Australia's worst solo serial killer, Ivan Milat, is now serving life for the murders of seven hitchhiking backpackers between 1989 and 1992.
Many questions remain unanswered and there is uncertainty about the full extent of Ivan Milat's crimes. Did he murder for entertainment? Some say his motivation lay in his family background and upbringing.
Ivan Robert Marko Milat was born on December 27, 1944. One of fourteen children. Family life was rural and insular, and the Milats kept to themselves, making reliable information about Ivan Milat's upbringing difficult to obtain. Interviews with his brother, Boris, after Milat's trial, indicate that he exhibited psychopathic tendencies early on, although other family members dispute this. Milat was described as a good-looking, well-muscled boy, who had a fascination for hunting and guns, and took great care of his appearance.
His parents were hard working and authoritarian although, with fourteen children to manage, discipline was difficult, and he and his brothers had a reputation for lawlessness in their neighbourhood. The family endured numerous police visits to their farm, as the children grew older. From the age of 17 Milat was constantly in trouble with both the police and the courts, on charges as varied as housebreaking, car thefts and armed robberies.
In 1971, Milat was put on trial for the alleged rape of two female hitchhikers, who testified that he had been armed with a knife during the attacks, but he was acquitted on the rape charges when the prosecution failed to make a convincing case against him. Although he was accused of being a rapist, his neighbours knew Milat as a 'friendly bloke' who would chat over the garden fence or offer a smile and wave as he mowed the lawn. Most of his weekends were spent polishing his prized Harley Davidson. "I've seen him on a Sunday morning sitting on the verandah with his sister enjoying a coffee and he'd always gived me a wave." said Ray Sund.
