A retired British police officer claims he has found evidence his wife’s pregnant cousin was the first victim of Australia’s most notorious serial killer.
Hugh Hughes, a retired detective sergeant from Borth, Wales, said there are ‘many strong indications’ Keren Rowland was murdered by Ivan Milat.
Milat was convicted of murdering seven young backpackers and hiding their bodies in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, between 1989 and 1992.
The so-called Backpacker Murderer was 74 when he died in October 2019 at Sydney’s Long Bay jail hospital from oesophageal and stomach cancer.
The family of Ms Rowland, who disappeared aged 20 in February 1971 and whose body was found in a pine forest in Canberra three months later, have pushed police investigating the unsolved case for 50 years.
However, they say no answers have been forthcoming. The Australian Capital Territory Police are still appealing for information over the killing.
Now former police officer Mr Hughes, who is married to Ms Rowland’s Australian cousin Andrea, has revealed that he and Ms Rowland’s brother have found ‘a number of similarities between Milat’s known victims and Keren’.
Ivan Milat was convicted of murdering seven young backpackers and hiding their bodies in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, between 1989 and 1992
The family of Keren Rowland, who disappeared aged 20 in February 1971 and whose body was found in a pine forest in Canberra three months later, have pushed police investigating the unsolved case for 50 years. However, they say no answers have been forthcoming
Mr Hughes said: ‘Milat was in the area at the time – drove a car similar to descriptions by young women accosted a few days before Keren, and Keren’s body was deposited in a similar way to the backpacker victims.
‘If it was him, he was early in his predatory career. Police have stated they cannot rule Milat in nor out, as a suspect.’
Ms Rowland, from Canberra, was five months pregnant when she vanished.
Mr Hughes has also been in contact with Clive Small, who at the time was the NSW Police Superintendent in charge of investigations into Milat.
The former police officer said: ‘Clive Small confirmed, although we’ve asked police to confirm, that enquiries in 90s confirmed Ivan Milat was working in area at the time Keren went missing.’
After contacting forensic anthropologist, Dr Xanthe Mallet and forensic psychologist, Tim Watson-Munro, the trio collaborated on research that led to a four-hour documentary series, Buried Secrets, being released in Australia this weekend.
Milat (pictured) died in October 2019 at Long Bay jail’s hospital from oesophageal and stomach cancer
Melbourne couple Deborah Everist (left), 19, and James Gibson (right), 19, were two of Milat’s victims
Caroline Clarke (left) and Simone Schmidl (right) were two victims of the backpacker murderer
Milat murdered seven young people including German couple Anja Habschied, 20, and Gabor Neugebauer, 21
The Belanglo State Forest is located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, between Sydney and Canberra
The programme indicated that Milat could have had up to another 20 victims.
‘We hope the programme will jog someone’s memory and they will feel confident to come forward,’ Mr Hughes said.
‘Policing was different in 1971, both here and in Australia, we just want to the police to be open about what they know and how they are pursuing the case, 50 years after Keren was killed.
‘Keren has not been respected, nor have her family.’
Mr Hughes, who grew up in Borth and was initially a Special Constable in Aberystwyth before a 30-year career in CID and crime intelligence, was interviewed at length for the documentary, which aired on Sunday.
‘I’ve known about Keren for 30 years, but trusted the police were doing their job properly and had reviewed the case at the time of Milat’s arrest in 1994,’ he said.
‘Operation Air [the police operation to catch Milat] did look at Keren, but never informed the family, which is reprehensible.
‘Steve is like my own brother. About four, five years ago he pealed with me to get help. He didn’t want to think anything had been missed in Keren’s case.
‘Police over there seem to be 20 years behind those here. We’ve asked them a series of questions and we’ve had no proper answers at all from them.’
Australian Capital Territory Police said it is still appealing for information over Keren’s death.
Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro appeared on Australian TV show Sunrise ahead of the show’s release, where they made bold claims about the secrets Milat took to the grave.
‘Milat’s a psychopath, a marauding serial killer, no remorse. He clearly enjoyed what he did,’ Mr Watson-Munro told hosts David Koch and Natalie Barr.
‘I’ve worked with a lot of people over 40 years. Nothing had prepared me for the evil and horror of this particular offender.’
Dr Mallett said: ‘Tim and I looked at the victimology, so the type of victim, the circumstances under which she was taken and perhaps most importantly, the circumstances under which she was found.
‘It was so similar to Belanglo. It really spoke to us, to have all of the same hallmarks as the Ivan Milat victims that we know are attributed to him.’
Mr Watson-Munro said they are sure about six deaths being linked to Milat.
‘We’re very firm on others. But in a generic sense, there’s lots of victims out there,’ he said.
‘There are other serial killers operating in Australia right now.’
Milat was born two days after Christmas 1944, one of 14 children of Australian-born Margaret and Yugoslavian-born Steven Milat who lived in Sydney’s west.
He left school at 15, had minor dealings with the police and worked on the roads for years, around Sydney and country NSW.
The self-confessed gun enthusiast was regarded as a conscientious employee, with one boss saying he was ‘the best worker we ever had’.
His former wife Karen, who left him in 1987 after four years of marriage, described him as ‘gun crazy’, recalling him killing kangaroos on a visit to Belanglo State Forest.
‘Ivan pulled out a rifle, shot the first kangaroo, shot the second kangaroo, slit its throat and kicked it to make sure it was dead,’ she said.
The outing could be seen as a gruesome preview of his frenzied attacks on the seven hitchhikers – Melbourne couple Deborah Everist, 19, and James Gibson, 19; German traveller Simone Schmidl, 21; German couple Anja Habschied, 20, and Gabor Neugebauer, 21; and British friends Joanne Walters, 22, and Caroline Clarke, 21.
Their bodies were found covered with branches and leaf litter in the forest between between September 1992 and November 1993.
One victim was decapitated, another shot 10 times in the head. Many were stabbed so savagely their bones were chipped, some had been gagged or bound, and some were suspected of having been sexually assaulted.
Milat also was found guilty of kidnapping British backpacker Paul Onions who escaped his clutches in January 1990, near the turn-off to the forest.
The crimes made headlines around the world, shattering Australia’s standing as a safe haven for budget-conscious young travellers.
Over the years, Milat has been linked to the disappearance of other young men and women.