Australia’s longest-running cold case has come to a close after a man was convicted on Thursday of killing two of the three women he was accused of killing.
Bradley Robert Edwards was found guilty of murdering Jane Rimmer, 23, a childcare worker in 1996 and Ciara Glennon, 27, a lawyer in 1997, according to CNN.
He stood accused for the murder of 18-year old secretary Sarah Spiers but was found not guilty due to lack of evidence. Her body was never found.
All three women disappeared from the popular nightlife area of Claremont, a Perth suburb, and sparked widespread fear throughout the city.
“The events in question occurred more than 20 years ago but have haunted the memory of many people and troubled the public conscience,” Western Australia Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall said in his judgment.
“The disappearance and likely murder of three young women was in itself enough to cause wide concern. The fact that all three went missing from a popular nightlife area frequented by many young people inspired a real and pervasive sense of fear,” the judgement said.
Edwards, who was convicted of two rapes in 2016 and sent to prison, was linked to the disappearance of the three women through DNA.
Cops were able to match his DNA to samples taken from under the fingernails of Ciara Glennon’s left hand, which prosecutors believe got there during a struggle.
Investigators also linked fibers from the bodies of Glennon and Jane Rimmer to Edwards’ work vehicle, indicating that he abducted both women in that vehicle.
According to ABC, the trial is believed to be the most expensive in Australia’s history, with costs running in excess of $11 million.
