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Jane Rimmer, Ciara Glennon and Sarah Spiers all went lacking from a preferred nightlife space in the Western Australia metropolis of Perth in the 1990s. For practically 25 years, their unsolved deaths continued to loom massive in the minds of residents.
In September this 12 months, following a seven-month judge-only trial, Bradley Robert Edwards, 52, was discovered responsible of murdering childcare employee Rimmer, 23, in 1996 and lawyer Glennon, 27, in 1997.
He was discovered not responsible of murdering Spiers, 18, a secretary whose physique has by no means been discovered, as there was inadequate proof.
On Wednesday, Edwards was sentenced to a minimal of 40 years in jail earlier than he shall be eligible to apply for parole, the Supreme Court of Western Australia confirmed to CNN.
As he handed down the sentence, Western Australia Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall advised Edwards that he was a “dangerous predator who sought out vulnerable young women.”
“Your actions were pre-meditated, executed with pitiless determination and were remorseless in your disregard for the pain and suffering that you caused,” Hall mentioned in his sentencing remarks.
Hall mentioned there was a “high likelihood” Edwards would die in jail.
What occurred
The ladies’s disappearance sparked widespread worry amongst locals in Perth.
All three had been final seen in the early hours of the morning after spending an evening out in the prosperous suburb of Claremont, an space beforehand perceived as protected.
“The fact that three young women disappeared from the streets of Claremont created what was described as an enigma of the dark,” Hall mentioned in his judgment in September when Edwards was discovered responsible. “That is to say that there was a mystery as to who had taken the three victims.”
Within weeks of their disappearance, the our bodies of Rimmer and Glennon had been discovered in bushland. Both had been killed by a sharp-force damage to the neck, Hall mentioned in his September judgment.
Spiers was final seen in the early hours of January 27, 1996. Her physique has by no means been discovered, however there may be nothing to point out that she continues to be alive, Hall mentioned.
“She must have been abducted or killed, but the circumstances in which she was taken and how she died are unknown,” he added.
For many years, the disappearances went unsolved. Then, in 2016, police had a breakthrough.
That 12 months, Edwards was jailed for 2 rapes, and emerged as a suspect in the Claremont killings due to his DNA.
Police matched his DNA to samples taken from beneath the nails of Glennon’s left hand. The prosecution argued the DNA probably received beneath her nails throughout a violent wrestle earlier than her demise.
They additionally mentioned fibers discovered on the our bodies of Rimmer and Glennon matched these taken from Edwards’ firm automobile, which indicated that he had kidnapped each ladies in that automobile.
CNN’s Samantha Beech and Angus Watson contributed reporting.
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