The Evil Within - A Top Murder Squad Detective Reveals The Chilling True Stories of The World's Most Notorious Killers Read Online Free Page B
it was from a friend in New Zealand. It began with the words ‘Hi Bill’. Ivan was asked if he was also known as ‘Bill’. He replied, ‘No, it must have been a mistake.’ When a bullet was found in one of the bedrooms, police asked Ivan if he owned any firearms. He said that he didn’t. When asked about the bullet, he said it was left from when he went shooting with his brother. The rooms were searched one at a time. In the second bedroom, two sleeping bags were found in a wardrobe. They were later identified as belonging to Simone Schmidl and Deborah Everist, two of the murder victims.
Milat was taken from the house to Campbelltown police station where he was questioned. During the interview, Milat was evasive and uncooperative. Following the interview, he was charged with the robbery and attempted murder of Paul Onions as a holding charge.
The search of Milat’s house continued. Camping and cooking equipment that belonged to Simone Schmidl was found in the kitchen pantry. The police had hoped that they would find some evidence linking Milat to the murders, but were not prepared for the amount of identifiable property that was found. As the search continued, more identifiable items were found, such as a camera, which was later identified as belonging to one of the victims. A fully loaded Browning automatic pistol was found wedged under the washing machine.
At other locations connected to Milat, more evidence was found: rifles, shotguns, knives and crossbows, together with ammunition. Most of the camping gear belonging to the victims was found in these raids. Also found in a locked cupboard in the house of Ivan’s mother was a long curved cavalry sword. To add more weight to the case, ballistics experts matched the spent cartridges found at some of the crime scenes to the Ruger .22 rifle that was found in Ivan Milat’s home.
Ivan Milat was charged with the murders of the seven backpackers. It was almost a year before the case came to court. Thesheer volume of evidence and the long list of witnesses meant it took weeks for the prosecution to present their case. During cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses, the defence tactics unfolded. Milat would be trying to convince the jury that he was not responsible for the murders but instead implied that his brothers, Richard and Walter, had committed the crimes and implicated him by planting the evidence at his house. Twelve weeks and 145 witnesses later, the prosecution closed their case. After Milat had presented his defence, the jury, after deliberating for three days, found him guilty on 27 July 1996.
For the attack on Paul Onions, he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. For the remaining seven counts of wilful murder, he received a life sentence for each. The judge recommended that Ivan Milat remain in prison for the rest of his natural life. Milat is suspected of committing numerous other murders in which people have disappeared in similar circumstances but where no bodies have yet been discovered. He has still continued to protest his innocence in relation to his conviction for the seven aforementioned victims. However, it is hoped that one day Milat may choose to unburden his conscience. The search for clues to the missing victims and their bodies will continue in the hope that further evidence may then connect Milat to these horrendous crimes. This would at least give the families some consolation and the chance to grieve and to bury their loved ones.
Ivan Milat appealed against his convictions on the grounds that the quality of legal representation he had received was too poor, and therefore constituted a breach of his common law right to legal representation. The Appeal Court found that this was not the case and dismissed the appeal.
Since being imprisoned, Milat cut off his little finger with a plastic knife in January 2009, intending to send the severed digit to the High Court. Following this incident he was taken to hospital under high
Milat was taken from the house to Campbelltown police station where he was questioned. During the interview, Milat was evasive and uncooperative. Following the interview, he was charged with the robbery and attempted murder of Paul Onions as a holding charge.
The search of Milat’s house continued. Camping and cooking equipment that belonged to Simone Schmidl was found in the kitchen pantry. The police had hoped that they would find some evidence linking Milat to the murders, but were not prepared for the amount of identifiable property that was found. As the search continued, more identifiable items were found, such as a camera, which was later identified as belonging to one of the victims. A fully loaded Browning automatic pistol was found wedged under the washing machine.
At other locations connected to Milat, more evidence was found: rifles, shotguns, knives and crossbows, together with ammunition. Most of the camping gear belonging to the victims was found in these raids. Also found in a locked cupboard in the house of Ivan’s mother was a long curved cavalry sword. To add more weight to the case, ballistics experts matched the spent cartridges found at some of the crime scenes to the Ruger .22 rifle that was found in Ivan Milat’s home.
Ivan Milat was charged with the murders of the seven backpackers. It was almost a year before the case came to court. Thesheer volume of evidence and the long list of witnesses meant it took weeks for the prosecution to present their case. During cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses, the defence tactics unfolded. Milat would be trying to convince the jury that he was not responsible for the murders but instead implied that his brothers, Richard and Walter, had committed the crimes and implicated him by planting the evidence at his house. Twelve weeks and 145 witnesses later, the prosecution closed their case. After Milat had presented his defence, the jury, after deliberating for three days, found him guilty on 27 July 1996.
For the attack on Paul Onions, he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. For the remaining seven counts of wilful murder, he received a life sentence for each. The judge recommended that Ivan Milat remain in prison for the rest of his natural life. Milat is suspected of committing numerous other murders in which people have disappeared in similar circumstances but where no bodies have yet been discovered. He has still continued to protest his innocence in relation to his conviction for the seven aforementioned victims. However, it is hoped that one day Milat may choose to unburden his conscience. The search for clues to the missing victims and their bodies will continue in the hope that further evidence may then connect Milat to these horrendous crimes. This would at least give the families some consolation and the chance to grieve and to bury their loved ones.
Ivan Milat appealed against his convictions on the grounds that the quality of legal representation he had received was too poor, and therefore constituted a breach of his common law right to legal representation. The Appeal Court found that this was not the case and dismissed the appeal.
Since being imprisoned, Milat cut off his little finger with a plastic knife in January 2009, intending to send the severed digit to the High Court. Following this incident he was taken to hospital under high
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