke answer the questions you’ve asked about all things DNA in relation to the Claremont Serial Killings trial.

If you’re just jumping in, hear about the advanced DNA technique at the time which found microscopic fragments of DNA from a broken fingernail, the international agencies involved in the testing, and the fluke cold case reinvestigation which blew the Claremont case wide open.

And if you’ve been following the case from the beginning, recap the last six weeks of DNA evidence before the trial of the century resumes on March 23.

If you have any questions for the Claremont in Conversation team or any of their guests, send them in to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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