Ivan Milat linked to 30 more murders in Australia inquiry

A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry has linked convicted serial killer Ivan Milat to 31 additional unsolved murders and disappearances. Inquiry chair Jeremy Buckingham has called for a judicial commission and a new police taskforce to review cold cases and determine if investigators missed earlier connections to the killer.

Milat was convicted in 1996 for the murders of seven backpackers. Their bodies were discovered in Belanglo state forest between 1989 and 1993. He received seven consecutive life sentences and died of cancer in prison in 2019 at age 74.

Police reviewed hundreds of files and identified 17 murders or missing persons cases, along with 14 other disappearances, that share patterns with Milat’s known crimes. “That’s another 30 potential murders that Ivan Milat is linked to,” Buckingham said. He noted that Milat should have received a 15 to 20 year sentence in 1975, which allowed him to continue targeting people in similar situations.

Investigators are especially focused on the 1987 disappearance of 18-year-old Peter David Letcher. Letcher vanished while hitchhiking and his body was found two months later in Jenolan state forest. Former officer Kris Illingsworth told the inquiry that this remains the only additional killing police are certain Milat committed. Prosecutors originally rejected the case due to weak ballistic evidence. The original case file is now missing. “There were 400 boxes of archived material,” NSW police homicide squad commander Joe Doueihi told the inquiry. “There may be something in there, but from our inquiries we’ve made so far, we can’t find any documentation.”

The inquiry also examined Milat’s 1971 trial, where he faced charges for rape and two armed robberies. A prosecution witness gave conflicting testimony about consent, leading to his acquittal on all counts. Milat’s defense lawyer at the time was John Marsden. Three co-defendants received prison terms of 12, 16, and 18 years. The court transcript for the trial cannot be located. Former prosecutor Mark Tedeschi KC noted the proceedings suggest Milat may have intimidated a witness to avoid conviction.

Tedeski, who led the original trial against Milat, said he always suspected the killer was responsible for more crimes. He stated he never saw strong enough evidence to file formal charges or take Milat to court for those additional cases. The parliamentary inquiry will deliver its final report to the NSW parliament in February 2027.