Claremont serial killings: Bradley Robert Edwards faces court over Sarah Spiers murder
The man accused of the Claremont serial killings has made his first court appearance since being charged with murdering teenager Sarah Spiers, who vanished more than 22 years ago.
Bradley Robert Edwards, 49, was already facing murder charges over the deaths of 23-year-old Jane Rimmer and 27-year-old Ciara Glennon, who disappeared in 1996 and 1997 in similar circumstances to Ms Spiers.
All three women had been on a night out in Claremont's popular entertainment strip when they disappeared after leaving friends.
Ms Rimmer's and Ms Glennon's bodies were found in the weeks after they were reported missing, but 18-year-old Ms Spiers's body has never been located.
Mr Edwards was charged with the murders of Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon in December 2016, but he was only charged with Ms Spiers's murder last week.
Victims' fathers in packed court
He appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court today via video link from Hakea Prison, with the charge of murdering Ms Spiers officially read out to him.
Mr Edwards was not required to enter a plea and was remanded in custody with his case adjourned until July.
His lawyer, Genevieve Cleary, said her client had initially intended for his case to be committed to the WA Supreme Court today, but the new charge laid last week of murdering Ms Spiers meant an adjournment was necessary.
The court heard the delay will also allow the prosecution to disclose all the material in the case, which prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo said ran in excess of 1.5 million documents.
Mr Edwards showed no emotion during the appearance as Ms Spiers's father, Don Spiers, and Denis Glennon, the father of Ms Glennon, watched on in a packed public gallery at the court.
Neither made any comment as they left the court accompanied by detectives.
Ms Cleary would not comment on her client's state of mind, nor could she give any indication of how long the case would take.
"I really don't know until we get on top of what's been provided by the State," Ms Cleary said outside court.
"It's extraordinarily different to other cases.
"A million and a half pages would strike fear into the heart of any lawyer I think, but it is what it is and it's an exceptional case and that's to be expected."
A 'traumatic' 22 years
Jane Rimmer's sister, Lee Rimmer, said outside court that the wait for justice had been very difficult for the family.
"But you have to learn to live in the moment and Jane wouldn't want me being upset all the time," she said,
She said her sister's positive personality was a lasting memory of her.
"[She was] just a fun-loving girl that loved everyone and treated everyone with respect," she said.
Murder, sex assault charges
In addition to being charged with killing Ms Spiers, Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon, Mr Edwards was also charged 14 months ago over two sex attacks which pre-dated the alleged murders.
The first relates to the indecent assault of a woman in her Huntingdale home in February 1988, while the second involves an allegation he forced a 17-year-old girl into a car as she walked along Gugeri Street in Claremont in 1995.
Mr Edwards is accused of taking the teenager to Karrakatta cemetery and sexually assaulting her.
That alleged crime happened just 11 months before Ms Spiers disappeared in the early hours of January 27, 1996.