The Most INFAMOUS Serial Killer in Australian History | Shocking True Crime Story - video Dailymotion

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Discover the chilling story of Australia’s most notorious serial killer, the Backpacker Murderer. Learn how Ivan Milat terrorized young travelers, the horrific crimes he committed, and why his legacy still haunts backpackers today. This true crime documentary explores the dangers of hitchhiking and the lessons every traveler must know to stay safe. Watch now and stay alert!

Transcript

00:00:00It was the kind of forest you'd drive past without a second thought.

00:00:03Just another stretch of trees nestled off a highway in the New South Wales countryside.

00:00:09Peaceful and still.

00:00:10But behind the stillness, something sinister was hiding.

00:00:14For years, carefree young travelers from around the world

00:00:17vanished without a trace along Australia's highways.

00:00:20Some were written off as runaways and others as accidents.

00:00:24But deep in the Belonglo State Forest, a horrifying truth waited to be unearthed.

00:00:29A predator had been hunting in plain sight.

00:00:32And the peaceful image of Australia as backpacker's paradise was about to shatter.

00:00:38This is not just the story of a killer.

00:00:40It's the story of how one man's darkness left a scar on an entire nation.

00:00:45And how justice nearly slipped through the cracks in the process.

00:00:49Crime, conspiracy, cults, serial killers, and murder.

00:00:53All things that I love to consume and I know you do too, you sick, twisted, beautiful, intellectually minded freak.

00:00:59And today we are taking a trip across the pond over a couple, a couple hops, a couple skips across the pond over to Australia.

00:01:08Sorry if I butcher, absolutely butcher some of the naming here, some of the pronunciations.

00:01:13But I'm going to do my very, very best.

00:01:18That was terrible.

00:01:18Gosh, bad.

00:01:19But we're talking about a horrifying individual.

00:01:23So without further ado, let's unbuckle our seatbelts, go Mach 5 down the highway, slam on the brakes,

00:01:28and bust through this windshield into this absolutely insane psychopathic killer together.

00:01:34I talk about some pretty heavy stuff on this channel.

00:01:52And to get some escape, I like to go outside, and I like to just scroll online or connect with my family.

00:01:58But staying connected online doesn't necessarily mean that you're protected online.

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00:02:18House on Eden, shout out.

00:02:19And when I travel, I often use public Wi-Fi.

00:02:22But public Wi-Fi is basically handing your personal information to strangers on a silver platter.

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00:04:55Ivan Robert Marco Malat was born on December 27th, 1944,

00:05:00in the suburb of Guilford, New South Wales, Australia.

00:05:03And he was the fifth of 14 children born to Stephen Malat, a Croatian immigrant.

00:05:11Fourteen's a lot.

00:05:11My goodness.

00:05:13God bless that woman.

00:05:14And that woman was Margaret Piddleston, who was an Australian native.

00:05:18And the Malat's family's home environment was marked by poverty and violence.

00:05:23So they lived in rural Western Sydney, often in run-down houses with dirt floors.

00:05:28And this large brood, if you will, struggled to make ends meet.

00:05:33And Ivan's father, a wharf laborer, was a strict disciplinarian

00:05:37and an alcoholic prone to violence and outbursts.

00:05:41And Boris Malat, Ivan's older brother,

00:05:44recalled their father striking their mother at least once a week during drunken rages,

00:05:50which is absolutely horrible.

00:05:51And their mother, while devoted, had a fierce temper as well, though.

00:05:55Sometimes punishing the children very harshly.

00:05:58It's like a domino effect.

00:06:00You know, the husband's doing it to the wife and the wife's doing it to the kids.

00:06:03It's just terrible.

00:06:05And growing up, the Malat siblings were surrounded by weapons.

00:06:09Guns and knives were a normal part of childhood play.

00:06:13And target shooting in the backyard was just a common pastime.

00:06:16And with ten boys in the family, chaos was constant.

00:06:20And local police became very well acquainted with the Malat household over the years.

00:06:26So from a young age, Ivan exhibited disturbing behavior that set him apart even in his tumultuous family.

00:06:33And relatives later described noticing psychopathic tendencies in Ivan as a boy.

00:06:38Because he had a bit of a cruel streak.

00:06:41Taking pleasure in harming animals with machetes, to be specific.

00:06:45Which is enough for me.

00:06:47Because in one incident recounted within the family, Ivan allegedly took the machete.

00:06:53And I'm going to say this in the only way possible.

00:06:58He made one dog into two.

00:07:00If that makes sense.

00:07:01Which is, it makes me want to cry.

00:07:04Any violence is bad.

00:07:06You know, animals just, oh god.

00:07:09As a child, like, thinking that that is okay.

00:07:12Or just taking pleasure in that is, uh...

00:07:16Yeah, I can't wrap my head around it, honestly.

00:07:20And by age 13, his behavior had become so unruly that he was sent to a residential school for troubled youths.

00:07:28Thank god.

00:07:29I think prison would have been better at this point, but he was only so old, so.

00:07:32And Boris Millat would later say that Ivan, quote, was going to kill somebody from the age of 10.

00:07:40Believing his brother had a murderous disposition practically, quote, built into him from childhood.

00:07:46Send this kid to a...

00:07:48I don't know, a bunker underground, my lord.

00:07:53But despite attending Catholic school like his siblings, Ivan's education was overshadowed by his poor behavior.

00:08:00And instead of studying, Ivan spent his early teens breaking into houses and stealing.

00:08:05Just petty crime.

00:08:06You know, one of the ingredients in the serial killer stew.

00:08:09Arming animals.

00:08:10And petty crime.

00:08:12So Ivan would drop out of formal schooling at around the age of 15 years old.

00:08:16And spent his late childhood in the pursuit of criminal thrills.

00:08:20You know, as you do.

00:08:22And this would mark the beginning of Ivan Millat's lifelong pattern of crime and violence.

00:08:27So by his mid-teens, Ivan Millat's stint of minor crime had evolved into a complete lifestyle.

00:08:34And by the age of 17, in the early 1960s, he was already very well acquainted with law enforcement.

00:08:40And had actually been sentenced to six months in a juvenile detention center for burglary.

00:08:45But despite his charismatic demeanor, which he did have, allegedly.

00:08:49He showed little regard for authority or social bounds.

00:08:53And he allegedly engaged in affairs with at least two girlfriends of his own brothers during this period.

00:09:00Quite the ladies' man.

00:09:01And quite the piece of shit.

00:09:03But he had no remorse in betraying those closest to him.

00:09:06So it's just setting the stage for who this guy is about to become.

00:09:10And academically, there was no record of Millat achieving anything notable at all.

00:09:14And instead, his teenage years were just defined by escalating run-ins with the law.

00:09:20And friends and peers, if any remained, took a backseat to Ivan's true adolescent companions.

00:09:26Which was cars, guns, and crime.

00:09:29Sounds like the title of a 10% Rotten Tomatoes action movie to me.

00:09:32But anyway.

00:09:33So Millat's early adulthood saw a steady stream of criminal offenses and growing boldness.

00:09:39And in 1964, at the age of 19, Millat was sentenced to 18 months in prison for breaking and entering.

00:09:46And barely a month after his release, he was caught driving a stolen car and was handed a two-year sentence of hard labor.

00:09:53The guy's got a problem.

00:09:54Because completely undeterred by the stints behind bars, Millat continued to just do what he wanted.

00:10:01He had no care in the world for anybody else except for himself.

00:10:05And in September of 1967, at the age of 22, he was convicted of theft yet again.

00:10:12And imprisoned for three more years.

00:10:15He just spent his entire young adulthood in and out of jail.

00:10:20And these early convictions for burglary, car theft, and other property crimes show a pattern of escalation, as we can see.

00:10:28And law enforcement in New South Wales were by now quite familiar with the Millat brothers.

00:10:33And Ivan, in particular, had become a regular offender, cycling in and out of custody throughout the late 1960s.

00:10:40But still, the severity of his crimes and the length of his sentences kept increasing.

00:10:45And it was just a foreboding sign of what was about to come.

00:10:48Millat showed no desire to reform at all during his stints.

00:10:53Because each time he returned to society, he would just slip back into his old habits.

00:10:57And during this period, Millat's legitimate work history and personal relationships were unstable at best.

00:11:04Because any semblance of a normal career was frequently interrupted by his prison terms.

00:11:10You know, the consequences of your actions.

00:11:12But in the mid-1970s, he eventually secured a job as a truck driver for the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority.

00:11:21Truck drivers.

00:11:23I know there's good ones out there.

00:11:25But my God, is that a good job for a serial killer?

00:11:28And this would be a position he would drift in and out of for the next two decades.

00:11:33But in the 1960s and early 70s, steady employment was hardly Millat's priority, to say the least.

00:11:41And as for his personal life, Ivan demonstrated a strong disregard for conventional morality.

00:11:47He was known to charm women with his looks and confidence.

00:11:50But these relationships were often fleeting and very dysfunctional.

00:11:54And as noted before, he even seduced women within his brother's circle.

00:11:58But it would not be until the late 1980s that Millat entered into a serious marriage.

00:12:03And even that union would be overshadowed by violence.

00:12:08But we'll get to that shortly.

00:12:09So in his 20s, Millat's main commitments were to his own impulses and desires,

00:12:14rather than to any sort of family or any sort of other relationship.

00:12:19And by the end of the 1970s, he had established a double life.

00:12:24On one hand, he was an outwardly unremarkable blue-collar worker to acquaintances.

00:12:29And on the other, a hardened criminal with a growing potential for violence behind closed doors.

00:12:35So as the 1970s began, Ivan Millat's criminal conduct took a darker and more violent turn.

00:12:42And the first known instance of his brutality occurred on April 7th, 1971,

00:12:47when 26-year-old Millat picked up two 18-year-old female hitchhikers near Liverpool on Sydney's outskirts.

00:12:56And at knife point, he abducted the young women, tied them up, and s***ed them.

00:13:02But luckily, the pair eventually managed a narrow escape by fleeing at a roadside service station cafe.

00:13:08And Millat was arrested later that day.

00:13:10And charged with one count of s***ed and two counts of armed robbery, as well as an abduction charge.

00:13:17So this incident marked Millat's transition from property crimes to violence against people.

00:13:24And while out on bail awaiting trial in 1973, he and some of his brothers committed a string of robberies.

00:13:30Just showing that Ivan was undeterred by the prospect of prison.

00:13:35And in a somewhat surprising move to avoid the looming trial, Millat actually faked his own life cancellation, if you know what I mean.

00:13:44And he would leave his shoes abandoned at The Gap, which was a notorious Sydney clifftop, life-ender spot, just to mislead police.

00:13:53And then he fled the country.

00:13:55And for about a year, he hid out in New Zealand under an assumed identity.

00:13:59And authorities suspected that upon sneaking back into Australia, Millat roamed between Queensland and Victoria,

00:14:06and possibly other parts of the country, to evade detection.

00:14:09But he was eventually re-arrested in 1974, when he resurfaced in Sydney after his mother suffered a heart attack.

00:14:17But in court, however, he escaped justice.

00:14:19And in 1974, he was acquitted of the charges after his defense lawyer, John Marston,

00:14:26aggressively attacked the victim's credibility, which is absolutely f***ing disgusting.

00:14:32And he did so by exploiting prejudices, by labeling them as lesbians.

00:14:37Which, like, for that to hold up in court at that time, like it wasn't that long ago, is absolutely insane to me.

00:14:45Definitely different times.

00:14:47But buoyed by this legal vindication, Millat just grew bolder.

00:14:51And Millat's inclination for extreme violence did not subside at all.

00:14:55In fact, it just escalated.

00:14:57And in 1977, he was implicated in another incident involving two female hitchhikers,

00:15:03traveling from Liverpool to Canberra.

00:15:05And it was an attack in which he allegedly attempted to s*** and murder the women.

00:15:10But he was never charged due to lack of evidence.

00:15:14It's like, it's weird.

00:15:15It's like, you'd think they'd look back at his record and be like,

00:15:17oh yeah, this guy's definitely capable of that.

00:15:19Like, I understand that you need evidence for stuff, but you think they'd dig a little more.

00:15:25I don't know.

00:15:25Though formal charges were absent, the pattern was clear.

00:15:30Millat was increasingly targeting vulnerable travelers and growing more confident in doing so.

00:15:35So he had effectively graduated from burglarer to predator.

00:15:39And it's crazy because he would even speak very openly about violence.

00:15:43And acquaintances later recalled Millat bragging about how to incapacitate a person by st***ing them in the spine.

00:15:51And graphically describing how to turn someone into, quote,

00:15:55a head on a stick, which is very reminiscent of Ed Kemper, who literally said that quote verbatim.

00:16:03Talking about women that he would look at and he would like picture a life with them,

00:16:07or he would picture their head on a stick.

00:16:10Just monsters walking the earth.

00:16:12But such comments, in hindsight, just eerily foreshadowed the grievous injuries inflicted on his eventual murder victims.

00:16:19So throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, Millat remained an avid shooter and outdoorsman,

00:16:26often hunting in the very forest that would later become his killing grounds.

00:16:30So the two decades before his known killing spree saw Ivan Millat evolve into a hardened, volatile criminal

00:16:37who had proven capable of s***ing violence, cunning evasion of law enforcement, and remorseless brutality.

00:16:46Just all the ingredients for a serial killer lying in wait.

00:16:49Just a giant steaming pot of s*** serial killer stew.

00:16:54Just of the worst kind.

00:16:55Behind the scenes of his escalating violence, Millat attempted to create a facade of normalcy in the late 1970s and late 1980s.

00:17:05And as mentioned before, after evading conviction in 1974,

00:17:09he secured a steady job as a truck driver with the Roads and Traffic Authority,

00:17:13operating out of Liverpool and traveling widely across New South Wales.

00:17:17And by outward appearances, he was a reliable road worker,

00:17:20known to his co-workers as quiet, if somewhat rough-edged.

00:17:24And in 1983, Ivan entered into a relationship with a teenage girl named Karen Duck,

00:17:31who was 16 years old and pregnant by one of Ivan's cousins when they met.

00:17:38What the f*** is going on?

00:17:39This wasn't like 1910 or 20.

00:17:42Not that that would make it okay, but it's just like so recent where this is just,

00:17:46it's just disgusting to think about.

00:17:49Insane.

00:17:49So Ivan married 16-year-old Karen in 1984, perhaps seeking a conventional domestic life.

00:17:56So the couple would live in southwestern Sydney,

00:17:59and for a time, Millat's violent impulses were not publicly visible.

00:18:04But behind closed doors, the marriage was deeply, deeply troubled,

00:18:08which is not remotely surprising, given who this piece of s*** is.

00:18:12Because Karen would later describe Ivan as, quote, gun-crazy,

00:18:17recounting how he found joy in shooting kangaroos during visits to the Belanglo State Forest,

00:18:23and how he kept a frightening arsenal of weapons.

00:18:26And she also endured his temper and physical abuse.

00:18:30And in 1987, after years of just terror,

00:18:34Karen fled the marriage in fear of her life.

00:18:37And they would divorce in October of 1989.

00:18:40And I believe that this was one of the kicking-off points to him

00:18:44getting back into his murderous ways.

00:18:47Because despite marrying, Millat's treatment of women and family remained abhorrent, if anything.

00:18:53And in yet another breach of trust,

00:18:55Ivan carried on a secret affair with his own brother Boris's wife throughout the 1970s,

00:19:01while he was married to Karen,

00:19:03which resulted in the birth of a daughter named Lennice.

00:19:07So through the 1980s, Millat continued living around the Sydney area,

00:19:12working intermittently, saving money to buy firearms and vehicles,

00:19:16and honing the outdoor skills that would soon facilitate his transition from violent criminal to serial murderer.

00:19:24And financially, Ivan was stable enough due to his roadwork income to fund his hobbies of guns and off-road vehicles.

00:19:30And by the end of the 1980s, Millat continued to be a seemingly ordinary laborer on the surface.

00:19:38But underneath, his rage and predatory intent were ready to burst.

00:19:43All he needed was the right opportunity and victims to unleash the full extent of his monstrosity.

00:19:50So Caroline Clark was 21 years old and from England.

00:19:53And Joanne Walters was 22 years old and was from Wales.

00:19:57And they were traveling in Australia when their paths crossed in the early 1992.

00:20:02And the two actually became friends while staying at a backpacker's hostel in Sydney's King Cross District.

00:20:08And decided to team up for the next leg of their adventures.

00:20:12So on April 18, 1992, they set off together from Sydney,

00:20:16intending to hitchhike south towards Victoria to find fruit picking work,

00:20:20or possibly travel west to see more of the country.

00:20:23So when weeks passed with no word from either woman,

00:20:27their panicked parents alerted authorities in the UK and Australia.

00:20:31And flyers were distributed and media outlets publicized their disappearance,

00:20:35and raising the fears that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong on the road.

00:20:40And tragically, those fears would be confirmed in late September of 1992.

00:20:45So on September 19th of that year,

00:20:47two orienteering runners in the Belanglo State Forest stumbled upon a concealed corpse in the bush.

00:20:54And the next morning, police investigators found a second body only 30 meters away.

00:21:00And dental records identified the remains as Joanne Walters and Caroline Clark.

00:21:05And the condition of the bodies revealed the horrifying violence that had endured.

00:21:10Walters had been s***ed repeatedly 21 times in the back and 14 times in the chest,

00:21:17according to forensic reports.

00:21:20And one thrust had actually severed her spinal cord,

00:21:23which was a wound that would have instantly paralyzed her.

00:21:27But Clark had been killed differently.

00:21:29She was s***ed in the head 10 times at close range,

00:21:34as if used for target practice.

00:21:36And she also showed evidence of s***ing to the chest,

00:21:40and was found with a makeshift blindfold,

00:21:43suggesting the killer had sadistically terrorized her before death.

00:21:47And investigators noted other eerie details at the crime scene.

00:21:51One was a primitive stone fire pit that had been built nearby,

00:21:56and cigarette butts and .22 caliber shell casings littered all over the ground.

00:22:01And Walters' jeans were discovered with the zipper undone,

00:22:04but the top button still fastened.

00:22:06A sign that she may have been s***ed,

00:22:09and then redressed in haste.

00:22:12And due to decomposition,

00:22:14it was impossible to conclusively determine if s*** even occurred.

00:22:18But the implication was very clear,

00:22:21and extremely horrifying.

00:22:24And my heart goes out to the victim's families and the victims.

00:22:27It's abhorrent what was done to these girls.

00:22:29These details painted a picture of a killer, or killers,

00:22:34who derived pleasure from cruelty and spent time with the bodies after death.

00:22:39And the discovery of Clark and Walters just sent shockwaves through Australia and abroad.

00:22:45And the British tabloids dubbed the unknown perpetrator the, quote,

00:22:48beast of the bush,

00:22:50and speculated that a serial killer was preying on young tourists.

00:22:54And Australian police, however, were initially cautious.

00:22:58And in late 1992, officials publicly downplayed the idea of a single serial murderer,

00:23:04suggesting it might be an isolated incident,

00:23:06or the work of multiple assailants,

00:23:09despite the gruesome evidence.

00:23:11But still, an extensive search of the Belanglo State Forest

00:23:14was conducted after the first two bodies were found.

00:23:18But no further remains were located at the time,

00:23:20and without any immediate leads,

00:23:22the investigation into Clark and Walters' murders grew cold as 1992 turned into 1993.

00:23:28But unbeknownst to authorities,

00:23:30the killer had struck before,

00:23:32and would strike again.

00:23:33The earliest known victims of Ivan Milat were not foreign tourists,

00:23:38but rather Australians on a road trip.

00:23:4119-year-old Deborah Everest and 19-year-old James Gibson,

00:23:46a young couple from Frankston, Victoria.

00:23:49So in late December of 1989,

00:23:51James and Deborah left Melbourne

00:23:53to attend an alternative lifestyle festival.

00:23:56It was called ConFest,

00:23:57near Albury, just over the New South Wales border.

00:24:01And they arrived in Sydney first,

00:24:02spent a couple of days sightseeing,

00:24:04then commenced hitchhiking southward on December 30th, 1989,

00:24:09hoping to reach the festival.

00:24:10Don't hitchhike.

00:24:12I say it all the time, and I'm saying it now.

00:24:14Don't hitchhike, my sweet little bean.

00:24:17So the two would attempt to hitchhike to get to this festival,

00:24:20but unfortunately, they would never make it.

00:24:23And when neither James nor Deborah contacted their families after New Year's,

00:24:27missing reports were filed.

00:24:28And early clues created confusion,

00:24:31because on December 31st, 1989,

00:24:34a hiker found James Gibson's damaged camera

00:24:37by the side of the road in Galston Gorge,

00:24:39in Sydney's northern outskirts,

00:24:41which was far from any direct route to Albury.

00:24:44And a few months later, in March of 1990,

00:24:47Gibson's empty backpack was also recovered

00:24:49in that same area of Galston's Gorge.

00:24:52And these discoveries would just puzzle police,

00:24:55who at the time had nobodies,

00:24:57and thus suspected James and Deborah

00:24:59might have met with foul play closer to Sydney,

00:25:02nowhere near Belanglo.

00:25:04But in reality, the items had likely been dumped

00:25:07by the killer to mislead investigators.

00:25:10Who do we know who loves to try to mislead police?

00:25:14We're getting there.

00:25:15But the young couple's fate remained a mystery

00:25:17for almost four more years.

00:25:19And on October 5th, 1993,

00:25:22after Clark and Walters had been found,

00:25:25a local man scavenging for firewood

00:25:27just stumbled on skeletal remains

00:25:29in a remote section of the Belanglo State Forest.

00:25:32And he notified police,

00:25:33and an intensive search quickly uncovered

00:25:35two bodies buried not far apart.

00:25:38And those bodies would be identified

00:25:40as James Gibson and Deborah Everest,

00:25:43the long-missing Victorian youths.

00:25:45And the injuries to the bodies

00:25:47bore the hallmarks of a killer's

00:25:49viciousness that would become all too familiar.

00:25:53James Gibson, for example,

00:25:54had been s***ed eight times.

00:25:56And like Walters,

00:25:57one m***ed m***ed m***ed wound

00:25:59had sliced through his upper spine,

00:26:01paralyzing him completely.

00:26:03And other s***ed wounds to his back and chest

00:26:05would have punctured his heart and lungs,

00:26:08likely causing a quick,

00:26:10but extremely agonizing death.

00:26:13And Gibson's body was found

00:26:14curled in a fetal position,

00:26:16suggesting the pain he'd endured

00:26:18in his final moments.

00:26:20And Deborah Everest's remains revealed

00:26:22a slightly different brutality.

00:26:25Because she had been brutally

00:26:26s***ed about the head and the face.

00:26:29And her skull was fractured in two places,

00:26:32and her jaw was also broken.

00:26:34Injuries consistent with being struck

00:26:36with great force.

00:26:38And in addition,

00:26:39there were s***ed marks on her forehead

00:26:41and s***ed wounds to her back,

00:26:43indicating that even after s***ed her,

00:26:46the killer s***ed Deborah

00:26:47as she lay dying.

00:26:49But the discovery of Gibson and Everest

00:26:51nearly four years after they vanished

00:26:54would definitively link

00:26:55the 1989 missing persons case

00:26:58to the string of backpack murders.

00:27:00And initially,

00:27:01investigators were perplexed

00:27:03that Gibson's camera and pack

00:27:04had turned up so far from Belanglo,

00:27:07but now it was clear

00:27:08that something more sinister

00:27:09had taken place in the forest.

00:27:11And the murders of Deborah Everest

00:27:13and James Gibson

00:27:14also had a chilling effect

00:27:16on the Australian public.

00:27:17Because the fact that such violence

00:27:19could be done upon locals,

00:27:21not just international tourists,

00:27:24I don't know why that would matter,

00:27:25but, you know,

00:27:26it's just hitting home

00:27:27for these people, I guess,

00:27:29just underscored the universality

00:27:31of the danger.

00:27:32But meanwhile,

00:27:33detectives redoubled their efforts,

00:27:35realizing that a single madman

00:27:37was likely responsible

00:27:38for all of these killings,

00:27:40and had been active

00:27:41since at least 1989.

00:27:44So 21-year-old Simone Schmidl

00:27:46was an adventurous traveler

00:27:48from Germany,

00:27:49touring Australia alone.

00:27:51And in January of 1991,

00:27:53Simone planned to hitchhike

00:27:54from Sydney down to Melbourne,

00:27:56where she was supposed

00:27:57to meet her mother,

00:27:58who was flying in from Germany,

00:28:00for a camping holiday.

00:28:01So she departed Sydney

00:28:03on January 20th, 1991,

00:28:05with her backpack

00:28:06and an eager optimism

00:28:08familiar to many lone backpackers.

00:28:10But when Simone failed to show up

00:28:12at the Melbourne airport,

00:28:13and made no further contact,

00:28:15it raised alarms

00:28:16among her family

00:28:17and her friends.

00:28:18And she would be

00:28:19officially reported missing.

00:28:21But with next to no clues

00:28:23and her journey spanning

00:28:24hundreds of kilometers

00:28:25of highway,

00:28:27the search for Simone

00:28:28did not yield answers

00:28:29for a very long time.

00:28:31And it wasn't until

00:28:32nearly three years later,

00:28:34with renewed police operations

00:28:35in Belanglo,

00:28:37that Simone's fate

00:28:38was finally discovered.

00:28:39So on November 1st of 1993,

00:28:42the New South Wales police

00:28:43were conducting

00:28:44a massive line search

00:28:45of the Belanglo State Forest.

00:28:47And that's where officers

00:28:48came upon a set of human bones

00:28:50and a clearing off a fire trail.

00:28:52And the remains were identified

00:28:53as those of Simone Schmidl.

00:28:56And like Walters,

00:28:57Simone had been killed

00:28:58with extreme brutality.

00:29:00She would suffer

00:29:01at least eight stab wounds,

00:29:03including ones

00:29:04that would sever her spine

00:29:05and would have caused paralysis

00:29:07similar to the others.

00:29:09And others that punctured

00:29:10her heart and her lungs.

00:29:13So the manner of her death

00:29:14just showed an awful similarity

00:29:16to Walters' multiple s***ings

00:29:18with control wounds

00:29:20to incapacitate.

00:29:21And disturbingly,

00:29:22at Simone's grave site,

00:29:23police found clothing

00:29:24that did not belong to her.

00:29:26And those clothes

00:29:27were a pair of green silk shorts

00:29:29and a yellow top

00:29:30that were later identified

00:29:32as items worn

00:29:33by another missing backpacker,

00:29:36Anya Habschied.

00:29:38And this indicated

00:29:38that the killer

00:29:39had murdered multiple victims

00:29:41in the forest

00:29:42and perhaps moved

00:29:44or intermixed

00:29:45their belongings.

00:29:46And whether that was

00:29:47to confuse investigators

00:29:48or simply as a result

00:29:49of handling various trophies

00:29:52is unknown.

00:29:53But Simone Schmidl's discovery

00:29:55reinforced the growing realization

00:29:57that a serial killer

00:29:58was prowling

00:29:59the New South Wales bush.

00:30:01She had vanished

00:30:02over two years before,

00:30:04but now the link

00:30:05between her case

00:30:06and the others

00:30:06was completely undeniable.

00:30:09And the young German

00:30:10solo journey in Australia

00:30:11had met a horrific end

00:30:13at the hands of a predator

00:30:14who showed absolutely no mercy.

00:30:17Gabor Neuschbauer

00:30:18was 21 years old

00:30:20and his girlfriend,

00:30:21Anya Habschied,

00:30:22was 20.

00:30:23And they were a German couple

00:30:24exploring Australia together.

00:30:26And in late 1991,

00:30:28they had big plans.

00:30:30Because after Christmas

00:30:30in Sydney,

00:30:31they would travel

00:30:32across the country,

00:30:33aiming to reach Darwin

00:30:34in the Northern Territory

00:30:36and then fly home

00:30:37to Germany a month later.

00:30:39So on December 26th, 1991,

00:30:42which was Boxing Day,

00:30:43Gabor and Anya

00:30:44checked out

00:30:44of their Sydney hostel

00:30:46and set off hitchhiking,

00:30:47intending to head south

00:30:48and then west

00:30:49on a grand outback adventure.

00:30:51But unfortunately,

00:30:52they never made it

00:30:53to Darwin alive.

00:30:54And when the pair

00:30:55failed to contact

00:30:56their families

00:30:56or catch their scheduled

00:30:58flight home,

00:30:58they were reported missing.

00:31:01And like the other cases,

00:31:02with no immediate leads,

00:31:03their disappearance

00:31:04remained a mystery

00:31:05for some time.

00:31:07And it wasn't until

00:31:07November 4th, 1993,

00:31:10just days after

00:31:11Simone Schmidl's body

00:31:12was found,

00:31:13the intensive police search

00:31:14of Belangla Forest

00:31:15yielded two more

00:31:17grim discoveries.

00:31:18And in a bush-covered area

00:31:20not far from where

00:31:21Simone lay,

00:31:22searchers found

00:31:23two shallow graves

00:31:24about 50 meters apart.

00:31:26And within them

00:31:27were the remains

00:31:28of Gabor

00:31:29and Anya.

00:31:31And the condition

00:31:31of the German couple's

00:31:33bodies revealed

00:31:34both the killer's

00:31:35escalating depravity

00:31:36and the varying methods

00:31:38that he employed.

00:31:39Anya, for example,

00:31:40had had her head

00:31:41removed from her body

00:31:43completely.

00:31:44But her head,

00:31:44unfortunately,

00:31:45would never be recovered.

00:31:47So it appeared

00:31:48that the killer

00:31:49had taken Anya's skull

00:31:50potentially as a trophy.

00:31:52And Gabor

00:31:53had been sh**ed

00:31:54six times in the head,

00:31:55execution style,

00:31:57similar to Caroline Clark.

00:31:58But there was no evidence

00:32:00of other abuse.

00:32:02An investigator determined

00:32:03that Gabor had been bound

00:32:04prior to being shot.

00:32:06So it's possible

00:32:06that Gabor may have been

00:32:08forced to watch

00:32:09or listen

00:32:09as Anya was murdered

00:32:12before he was finally executed.

00:32:15Just extremely, um,

00:32:18just gut-wrenching.

00:32:19Gut-wrenching to think about.

00:32:21This one,

00:32:21this one is extremely rough.

00:32:23And ballistic evidence

00:32:24linked the scene

00:32:25to earlier murders.

00:32:27Because the bullets

00:32:28that killed Gabor

00:32:29matched the caliber

00:32:30A Type 22

00:32:31used on Caroline Clark.

00:32:34So the killer

00:32:34had clearly favored

00:32:35a firearm

00:32:36and brought it along

00:32:37on his deadly hunts.

00:32:39So the murders

00:32:39of Gabor and Anya

00:32:41just underscore

00:32:41the sadism

00:32:42of the backpack killer.

00:32:44Because we can see

00:32:45during the murder

00:32:46and even after,

00:32:47he's escalating

00:32:49what he's doing.

00:32:50the viciousness

00:32:52in what he's doing.

00:32:53And by the time

00:32:54the German couple's

00:32:54remains were uncovered,

00:32:56the full scope

00:32:57of the backpack murders

00:32:58was apparent.

00:33:00In total,

00:33:01five women

00:33:02and two men,

00:33:03all young travelers,

00:33:04had been slain

00:33:05in similarly brutal fashion

00:33:07and hidden

00:33:07in the same forest.

00:33:09And the timeline

00:33:09of their disappearances

00:33:11ranged from

00:33:12late 1989

00:33:13to 1992.

00:33:15But they were all

00:33:16discovered within

00:33:17a 14-month span

00:33:19in 1992 to 1993.

00:33:21So with each body found,

00:33:22the pressure just mounted

00:33:24on law enforcement

00:33:25to find who was responsible

00:33:26for these atrocities.

00:33:28And from the outset

00:33:29of the backpack

00:33:30murderer investigation,

00:33:32police and media

00:33:33speculated that

00:33:34Ivan Malat's

00:33:35murderous career

00:33:36may not have begun

00:33:37or ended

00:33:38with the seven

00:33:39confirmed victims.

00:33:40Because there were

00:33:41patterns and similarities

00:33:42in other disappearances

00:33:43that led authorities

00:33:44to revisit cold cases

00:33:46from the 1970s

00:33:47and the 1980s.

00:33:49And over the years,

00:33:50Malat had been publicly linked

00:33:51to a number

00:33:53of unsolved cases.

00:33:55Though, unfortunately,

00:33:56none have been proven.

00:33:57But among the cases

00:33:58often discussed

00:33:59are three young women

00:34:01who vanished

00:34:01from the Newcastle area

00:34:03in 1978

00:34:04to 1979.

00:34:07And those three women

00:34:08were Leanne Goodall,

00:34:09who was 20 years old,

00:34:11Robin Hickey,

00:34:11who was 18 years old,

00:34:13and Amanda Robinson,

00:34:15who was 14 years old.

00:34:17And all three

00:34:18went missing

00:34:18near highways

00:34:19within a few months

00:34:20of each other

00:34:21in an area

00:34:22where Malat often worked

00:34:23as a road crew member

00:34:24at the time.

00:34:26And Malat was named

00:34:27as a person of interest

00:34:28in those cases,

00:34:29but insufficient evidence

00:34:30prevented further action,

00:34:32unfortunately.

00:34:33And similarly,

00:34:33in 2004 to 2006,

00:34:36Malat was formally investigated

00:34:38regarding the disappearance

00:34:39of two Sydney nurses,

00:34:42Jillian Jameson

00:34:43and Deborah Balkin,

00:34:45both of which

00:34:45were 19 and 20 years old,

00:34:48and who were last seen

00:34:49at a tavern

00:34:49in June of 1980

00:34:51speaking to a man

00:34:52in a cowboy hat.

00:34:54And Malat denied involvement

00:34:55when he was questioned,

00:34:57but he was mentioned

00:34:57as a person of interest

00:34:58at the wrongful death inquiry.

00:35:00And another likely victim

00:35:02often mentioned

00:35:03is Annette Briffa,

00:35:04who was 18 years old

00:35:06and who had vanished

00:35:07while hitchhiking north

00:35:08of Sydney

00:35:08in January of 1980.

00:35:11And an inquest in 2005

00:35:12heard that although

00:35:13there was no hard proof

00:35:15Ivan Malat killed her,

00:35:16he could not be eliminated

00:35:18from the investigation altogether.

00:35:20And the investigators

00:35:20have even looked back

00:35:21to cases as early

00:35:22as the 1960s,

00:35:24because Malat's brother,

00:35:25Boris, claimed in 2015

00:35:27that Ivan privately confessed

00:35:30to the 1962 shooting

00:35:32of Sydney taxi driver

00:35:34Neville Knight,

00:35:35a crime that left

00:35:36Knight paralyzed

00:35:37and for which

00:35:38another man

00:35:39was wrongfully convicted,

00:35:40which is f***ed up.

00:35:42And police have noted

00:35:42the eerie parallel

00:35:43between Knight's injury,

00:35:45an injury that was caused

00:35:46to the spine,

00:35:47as we know that he did

00:35:48to quite a few of his victims,

00:35:50that caused paralysis.

00:35:51However, no charges

00:35:52were ever brought

00:35:53against Malat

00:35:54for that incident.

00:35:56So all told,

00:35:56as many as 20

00:35:58unsolved deaths

00:35:59and disappearances

00:36:00have been theorized

00:36:01as potential Malat victims

00:36:03by various experts,

00:36:04authors,

00:36:05and police task force.

00:36:07And these include

00:36:07hitchhikers and backpackers

00:36:09who vanished

00:36:10along Australian highways

00:36:11in the 1970s and 80s.

00:36:14Their profiles

00:36:15and the circumstances

00:36:16just echoing

00:36:17the known victims.

00:36:18So the New South Wales

00:36:19police response

00:36:20to the backpack murders

00:36:21evolved from skepticism

00:36:23to full mobilization

00:36:25as the scope

00:36:26of the crime spree

00:36:27became very,

00:36:28very apparent.

00:36:29And as mentioned before,

00:36:30after the first two bodies,

00:36:31Clark and Walters,

00:36:33were found

00:36:33in September of 1992,

00:36:35police were cautious

00:36:36about declaring

00:36:37that a serial killer

00:36:38was at work.

00:36:40But despite media speculation,

00:36:41authorities initially suggested

00:36:43it might be

00:36:43an isolated incident

00:36:45or work of multiple assailants,

00:36:47given differences

00:36:48in how the two women

00:36:49were killed.

00:36:50But still,

00:36:51a dedicated team

00:36:52of investigators

00:36:52began combing through

00:36:54missing persons files

00:36:55for any similar cases.

00:36:57And early on,

00:36:58they noted

00:36:58that several backpackers

00:37:00had vanished

00:37:00without a trace

00:37:01along the Hume Highway corridor

00:37:03in recent years,

00:37:04including an Australian couple

00:37:06who was Everest and Gibson.

00:37:08And at least three Europeans,

00:37:10Schmidl, Neubauer,

00:37:12and Habschied,

00:37:13whom of which

00:37:13we already spoke about.

00:37:14However,

00:37:15at this point,

00:37:16with no bodies

00:37:17besides Clark and Walters,

00:37:19linking the cases

00:37:19was largely speculative.

00:37:21So the forensic evidence

00:37:22from Walters and Clark's

00:37:24crime scene,

00:37:25which was bullet casings

00:37:26of a .22 caliber,

00:37:27ropes,

00:37:28and fibers,

00:37:29was collected

00:37:30and analyzed.

00:37:31But without a suspect

00:37:32to compare against,

00:37:33it remained simply data

00:37:35in a growing archive.

00:37:37But one of the few leads

00:37:38was a criminal profile

00:37:39offered by forensic psychiatrist,

00:37:42Dr. Rod Milton.

00:37:43And after examining details

00:37:45of the first two murders,

00:37:46Dr. Milton suggested

00:37:47that the killer

00:37:48was likely a local man

00:37:50in his mid-30s

00:37:51with a history

00:37:52of aggression,

00:37:54someone familiar

00:37:54with the forest terrain,

00:37:56and that the crimes

00:37:57were motivated

00:37:58by the pleasure

00:37:59of inflicting pain.

00:38:00However,

00:38:01Dr. Milton did not

00:38:02initially believe

00:38:03a, quote,

00:38:04classic serial killer

00:38:05was responsible.

00:38:07And he even floated

00:38:07the idea that the murderer

00:38:08might even have

00:38:09an assistant.

00:38:10So this guidance,

00:38:11while not pinpointing

00:38:12a specific person necessarily,

00:38:14did reinforce

00:38:15certain truths.

00:38:17And that's that

00:38:17the perpetrator

00:38:18was extremely dangerous,

00:38:20as we know,

00:38:21and he was likely

00:38:22to strike again

00:38:23if not caught.

00:38:25So the breakthrough

00:38:26in police urgency

00:38:27came in October of 1993

00:38:29when the second cluster

00:38:30of bodies was discovered,

00:38:32which was Everest,

00:38:33Gibson, Schmidl,

00:38:34and the Havschied

00:38:35and Neuerbauer.

00:38:36So realizing

00:38:37they were dealing

00:38:38with a serial killer

00:38:39who had been active

00:38:40for years,

00:38:41the NSW police

00:38:42ramped up their efforts

00:38:43dramatically.

00:38:44And on October 14th, 1993,

00:38:47they established

00:38:48Task Force AIR,

00:38:49which was a special

00:38:50homicide task force

00:38:51of over 20 detectives

00:38:53and analysts

00:38:54dedicated solely

00:38:55to the backpack murders.

00:38:57That is how

00:38:57you do an investigation.

00:38:59And veteran investigator

00:39:00Superintendent Clive Small

00:39:02was appointed to lead

00:39:03this very task force.

00:39:05But this team

00:39:05faced immense challenges,

00:39:07one of which

00:39:08was a flood

00:39:09of information

00:39:10from the public

00:39:10and other police units,

00:39:12and dozens

00:39:13of potential suspects

00:39:14or persons of interest

00:39:15and intense media scrutiny.

00:39:18So the government

00:39:19posted a reward

00:39:20for $500,000

00:39:22for information

00:39:24leading to the killer's capture,

00:39:25which was an unprecedented sum

00:39:28reflecting the urgency

00:39:29of figuring out

00:39:31who committed these murders.

00:39:33So investigators

00:39:33began the painstaking work

00:39:35of cross-referencing

00:39:36missing persons reports,

00:39:38scouring records of anyone

00:39:39with a history of violence

00:39:40in the area,

00:39:41and applying

00:39:42computer-assisted link analysis

00:39:44to find patterns

00:39:45in massive data.

00:39:46And another challenge

00:39:47was just the geography

00:39:49because the Belanglo Forest

00:39:51is vast and remote,

00:39:53and initially,

00:39:54police weren't sure

00:39:55if more bodies

00:39:56even remained hidden.

00:39:57And after the October

00:39:58to November 1993 fines,

00:40:01police conducted

00:40:01an exhaustive search

00:40:03of the entire forest

00:40:04with over 300 officers

00:40:07and volunteers,

00:40:08line by line,

00:40:09over weeks

00:40:11to ensure

00:40:11no victim

00:40:12was left undiscovered.

00:40:13And by the end of 1993,

00:40:15seven bodies

00:40:16had been recovered,

00:40:17and Task Force Air

00:40:18was fully engaged

00:40:19in one of the largest

00:40:20manhunts

00:40:21in Australian history.

00:40:23And the crucial break

00:40:24in the case

00:40:25arrived thanks

00:40:26to an extremely

00:40:27brave survivor.

00:40:28Because on November 13th

00:40:30in 1993,

00:40:31just over a week

00:40:32after the victims

00:40:33were found,

00:40:34police received

00:40:35a phone call

00:40:35from Paul Onions,

00:40:37who was a 24-year-old Brit.

00:40:39Because Onions

00:40:40had seen reports

00:40:41about the backpack murders

00:40:42on the news

00:40:43and felt compelled

00:40:44to report an incident

00:40:46that had happened.

00:40:47An incident that had happened

00:40:48to him years earlier.

00:40:50So in January of 1990,

00:40:52Onions had been

00:40:53backpacking in Australia

00:40:54and hitchhiking

00:40:55south from Sydney

00:40:56toward the town

00:40:57of Mildura.

00:40:58And he was picked up

00:40:59on the Hume Highway

00:41:00near Kisula

00:41:01by a man

00:41:01who introduced himself

00:41:03as, quote,

00:41:04Bill.

00:41:05And as Onions

00:41:05later recounted,

00:41:06at first,

00:41:07the ride was uneventful.

00:41:09But Bill began asking

00:41:10probing questions

00:41:12about his plans

00:41:13and whether Onions

00:41:14had family or friends

00:41:15expecting him

00:41:16at his destination.

00:41:17And if he'd done

00:41:18any special forces

00:41:19training in the military,

00:41:21he was basically

00:41:21sizing the guy up

00:41:23to see if he could kill him.

00:41:25And Onions

00:41:25during this time

00:41:26would become

00:41:27increasingly concerned

00:41:28as the questions

00:41:29continued along

00:41:30with, quote,

00:41:31Bill making

00:41:32racist and xenophobic comments.

00:41:35And south of the town

00:41:36Mittagong,

00:41:37the driver pulled over

00:41:38under the pretense

00:41:39of searching

00:41:39for some cassettes.

00:41:42And that's when

00:41:42he would suddenly produce

00:41:43a handgun

00:41:44and a length of rope,

00:41:46announcing it was a robbery.

00:41:47And Paul Onions

00:41:48knew he was

00:41:49in mortal danger

00:41:51at this point.

00:41:52But he managed

00:41:53to fling open the door

00:41:54and run for his life.

00:41:56And the assailant

00:41:57fired a shot

00:41:58and gave chase,

00:41:59but Onions zigzagged

00:42:00down the highway

00:42:01until a passing car

00:42:02stopped for him.

00:42:03Thank God.

00:42:04And in a stroke of luck,

00:42:05a woman named

00:42:06Joanne Barry

00:42:07was driving by

00:42:08and picked up

00:42:09the frantic Onions.

00:42:10And together,

00:42:11they sped off

00:42:12and later reported

00:42:13the incident

00:42:13to Boweral Police,

00:42:15providing a description

00:42:16of the attacker,

00:42:17including his mustache

00:42:18and likeness

00:42:19of Australian cricketeer

00:42:21Dennis Liley

00:42:22and his vehicle

00:42:23and registration number.

00:42:24And at the time,

00:42:25in 1990,

00:42:26that report

00:42:27did not lead

00:42:28to an arrest.

00:42:29And the Boweral Police

00:42:29would log the complaint,

00:42:31but with no immediate suspect,

00:42:32it just languished

00:42:33in a filing cabinet.

00:42:35And when task force

00:42:36air detectives

00:42:37heard Onions' story

00:42:38in late 1993,

00:42:40it immediately rang

00:42:41alarm bells.

00:42:42Between the location

00:42:43of the attack,

00:42:44which was near Belanglo,

00:42:46and the MO,

00:42:47the Modus Operandi,

00:42:49which was a hitchhiker

00:42:50and a gun

00:42:51and a rope,

00:42:52and the time frame,

00:42:53which was January of 1990,

00:42:55which was smack

00:42:56between the known murders,

00:42:58were too coincidental

00:42:59to ignore.

00:43:01So digging through

00:43:01their records

00:43:02on April 13th of 1994,

00:43:05investigators unearthed

00:43:06the original

00:43:07Boweral Police reports.

00:43:09And they would find

00:43:09Onions' report.

00:43:11And the details

00:43:11in that report

00:43:12provided a golden lead.

00:43:15And Barry,

00:43:16the Good Samaritan

00:43:17who helped Onions,

00:43:18was tracked down

00:43:19and corroborated

00:43:20his account,

00:43:21recalling the terror

00:43:22of that day.

00:43:23And furthermore,

00:43:24acquaintances of Malat,

00:43:25including a girlfriend

00:43:26of one of his co-workers,

00:43:28had come forward

00:43:29noting that Ivan was

00:43:31quote,

00:43:31obsessed with weapons

00:43:32and that he talked

00:43:34about guns

00:43:34and hunting constantly.

00:43:36So the task force

00:43:37now had a suspect.

00:43:39And the name

00:43:39that kept coming up

00:43:40was, you guessed it,

00:43:42Ivan Malat.

00:43:43So in May of 1994,

00:43:45Paul Onions

00:43:46was flown back

00:43:47under conditions

00:43:48of secrecy

00:43:48to Australia

00:43:49at police request

00:43:50to help positively

00:43:52identify the suspect.

00:43:54And on May 5th, 1994,

00:43:55Onions viewed

00:43:56a videotape lineup

00:43:58of potential suspects.

00:43:59Some accounts say

00:44:00it was a live lineup,

00:44:01but we don't actually

00:44:02know for sure.

00:44:02But without any hesitation,

00:44:05he picked out

00:44:06Ivan Malat

00:44:07as quote,

00:44:08Bill,

00:44:09the man who had tried

00:44:10to kill him

00:44:11four years prior.

00:44:12And this identification

00:44:13was the moment

00:44:14investigators had

00:44:15been hoping for

00:44:16because it linked

00:44:17Malat directly

00:44:18to an attempted

00:44:19abduction and murder

00:44:20in the vicinity

00:44:21of the Belanglo murders.

00:44:23So along with

00:44:24other evidence

00:44:25they had quietly gathered,

00:44:26Task Force Air

00:44:27was now confident

00:44:28that they had

00:44:29their man.

00:44:30So they had a name,

00:44:31they had a face,

00:44:33and a living witness

00:44:34tying Malat

00:44:35to attempted murder

00:44:36slash kidnapping

00:44:37in the area

00:44:38of the backpacker killings.

00:44:40So armed

00:44:40with a prime suspect,

00:44:42police moved swiftly

00:44:43yet carefully

00:44:44to ensure

00:44:45they could secure

00:44:46a conviction.

00:44:47So as we know,

00:44:48Malat had a very

00:44:48large family,

00:44:50some of whom

00:44:51might tip him off

00:44:52if they sensed

00:44:53he was under suspicion.

00:44:54Because although

00:44:55some of them

00:44:55didn't like him,

00:44:56a lot of them did.

00:44:57There was a lot of siblings

00:44:58to go around.

00:44:59So to prevent

00:44:59any sort of tip-off

00:45:00happening,

00:45:01investigators conducted

00:45:02covert surveillance

00:45:03on Ivan

00:45:04for several weeks

00:45:05before arresting him.

00:45:07So beginning

00:45:07on February 26,

00:45:091994,

00:45:10detectives kept watch

00:45:11on Malat's residence

00:45:12on Cinnabar Street

00:45:13in the Sydney suburb

00:45:15of Eaglevale.

00:45:16And they noted

00:45:17his routines

00:45:18and even discovered

00:45:18that he had recently

00:45:19sold his silver

00:45:21Nissan Patrol 4WD,

00:45:23the same type of vehicle

00:45:24described by Paul Onions,

00:45:27shortly after

00:45:27the first bodies

00:45:28were found

00:45:29in late 1992,

00:45:31trying to cover his tracks.

00:45:32Nice try, mother f***er.

00:45:33So this was obviously

00:45:34a spuspicious move,

00:45:36suggesting Malat

00:45:37was trying to dispose

00:45:38of evidence.

00:45:40And they also confirmed

00:45:41through employment records

00:45:42that Malat

00:45:43had been off work

00:45:44on the dates

00:45:44of each of the known attacks.

00:45:47Spuspicious.

00:45:48So everything

00:45:49was just lining up

00:45:51perfectly.

00:45:52And with Paul Onions'

00:45:53identification in hand,

00:45:55Task Force Air

00:45:56decided it was time

00:45:57to strike.

00:45:58So in the early morning

00:45:59of May 22, 1994,

00:46:02a coordinated raid

00:46:03was launched

00:46:03on the Malat family.

00:46:05And police teams

00:46:06simultaneously executed

00:46:07search warrants

00:46:08on properties

00:46:09belonging to Ivan's mother

00:46:11and five of his brothers,

00:46:13as well as Ivan's own home,

00:46:15to prevent any evidence

00:46:16from being hidden

00:46:17or transferred

00:46:17at any time

00:46:19or ahead of time.

00:46:20So over 50 officers

00:46:22took part

00:46:23in the operation,

00:46:24surrounding Ivan's house

00:46:25to ensure he couldn't

00:46:27shoot his way out

00:46:27or flee.

00:46:29And Ivan Malat

00:46:30was arrested

00:46:30at the scene,

00:46:31initially on charges

00:46:32related to the assault

00:46:33on Paul Onions,

00:46:35which was armed robbery

00:46:36and weapons offenses,

00:46:38so that police

00:46:39could hold him

00:46:39in custody at least.

00:46:41But what the search teams

00:46:42found was a damning

00:46:44trove of physical evidence

00:46:46because inside Malat's home,

00:46:48they discovered

00:46:48a cache of weapons,

00:46:51including a .22 caliber

00:46:53Anschutz bolt-action rifle,

00:46:55parts of a disassembled

00:46:56.22 Ruger

00:46:57and a semi-automatic rifle,

00:46:59which was the same model

00:47:00believed to have fired

00:47:01the bullets that killed

00:47:02Clark and Neuerbauer.

00:47:04They also found

00:47:05a Browning pistol

00:47:06and a large Bowie-style

00:47:08hunting knife.

00:47:09And ballistic testing

00:47:10would later show

00:47:11that the Anschutz rifle

00:47:13and the Ruger parts

00:47:14were capable of firing

00:47:15the unique ammunition

00:47:16found at the murder scenes.

00:47:18And even more incriminating

00:47:20were the personal belongings

00:47:21because scattered

00:47:22throughout Ivan's house

00:47:24were camping gear

00:47:26and personal items

00:47:27proven to belong

00:47:28to the victims,

00:47:30including sleeping bags,

00:47:31clothing,

00:47:32and cameras

00:47:33that had been property

00:47:34of various murdered backpackers.

00:47:36For example,

00:47:37a distinctive water bottle

00:47:38carried by one

00:47:39of the German victims

00:47:40turned up in a bedroom closet

00:47:42and Simone Schmidl's

00:47:44sleeping bag

00:47:45was found

00:47:45in Malat's possession.

00:47:47And at Malat's mother's house,

00:47:48police pried open

00:47:50a lock cupboard

00:47:50and found a long,

00:47:52curved cavalry sword,

00:47:54exactly the type of blade

00:47:55that could decapitate

00:47:57a person,

00:47:58raising the strong likelihood

00:47:59that it was the one

00:48:01that was used

00:48:01to remove Anya's head,

00:48:03which is...

00:48:04horrifying.

00:48:07Just absolutely horrifying.

00:48:09And additional stolen property

00:48:11from the victims,

00:48:12including clothing

00:48:13and camping equipment,

00:48:14was recovered

00:48:15at various Malat family residences,

00:48:18indicating that Ivan

00:48:19had shared

00:48:19or stashed items

00:48:21with relatives

00:48:22and they just didn't question it

00:48:24or they didn't do anything.

00:48:26They just did nothing

00:48:28and let it go on.

00:48:29But many of the family members

00:48:31would allegedly claim

00:48:33that they had no idea

00:48:34that the items

00:48:35were linked to crime.

00:48:36But the sheer volume

00:48:37of evidence

00:48:38was overwhelming.

00:48:39So it seemed

00:48:40that Malat essentially

00:48:41kept trophies

00:48:43of his killings

00:48:44and those trophies

00:48:45directly linked him

00:48:46to each murder scene.

00:48:48So with this evidence

00:48:50in hand,

00:48:50the case against Ivan Malat

00:48:52was solid.

00:48:53But still,

00:48:54with that rock-solid evidence,

00:48:55a long legal road

00:48:57lay ahead

00:48:57to ensure Malat

00:48:58would be accountable

00:48:59for his atrocities.

00:49:01And the public

00:49:02watched closely

00:49:03as the story shifted

00:49:04from manhunt

00:49:05to courtroom.

00:49:06So Ivan Malat's arrest

00:49:07on May 22, 1994

00:49:09marked the dramatic climax

00:49:11of one of Australia's

00:49:12biggest manhunts.

00:49:14And the raid

00:49:14on his Eagle Veil home

00:49:16unfolded at dawn,

00:49:17catching Malat

00:49:18by complete surprise.

00:49:20And officers reported

00:49:21that Ivan

00:49:21was initially stunned,

00:49:23but maintained

00:49:24an air of feigned innocence

00:49:26as he was handcuffed.

00:49:28And he was 49 years old

00:49:30at the time.

00:49:31And he was fit

00:49:32and a very muscular man

00:49:34who likely would have

00:49:35violently resisted

00:49:37had he had any warning,

00:49:38thus the overwhelming

00:49:39show of force

00:49:40by police.

00:49:42So in custody,

00:49:43Malat was cool

00:49:44and almost nonchalant,

00:49:46pretty much what you'd expect

00:49:48from a narcissistic,

00:49:49psychopathic sadist.

00:49:51And during the initial questioning,

00:49:53he denied any knowledge

00:49:54of the murders.

00:49:55And when confronted

00:49:56with the trove

00:49:57of victims' belongings

00:49:58found in his house,

00:50:00Ivan shrugged

00:50:02and offered

00:50:02implausible explanations.

00:50:04For example,

00:50:05he claimed he, quote,

00:50:06found some of the items

00:50:08along the roadside

00:50:09or they were left behind

00:50:10by anonymous people.

00:50:12Nice try,

00:50:13you f***ing lion

00:50:14piece of s***.

00:50:15And luckily,

00:50:16these excuses

00:50:16obviously rang hollow,

00:50:18given the sheer amount

00:50:19of specificity

00:50:21of the evidence.

00:50:22And investigators

00:50:23later recounted

00:50:24that Malat seemed to believe

00:50:25he could talk his way

00:50:27out of it.

00:50:28But as item after item

00:50:29was cataloged

00:50:30and each tied to a name

00:50:32and a grieving family,

00:50:35his answers grew faint.

00:50:37So on May 23rd, 1994,

00:50:39Malat appeared in court

00:50:40for a brief preliminary hearing

00:50:42where he did not enter a plea

00:50:44and was formally remanded

00:50:46in custody

00:50:46on the initial charges.

00:50:48So within days of the raids

00:50:50on May 31st, 1994,

00:50:52he was formally charged

00:50:53with the seven backpack murders

00:50:55in addition to the charges

00:50:57for the Onions attack.

00:50:58So after a manhunt

00:50:59spanning years,

00:51:01the backpack murderer

00:51:02had been caught.

00:51:03And as news of Malat's arrest

00:51:05broke,

00:51:06a sense of just overwhelming relief

00:51:10swept through the public.

00:51:12And media outlets

00:51:13across Australia

00:51:14and internationally

00:51:16splashed Ivan Malat's face

00:51:18on front pages

00:51:19and led nightly news bulletins.

00:51:22And the photo showing

00:51:23a broad-shouldered,

00:51:25middle-aged man

00:51:25with a bushy mustache

00:51:27and a blank stare

00:51:28became instantly infamous.

00:51:31And almost immediately,

00:51:32comparisons were drawn

00:51:33to infamous serial killers overseas.

00:51:36And Malat was dubbed,

00:51:37quote,

00:51:38Australia's worst serial killer

00:51:40by many outlets.

00:51:41But he was most often referred to

00:51:43simply as

00:51:44the backpack murderer,

00:51:46a label that stuck

00:51:47for the rest of his life.

00:51:48And the revelation

00:51:49of Malat's identity

00:51:50and the details

00:51:51of the case

00:51:52provoked both relief

00:51:53and outrage

00:51:54in the Australian community.

00:51:56Because after so many months

00:51:58of fear

00:51:58since the first bodies

00:51:59were found,

00:52:00people could finally

00:52:01put a face and name

00:52:03to the evil

00:52:03that had haunted

00:52:04the national imagination.

00:52:06And public interest

00:52:07in every step

00:52:08of the legal process

00:52:08was intense

00:52:10as it usually is

00:52:11with these kinds of cases.

00:52:13And when Malat

00:52:13was driven to court,

00:52:15crowds of onlookers

00:52:16and journalists

00:52:17just swarmed

00:52:18for a glimpse of him.

00:52:19And in the media,

00:52:20extensive profiles

00:52:21of Malat emerged

00:52:22of his work history,

00:52:24his family background,

00:52:26interviews

00:52:26with former classmates

00:52:28and neighbors

00:52:28as everyone

00:52:29tried to understand

00:52:31how an unassuming road worker

00:52:33had become

00:52:33a sadistic killer.

00:52:35Little did they know

00:52:36he was doing

00:52:37this weird,

00:52:38f***ing insane shit

00:52:40since he was a child.

00:52:41And the media

00:52:42delved into his upbringing,

00:52:43reporting on the strict

00:52:45and violent Malat household

00:52:46and his prior run-ins

00:52:48with the law.

00:52:48And many Australians

00:52:49were just stunned

00:52:50to learn that Malat

00:52:52had been acquitted

00:52:53of a 1971 grape

00:52:55of hitchhikers,

00:52:57questioning how

00:52:57a violent predator

00:52:58was able to roam free

00:53:00all those years earlier.

00:53:02So the public reaction

00:53:03was overwhelmingly

00:53:04one of anger

00:53:06and just a thirst

00:53:07for justice,

00:53:08which is absolutely justified.

00:53:10I mean,

00:53:11he should not have been

00:53:12walking the streets

00:53:13or driving on the highways

00:53:15after all the other crimes

00:53:17that he had committed.

00:53:17It's just atrocious.

00:53:20Like, yes,

00:53:20during the investigation,

00:53:22this specific investigation,

00:53:24they really stepped up,

00:53:25but I mean,

00:53:25it could have been avoided.

00:53:28So family members

00:53:28of the victims,

00:53:29some of whom

00:53:30had traveled

00:53:31from the UK

00:53:31and Germany

00:53:32for the trial,

00:53:33were vocal

00:53:34about their hope

00:53:35that Malat

00:53:36would never see freedom again.

00:53:38Quote,

00:53:38whoever has done this,

00:53:40these are evil-minded people

00:53:42and like dogs with rabies,

00:53:44they've got to be put down,

00:53:46said Ray Walters,

00:53:48Joanne Walters' father,

00:53:49upon learning

00:53:50of Malat's arrest,

00:53:51which absolutely agree.

00:53:53I can't even imagine

00:53:55the pain

00:53:56of going through

00:53:57knowing that

00:53:58your family member

00:53:58went through

00:53:59such a horrendous end.

00:54:01And his sentiment

00:54:02would capture

00:54:03the mood of many.

00:54:05Because Malat

00:54:06was widely regarded

00:54:06as less than human,

00:54:08which, yeah,

00:54:09absolutely.

00:54:10He was regarded

00:54:11as a rabid animal

00:54:12that needed

00:54:12to be caged permanently.

00:54:14And the Australians'

00:54:15public faith

00:54:16in hitchhiking

00:54:17and carefree travel

00:54:18was deeply shaken.

00:54:20And many who had

00:54:21once encouraged people

00:54:22to explore the world

00:54:23now warned them sternly

00:54:25about stranger danger.

00:54:27And the tourism industry,

00:54:28for its part,

00:54:29had mixed responses.

00:54:31Some operators feared

00:54:32a downturn

00:54:33in backpacker arrivals,

00:54:35while others insisted

00:54:36that catching Malat

00:54:37made Australia

00:54:38safer than ever,

00:54:39emphasizing that

00:54:40such crimes

00:54:41were extremely rare.

00:54:43But in the immediate aftermath,

00:54:44there was a temporary dip

00:54:46in international

00:54:46backpacker tourism,

00:54:48but it seemed

00:54:49to have made a comeback

00:54:50with Malat placed

00:54:51securely behind bars,

00:54:53and the sensational

00:54:54headlines subsided.

00:54:55And the capture

00:54:56also ignited speculation

00:54:58about whether Ivan

00:54:59had acted alone

00:55:00or possibly had help

00:55:02from within

00:55:03his large family.

00:55:05Because given the difficulty

00:55:06of subduing two victims

00:55:08at once,

00:55:09early rumors swirled

00:55:10that maybe a brother

00:55:11or friend

00:55:12had been involved

00:55:13in some of the killings.

00:55:15Police did actively

00:55:16investigate some

00:55:17of Ivan's brothers,

00:55:19and during the initial raids,

00:55:20two of his siblings,

00:55:21Richard and Walter,

00:55:23were arrested

00:55:23on weapons

00:55:24and stolen property charges

00:55:26when illegal items

00:55:27were found

00:55:27at their homes.

00:55:29However,

00:55:29no evidence

00:55:30ever emerged

00:55:31that any other Malat

00:55:32took part

00:55:33in the murders.

00:55:34And by the time

00:55:35of the trial,

00:55:36prosecutors felt confident

00:55:37Ivan was the sole perpetrator.

00:55:39And one notable

00:55:40positive effect

00:55:41of the case

00:55:42was the heightened

00:55:43public vigilance.

00:55:45Because the idea

00:55:46that a serial killer

00:55:47could operate

00:55:48in Australia

00:55:48shocked communities

00:55:50into being more watchful.

00:55:52And people began

00:55:53reporting suspicious activities

00:55:54more readily.

00:55:55And in the global context,

00:55:57Malat's arrest

00:55:57and subsequent trial

00:55:58were followed closely

00:56:00in the UK,

00:56:00Germany,

00:56:02and other countries

00:56:03that had lost citizens.

00:56:05So internationally,

00:56:06there was an outpouring

00:56:07of sympathy

00:56:07for the victim's families

00:56:09and just a morbid interest

00:56:11in the case

00:56:12as it unfolded.

00:56:13Australia's image

00:56:14as a safe destination

00:56:16took a hit

00:56:17in the early 1990s,

00:56:19but the successful

00:56:20capture and prosecution

00:56:21of Malat

00:56:22somewhat mitigated that.

00:56:24And Australian authorities

00:56:25even pointed

00:56:26to the exhaustive investigation

00:56:28and eventual justice

00:56:29served as evidence

00:56:30of the country's

00:56:31effective law enforcement.

00:56:32So within Australia,

00:56:33the Malat case

00:56:34ultimately reinforced confidence

00:56:36in the police

00:56:37and legal system.

00:56:38And task force

00:56:39airs relentless work

00:56:40and the role

00:56:40of the brave survivor

00:56:42Paul Onions

00:56:43are worthy of legend.

00:56:45So after Malat's arrest,

00:56:46the case proceeded

00:56:47through a meticulous

00:56:49legal process.

00:56:50And given the enormous

00:56:51publicity

00:56:52and public anger,

00:56:54the courts took care

00:56:55to uphold due process

00:56:57and Malat's right

00:56:57to a fair trial,

00:56:59which doesn't seem fair

00:57:00because what he did

00:57:01was absolutely not fair,

00:57:03but we live in a just society

00:57:04and we must do it that way.

00:57:07So Malat initially retained

00:57:08the services of John Marsden,

00:57:11who was the flashy lawyer

00:57:12who had gotten him off

00:57:13back in 1974.

00:57:15Just another piece of shit.

00:57:17But within weeks,

00:57:18Malat dismissed Marsden

00:57:19amid some dispute.

00:57:21And instead,

00:57:22he applied for a public legal aid

00:57:24and eventually a new defense team

00:57:26was appointed.

00:57:27Meanwhile, Malat was denied bail

00:57:29and remained in custody throughout.

00:57:31Yeah, thank God.

00:57:32I don't even understand

00:57:33why bail is a thing,

00:57:34especially for serial killers.

00:57:37Suspected serial killers.

00:57:39But luckily,

00:57:40no judge was going to release

00:57:41an accused serial killer

00:57:43on bail,

00:57:44especially given the risk

00:57:45of flight or harm.

00:57:47So throughout 1995,

00:57:49both prosecution and defense

00:57:50prepared intensely.

00:57:52The prosecution team,

00:57:53led by Senior Crown Prosecutor

00:57:55Mark Tedeschi,

00:57:56assembled a massive brief

00:57:58of evidence.

00:57:59And at this point,

00:58:00they had hundreds of exhibits

00:58:02from the guns to the sleeping bags

00:58:04and scores of witness statements.

00:58:07And a crucial part of pretrial

00:58:08was the committal hearing

00:58:10that ran in late 1994.

00:58:12And it was effectively a mini trial

00:58:14in front of a magistrate.

00:58:16So over 200 witnesses

00:58:17gave evidence at this committal.

00:58:20And this allowed the defense

00:58:21a preview of the prosecution's case.

00:58:24And the magistrate ruled

00:58:25that there was more

00:58:26than sufficient evidence

00:58:27for Malat to stand trial

00:58:28of the seven murders,

00:58:30plus the Onions related charges.

00:58:33But one issue that arose

00:58:34pretrial was severance.

00:58:36So Malat's defense tried to argue

00:58:38that seven murder charges

00:58:40should be tried separately

00:58:41to avoid prejudicing a jury

00:58:44by sheer number of crimes.

00:58:46So they basically want

00:58:47seven different trials

00:58:50because that looks better somehow,

00:58:53even though it's public knowledge.

00:58:55It doesn't make sense.

00:58:57Like, it makes sense for the defense,

00:58:58kind of, not really.

00:59:00It just, it kind of just

00:59:01makes everything go longer

00:59:05and just costs the taxpayers

00:59:06more money

00:59:07and just hurts the victims' families

00:59:09so much more.

00:59:11So just scum-of-the-earth people.

00:59:13So luckily,

00:59:13the judge rejected this

00:59:15because the cases

00:59:15were clearly linked by M.O.

00:59:17and it was efficient

00:59:19to have one big trial.

00:59:21So the attempted murder

00:59:22of Paul Onions

00:59:23was also allowed

00:59:24to be joined to the trial as well,

00:59:26since it directly tied

00:59:27to the pattern of crimes.

00:59:28And the defense strategy

00:59:29from the outset

00:59:30was to maintain Malat's innocence

00:59:32and claim he was

00:59:33framed or mistaken

00:59:35from someone else.

00:59:38So by March 1995,

00:59:41everything was in place

00:59:42for the trial.

00:59:43Malat was formally arraigned

00:59:45and he entered pleas

00:59:46of not guilty

00:59:47to charges as expected.

00:59:49So the stage was now set

00:59:51for one of the most

00:59:51anticipated trials

00:59:53in Australian criminal history.

00:59:55And Ivan Malat's trial

00:59:56commenced on March 26, 1996

00:59:58in the Supreme Court

01:00:00of New South Wales, Sydney.

01:00:02The proceedings would stretch

01:00:03over months,

01:00:04filled with gruesome evidence

01:00:07and riveting testimony.

01:00:09And presiding the case

01:00:10was Justice David Hunt,

01:00:12who was a very seasoned judge.

01:00:13So the prosecution painstakingly

01:00:16laid out the evidence

01:00:17linking Malat to each murder.

01:00:20And the key elements

01:00:21presented to the jury

01:00:22included physical evidence

01:00:24from Malat's home.

01:00:25And jurors were shown

01:00:26the camping gear, clothing,

01:00:27and other items

01:00:29that belonged to the victims.

01:00:31For example,

01:00:32Simone Schmidl's sleeping bag

01:00:33and Deborah Everest's sleeping bag

01:00:35were exhibited.

01:00:36And both were recovered

01:00:37from Malat's house.

01:00:39And the Ruger rifle components

01:00:40and bullets

01:00:41were forensically matched

01:00:42to the crime scenes.

01:00:44So this forensic linkage

01:00:45was devastating

01:00:47for Malat's case.

01:00:48And experts testified

01:00:49that the odds

01:00:50of those ballistics marks

01:00:51coming from any gun

01:00:53other than Malat's

01:00:54were astronomical.

01:00:56And then there was

01:00:57Paul Onion's testimony,

01:00:58perhaps the most compelling

01:01:00witness that there was.

01:01:01So he would take the stand

01:01:02and recount in detail

01:01:04his encounter

01:01:05with Bill in 1990.

01:01:08And he pointed out Malat

01:01:09in court as that man.

01:01:11And then several Malat

01:01:12family members

01:01:13testified as well.

01:01:14Some for the prosecution

01:01:16and some effectively

01:01:17as defense witnesses

01:01:19really split this family up.

01:01:21This case did.

01:01:21So two of Ivan's brothers,

01:01:23Walter and Richard,

01:01:24were called.

01:01:25And they had been

01:01:26investigated themselves,

01:01:28especially Richard,

01:01:29whom the defense

01:01:29tried to cast suspicion on.

01:01:31But under oath,

01:01:32both denied any involvement

01:01:33and claimed to have alibis.

01:01:36So the prosecution

01:01:36used them to show

01:01:38that after Ivan's arrest,

01:01:39Walter and Richard

01:01:40had been found

01:01:41with weapons and items

01:01:43that Ivan gave them,

01:01:44which just demonstrated

01:01:45Ivan's consciousness of guilt

01:01:47through hiding evidence.

01:01:49And then there was

01:01:50expert testimony,

01:01:52which had forensic experts

01:01:53walked the jury

01:01:54through each crime scene,

01:01:55autopsy results,

01:01:57and significance

01:01:58of the similarities

01:01:59between each crime,

01:02:00between the spinal s***pings

01:02:02and the type of bullets,

01:02:03et cetera.

01:02:04And the defense strategy

01:02:05in all of this

01:02:06centered around

01:02:07just creating doubt.

01:02:10And Malat's lawyer

01:02:11contended that the evidence,

01:02:12while suggestive,

01:02:14was circumstantial.

01:02:16Which,

01:02:17how can you even practice law

01:02:19and present that?

01:02:20I don't understand that.

01:02:22How do you sleep at night?

01:02:24But he would say that

01:02:24there was no eyewitness

01:02:26to any murder saying,

01:02:27quote,

01:02:28I saw Ivan do it.

01:02:30Yeah, because that's

01:02:31what you need

01:02:32in order for somebody

01:02:33to be convicted of murder.

01:02:35What?

01:02:36You know how

01:02:36not often that happens?

01:02:39Plus you have

01:02:39Paul Onions saying

01:02:41that he was gonna murder me?

01:02:43Like,

01:02:43I don't know.

01:02:44It's just insane to me.

01:02:46And they even floated

01:02:47alternate scenarios,

01:02:48one of which was perhaps

01:02:50one of Ivan's brothers

01:02:51who also liked guns

01:02:53and had criminal records,

01:02:54was the real killer

01:02:55and had stashed items

01:02:56at Ivan's house

01:02:57just to frame him.

01:02:59So essentially,

01:02:59they tried to weave

01:03:01a story that Ivan

01:03:02was innocent

01:03:03and being set up,

01:03:04as Malat claimed,

01:03:05a conspiracy

01:03:06of police planting evidence

01:03:08or by a malicious

01:03:09family member.

01:03:10Just bullshit.

01:03:12Just a reach,

01:03:13a reach to the fucking stars.

01:03:15And a dramatic moment

01:03:16came during the trial

01:03:17when Ivan Malat himself

01:03:18took the stand

01:03:19in June 18th of 1996.

01:03:22Because it's relatively rare

01:03:23for defendants

01:03:24in murder trials

01:03:25to testify,

01:03:26but Ivan was confident.

01:03:28I mean,

01:03:29we see this with like

01:03:30Ted Bundy

01:03:31and, you know,

01:03:32countless other

01:03:33serial killer,

01:03:34narcissistic serial killers.

01:03:36They're like,

01:03:36I can get out of this.

01:03:38But he calmly asserted

01:03:39his innocence,

01:03:40claiming, quote,

01:03:41My basic defense

01:03:42was that it wasn't me.

01:03:44I don't know who did it.

01:03:46It was up to them

01:03:47to prove my guilt,

01:03:48not for me

01:03:49to prove my innocence.

01:03:50Just the fucking arrogance

01:03:53of this just shit stain

01:03:55of a person.

01:03:56Oh my God.

01:03:57Though under cross-examination,

01:03:59his composure was tested.

01:04:01And his testimony,

01:04:02obviously,

01:04:03did not win him sympathy.

01:04:04If anything,

01:04:05observers felt he came across

01:04:06as cold and implausible,

01:04:09especially when faced

01:04:10with personal items

01:04:11of murdered young people.

01:04:13And through it all,

01:04:14Malat remained outwardly

01:04:15just confident

01:04:17and just unbothered.

01:04:19He truly seemed to believe

01:04:20he might be acquitted,

01:04:22like he was actually delusional.

01:04:25But as the trial wound down

01:04:26in July of 1996,

01:04:28the weight of the evidence

01:04:29was crushing.

01:04:31And after final arguments,

01:04:32Justice David Hunt

01:04:34gave instructions to the jury.

01:04:36carefully outlining

01:04:37how they could consider

01:04:38the evidence.

01:04:39And on July 27th, 1996,

01:04:42the jury returned their verdict

01:04:43after several days

01:04:45of deliberation,

01:04:46which why is this taking

01:04:47several days?

01:04:48But whatever.

01:04:49But Ivan Malat

01:04:50was found guilty

01:04:51on all seven counts

01:04:53of murder,

01:04:54as well as the charges

01:04:55related to the attack

01:04:56on Paul Onions.

01:04:58And the verdict was unanimous

01:04:59and came as a relief

01:05:00to the victim's families

01:05:02and to the public.

01:05:03And Malat reportedly showed

01:05:05little reaction.

01:05:06He actually smirked

01:05:08and shrugged,

01:05:08maintaining his indifference.

01:05:10But it was over now.

01:05:12The evidence had been overwhelming.

01:05:15And during the sentencing hearing,

01:05:17Justice Hunt did not

01:05:18mince words.

01:05:20And he sentenced Ivan Malat

01:05:21to seven consecutive

01:05:23life sentences

01:05:23with no possibility

01:05:25of parole.

01:05:26One for each life

01:05:28that he took.

01:05:29And additionally,

01:05:30for Paul Onions'

01:05:31attempted murder,

01:05:32kidnapping,

01:05:32and robbery,

01:05:33Malat received six years each,

01:05:36totaling 18 more years

01:05:37on top of those

01:05:38seven consecutive

01:05:40life sentences.

01:05:41To be served concurrently,

01:05:43which was mostly symbolic,

01:05:45as the life terms ensured

01:05:46he would never be free

01:05:47at any point.

01:05:49And in Australia,

01:05:50life without parole

01:05:51is relatively rare

01:05:52and reserved for

01:05:54the worst of the worst offenders.

01:05:56And Malat joined

01:05:57that infamous category

01:05:59that day.

01:06:00And Justice Hunt's remarks

01:06:01when delivering the sentence

01:06:02were powerful

01:06:03and captured the horror

01:06:05of Malat's crimes.

01:06:06And he addressed the courtroom

01:06:08noting that,

01:06:09quote,

01:06:09these seven young persons

01:06:11were at the threshold

01:06:12of their lives

01:06:13with everything

01:06:14to look forward to.

01:06:16Travel,

01:06:16career,

01:06:17happiness,

01:06:18love,

01:06:19family,

01:06:19and even old age.

01:06:21And that Malat

01:06:22had callously

01:06:22snuffed that out.

01:06:24And he went on to say

01:06:25that the behavior

01:06:26exhibited was

01:06:27of such,

01:06:28quote,

01:06:28callous indifference

01:06:29to suffering

01:06:30and complete disregard

01:06:32of humanity.

01:06:34It is almost beyond belief.

01:06:36Which I could not

01:06:37have said it better myself.

01:06:39And he highlighted

01:06:39that the victims

01:06:40must have been,

01:06:41quote,

01:06:42absolutely terrified

01:06:43and that their deaths

01:06:45were likely

01:06:45neither swift

01:06:46nor merciful.

01:06:48And Justice Hunt

01:06:48also touched on

01:06:49the question

01:06:50of an accomplice.

01:06:51And he stated

01:06:52his opinion

01:06:53that it was,

01:06:55quote,

01:06:55clear

01:06:55that in at least

01:06:56two of the killings

01:06:58two people

01:06:58had been involved.

01:07:00I mean,

01:07:00for a judge

01:07:02to say that

01:07:03it's quite telling

01:07:04because, I mean,

01:07:05you can imagine

01:07:06how many cases

01:07:07come across their table.

01:07:08So the thought

01:07:09of one of the brothers

01:07:10or somebody else

01:07:11being involved

01:07:12in this case

01:07:13and not convicted

01:07:14is quite terrifying.

01:07:16And this, of course,

01:07:16was not an official

01:07:17finding

01:07:18but just an observation.

01:07:20But it just left

01:07:21that open possibility

01:07:23that Malat did not

01:07:24act entirely alone.

01:07:26But regardless,

01:07:27Hunt made it plain

01:07:28that even if that were so,

01:07:30Ivan was certainly

01:07:31one of those perpetrators

01:07:32and the primary culprit

01:07:34by all evidence

01:07:35and thus ended

01:07:36the legal chapter

01:07:37of the backpacker murders.

01:07:40And the trial's outcome

01:07:41was hailed

01:07:41a triumph of justice

01:07:43and it demonstrated

01:07:45the effectiveness

01:07:45of law enforcement

01:07:47and the courts

01:07:48in dealing

01:07:49with one of the most

01:07:50heinous serial murder cases

01:07:51the country

01:07:52and the world

01:07:53has ever seen.

01:07:55So Ivan Malat

01:07:55began serving his sentence

01:07:57in 1996

01:07:58in Matlin Jail,

01:08:00a maximum security prison

01:08:01in New South Wales.

01:08:02And from the outset,

01:08:03he proved to be

01:08:04a difficult

01:08:05and notorious inmate.

01:08:07And in May of 1997,

01:08:09less than a year

01:08:10into his life term,

01:08:12prison authorities

01:08:12uncovered

01:08:13a daring escape plot

01:08:15engineered by Malat

01:08:16and a crew of inmates.

01:08:18And the plan involved

01:08:19collecting tools

01:08:20and attempting to cut

01:08:21through prison bars.

01:08:22But when it was foiled,

01:08:23Malat's would-be accomplice,

01:08:25George Savas,

01:08:27a convicted drug trafficker,

01:08:29was found hanged

01:08:30in his cell

01:08:30the next morning.

01:08:32And in response,

01:08:33officials transferred Malat

01:08:34to a maximum security wing

01:08:36at Goulburn Correctional Centre,

01:08:38which was also known

01:08:39as Goulburn Supermax

01:08:40in June of 1997,

01:08:42where Australia's

01:08:43most violent prisoners

01:08:45are held under

01:08:46highly restrictive conditions.

01:08:48And there, Malat was placed

01:08:50in a small,

01:08:52very small,

01:08:53one-man cell

01:08:54under 23-hour lockdown

01:08:56initially,

01:08:57with intensive supervision.

01:09:00And for the next two decades,

01:09:02Malat's life behind bars

01:09:03was marked by defiance,

01:09:05self-harm,

01:09:06and zero remorse.

01:09:08And he never admitted his guilt

01:09:10in the backpacker murders.

01:09:12And in fact,

01:09:12continued to file appeals

01:09:14and legal challenges

01:09:15in efforts to overturn

01:09:17his convictions.

01:09:18But in July of 2001,

01:09:20the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal

01:09:22unanimously dismissed

01:09:23Malat's first appeal,

01:09:25affirming that there was

01:09:26no miscarriage of justice

01:09:27in his trial,

01:09:28which, yeah,

01:09:29f***ing duh.

01:09:30And Malat then petitioned

01:09:31the High Court of Australia

01:09:32for a special leave to appeal.

01:09:35But in November of 2004,

01:09:36the High Court refused

01:09:37to hear his case at all.

01:09:39So that just extinguished

01:09:40Malat's legal avenues.

01:09:42And Malat,

01:09:43just enraged at being

01:09:44out of options,

01:09:45turned to hunger strikes

01:09:47and self-mutilation

01:09:48to draw attention to himself.

01:09:50And in 2003,

01:09:51he swallowed metal staples

01:09:52and bit off razor blades,

01:09:55forcing a trip

01:09:56to the prison hospitals

01:09:57as authorities feared

01:09:58internal injuries.

01:10:00And in January of 2009,

01:10:02Malat used a plastic knife

01:10:04to saw off his little finger,

01:10:06intending to mail it

01:10:07to the High Court of Canberra

01:10:09as a protest

01:10:10for not getting an appeal.

01:10:12Sounds like a very

01:10:13macabre f***ing toddler.

01:10:16So after cutting off

01:10:17his finger,

01:10:17he went on a nine-day

01:10:19hunger strike,

01:10:19consuming nothing but water

01:10:21until prison officials

01:10:23intervened.

01:10:24And he ended the protest

01:10:25only when he became

01:10:26so weak he accepted

01:10:27a sandwich from the guards.

01:10:30And it was allegedly rumored

01:10:31that Malat staged

01:10:32this particular stunt

01:10:33to also demand

01:10:35a PlayStation video game console

01:10:37in his cell.

01:10:39I have no words.

01:10:40A request, luckily,

01:10:42that was flatly denied.

01:10:44And these antics

01:10:45earned Malat

01:10:46little sympathy,

01:10:47obviously.

01:10:48And the New South Wales

01:10:48corrections minister

01:10:49at the time

01:10:50publicly scoffed

01:10:52that Malat could,

01:10:53quote,

01:10:53starve all he wants.

01:10:56Amen.

01:10:56And he wouldn't be getting

01:10:57any special treatment

01:10:58because of it.

01:10:59But nevertheless,

01:11:00Malat's self-harm episodes

01:11:02reinforced his

01:11:03manipulative personality.

01:11:05Because even behind bars,

01:11:06he sought control

01:11:07through any means available,

01:11:09including trying to inflict

01:11:10guilt or inconvenience

01:11:12on the system

01:11:13by injuring himself.

01:11:14And on at least one occasion,

01:11:16Malat was attacked

01:11:17by other inmates

01:11:18as a form of prison justice.

01:11:20And Malat recovered

01:11:21from these minor injuries

01:11:22without much complaint.

01:11:24So even as Ivan Malat

01:11:25grew weak in prison,

01:11:27law enforcement

01:11:28did not forget

01:11:29the possibility

01:11:29that he had more victims.

01:11:32And throughout

01:11:32the late 1990s

01:11:33and 2000s,

01:11:35detectives from NSW

01:11:36and other states

01:11:37periodically visited Malat

01:11:39in prison,

01:11:40just trying to elicit

01:11:41more information

01:11:42about unsolved cases.

01:11:44But each time,

01:11:45Malat would casually

01:11:46deny any sort of involvement.

01:11:49And in 2001,

01:11:50an inquest was held

01:11:51into the disappearance

01:11:52of the three

01:11:53Newcastle area teenagers

01:11:54from 1978 to 1979,

01:11:57which was Goodall,

01:11:58Hickey, and Robinson.

01:11:59And Malat was brought

01:12:00from prison to testify,

01:12:01but he provided

01:12:02nothing useful.

01:12:04Essentially just shrugging

01:12:05and saying he didn't know them.

01:12:07And a police officer

01:12:08who was present

01:12:09said that Malat

01:12:09seemed to enjoy

01:12:10the exertion from prison

01:12:13more than anything

01:12:14and treated the inquest

01:12:15like a, quote,

01:12:17day trip.

01:12:18But similar efforts

01:12:19would follow.

01:12:20In 2003,

01:12:21Queensland police

01:12:22interviewing Malat

01:12:22about several

01:12:23unsolved hitchhiker murders

01:12:25in their state

01:12:26found him polite

01:12:27but unhelpful.

01:12:29In 2005,

01:12:30NSW police attempted

01:12:31to question Malat

01:12:32about Annette Briffa

01:12:33and two missing

01:12:34British nurses

01:12:35also from 1980.

01:12:37But Malat, again,

01:12:38gave no confession

01:12:39or insight.

01:12:40And one of the more

01:12:41intriguing developments

01:12:42came from within

01:12:43Malat's own family,

01:12:44actually.

01:12:45Because over the years,

01:12:46a few of Ivan's siblings

01:12:47broke ranks

01:12:48and suggested he might

01:12:50have been involved

01:12:51in other crimes.

01:12:52And his brothers,

01:12:53Boris, for instance,

01:12:54gave an interview

01:12:55in 2015

01:12:56where he stated

01:12:58that Ivan had hinted

01:12:59at killing a taxi driver

01:13:01in 1962,

01:13:02like I mentioned

01:13:03previously.

01:13:04And that Ivan

01:13:05did other things

01:13:06that nobody

01:13:07will ever know about.

01:13:08And Boris even took

01:13:09a polygraph test,

01:13:10which a polygraph expert

01:13:12claimed indicated

01:13:13Boris was truthful

01:13:14in saying Ivan admitted

01:13:15that early shooting.

01:13:16So investigators found

01:13:18the taxi driver story

01:13:19plausible,

01:13:20but ultimately unprovable

01:13:21because he can't use

01:13:22polygraph in trials.

01:13:24And it remained

01:13:24officially unsolved.

01:13:26But Boris's outspoken stance

01:13:28caused a riff

01:13:29in the Malat family,

01:13:30most of whom remained

01:13:31tight-lipped

01:13:32or defensive of Ivan.

01:13:34So Boris was ostracized

01:13:35by many relatives

01:13:37for airing family

01:13:38dirty laundry,

01:13:39but he felt it was important

01:13:40that any other potential victims

01:13:42not be forgotten.

01:13:44And another terrifying chapter

01:13:45in the Malat saga

01:13:47unfolded in November of 2010

01:13:49when Ivan's great-nephew

01:13:50Matthew Malat

01:13:51murdered his friend

01:13:53in Belanglo State Forest,

01:13:54the very same forest

01:13:56where Ivan had killed before.

01:13:58And Matthew,

01:13:59who was only 17,

01:14:01used an axe

01:14:02to execute the crime

01:14:03and reportedly declared,

01:14:05quote,

01:14:06you know who my family is.

01:14:08That's what the Malats do

01:14:10during this incident,

01:14:11which is so incredibly

01:14:14horrifying and chilling.

01:14:16Like,

01:14:17it just makes you think

01:14:18of all the other things

01:14:19that could have happened

01:14:20within this family

01:14:21and all the victims.

01:14:22It's just insane.

01:14:25So in 2012,

01:14:26Matthew Malat

01:14:27was convicted

01:14:28and sentenced

01:14:28to 43 years in prison

01:14:30for that murder.

01:14:32And while this crime

01:14:33was Matthew's own,

01:14:34a completely separate atrocity,

01:14:35its location and method

01:14:37inevitably drew comparisons

01:14:39to his great uncles.

01:14:40And police scrutinized

01:14:41any possible correspondence

01:14:43between Matthew and Ivan.

01:14:45However,

01:14:46there was no evidence

01:14:47Ivan instructed

01:14:47or encouraged Matthew

01:14:48to do so.

01:14:49So it seemed to be

01:14:50a case of familial influence

01:14:52or just mere coincidence,

01:14:55but I'm going to say influence.

01:14:56But nonetheless,

01:14:57it reinforced

01:14:58the Malat family curse

01:15:00narrative in tabloid media.

01:15:02And it just pained

01:15:03the original victims' families

01:15:05to see the Malat name

01:15:06in headlines again for murder.

01:15:07And some of them wondered

01:15:08publicly if violence

01:15:10truly, quote,

01:15:11ran in the family,

01:15:13renewing debates

01:15:13about nature versus nurture

01:15:15and the lasting trauma

01:15:17of Ivan's crimes.

01:15:18But despite all these threads,

01:15:20as the years passed,

01:15:21it became clearly

01:15:22more victims than seven.

01:15:23And he was intent

01:15:24on taking those secrets

01:15:26with him to the grave.

01:15:27The police continued

01:15:28to revisit cold cases

01:15:29up until his dying days,

01:15:32but no new charges

01:15:33were ever laid.

01:15:34And the unsolved cases

01:15:35possibly linked to him

01:15:36remain officially

01:15:37open investigations.

01:15:39And many detectives involved

01:15:40have since retired.

01:15:42And some have speculated

01:15:43that given Malat's unwillingness

01:15:45to cooperate,

01:15:46we may never know

01:15:47the full extent

01:15:48of his crimes.

01:15:49Because in the late 2010s,

01:15:51Malat's physical condition

01:15:52began to decline.

01:15:53Because decades of prison food,

01:15:55limited exercise,

01:15:56and likely the toll

01:15:57of stress took effect.

01:15:59And in early 2019,

01:16:01he started experiencing pain

01:16:02in his throat

01:16:03and rapid weight loss.

01:16:05And on May 13th, 2019,

01:16:07Ivan Malat,

01:16:07then 74 years old,

01:16:09was transferred

01:16:10to Goulburn's Supermax Prison

01:16:12to Prince of Wales Hospital

01:16:13in Sydney for medical tests.

01:16:16And doctors discovered

01:16:17he had advanced esophageal

01:16:18and stomach cancer,

01:16:20an illness in which

01:16:21was deemed terminal.

01:16:23Boo.

01:16:24Boo.

01:16:24Realizing that Australia's

01:16:26most notorious inmate

01:16:27was dying,

01:16:28officials set strict protocols.

01:16:31And Malat was kept

01:16:31under heavy guard,

01:16:32shackled to a hospital bed,

01:16:34and allowed no visitors

01:16:36except immediate family.

01:16:37And even as his life waned,

01:16:39Malat maintained

01:16:40his stony demeanor.

01:16:42And he gave no deathbed confession

01:16:43and no apology.

01:16:46He came into this world

01:16:48a shit stain,

01:16:48and he left it

01:16:49a waste of oxygen shit stain.

01:16:52And by October 2019,

01:16:53Malat was moved

01:16:54to the secure hospital wing

01:16:55at Long Bay Correctional Center

01:16:57in Sydney

01:16:57to live out his final days.

01:16:59And on the morning

01:17:00of October 27th, 2019,

01:17:03Ivan Malat died in custody

01:17:04from his cancers

01:17:05at age 74.

01:17:07And news of his death

01:17:08made headlines

01:17:09across Australia

01:17:09and internationally.

01:17:11And for many,

01:17:12it was final closure

01:17:13that the backpack

01:17:14murderer saga was over.

01:17:16And families of victims

01:17:17expressed bittersweet relief.

01:17:19And the NSW Corrections Minister,

01:17:21Anthony Roberts,

01:17:22voiced a more blunt reaction

01:17:24reflective of public statement,

01:17:26which was, quote,

01:17:26he can rot in hell.

01:17:28He showed no remorse.

01:17:29The world is a better place

01:17:31without Ivan Malat.

01:17:33And that is it

01:17:34for the backpack murderer.

01:17:37My heart goes out

01:17:39to the families

01:17:39and the victims.

01:17:41At the end of the day,

01:17:43seven innocent people

01:17:44were killed,

01:17:45most likely a lot more.

01:17:48And I'm very happy

01:17:51that this monster

01:17:53is rotting in hell.

01:17:55But if you want me

01:17:56to deep dive

01:17:58into any other case,

01:17:59let me know down below.

01:18:01I always read your comments

01:18:03and I appreciate you guys

01:18:04being here very, very much.

01:18:06And remember,

01:18:07please, please

01:18:07stay safe out there

01:18:09and I will see

01:18:10your beautiful face

01:18:11in the next one.

01:18:12Okay?

01:18:13Bye.

The Most INFAMOUS Serial Killer in Australian History | Shocking True Crime Story

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