1996: The Ivan Milat Verdict: Seven Murders, Life Without Parole
Ivan Robert Marko Milat, known as the Backpacker Murderer, was found guilty on 27 July 1996 of seven counts of murder, the worst serial killing case in Australian history. His victims, mostly young backpackers travelling the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne between 1989 and 1992, were lured under the pretence of a lift before being taken into the Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales and murdered.
Milat was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole and spent 25 years appealing his sentence. Police remained confident he was responsible for more killings than those proven at trial. He died in custody on 27 October 2019.
