Bones found in backpacker killer’s forest

Human bones have been found in a state forest where the Australian serial killer Ivan Milat murdered seven backpackers, including two Britons, in the late 1990s.

The skeletal remains, discovered by a group of motor bike riders, were located in open ground near a fire trail in the Belangelo State Forest, south of Sydney, where Milat dumped the bodies of seven backpackers.

Among his victims were 22-year-olds Caroline Clarke, from Northumbria and Joanne Walters, from South Wales.

In 1996, Milat, a former road worker, was found guilty of all seven murders. He is currently serving a prison term of seven life sentences, plus a further term of 18 years.

Police confirmed that the remains were human but refused to confirm whether they belonged to any of Milat’s victims.

Since Milat’s conviction there has been constant speculation in Australia linking him to many other disappearances and unsolved crimes; Milat continues to protest his innocence.

But Superintendent Quarmby said that it was far too early to jump to any conclusion about the new discovery, saying only that police were currently pursuing “many lines of investigation”.

In January last year, he cut off his little finger with a plastic knife and sent it to a court.

By Mark Chipperfield in Sydney

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7971781/Bones-found-in-backpacker-killers-forest.html