Ivan Milat

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Lore & Background

Ivan Milat was born on 27 December 1944, to Croatian emigrant and labourer Stjepan Marko 'Steven' Milat (1902–1983) and Margaret Elizabeth Piddleston (1920–2001), an Australian national. Ivan was the fifth of their 14 children. The impoverished Milat family initially lived on a rural weatherboard cottage farm in Bossley Park, 36 kilometres west of Sydney, before relocating to Liverpool, New South Wales. Siblings recalled Milat displaying antisocial and psychopathic behaviour at a young age, such as attacking animals with machetes, leading to a stint in a residential school at age 13. By age 17, he was in a juvenile detention centre for theft, and at age 19 he was involved in a shop break-in. In 1964, Milat was sentenced to 18 months for breaking and entering, and a month after release he was arrested for driving a stolen car and sentenced to two years' hard labour. In September 1967, aged 22, he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for theft. On 7 April 1971, Milat abducted two 18-year-old female hitchhikers near Liverpool railway station with a knife. He raped one of the hitchhikers before they stopped at a petrol station café, where they managed to escape. Milat was arrested later that day and charged with one count of rape and two counts of armed robbery. While awaiting trial, Milat was involved in a string of robberies with some of his brothers before faking his suicide by leaving his shoes at The Gap, a well-known Sydney suicide site. Authorities believe that Milat then fled to Queensland and Victoria before flying to New Zealand, where he lived for two years. Milat was rearrested in 1974 after his mother was taken to hospital suffering from a heart attack, but the robbery and kidnap cases against him failed at trial with the help of the Milats' family lawyer, John Marsden. Milat took on a job as a truck driver in 1975, and by the time of his arrest he had worked on and off for the Roads & Traffic Authority for 20 years. In 1977, Milat unsuccessfully attempted to rape and murder two women who were hitchhiking from Liverpool to Canberra, but he was never charged. Between 1989 and 1992, Milat murdered seven backpackers: Deborah Everist and James Gibson (both 19), Simone Schmidl (21), Gabor Neugebauer (21) and Anja Habschied (20), and Caroline Clarke (21) and Joanne Walters (22). Their bodies were discovered in Belanglo State Forest from September 1992 to November 1993. Victims had been stabbed, shot, beaten, and in Habschied's case decapitated. Paul Onions, a British backpacker who escaped Milat in 1990, identified him in 1994, leading to Milat's arrest on 22 May 1994.

Reader's Guide

Ivan Milat's case is significant for its impact on Australian policing and public awareness of serial crime. The discovery of the backpacker murders in Belanglo State Forest prompted the creation of Task Force Air on 14 October 1993, containing more than twenty detectives and analysts. On 5 November 1993, the New South Wales government increased the reward in relation to the killings to A$500,000. The use of link analysis technology helped narrow a suspect list from a short list of 230 to an even shorter list of thirty-two. The case also highlighted the vulnerability of hitchhikers and led to increased safety campaigns for backpackers. Milat's trial and conviction underscored the importance of forensic evidence and witness testimony, particularly that of Paul Onions, whose escape and identification were crucial. Onions had accepted a ride from Milat on 25 January 1990, and when Milat pulled out a revolver and rope, Onions fled while Milat shot at him. Onions flagged down a passing motorist, Joanne Berry of Canberra, and together they described the assailant and his vehicle and registration number to the Bowral police. On 5 May 1994, Onions positively identified Milat as the man who had picked him up and attempted to shoot him. The murders remain a dark chapter in Australian criminal history, and Milat is suspected of additional offences dating back to 1962, though he was never charged for those.

Did You Know?

• Milat faked his suicide by leaving his shoes at The Gap, a well-known Sydney suicide site, while awaiting trial for rape and armed robbery in 1971.
• Victim Caroline Clarke was shot ten times in the head at the burial site, and police believe she had been used as target practice.
• Anja Habschied was decapitated, and despite an extensive search her skull was never found.
• Paul Onions, who escaped Milat in 1990, flagged down a passing motorist, Joanne Berry of Canberra, and together they reported the assailant and his vehicle registration to police.
• The New South Wales government increased the reward for information on the killings to A$500,000 on 5 November 1993.