THE DEVIL'S GARDEN The Claremont Serial Killings

Paperback. Between 1996 and 1997, 3 young women - Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer, Ciara Glennon - vanished after visiting nightclubs in the affluent suburb of Claremont, Perth. With no eyewitnesses and no apparent motive, police became locked in a deadly race to catch this killer before he struck again. The bodies of Jane and Ciara were found, dumped in desolate bush areas. Sarah is still missing. The families' agony is endless. A decade on, police and forensic experts are no closer to solving the identity of the menace, who paralysed the community with fear; no closer to either clearing or charging the prime suspect, who has wilted under surveillance for years. And, despite more than 20 missing women or unsolved murders in Western Australia, they are no closer to knowing if the killer's body count stops at these 3 victims. Against a backdrop of the appalling miscarriage of justice cases in Western Australia, questions swirl around the competency of the Claremont investigation - now the most expensive and long-running case in Australian history. Despite 11 reviews, police cloak themselves - and their body of evidence - under the veil of the 'ongoing investigation'. The author examines the case from both inside and outside the system, asking the overriding question: how can police be so sure this predator will not strike again. Illus., Epilogue + Bibliog. 349pp. p/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. with no creasing to covers.