A firewood trip that changed the Belanglo investigation (Part 2/5) | Forensic Files

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September 20 1992 New South Wales police officers gathered under the eucalyptus trees in the rugged depths of belenko
low state forests establishing the crime scene in what appeared to be a double homicide the gravesite was located a
significant distance from the Hume Highway branching off from the motorway down a bumpy red dust road bordered by
30 meter high pine trees once the kilometres of pine plantations reached an end the terrain transformed into dense bush
land intersected by a series of narrow fire trails this area was only accessible on foot or via vehicles
designed specifically to go off-road meaning the killer had gone to great lengths to take his victims off track
and likely owned or had access to a four-wheel drive items of clothing and to jewelry found in proximity to the
bodies indicated there was a strong chance one of the victims was Joanne Walters the 22 year old a Welsh
backpacker who was last seen leaving Sydney's Kings Cross District five months earlier if this initial
conjecture proved accurate raised the strong possibility that the second victim could be Joanne's traveling
companion 21 year old English backpacker Caroline Clarke both women had disappeared in April 1992 after selling
friends and family they planned on hitchhiking sir from Sydney towards Victoria before making their way up to
Western Australia to commence fruit-picking work efforts to locate the two missing women at the time they
vanished were unsuccessful not a single trace of either Joanne or Caroline was ever found
given their heavily decomposed the state the human remains couldn't be identified
until further forensic testing was conducted with thousands of missing people in Australia at the time police
were hesitant to draw any immediate conclusions a police spokesperson fronted the media saying police aren't
ruling out anything at this stage and will be looking at all avenues to try to identify the bodies
there is nothing at this stage to suggest that it is Joanne and Caroline but of course we will be looking at
missing-persons files to try to find something two days later on September 22 dental records provided by the parents
of Joanne and Caroline confirmed the remains uncovered in Belanger Lowe were indeed at their daughters Joanne's
father ray Walters told the media we are naturally terribly upset he can't imagine what we have gone through this
sentiment was shared by Caroline's father Ian Clark who said Caroline was looking for a change of direction and
hoped the trip would be a good way of seeing the world but in doing so she saw the darker side of human nature
forensic experts determined to Joanne and Caroline's remains had been in Berlanga low since April meaning the
pair were killed shortly after they went missing autopsies revealed both women had fallen victim to what police
described as ferocious and sustained attacks the lack of defensive wounds indicated they were both restrained and
remained bound throughout their ordeal Joanne Walters had upwards of 14 stab wounds throughout her torso she had been
gagged using three strips of material which appeared to have been torn from a size 41 men's shirt tied in an
over-under pool not a garrote lock device used for strangulation lay on the ground nearby Caroline Clark's body laid
30 meters from jo-ann's her head wrapped in a sweatshirt riddled with bullet holes ten bullets had penetrated her
skull from close range and she had also sustained a knife wound through her back
ballistic experts determined to the bullets were shot from a 22 caliber rifle seven bullets were recovered from
Caroline's skull and the remaining three were found in the soil beneath her amaze
ten spent winchester brand cartridge cases were found three meters from Caroline's body discarded five meters
from Caroline's body were six cigarette butts five were her preferred brand with
the brand of the sixth unknown it couldn't be established whether it was Caroline or her killer who had smoked
the cigarettes but if they were all inhaled by the perpetrator the amount of time that would take them to do so meant
they would have spent an unusually long time at the crime scene an area of trampled down bush nearby was now
showing signs of regrowth suggesting some of the attack may have occurred there forty meters away investigators came
across several bricks circling a small pile of ash the remnants of a makeshift fire pit the
crime scene was a considerable distance from the main road leading investigators
to believe the killer was local to the area and had familiarity of bourlingueur Lowe's layout including the secluded
areas less traveled no possibilities were ruled out with police considering many scenarios including the more than
one killer was involved and that there were more bodies hidden in the forest [Music]
[Music] [Music] detectives from the New South Wales homicide squad joined forces with local
officers to conduct a full-scale search of the crime scene and it surrounds more
than 100 police officers rescue workers and sniffer dogs tracked the Bellanca life State Forest as divers scoured dams
on nearby private properties but the Shi sauce of the forest which consisted of gullies
steep hills crakes thick trees and dense shrubbery made the search a monumental task despite the extensive efforts of
everyone involved nothing else of significance was uncovered news of the murders of Joanne Walters and Caroline
Clarke filled the families of other missing backpackers with dread Norbert AB she'd sister Anja had disappeared
with her boyfriend Gabor Nikki Bella from Sydney need nine months earlier norther stated we are very sad that
these girls were found dead because the same thing could have happened to Aniyah
and a Gabor investigators didn't look into the files of other missing backpackers who failed
to find anything to suggest that any met a similar fate to that of Joe Ian and Caroline as such
police wondered down their search of Berlin Geller and instead too focused on finding the killer a police spokesperson
told the Australian newspaper the search has covered a wide enough area for us to dismiss speculation that
there are other bodies but more graves is obviously not what this search is for it's to find evidence on the two girls
found murdered the task force was established with 12 detectives assigned to work on the case
full-time but their work was cut out for them as they had very little to go on just weeks into their investigation
detectives conceded they had virtually no leads the langa low was frequented by residents of the nearby small southern
highlands town of Beryl their forest the backdrop provided them with the opportunity to engage in an abundance of
outdoor activities including bush walks picnics camping and a four-wheel driving
yet upon the chilling discovery of human remains within Berlin gallows depths many now vowed to never return one
barrel resident remarked I can't believe there's such a peaceful place could be the scene of something so awful
violent crime was virtually unheard of in barrel and speculation that the killer could live locally led to members
of the community to why each other with suspicion one resident said for all I know it could be anybody that you drink
with at the pub it could be anybody you passed in the main street just tell what
we to know on October 4 2 weeks after Joanne Walters and Caroline Clark were found mourners gathered in the remote
area of Belanger low for what the Walters family titled a service of serenity relatives of both young women
were in attendance as were members of the local community the Walters and Clarke families insisted the event
wasn't a funeral or memorial service but a way to thank the Australian people for
their support and to recognize the efforts of police and to the Beryl community in finding their daughters
it also aimed to expunge the evil that had taken place in the forest to ensure Joanne and to Caroline's Souls could
rest in peace an overcast sky stretched above the forest drizzling rain down on the crowds as they lit candles and laid
wreaths a Welsh flag was draped over the site where Joanne was found and some 30
metres away a Union Jack Fire Golay where Caroline was discovered the rain began to east as Anglican Minister
father Stephen gray began his opening address declaring we have come here to this place a place where something
wicked happened to call on the power of God so this place will be peaceful again
[Music] members of the Sydney Welsh choir sang a popular folk song from their homeland
Navin we at the conclusion of the service they sang you'll never walk alone during which the clouds parted and
the Sun shone down upon the forest following the service Joanne's father said I just couldn't leave without
thanking the Australian people for how they've helped us to have gone home without this service would have been
leaving something out now we're putting this area back to how it was and putting the girls to rest in what
was considered to be one of the most widespread and exhaustive investigations conducted by the New South Wales Police
Force the search for Joanne and Caroline's killer resulted in thousands of lines of
inquiry across Australia and to the UK with more than 500 people formerly interviewed Detective Inspector Bob
Gordon who was a leading jo-ann and Caroline's murder inquiry stated our investigations have covered a literally
millions of square kilometres both here in Australia and overseas detectives have travelled extensively
throughout New South Wales intimating queries in areas such as Wagga Wagga narendra wentworth nara and the southern
highlands New South Wales police have also traveled to Victoria Queensland and South Australia as part of their
investigations I can assure the community that dozens of experienced detectives have poured a thousands of
hours into this murder investigation and we remain confident of achieving a breakthrough despite these efforts the
investigation struggled to make any considerable progress prompting the New South Wales state government to offer a
$100,000 reward but the monetary offer did little to rejuvenate the languishing investigation the task force continued
its inquiries but what began with a team of 12 detectives working on the case full-time was reduced to just three
on October 5 1993 a little over one year since Joanne Walters and Caroline Clark
were found a local man named the Bruce Pryor was driving through Berlin Guillou in search of firewood this was something
he had always done but ever since the murders Bruce remained extra observant while
collecting wood on the off chance he came across anything police had missed too during their search on this
particular day Bruce drove along the upper end of the Long Acre fire trail he was in a remote
area of dense scrub located approximately 500 meters from where Joann and Caroline's remains were found
he parked his car and ventured off the fire trail on foot heading deep into Berlanga Lowe's rugged terrain after
walking inward for about 100 meters Bruce noticed what appeared to be a human femur bone on the ground he
continued through the bush for about 20 meters where he made another startling discovery
several more bones and a human skull Bruce raised the alarm at the closest arrangers hurt and to the police were
contacted upon their arrival Bruce led them to his discovery a cursory search of the area uncovered
more bones teeth and a decaying women's clothing hidden under piles of sticks and Bracken the silver chain crucifix
and a bracelet containing small stones were located near the bones further away a pair of pantyhose were found with the
lower ends tied into Slipknot's having clearly been used as a restraint a piece of decomposed fabric was thought
to have been used as a gag for lengths of red and yellow electrical tape were also recovered from the scene two hours
later just 22 meters west from the first set of remains police came across a pair
of men's san shoes visible under a large pile of sticks and branches at the base
of a tree under the pile was the skeleton of a second body parallels were immediately
drawn between this double homicide crime scene and the one established in the same forest for the year prior both sets
of victims were located in close proximity and had been covered in a similar manner by forests the BRE 400
meters from the newly discovered remains was a tree trunk peppered with nine bullets a dove which were too damaged to
be identified but a ninth which was confirmed to have come from a 22 caliber rifle the same weapon used against
Caroline Clarke both crime scenes were positioned too close to the remnants of old camp sites in the case of the second
crime scene the campsite was 100 metres away from where the victims lay and included a fire pit built from bush
rocks investigators considered whether the killer had camped out with his victims
before turning on them or had stayed in the area after the slayings based on the
remoteness and proximity of the two crime scenes authorities believed the same killer was responsible for all four
deaths and two there was still certain they were dealing with a local who was familiar with the forest superintendent
Clark's more quote he wouldn't expect a person just a driving past to go to these depths
the recently uncovered skeletal remains were sent for post-mortem examination and identification meanwhile speculation
ran rife as to who they might be with theory centralized on missing German backpackers Gabor Nikki Bella and his
girlfriend Tanya have she'd who were last seen leaving their hostel in Sydney just over a year and a half earlier
police expressed their opinion that the remains appear to have been in the forest for approximately 12 months
further validating theories they were those of the German couple yet forensic testing revealed the remains had in fact
spent close to five years in the bushland ruling out any possibility they were Gabor and Dania as investigators
waited for results of the postmortem they checked the missing persons records to determine whether any other foreign
backpackers had disappeared from New South Wales around five years ago days later both bodies were positively
identified and it wasn't at all who many were expecting given the media attention
had focused primarily on missing international backpackers not as much had been mentioned about the December
1989 disappearance of 19 year old Australian couple James Gibson and Deborah Everest they had last been seen
in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills with the intention to hitchhike south to Aubrey Deborah Everest had a broken jaw
and fractured skull sustained by a solid object such blunt-force trauma would have led to unconsciousness and possibly
even caused a hemorrhage brain damage or death several deep gashes across her skull were caused by a
large knife or sword a like object markings on the rib area of her back were caused by a 30 millimeter wide
blade James Gibson was found in a fetal position having been stabbed in a frenzied manner seven times throughout
his body like Joanne Walters in the Caroline Clarke neither James nor Deborah had defensive
wounds indicating they too were restrained detectives returned to their focus to James Gibson's 35-millimeter
Rico brand camera which had been found on gulstan Gorge Road on December 31 1989 one day after the couple went
missing gostin gorge road was located 150 kilometres north of Berlin below in the opposite direction to James and
Deborah's intended destination near Aubrey James's backpack which had also been found on gulstan Gorge Road months
after the couple's disappearance contained pine needles despite there being no pine trees in that area DISA
led investigators to believe James and Deborah had been killed in Belenko low state forest on December 30 1989 the day
they were last seen alive the killer had then gone to considerable efforts to dump James's belongings along
gulstan Gorge Road with the next day perhaps in an attempt to mislead police upon hearing news that James and Deborah
were found the Gibson and Everest families were left shattered having maintained hope throughout the years
that their children were still alive James's sister Mary Ann told the media James was such a good person he was very
very talented in the good fun and a gentle the wrong sort of person to meet a violent end
the town meeting was held in barrel where local police warn to the 120 residents in attendance about the
dangers of hitchhiking and to jogging or walking alone terrified locals bombarded
police with questions desperate to know whether they believed more victims lay undiscovered in the forest all the wall'
attending investigators inconspicuously scanned to the crowd looking for anyone who stood out as suspicious the parents
of Joanne Walters and Caroline Clark made an appeal to the people of barrel via video pleading for anyone with
information to come forward emphasizing the importance of finding their daughters backpacks which were
still missing and possibly hold significant clues Deborah Everest brother Tim said if
anyone knows anything about the murders how would they feel if it was their sister mother daughter brother or father
that this had happened to think of it like that fear gripped the Barrell community with many citizens stating
they were too scared to leave the house Holmes once kept open by trusting residents were now locked up with locals
hesitant to move about at night alone for one regional store Highland security business doubled as the sales of locks
and alarms increased to help solve the murders of Joanne Walters Caroline Clark James Gibson and Deborah Everest the New
South Wales Police Force established a task force there initially consisting of 15 detectives - intelligence analysts
and several forensic investigators all led by Superintendent Clive small the well-respected astute detective was
renowned for his investigation into the 1987 shooting of undercover New South Wales police officer michael jury small
was also responsible for reviewing the rape and kidnapping charges laid against former New South Wales police detective
Superintendent Harry Blackburn small discovered evidence that proved a Blackburn's innocence thus saving him
from being sent to prison for crimes he didn't commit the hunt for the killer presented serious challenges for Task
Force Air a considerable amount of time had passed since the four murders and police had so far failed to uncover any
evidence to point towards a prime suspect small assembled a tough reliable team of detectives whom he trusted some
had previously worked on the investigation into notorious serial killer John Wayne Glover small front of
the media and publicly declared that they were likely hunting down a serial killer or killers quote there are some
similarities in to the indications are we're heading in the direction of a common offender or offenders we are very
conscious of the fact the two sets of bodies were found in a straight line 500 to 600 meters apart the investigation
will be extended to look at other missing backpackers into missing persons warnings about the dangers of
hitchhiking were issued with small pleading with travellers not to accept rides from strangers under any
circumstances his warnings seem to fall on deaf ears with several backpackers telling journalists for The Sydney
Morning Herald the murders wouldn't deter them from hitchhiking as they were on tight budgets and there was the
cheapest mode of transport task force s first major assignment was to develop a plan to conduct the most thorough search
possible of belenko State Forest the team used satellite imagery to identify any changes in the density of
the vegetation since the late 1980s in the hope it would help locate potential burial sites GPS was used to plot points
on maps and mark locations where bodies and evidence had so far been located while a command post was established in
the forest and staffed the route of the clock forensic investigators were on standby to attend any newly discovered
crime scenes which police were certain existed each day buses containing hundreds of police and state emergency
service volunteers from surrounding regions arrived to the forest working in teams of forty as they traversed the
scrub in search lines sometimes on their hands and knees to cadaver dogs specially trained to work in rough
terrain were also caught in an area extending five square kilometres outwards from the known crime scenes
were scoured with teams also retracing areas covered in previous searches any time the person located an item of
interest they were advised to yell find after which the team leader of the group
would assess the item and to make contact with the command post a police spokesperson provided the media with an
update on the search advising we have found nothing so far to suggest that there are more bodies out there but we
certainly can't discount the possibility that there are at the moment we are consolidating the information that has
come into the investigative unit and to sifting through that for leads one of the only pieces of physical evidence
investigators had that could link them directly to the killer or killers whether recovered bullets and cartridge
cases that were determined to have been fired from a 22 caliber rifle the search to find the knife for knives
used in the attacks was a far more difficult task as forensic experts were not yet able to distinguish whether the
same one or several were used in the slayings superintendent small stated you don't have as many opportunities to
chase up a knife as you do a firearm therefore locating the firearm and its owner became a major facet of task force
there's investigation superintendent cliff small requested anyone who owned a 22 caliber rifle to
come forward to eliminate themselves from the investigation as detectives spoke to gun dealers within the barrel
area plans were made to question all mm licensed gun owners in the Southern Highlands region and to extend the
search nationwide if required every line of inquiry was followed up by task force
air but with no major breakthroughs in the case things were beginning to slow down in Belen below
on the afternoon of November 1 1993 four weeks after James Gibson and Deborah Everest were found a group of police
were asked to do one final sweep of their allocated area of the forest the officers were exhausted and
disheartened they had been searching for close to a month straight and to get to
uncover anything of importance nevertheless the group performed the sweep as directed trawling in a single
file in an area of bushland - located approximately 40 meters off a fire trail known as - despair they were towards the
outer limits of the designated search area a few kilometers away from where the four bodies had been uncovered as
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forensic investigators cordoned off the area near the - despair fire trail where
police uncovered more human skeletal remains along with several personal items including jewelry and coins the
bones were sent for forensic testing where dental records confirmed they belonged to missing German backpacker 21
year old Simone SH middle Simone had been missing for almost three years she was last seen alive in January 1991
walking towards the Hume Highway with plans to hitchhike south to Melbourne as in the case of several of the other
victims found in Berlanga lo Simone had been stabbed multiple times with extreme
force her t-shirt was found 50 metres from her body with its front slashed open along with a length of soft wire
tied in the shape of a noose superintendent clive small fronted the media confirming that police were of the
opinion that Simone's killer was the same person responsible for the murders of James Gibson Deborah Everest Joanne
Walters and Caroline Clark leading criminologist professor Duncan Campbell from the Australian Institute of
Criminology told the aged newspaper that it would be an unusual case if a serial
killer was responsible for all slayings as quote they don't usually kill across genders and don't normally kill more
than one person at a time the search of Belanger Lowe ramped up once again in what was shaping up to be one of the
largest homicide investigations ever conducted in New South Wales all five victims were found in the northmost
region of the forest and police concentrated their efforts on the three fire trails within the vicinity of the
grave sites Longacre - despair and a tree cave three days later on November 4 1993 a police team
was searching a rocky Bluff approximately 30 metres from the tree cave fire trail about one kilometer east
from where Simone Middle's remains were found an officer spotted a woman's brown sandal with a broken strap
amongst the forest debris attend made a walk on woods underneath a stack of branches and a next to a partially
burned a log lay a human skeleton the area was immediately sealed off by forensic investigators who made another
grim discovery just fifty meters away where underneath the pile of logs they found four the remains of a second body
a plane ticket shoes a watch and two jewelry were found a close by as was a bra with multiple stab marks a pair of
black leggings and pink jeans wrapped in underwear inside the jeans was a piece of pink colored cloth knotted in a
v-shape reminiscent of the bandana type masks worn by Cowboys in movies the homemade restraint made from black
insulation tape sash cord and the plastic electrical ties was also recovered along with several other
pieces of black electrical tape and a length of blue and yellow rope beside the former 70 centimeter loop at one end
and a 12 centimeter loop at the other dental records confirmed the identity of the remains to be those of missing
German backpacker 21 year old akka born okagawa and his 20 year old girlfriend and year ham shade the couple were last
seen alive checking out of their hostel in Sydney's Kings Cross area almost two years earlier in December 1991 Anna had
been stabbed multiple times in the torso and had also been decapitated with a single powerful blow to the back of the
neck by a machete sword or axe despite extensive searches of the surrounding area the skull was never recovered Gabor
had been shot in the back of the head six times and his hyoid bone was fractured likely caused by forceful
pressure applied to his neck in an active strangulation he was gagged with a piece of material
that appeared to have been torn from a child's dress or apron curiously the gag had been tired using a reef knot which
was of particular interest to investigators as the knot used to tie the gag on Joanne Walters was done using
a simple over-under pull not the to not varieties hinted that it was possible more than one person was involved in the
crimes dr. Peter bradhurst a forensic pathologist from the New South Wales Institute of Forensic Medicine had been
responsible for conducting the post-mortem examinations of all seven Berlanga low victims he noted
significant differences as the killings progressed the first three victims James
Gibson Deborah Everest and Simone Schmidt all had been subject to blunt force trauma and frenzied stabbings
later ana ham she'd Gabor Neugebauer Joanne Walters and Caroline Clark had also been
violently stabbed but the killer had escalated to include shootings and a decapitation as news spread that the
belenko murder count had risen superintendent cloths more fronted the media commenting I think it would be
fair to say that given we now have seven bodies that we do have a serial killer there are obvious similarities the
distance from the road the distance between the bodies the manner in which they were covered and to the fact that
they have been there for some time would lead us at this stage to conclude they are connected four bullets
recovered from gabor Nogales remains was shot from a 22 caliber rifle the same type of firearm used against the
Caroline Clark the remaining two bullets had left his skull from the same exit wound
that couldn't be located at the crime scene despite police sifting the soil and employing the use of metal detectors
this led to the belief gabor was shot elsewhere in the bushland approximately 160 metres from Gabor and
Anna's crime scene was a location invested is named arrey arrey a space which appeared to have been used by the killer
as a shooting gallery here police uncovered 47 used 22 caliber Winchester brandy cartridge shells along with an
empty Winchester brand winner model ammunition box ballistic experts concluded as these bullets were fired
from a 22 caliber Ruger self-loading rifle with a 10 round rotary magazine and it was the same firearm used against
both Gabor Nikki Bella and a Caroline Clarke there were also 46 spent 22 caliber
early brand cartridges and an empty a Leibrandt ammunition box the ailee bullets were determined to have been
discharged from a different firearm and henchard's 22 caliber bolt-action rifle this meant
two rifles were fired within arrey arrey a Ruger Indian shoots with the very two
locations of all 93 bullets indicating the guns were discharged from several directions in a concentric circle
further examination revealed the guns were fired at or about the same time ruling out the possibility that the
killer or anyone else had returned to the scene at a later date to fire the second gun gouge marks on some of the
bullets indicated a silencer had been attached to at least the Ruger to mitigate the risk of being heard bullets
were found embedded in tree trunks while others were in the soil amongst the broken beer and cordial bottles
suggesting the shooter had used the glass bottles as target practice the ballistics team used the batch
numbers from the empty winchester and daily cartridge boxes found at arrey arrey to try and denaro down the hunt
for the owner of the weapons but it was like searching for a needle in a haystack
the batch of Winchester cartridges comprised of three hundred and twenty thousand of bullets which had been sold
to over 55 outlets across Australia between June and November in 1988 one year before the first of the Berlanga
victims went missing da Libre and ammunition had been manufactured and distributed in March
1979 almost a decade earlier and their manufacturer had no records of which retail outlets the a li mu Nisshin had
gone to for sale with each new discovery investigators learned more insight into
the mind certain patterns of the killer or killers all crime scenes shared noticeable similarities with H of victim
having endured equally violent ordeals at the hands of a perpetrator who seemed to derive gratification from the
torments of others this was clear in a distinct stab wound some of the victims sustained to their
backs which would have rendered them paralyzed but kept them alive and conscious during subsequent torture the
extent of the perpetrators depravity was further evident in his treatment of using several victims for target
practice shooting at them whilst they were restrained with the wounds of at least the one victim indicating that
were repositioned several times before the firing recommenced the disarray of some victims clothing from shirts pulled
up to missing pants and underwear that investigators the believed they were also sexually interfered with in each
case the bodies of the victims were concealed under light scrub within 200 metres of a fire trail in the north
region of the forest they were all found lying face down against the rock or fallen tree covered by branches twigs
and forests the break with the exception of James Gibson who was found laying on
his side in the fetal position some officers believed that there was a ritualistic pattern to the way H victim
was buried while others believed the positioning of H suggests that the killer was neat tidy and too well
organized as the murders progressed the attacks increased in brutality becoming more
cruel and vicious the killer also became more brazen and confident seemingly spending longer at the crime scene with
each new victim the first victims James Gibson and Deborah Everest were buried deep within the natural forest but the
second Simone's middle had been buried a little closer to the pine plantations followed by a Nia hug sheet and two
Gabor Noga Bella who were buried closer again from there it appeared the killer realized that they were edging too close
to the pine plantations which were frequented by forestry workers so he returned to deeper into the forest with
Joanne Walters and Caroline Clarke Superintendent Clive small quote I think the sites have been deliberately chosen
in the sense that they are all similar locations in terms of geography and conditions we found a pattern to the
extent that they appear to follow the perimeter of the pine forest all we can do is follow the patterns the discovery
of makeshift fire pits close to each crime scene suggested two scenarios that the killer lured their victims into the
bush under the guise of offering them a genuine Aussie camping experience charming them over the campfire before
launching into an attack or the killer camp that they'd seen after carrying out his crimes to relish the moment some
found it hard to imagine a single offender could have ducked restrain torture and killed the victims traveling
in pairs one explanation was that the killer simply controlled his targets at gunpoint
while another speculated that the victims may have been drugged with one of the pair killed in this incapacitated
state whilst the other was kept alive and tortured some experts even theorized the killer may have forced the one
victim to inflict injury or death upon the other there was also evidence to enhance the
multi perpetrator theory from the two different firearms being used in conjunction a terrier a so the two
distinct to not styles he used for gags and restraints as well as the different methods of killing as at least one
victim was repositioned and fired upon in a target practice style setup that seemed plausible that is one shooter
fired the other was responsible for moving the victim's body of the victims belongings only a small amount of
clothing and personal effects were recovered from the crime scenes the backpacks of Deborah Simone Gabor and
young Joe Ian and Caroline were still missing and contained a large array of clothes cooking equipment tents sleeping
bags as well as a collection of foreign currency james Gibson's backpack had been found at gulstan gorge over 100
kilometres away but it was empty of most of his possessions having concluded they
were dealing with the killer characterized by power and control investigators believed it possible that
at least some of the victims belongings had been kept by him as trophies they believed that once they found the killer
there was a good chance they would find the missing items the palanga low case had already become
the biggest serial killing spree in New South Wales history and superintendent cloths Moore was aware there may be more
victims out there saying if you'd asked me this time last month whether there were any more bodies in the forest I
would never have expected to be back here talking about seven bodies there are clearly other backpackers missing
and we have files and a whole range of people the team of intelligence analysts reviewed over 600 unresolved
missing-person cases dating back to 1972 narrowing the list down to 20 they believed would be connected to the
Belenko low serial killer interstate lore enforcement also checked their backlog of case files forwarding on any
they suspected could be linked to Belanger low with 25 arriving from Victoria Police and another six from
Queensland Police Duncan Chappell director of the Australian Institute of Criminology told the aged newspaper I
don't think that the killer would have killed only 7 people I suspect there is no reason why he would have stopped they
don't stop unless they are caught I have never heard of therapy or anything else
stopping serial killers they may be very sociopathic but they are not insane the
likelihood is that he is either killed more people or is planning future killings on November 5 the New South
Wales government announced that a reward of $500,000 was on offer for anyone with
information leading to the arrest and conviction of the polenka low serial killer this was a significant increase
to the existing reward of $100,000 made available following the discovery of Joanne Walters and Caroline Clark and
was on par with the highest reward ever offered in the state the New South Wales
Police Commissioner announced that a further 300 police would be added to the group of officers currently scouring
Belanger and that the search would be extended to cover the entire perimeter of the forty square kilometre forest
as the investigation expanded a shed at the back of the barrel police station was converted to form the base of
operations for one half of task force there with the remaining officers working out of Sydney City for lead
detective Superintendent cloth small one of the biggest challenges they faced was
information management he was mindful of the investigation into the Yorkshire Ripper serial killings in the United
Kingdom during the late 70s covered in episode 37 of case file in that instance several people had named the perpetrator
to police throughout the investigation but due to the way this vital information was mishandled it was
overlooked superintendent's more wanted to learn from these mistakes and ensure nothing
of importance from the Berlanga low serial killer case slipped through the cracks several investigations were now
being consolidated under Task Force Air including the original missing person investigations of the seven known
victims as well as other missing persons who also may have fallen victim to the Belenko low serial killer it was a
logistical nightmare as each missing-persons case had been handled by police departments from
different regions with each having their own specific way of collating information some documents were only
available in hard copy and stored within the police station of origin while others were entered on the digital
databases that couldn't be cross-referenced with other systems Joanne Walters and Caroline Clark's
murder investigation alone had generated more than seven and a half thousand inquiries with over 500 people
questioned all that information had been stored on the New South Wales police task force information management system
which was designed for standalone investigations and - not equipped to handle the massive increasing scale that
was the Berlanga low case the existing task force management system was also unable to search records from government
agencies interstate police departments or the Australian Federal Police recognising dis deficiency
superintendents more worked with intelligence analysts data management experts and software specialists to
develop a more sophisticated system capable of handling the unique requirements of task force there
they combined elements from 12 existing software packages to create an advanced system that enabled them to record mine
and cross-reference data from a variety of sources naming this new system net map importing all the existing data from
the various old systems into the advanced net map database was a painstaking and time-consuming process
it caused the short-term delays for investigators who were temporarily unable to access information but the
payoff was worth the wait with net map up and running more than 1 million pieces of information including
names addresses dates locations and a vehicle details could be cross-referenced with these saving
potentially hundreds of hours of work for task force investigators [Music] on November 16 police orchestrated a
second search of Galston gorge the area two hours drive north of Belanger lo where James Gibson's camera and backpack
were found the media speculated that the killer may have another burial ground in
the surrounding Barrera Valley Regional Park although police insisted they weren't looking for more bodies but
rather for evidence relating to the seven confirmed victims a team of over 100 police officers combed the
designated four kilometer area of rugged Bush land either side of Galston Gorge Road scouring the scrub
shoulder-to-shoulder while police divers searched the waters of nearby Pereira Creek a number of items were recovered
including a shirt shoes and a purse the items were all examined by forensic experts who determined to them to be
unrelated to any of the Berlanga victims meanwhile the ongoing search of Berlanga
low State Forest had become one of the largest ever conducted in Australia's criminal history despite this no further
evidence or bodies were located and police felt confident there was nothing else to be found on November 16 1993 the
intensive search of Belanger Lowe finally reached its conclusion the four hundred officers who had conducted the
search bowed their heads and observed a moment's silence in memory of the victims a police chaplain recited the
Lord's Prayer before lamenting we are reminded of the fragility of life as we remember those seven young people whose
life was brief and who died in such tragic circumstances an article penned by journalist Frank Walker for newspaper
The Sydney Morning Herald spoke of the eerie silence that haunted bungalow since the murders of James Gibson
Deborah Everest Simone Schmidt or Gabor Nagar Bella Anna have shade Joanne Walters and Caroline
Clarke he wrote it makes the skin crawl to walk the trails of this creepy place taking the same path that the killer or
killers of seven young backpackers must have taken as he delivered them to their
appointment with Death Note birds fly from the stringy bark gum trees no animals scurry away in the bushes
something is terribly wrong here as the search of the forest slowly drew to an end the media reported that up to 20
people were being looked at as potential persons of interest in the Belanger lo killings but police have yet to
establish any firm suspects the search for the Ruger and dan short's rifles used in Belenko low was still under way
with the u.s. manufacturer of the Ruger stating that tens of thousands of the firearms had been imported into
Australia meaning identifying the owner of one of them would be no easy feat however ballistic experts were able to
narrow the search down slightly as the base of one of the spent cartridges recovered from the crime scene had an
upward indentation this was caused by a known fault in the firing pins of burgers made between 1964 into 1982
task force air obtained the manufacturers records and created a database of all Ruger rifles that had
been imported into Australia they then acquired the Australian Federal Police database that listed all licensed the
Ruger owners in the country this database had been created by the AFP following the 1999 murder of former
assistant Federal Police Commissioner Colin Winchester who was shot dead with a 22 caliber semi-automatic Ruger rifle
fitted with a silencer task force there ruled out all Ruger rifles that were already in police possession or had been
destroyed as of December 1991 the first time the firearm was used against the Berlanga a victim detectives then
questioned a licensed firearm holders gun clubs and to check the gunshot records they do not houses have
registered gun owners in the Southern Highlands area and seized all Ruger rifles to conduct ballistic comparisons
Superintendent Clive small from his book inside Australia's biggest manhunt quote
working from the top down under the bottom up would we hoped enable us to identify both the number of unaccounted
for Ruger's and a number of people who could not account for their Ruger the two-pronged strategy ought to expose
emissions and highlight mismatches while allowing us to narrow the focus to specific geographic areas and to
individual gun owners who could not be eliminated it was laborious and time-consuming but
we were not in a race after inspecting over two and a half thousand registered firearms from residents throughout New
South Wales police were yet to uncover the weapon they were looking for [Music] police had since launched a toll-free
hotline for members of the public to phone in with information or tips it received an overwhelming response with
over 5,000 calls made in the first 24 hours from all over Australia and overseas details from every single call
were entered into the database with a printout of each handed to an investigator to be assigned one of three
classifications no action due course or priority one Superintendent small was mindful that the most seemingly
insignificant detail could be the clue needed to identify the killer but with so many tips coming through it was not
always immediately clear which ones took priority one woman phoned to report a man she knew whose family owned a
property in the Southern Highlands region not through far from Belanger lo she had been compelled to provide his
details to the hotline purely on the basis that he owned a four-wheel-drive vehicle and had a keen interest in
firearms owning several the call operator tookies named Ivan Milat and the information was entered onto the
database as per protocol another call came in to the hotline from a woman based in southwest sydney identified as
mary she wanted to report an incident that happened too near 16 years earlier that bought chilling similarities to the
circumstances of the recent Belanger law crimes in july 1977 when mary and her friend Therese were 18 years old they
were hitchhiking south along the Hume Highway hoping for a ride back home to Canberra
the pair were picked up by a man with black straggly hair who appeared to be aged in his 30s as he drove the young
women along the Hume Highway the driver suddenly took a right turn near the southern highlands town of meddigan
explaining it was a shortcut once they reached an isolated dirt road he pulled the car over under the guise of needing
a toilet break before grabbing Mary by the arm and saying okay girls who's first Mary fought him off and she and
two rays managed to escape running into the surrounding bush land where they hid
under some shrubbery the men searched for them over the following hours slowly driving up and down the dirt road upon
failing to find it the women he gave up and left shaken Mary and Therese sought help from the occupants of a nearby farm
house who offered to drive them to Bower or police station but they declined choosing not to report the matter Mary's
story was corroborated by her friend to Ray's who also placed a call to the hotline later that day
to report the same distressing incident that occurred back in 1977 a week after the hotline
received the harrowing calls from Mary and Tory's a woman from Canberra named to Joey and Barry phoned in to report
yet another disturbing incident that took place on the Hume Highway this one three years earlier in January 1990
one month after James Gibson and Deborah Everest went missing Joanne was driving
her Toyota to Roggeveen south down the Hume Highway when just before the turnoff to Belanger Lowe State Forest
she noticed two men scuffling on the side of the road one was violently pushing the other to
the ground and a silver four-wheel-drive vehicle was pulled over and nearby the younger man sustaining the attack and
managed to escape the grip of his assailant allowing him the opportunity to flee he raced up the highway
frantically signaling for help jumping in front of Joanne's car as she approached giving her no choice but to
stop he then rushed around to the door of the van before pulling it open and a leaping inside Joann ordered the
stranger to get out of her vehicle but he yelled back in a British accent I'm not getting out he's got a gun
his distress was palpable and to Joanne instantly understood the urgency of the situation she saw a break in the median
strip drove across it to perform a u-turn then sped off in the opposite direction as the tirado headed towards
barrel police station its occupants caught sight of the young man's attacker out the fan's a rear window he stood
alone on the opposite side of the highway staring right back at them an evil smirk across his face to be
continued next week [Music] you

Case 109: Belanglo (Part 2)

[Part 2 of 5]

On September 20 1992, New South Wales police officers gathered under the eucalyptus trees in the rugged depths of Belanglo State Forest...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Anonymous Host Writing – Elsha McGill Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-109-belanglo-part-2

Brief Summary

The episode details the murders of backpackers in Belanglo Forest and the investigation uncovering more victims, indicating a serial killer at large.

Key points

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Double Homicide Investigation. In 1992, New South Wales police discovered the bodies of two missing backpackers, raising fears of a serial killer.
Community in Fear. The discovery of the murders left the local community terrified and suspicious of each other.
Discovery of Remains. Forensic investigators uncover more human skeletal remains linked to missing backpackers.
The Search Intensifies. As the investigation unfolds, the police ramp up their search efforts in Belanglo Forest.
Serial Killer Confirmed. Authorities confirm the existence of a serial killer after multiple bodies are found.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

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1:16WatchMar 30, 2019

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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