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Claremont serial killings: prosecution alleges accused’s DNA was found on Ciara Glennon

Rachel FennerWestern Suburbs Weekly

THE case against Bradley Robert Edwards, the man accused of the Claremont serial killings, has been laid out in a pre-trial hearing at the Supreme Court this morning.

Mr Edwards has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Sarah Spiers and Jane Rimmer in 1996, and Ciara Glennon in 1997.

He is also accused of attacking an 18-year-old woman in her Huntingdale home in 1988 and raping a 17-year-old girl in Karrakatta in 1995.

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In a morning of stunning allegations against Mr Edwards, State prosecutors said Mr Edwards’ DNA was found on the fingernails of Ms Glennon.

Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo revealed how the bodies of Ms Glennon and Ms Rimmer were found.

Ms Glennon was found with her throat cut and Ms Rimmer had marks around her neck.

Both women had fibres in their hair that matched those from the Telstra work car Mr Edwards was allegedly driving at the time.

Ms Barbagallo described Mr Edwards as a man with strange sexual proclivities.

When his home was searched it was found that Mr Edwards would masturbate into sandwich bags.

Police found a box filled with a bunch of women’s undergarments and girdles, homemade sex toys and sandwich bags.

These garments had holes cut into them where male genitals might be.

Ms Barbagallo said Mr Edwards would dress in women’s clothing and masturbate into the sandwich bags. She said these habits were continuing at the time of his arrest.

DNA matching that of Mr Edwards was found on a kimono that was stolen during a crime spree called the “Huntingdale Prowler Series”.

Ms Barbagallo claimed the accused had a fetish for stealing underwear and night garments while wearing a kimono.

She described him as “introverted and socially awkward man”.

Jane Rimmer’s body found hidden under branches

Ms Rimmer was 23 when she went missing on June 9 in 1996 her body was found in August 1996 on Wolcott Road in Wellard, 55 days after she went missing.

Ms Rimmer was last seen after midnight standing near a pole at the Continental Hotel.

High-pitched screams were heard later that night in Wellard.

Before her body was found, a man found a knife with a Telecom logo on the road, close to where Ms Rimmer’s body would soon be discovered.

The accused was issued one of these knives as an employee of Telecom and similar knives were found in his toolbox when police searched his home before his 2017 arrest.

There had been no work done by Telecom in that part of Wellard at the time of the discovery of Ms Rimmer’s remains.

Ms Rimmer’s body was so decomposed, that during a post mortem examination on August 3 and 4, 1996, no cause of death was determined.

However, she had a prominent mark around her neck and fibres found in her hair matched the seat inserts of a 1996 VS series Commodore or Toyota Lexcen.

The accused was issued a VS Commodore for work use around that time – police seized that car in 2016.

These fibres also correspond to fibres found in the hair of Ms Glennon

Ciara Glennon’s body was found with her skirt pulled up and concealed under branches

Ms Glennon was 27 when she went missing on March 14, 1997 before she was found on April 3 in Eglinton.

She was seen on the night she went missing talking to someone through the window of a Holden Commodore station wagon.

Mr Edwards was expected to stay that night with friends at a house in Dawesville, when he didn’t arrive on time he explained to friends that he was trying to reconcile with his first wife – which was later proved untrue.

Ms Glennon was found with neck injuries and DNA under her fingernails with both male and female components.

The male component of the DNA profile matched Mr Edwards, while the female component was a match to Ms Glennon.

An analysis of fibres found in her hair were consistent with the car seized by police in 2016.

Ms Barbagallo proposed that Mr Edwards took her, wilfully murdered her and dumped her in bushland.

‘Huntingdale Prowler Series’

This series started with the theft of clothes from clotheslines at the start of 1988.

Then the offender began breaking into houses in the Huntingdale area, Mr Edwards was living nearby at the time, with all the offences occuring within a kilometre of his home.

Mr Edwards’ mother coached the 18-year-old victim of one attack in netball.

The victim was sleeping on her stomach at home when Ms Barbagallo claims Mr Edwards entered and unplugged the telephone.

She woke to a man on top of her trying to shove a cloth in her mouth and when she struggled he ran away.

Weeks earlier, a kimono had been stolen from a clothesline in the area, it was dropped on the ground as he ran away.

A 2016 forensic examination of the kimono found sperm with a DNA profile matching Edwards.

When a man broke into the home of another woman in that area he was described as wearing something funny “like a dressing gown”.

Fingerprints taken from homes broken into at this time matched the accused.

These offences allegedly ended in 1988 when the accused visited Bali with his family.

Alleged Karakatta rape

The State alleged Mr Edwards was responsible for the 1995 rape of a 17-year-old girl at Karrakatta Cemetery.

Mr Edwards is alleged to have grabbed the girl from behind, bound her hands and gagged her before putting a hood over her head and carrying her to a car.

He allegedly raped the girl and the prosecution said his DNA was later found on the victim.

The girl was naked from the waist down when she visited a nearby nursing home looking for help.

A nurse said she would call the police, but when no one came, the victim left.

She found a phone box nearby and called her father, but hid when she saw a white van.

A security guard working in the area said he saw a white Telstra van driving around.

1990 attack

The prosecution said Mr Edwards pleaded guilty to a 1990 attack on a woman at Hollywood Hospital.

He was working for Telstra at the time.

Before this attack, Mr Edwards’ wife admitted that she had been unfaithful, causing him significant distress.

Ms Barbagallo said Mr Edwards covered a woman’s mouth and attempted to drag her into a toilet, but she was able to break free.

Cable ties were found in his pocket.

He was charged with the offence and pleaded guilty.

Mosman Park scream series

Sarah Spiers was 18 when she went missing on January 26, 1996.

She was last seen at 2am after she had called a taxi to pick her up.

About 3am, the “bloodcurdling” screams of a woman were heard in Mosman Park.