Police have charged a 48-year-old man with the murder of two women taken from the streets of Claremont in Perth, Western Australia, in the late 1990s, following a 20-year investigation into the alleged serial killings.
Bradley Robert Edwards, from Kewdale, appeared in Perth magistrates court on Friday charged with the murders of Jane Rimmer in June 1996 and Ciara Glennon in March 1997.
Edwards is also accused of abducting a 17-year-old girl in February 1995 as she walked through Rowe Park in Claremont, and indecently assaulting an 18-year-old woman during a break-in at a Huntingdale home in February 1988.
He was remanded in custody to appear in Stirling Gardens magistrates court on 11 January.
Edwards was arrested at his home in Kewdale, in Perth’s eastern suburbs, on Thursday, after detectives searched his home.
Rimmer, then 23, was last seen after leaving a hotel in Claremont on 9 June 1996; Glennon, then 27, was last seen leaving the same venue on 14 March 1997.
The bodies of both women were later discovered dumped in bushland.
No charges were laid in connection to the disappearance and suspected murder of 18-year-old Sarah Spiers, who disappeared from Claremont in the early hours of 27 January 1996.
The WA police commissioner, Karl O’Callaghan, said it was a “significant breakthrough” in the long-running case.
Addressing the media in Perth on Friday, O’Callaghan said police would allege Edwards abducted both Rimmer and Glennon, before killing them and dumping their bodies. He is alleged to have acted alone.
O’Callaghan paid tribute to the families of Rimmer, Glennon and Spiers, and said the investigation into the suspected murder of Spiers was “ongoing”.
“So there is still much work to be done, but this has already been the biggest and most complex police investigation in WA history,” he said. “Hundreds of police officers have worked on this case over the 20 years.”
The investigation into the suspected serial killings, dubbed Operation Macro, began after Rimmer disappeared in June 1996. O’Callaghan said police had “never wavered” in their commitment to find the alleged killer.
“I want to pay tribute to the families of Sarah Spiers, Ciara Glennon and Jane Rimmer, and the victim of the 1995 attack for their patience and understanding during the investigation,” he said, before asking the media to respect the families’ privacy.
He also warned people not to speculate about the case on social media before saying he would not take questions, because he was concerned divulging too many details could jeopardise further investigations.
“These crimes shocked the West Australian public and police understand the high level of media and public interest,” he said. “However, now that a person has been charged, I want to take this opportunity to reiterate the need to respect the judicial process which has now commenced.”
