Airdate: Catching the Claremont Killer: The Untold Story

In February investigative documentary, Catching the Claremont Killer: The Untold Story will examine the longest-running and most-expensive criminal investigation in Australian history.

Steve Pennells speaks exclusively to a secret victim who, for the first time, breaks her silence detailing how she fought back and survived.

Steve Pennells said, “For a quarter of a century, the murders of these girls remained unsolved. The killings scarred a city and a generation. For so many years, three grieving families fought for justice and police officers spent their careers determined to crack the case. And now a survivor speaks up for the first time. This is their story.”

Between 1996 and 1997, three young women went missing after visiting night spots in Claremont, a wealthy suburb of Perth in Western Australia. Two of their bodies were found, setting off an unprecedented police operation spanning a quarter of a century.

The crimes were horrific and the police investigation extraordinary, but as the years went by, it appeared the killer would never be caught.

Anchored by multiple Walkley award-winning journalist Steve Pennells, Catching the Claremont Killer: The Untold Story will investigate how a notorious killer stayed hidden in plain sight.

Throughout the compelling one-hour documentary, key players reveal how the murders changed a city, how Bradley Robert Edwards managed to elude police for so long and how detective work, which stretched out to the UK and US, finally resulted in a critical breakthrough and the dramatic arrest ending three decades of terror.

Now, the 52-year old former technician has been found guilty of the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon and will serve two life sentences for the murders, with a minimum of 40 years in jail.

He was acquitted of the murder of a third woman, Sarah Spiers, whose body has never been found, with the judge concluding that Edwards was likely to have killed her but there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

Edwards’ trial closed a chapter on one of Australia’s most notorious crimes. But key questions remain unanswered.

8pm Thursday 4 February on SKY News (5pm WST) repeated at 11pm (8pm WST).