Detectives established that another phone had followed the same route at the same time. The phone belonged to a convicted rapist called Adrian Ernest Bayley. Police ascertained that Bayley was on parole for a series of horrific rapes carried out in 2000 and 2001. They asked the Parole Board to schedule an ostensibly routine meeting, in the hope they could arrest him with a minimum of risk. The plan unravelled, though, when Bayley's parole officer inadvertently told him that the police were looking to question him. Although it has been suggested there was something sinister about this, it was a genuine mistake. But it meant police had to move fast. They feared Bayley would destroy evidence such as the blue hoodie he was wearing when captured talking to Ms Meagher on the now-infamous CCTV footage taken on Brunswick Street.

On Thursday police raided Bayley's Coburg home and got lucky: they found Ms Meagher's SIM card and her smashed mobile phone. Although he did not know it, Bayley was now trapped in a web he had little hope of escaping. As well as smashing the phone, the murderer had tried hard to cover his tracks. A CCTV camera caught Bayley at a Fawkner service station about 10pm on Saturday. He appeared to be parked next to self-service car vacuums and cleaning units. He went to a Fawkner brake shop on Monday, arranging for work on his Holden Astra's discs and oil filter and telling the attendant he was going to replace the boot mat. On Tuesday he went to a Fawkner tyre shop and had all four tyres changed, then went to a Sydney Road mechanic and got a roadworthy certificate to be able to transfer the Astra into his girlfriend's name. He also discussed Ms Meagher's disappearance with his girlfriend, saying it was a terrible thing and warning his girlfriend not to walk alone at night. Loading

When police took Bayley to the StKilda Road police centre on Thursday afternoon, he was polite but insistent: he had nothing to do with Ms Meagher's disappearance. Although he did not know it, Bayley was now trapped in a web he had little hope of escaping. But confronted with the evidence he broke down and confessed to having killed her. He then led them to the lonely bush road where he had buried her.