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The Claremont Murders.

The Claremont serial murders is the case of the unsolved murders of two young women and the disappearance of a third in 1996 and 1997 in Claremont,.

All three women disappeared from night spots in Claremont and they disappeared in similar circumstances, leading police to believe that an unidentified serial killer may be behind the crimes. A fourth woman who disappeared in 1988 was also linked as another possible victim.

The case began with the disappearance of Sarah Spiers, 18, in January 1996 from a nightclub in the centre of Claremont. Her disappearance was completely out of character and attracted massive publicity in Perth.

Some months later, Jane Rimmer, 23, disappeared from the same part of Claremont. The similarity in the circumstances of her disappearance led many to speculate that a serial killer was at large. Her body was found in bush land in the far southern suburbs of Perth in August 1996.

On March 14^th 1997, Ciara Glennon, a 27-year-old lawyer, also disappeared from the Claremont area. Her body was found on April 3rd, off a track in scrub in Pippadinney Rd. With this murder police admitted that they were searching for a serial killer.

All three women had either gone to a pub called The Continental (since renamed The Red Rock and now known as The Claremont Hotel) and/or a nightclub called Club Bayview.

There is a possible related case.

It was also suggested by a Perth radio/TV journalist that Sarah Spiers was not the first victim. He wrote that police have told the father of a fourth missing woman, 22-year-old Julie Cutler, that his daughter was probably the first victim of the Claremont killer.

Ms Cutler, a university student from Fremantle, vanished after leaving a staff function at the Sheraton Hotel in Perth at 9pm one night in 1988.

Her car was found in the surf near the groyne at Cottesloe Beach two days later. Her body has never been found.

Investigation

A public servant from Cottesloe, was the prime suspect, but no charges have ever been laid. It has been reported in the news, via print, radio, television, and online, that police are also investigating the possibility Bradley John Murdoch, the convicted killer of Peter Falconio may have been involved, although Murdoch was serving a custodial sentence from November 1995 until February 1997.

In October 2006, it was announced that Mark Dixie, a man on trial in the United Kingdom over the murder in 2005 of the 18-year-old model Sally Anne Bowman, is a prime suspect in the killings, and the WA Police's Macro Taskforce requested DNA samples from Dixie to test against evidence taken during the enquiry.

While as yet there is no official word on the matter – and there my never be, this article is purely one of my own thoughts based on the facts above – I have to wonder if the Claremont Killer has resurfaced.  To my mind there are several similarities in the killing of Corryn Rayney.  Like the  Claremont victims she just vanished without trace from a crowded area.  No one saw here leaving the dancing class and no one saw her with anyone in particular before she did so.  She too was a lawyer as was Ciara Glennon, could the killer also have been a stalker?  It seems that the killing of Mrs. Rayney was planned and it seems that the killings of the three Claremont girls were also planned.  There may be more similarities obvious to those who are in possession of more facts than I but it is also possible that they can totally discredit my theory.  I am making no claims to its validity I am merely airing my own thoughts on the matter.

Fortunately in this case the police have had a badly needed stroke of luck which led them to Mrs. Rayney’s body quite quickly and hopefully they will have found evidence at the site that will lead them to the person responsible.  If it does, let us hope that it will eventually bring to justice a man who deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail.