Backpacker murders | |
---|---|
Location | Belanglo State Forest, New South Wales, Australia |
Date | December 1989 – November 1993 |
Target | Backpacker tourists |
Attack type | Serial killings |
Deaths | 7 |
Perpetrator | Ivan Milat |
Convictions | Murder (7 counts), attempted murder, false imprisonment, and robbery |
Sentence | 7 life sentences plus 18 years |
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 Australians 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. He died in prison on 27 October 2019, having never confessed to the murders for which he was convicted.[1]