Siblings Chad Everett Sutton and Melony Merrille Sutton were aged 16 and 14 respectively when they went missing on 23 November 1992.
While they did voluntarily run away, there are a lot of factors at play in this mystery that have many believing they were abducted and murdered.
Background:
Chad and Melony lived with their mother, Maree, in the suburb of Inala in Brisbane, Queensland. They were last seen by Maree as they left home on the morning of 23 November, 1992, to go to school. One source says they dropped their younger brother, George, off at school before they disappeared.
After they were found to be missing, it was revealed that they weren't planning on going to school that day; they'd told friends they were going to hitchhike to Perth to live with their father. Despite this, the siblings didn't have any money or clothes with them when they left their home.
For those who don't know, Perth is on the complete opposite side of the country, over 4,000km from Brisbane. It's also important to note that, to get from Inala to Perth by road, one would have to travel through New South Wales. It would be quite the feat, and was one that Chad had attempted alone in the past, only making it as far a Toowoomba in Queensland (about 125km away).
The two were at first treated as runaways, but as time passed it became suspected that they had met with foul play, at the very least that they are deceased.
The Unexplained Phone Calls
In April 1993 - 5 months after Chad and Melony went missing - one of Chad's friends, Chris, reported receiving several phone calls from Chad between November and December, 1992. Chris reported that Chad had called him from Sydney first, and then from Adelaide a few weeks later. Chris moved house in December, and it's possible Chad might have tried to call again, with no answer.
Police stated that they had no reason to doubt the calls, but they were not able to be verified through phone records. Police also found it "unusual" given the amount of travelling they would have had to do to actually get to Adelaide, with no witnesses coming forward.
The time gap between the phone calls and their locations would suggest that they were travelling with lots of different people, or in a number of different ways. Police believe that, if they'd made it 2,000 kilometres, someone would have been concerned for them and reported them to police.
(Un)Successful Hitchhiking Theory
Despite seeking public assistance, nobody ever came fo
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Latrell Mitchell has murdered several people in cold blood. Ivan Milat allegedly did the same. If the judiciary found Latrell Mitchell guilty, why did they not sentence him to Goulburn Correctional Centre like they did with Ivan Milat?
Do we really think he acted alone or were his brothers / someone else more involved than we know?
My thoughts process is the different methods used to kill his victims and questioning whether one person could overpower more than one person, even with a gun?
Discuss...
This would be a great vid topic. You could liken Milat to the protagonist of the Wolf Creek movies. I lived ony a few miles up the Highway from Belanglo State Forest when the bodies were found. It was very scary.
there's even material for a spin-off video about his nephew.
EDIT and UPDATE (27 October 2019): The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Ivan Milat has died earlier this morning (27 October 2019 at 4.07 am Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time), at the Hospital Wing of Long Bay Correctional Centre; aged 74 years old. Link to article - here
EDIT and UPDATE (24 October 2019): News outlets are now reporting that Ivan Milat has now left The Prince of Wales Hospital; and has now been returned to Long Bay Correctional Centre. Some sources are quoting the reason for his admission for hospital was to remove fluid from around his heart and lungs. Sources are also stating his life expectancy has now improved; but his condition still remains terminal and palliative.
Link to article posted on news.com.au - here
ORIGINAL POST:
I'm posting this here; as it may be of interest to the readers of this subreddit - The Sydney Morning Herald are reporting as of this morning (Wednesday 16 October, at 8.55 am Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) that notorious Australian serial killer Ivan Milat; who was diagnosed with terminal oesophical cancer in May this year; has "[taken] a bad turn..." overnight - with his condition deteriorating badly (Full Article: here). The SMH reports that Milat was transfered from the hospital wing of Long Bay Correctional Centre, to the Secure Annex at the Prince of Wales Hospital last Friday (11 October); and may be moved into the Intensive Care Unit in the coming hours.
For those unfamiliar with Ivan Milat; especially outside of Australia; he is also known as the "Backpacker Murderer" - arguably one of Australia's most notorious cases (Article from Wikipedia: here). Milat was convicted at trial in 1996 of murdering seven people; and sentenced to life imprisonment. Between 1989 and 1993, Milat had targeted backpackers, who were hitchhiking along the Hume Highway (main highway between Sydney and Melbourne) at the New South Wales Southern Highlands - picking up his victims in his four wheel drive vehicle, before
... keep reading on reddit β‘Ivan Milat, a notorious Australian serial killer who kidnapped and murdered hitchhikers, has died aged 74.
Milat had been serving a life sentence for killing seven backpackers between 1989 and 1992 and dumping their bodies in a New South Wales forest.
The backpackers were picked up when hitchhiking on a long stretch of road between Sydney and Melbourne - some in pairs, others alone. Each was taken into the Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales.
Forensic reports showed bullet and stab wounds on the bodies of his victims, with evidence suggesting they may not have died instantly from their many injuries.
Once murdered, they were partially buried in a shallow grave, face down, with hands behind their backs.
He died of cancer in a Sydney hospital early on Sunday local time.
Police said Milat's lifelong refusal to admit his crimes had hampered further investigations into the killings and other unsolved cases.
The victims - Caroline Clarke, Joanne Walters, Simone Schmidl, Anja Habschied, Gabor Neugebauer, James Gibson and Deborah Everist - were a deliberate target because of their vulnerability.
For years, he escaped detection for the backpacker killings, and very nearly escaped conviction altogether. That was until a British man called Paul Onions changed everything.
Milat had pulled over to pick up hitchhiker Mr Onions in 1990. Seeing a rope and a gun in the car, Mr Onions realised he was in grave danger.
He managed to escape, with Milat in pursuit of him on foot along the Hume Highway, where he ensnared his victims.
Mr Onions avoided the bullets Milat was firing and flagged down another motorist, who took him to the nearest police station - in a small town, Bowral.
Mr Onions rushed in to give a report, but he has said police merely handed him A$10 (Β£5; $7) to get back to the British High Commission in Sydney. The report lay filed in a drawer at Bowral police station for years.
Years later Mr Onions - then back in the UK - saw media reports about the remains of bodies found in Belanglo State Forest.
He called the Australian Federal Police, reminding them of his ordeal. They responded by immediately flying him back to Australia in 1996, where an investigation was under way.
A subsequent trial heard that Milat had searched for hitchhikers to abduct from a major highway between Sydney and Melbourne.
The bodies of his victims were found buried in the Belanglo State Forest, 120km (75 miles) south-west of Sydney, in 1992 and 1993.
Milat was diagn
... keep reading on reddit β‘Hi,
Does anyone know if there exists any interviews with Ivan Milat or better yet actual footage of him? I canβt find any anywhere, thanks
From [https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/crime/police-reopen-cold-cases-for-three-missing-teens-previously-linked-with-dying-serial-killer-ivan-milat/news-story/a40fae344082d7f5091730ce7357138a]:
>Police reopen cold cases for three missing teens previously linked with dying serial killer Ivan Milat
>Police are reinvestigating the disappearance of three teens linked to serial killer Ivan Milat after previous investigations were bungled.
>NSW Police is re-examining the disappearance of three women who went missing from the late 1970s and 1990s after previous investigations involving serial killer Ivan Milat were bungled.
>The girlsβ disappearances from the NSW Hunter Region are being looked at again by a newly established task force, according to 9 News.
>Robyn Hickie, 18, a dental nurse, was taken as she made her way to meet friends at a party in Belmont, 20km from the Newcastle CBD. She was last seen on the Pacific Highway.
>Two weeks after Ms Hickieβs disappearance, Amanda Robinson, 14, was abducted at Swansea in 1979. She was last seen walking along Lake Road, where sheβd been at a dance.
>And in 1994, Gordana Kotevski, 16, was walking from a suburban Newcastle shopping centre to her auntβs house when she disappeared. Itβs believed she was taken about 8.45pm in Charlestown. The young woman had been out Christmas shopping before she was taken.
>A new team of Lake Macquarie detectives, Strike Force Arapaima, has been established to investigate the disappearance of Amanda, Robyn and Gordana.
>The team of detectives, led by Detective Sergeant Kristi Faber, will spend the next few months re-examining the missing person cases.
>Leanne Goodall was 20 when she also disappeared after leaving the Star Hotel in Newcastle. The university student went missing in December of 1979. Her disappearance was previously grouped with Gordana, Robyn and Amandaβs and investigated at a 2002 inquest. Ms Goodallβs disappearance will not be reinvestigated by the newly established task force.
>βI hope to God they get answers for some of us. Itβs hell on earth, heartache and suffering for 40 years,β said Amandaβs mother Anne Robinson.
>Strike Force Fenwick was established in 1998 to investigate the disappearance of up to 20 young people from the greater Newcastle region over a 20-y
... keep reading on reddit β‘The backpacker murders were a spate of serial killings that took place in New South Wales, Australia, between 1989 and 1993, committed by Ivan Milat. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partially buried in the Belanglo State Forest, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-west of the New South Wales town of Berrima. Five of the victims were foreign backpackers (three German, two British) and two were Australian travellers from Melbourne. Milat was convicted of the murders on 27 July 1996 and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, as well as 18 years without parole.
I copypasted from Wikipedia, but I had never heard of this case til I saw his death trending on twitter. Good riddance!
Australian serial killer (known as the 'Backpacker Murderer' who killed 2 men and 5 women between 1989 and 1993 and dumped their bodies in the Belanglo State Forest. His Nephew Matthew Milat tried to follow on his legacy years later and killed his friend with an axe in the same forest
I'd really like to see you cover the story of Ivan Milat, the Australian backpacker murderer.
Ivan milat was a Aussie serial killer in 1989 to 1993 he killed two men and five women in New South Wales Australia
Ivan Milat, Australia's most notorious serial killer, dies aged 74
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/27/ivan-milat-australias-most-notorious-serial-killer-dies-aged-74?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Post_on_Reddit
