Ivan Milat was convicted for seven grisly murders, but authorities believe he could be responsible for more (Picture: AP)

A serial killer who took the lives of seven backpackers, including two British nannies, has died in prison aged 74.

The death of Ivan Milat ends hopes of him confessing to more unsolved slayings and suspicious disappearances of tourists.

He was diagnosed in May with terminal esophageal and stomach cancer and died today in the medical wing of Long Bay Prison, Sydney.

The road worker and self-styled cowboy who called himself ‘Tex’, was jailed in 1996 over the murders of two fellow Australians, three Germans and British Caroline Clarke and Joanne Walters.


A murder investigation was launched after several mutilated corpses were discovered over 14 months in 1992 and 1993.

Ivan Milat’s former wife called him a ‘gun nut’ who used to shoot and stab kangaroos in the same forest he dumped his victims in (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Milat picked up his hitchhiking targets before dumping their bodies in Belanglo State Forest, southwest of Sydney.



In September 1992, Ms Clarke, 21, and Ms Walters, 22, were found buried under broken branches and leaf litter.

They had been missing from the city for five months before one of their bodies was discovered by two runners and the second by police.

Ms Walters was stabbed 35 times and Ms Clarke was shot with ten rounds in what police described as ‘target practice’.

Melbourne couple Deborah Everist and James Gibson, both 19, were found dead in October 1993 after going missing in late 1989.

Caroline Clarke, 21, was shot 10 times by Milat before being hidden in the forest (Picture: AAPIMAGE)

Further searches of the forest the following month revealed the bodies of Germans Simone Schmidl, 21, and couple Anja Habschied, 20, and Gabor Neugebauer, 21.

A 20 strong team of detectives and analysts was put on the case and a reward of 500,000 Australian dollars (£265,931) was offered for information leading to the killer.

Milat was arrested on May 22, 1994, after two months of surveillance by police.

Briton Paul Onions, who nearly lost his life after accepting a ride from the killer in 1990, helped detectives identify him.

He managed to escape from the car and ran down the road while the gun enthusiast shot at him.

British Joanne Walters was stabbed 35 times by her killer (Picture: AAPIMAGE)

Identifying his assailant enabled police to search Milat’s Sydney house, where they found several weapons including parts of a rifle matching one used in the killings.

Detectives also discovered a camera, tent and a sleeping bag belonging to his victims.

The murderer had also taken victims’ property and given it to family members as souvenirs.

After his trial in 1996 Milat was found guilty of seven murders and sentenced to the same number of consecutive life sentences.

The judge who sentenced him said it was ‘inevitable’ that he had been helped by an unknown accomplice.

(Left to right), Deborah Everest, Anja Habschied, Simone Schmidl, Joanne Walters, Gabor Neugebauer, Caroline Clarke and James Gibson (Picture: X00561)

The cold blooded killer smiles in a police car after attending court in Sydney (Picture: AP)

But Clive Small, a former detective who led the murder investigation, said today he was confident the killer acted alone.

However he does suspect he had more victims, including three people whose bodies were found in other forests from as early as 1971.

Mr Small said: ‘I had absolutely no respect for him at all. I thought that if he had one ounce of decency in him, he could have shown it before he died by admitting and clarifying a number of issues that are outstanding.’



Reflecting on Milat’s death, he added: ‘A lot of people are going to be very satisfied with the current outcome and will be pleased that it’s over.’

The Northumberland-based father of Ms Clarke, Ian Clarke, said: ‘No matter how Christian one might be, you can’t help but be glad this has happened.’

German couple Anja Habschied and Gabor Neugebauer, were among the victims

The body of Deborah Everist was found in 1993 after going missing late in 1989 (Picture: AAPIMAGE)

He previously told the Sydney Morning Herald: ‘If he was to finally face up to the fact and admit to any others that he has done, if indeed he has, then I think that would be a wonderful thing for those parents, because for the short time that we didn’t know, I know just how they must be feeling.

‘It was in its way a form of closure, that we’d found her [Ms Clarke] and we were able to lay her to rest properly. It’s these other parents who don’t have the luxury of being able to do that.’

Criminologist and author Amanda Howard corresponded with Milat practically every month since 1997 and says he never would have made a deathbed confession.

She said: ‘He died in a very painful way but he was happy that he was able to take these secrets to his grave.’

Milat was sentenced to prison in 1997 and had been in custody since 1994 (Picture: REX)

Ms Howard, who suspects he had more than seven victims, said Milat had recently written to her to say he ‘felt for the parents of the German backpackers’.

He wrote: ‘I can’t imagine what they must be feeling knowing that this and this and this had happened to their children.’


Despite this, Ms Howard says he went into graphic detail and ‘enjoyed being able to relive that and retell that story.’

Milat was moved to maximum security solitary confinement after an escape attempt in 1997.

He continued to make headlines over the years through hunger strikes and self-harm and severed a finger with a serrated plastic knife.

German Simone Schmidl was found dead in November 1993 (Picture: AAPIMAGE)

Anja Habschied was unearthed by police along with boyfriend Gabor Neugebauer (Picture: AAPIMAGE)

Milat underwent specialist palliative care at a Sydney hospital for more than tow weeks but was returned to prison on Tuesday last week to ensure he died behind bars.

Corrections Minister Anthony Roberts said: He showed no remorse. We ensured the sentence was carried out. He can rot in hell.’

In a recent television interview, Milat’s older brother said: ‘He was going to kill somebody from the age of 10.

‘It was built into him. He had a different psyche. He’s a psychopath and it just manifested itself with “I can do anything, I can do anything.”‘

Karen Milat described her former husband as a ‘gun nut’ who shot and knifed kangaroos in the forest where his victims were found.

The father of Caroline Clarke said you ‘can’t help but be glad’ about Milat’s death (Picture: PA)

James Gibson, 19, from Melbourne, was found dead in October 1993 along with partner Deborah Everist (Picture: AAPIMAGE)

She said he had a cat called Gizmo, loved his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and painted model trucks and planes in camouflage colours as a hobby.

Milat’s crimes inspired the Wolf Creek horror movie and television series released since 2005.

His gruesome legacy continued in 2010 when his great-nephew Matthew Milat lured his 17-year-old friend into the Belanglo forest and murdered him with an axe.

The then 17-year-old murderer, who was sentenced to 43 years in prison, boasted to a friend the day after the killing.


He said: ‘You know me, you know my family. You know the last name Milat. I did what they do.’

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