SNAPSHOT OF THE CLAREMONT SERIAL KILLINGS CASE
THE ACCUSED
* Former Telstra technician and Little Athletics coach Bradley Robert Edwards, 51.
CHARGES AND PLEAS
* Not guilty to murders of secretary Sarah Spiers, 18, in January 1996, child care worker Jane Rimmer, 23, in June 1996, and lawyer Ciara Glennon, 27, in March 1997.
* Guilty to abducting and twice raping a 17-year-old girl in a cemetery in February 1995, and to breaking into a Huntingdale home and indecently assaulting an 18-year-old woman in February 1988.
ARREST
* In late-2016, detectives examined other Huntingdale crimes and matched Edwards' fingerprints in the national database to those taken from an attempted 1988 break-in.
* His DNA was covertly taken from a Sprite bottle he discarded at a cinema.
* Police stormed his Kewdale house in December 2016.
* Sitting cuffed on the floor he exclaimed "what the f***?" after detectives told him he was suspected of the three murders. He repeated the expletive when told he was also suspected of the cemetery rapes, and asked "who?" when accused of the Huntingdale attack.
TRIAL
* The WA Supreme Court trial began before Justice Stephen Hall without a jury on November 25, 2019 and ended on June 25, 2020 after hearing evidence from more than 200 prosecution witnesses.
* The prosecution said Edwards either abducted or lured all his known victims - except his first at Huntingdale - into his work vehicle when they were intoxicated, alone and vulnerable after nights out in Perth's Claremont entertainment district.
* Prosecutors said his DNA matched swabs from the cemetery rape victim and material found under Ms Glennon's fingernails, and fibres from his work car and clothes were found on Ms Glennon, Ms Rimmer and the rape victim.
* Ms Spiers' body has never been found, so there is no physical evidence linking him to her death.
* Edwards' defence argument was largely that the DNA evidence had been contaminated in the laboratory by samples taken from Edwards' rape victim.
* No defence witnesses were called and Edwards elected not to testify.
JUDGMENT
Justice Hall on Thursday found Edwards guilty of murdering Ms Glennon and Ms Rimmer, but not guilty of Ms Spiers' murder.
Australian Associated Press
