How cops caught the killer of an Irish woman in Oz’s biggest murder investigation as a caged beast after DNA was left on the victim’s fingers

MORE than two decades after her murder, Ciara Glennon’s family finally has justice with her killer behind bars.

This week, an Australian judge found Bradley Robert Edwards guilty of the murders of Ciara, Mayo’s wife, and Jane Rimmer, of Perth, in the late 1990s.

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The ruling ended a long battle for justice for families and the end of one of the longest and most costly criminal investigations in the country.

It has been 23 years since Ciara was last seen alive.

The 27-year-old attorney, whose family was from Westport, was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with friends in the Claremont area of ​​Perth when she disappeared.

She was one of three women to go missing from that part of town, including 23-year-old Jane Rimmer and 18-year-old Sarah Spiers in what became known as the Claremont serial murder case.

Kidnappings

Sarah was the first to disappear, in January 1996, and in June, Jane disappeared and her body was found two months later.

The following March, Ciara was kidnapped and her remains were found a month later.

Both Ciara and Jane were found in bushes in opposite parts of Perth, but Sarah’s body has never been located.

The three deaths resulted in the largest homicide investigation in Australian history, lasting nearly 25 years.

Edwards had not been considered a suspect, and despite police working on the case over the years and many public appeals, they had no leads.

They had DNA under Ciara’s nails, but it wasn’t until 2008 that technology was used to prove it.

And in December 2016, a man who had been arrested for multiple attacks on women matched the DNA profile: Bradley Robert Edwards.

DISCOVERY OF DNA

The police had been interviewing him when he confessed to raping a 17-year-old girl in 1995 before throwing her into the bushes.

At the same time, he also admitted breaking into the home of an 18-year-old girl in 1988.

When confronted with the DNA from under Ciara Glennon’s fingernails, Edwards said it was his, but he didn’t know how it got there.

While he admitted to the rapes of the two surviving women, he claimed not to have committed the murders.

For 95 days, the case was presented in a court exclusively for judges. Edwards did not testify and had no witnesses to defend her.

However, his former wives and former colleagues testified for the indictment.

And on Thursday, Judge Stephen Hall of the Central Courts of Justice in Perth said he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Edwards was responsible for the deaths of Ciara and Jane.

He said there were similarities between the two, as they both had defensive wounds and both women were killed in the same way.

The fibers found on both bodies were ‘Telstra Navy’ and matched the pants Edwards wore when he worked as a technician for the Telstra telephone company.

Those same fibers were also found in the 17-year-old survivor.

And another fiber, matching the carpet from a 1996 VS Holden Commodore, the same car he was driving at the time, matched Ciara and the 18-year-old survivor.

FINDING THE KILLER

Edwards was acquitted of the murder of Sarah Spiers because there was insufficient evidence due to the lack of a body.

Denis, Ciara’s father, said he had promised his daughter that he would find her killer or “die trying.”

He said: “Crimes like these inflict unforeseeable collateral damage.

“They take their toll physically, emotionally and spiritually on those left behind.

“As a family, we will not allow ourselves to be prisoners of the past.”

He added, “Since then, that promise, that commitment to Ciara, has driven me unwaveringly and unapologetically.”

And he praised his daughter for defending herself and giving the police the necessary evidence to catch the killer.

Her dad spoke up when she disappeared and said yesterday: “Through tears, I said I would fight for her life because of the way she was raised.

Little did we know then how prophetic these words would be.

“While fighting to save his life, he left us vital DNA clues.

“Ciara was strong in spirit, she had courage, a lot of courage.

“However, while fighting to save her life, she was unable to save herself due to the brutal assault by her killer.”

Ciara’s family were not allowed to see her body after they found her because “her wounds and wounds were too gruesome.”

GOING FORWARD

But Denis read the autopsy report and saw images of his injuries that were not even shown in court due to the horrifying nature of how he died.

He added: “Together we will move forward with renewed equanimity, purpose and meaning, guided by those good memories I mentioned from the past.

“But it was fused with the future, with our daughter Denise and her family, with our friends, and with thoughts of lasting gratitude to so many, so many people.”

Washington Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said they would now focus on finding Sarah Spiers.

Speaking outside of court, he said: “Now you can call Bradley Edwards for what he is. A brutal rapist and a murderer.

“The Claremont murders struck at the heart of our way of life, which spanned nearly a quarter of a century.

“Three innocent young men were killed along with the hopes and dreams they never came to fulfill.

“We will never stop trying to locate Sarah, and I have relayed it to Don and Carol Spiers today and (her sister) Amanda. Sarah and her family deserve justice. “

Edwards will face sentence for the two murders and the rapes of two other women on December 23.

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