Claremont serial killings trial podcast: ‘Mr Edwards ‘Should be Acquitted’ of Killing Sarah’

Paul Yovich told the court Sarah Spiers was the victim of a grave crime, but Bradley Edwards didn’t commit that crime.

Making sure to tell the court he didn’t “intend to trivialise Ms Spiers’ death, or disrespect her. Quite the contrary”, he said Sarah Spiers was the victim of a grave crime — ‘a blameless victim’.

The 18-year-old called for a taxi at 2.06am in the early hours of January 27, 1996. A taxi arrived three minutes later, but she was gone, and was never seen again.

Previous witnesses have told Mr Edwards was at work early the next morning.

Paul Yovich said logic dictates that it couldn’t be possible for Bradley Edwards could have killed Sarah Spiers, because it would have left just a six-hour window for him to kill and dispose of his victim, then arrive at work at 7.30 the next morning.

• How places and times add up to wrong man accused
• RECAP: ‘Logic proves’ Bradley Edwards didn’t kill Sarah Spiers
• ‘No proof’ Bradley Edwards murdered Sarah Spiers

But another witness, who kept journals, told the court Mr Edwards may have got to work later that morning.

As far as what he did the night before, Alison Fan describes in this episode that Paul Yovich was quite blunt in some of his statements around Bradley Edwards’ the night Sarah disappeared, saying “We don’t know and you can’t speculate” and “You can’t fix the evidence to fit the case.”

He asked, why would he choose that night above all others? And as we know, the prosecution have abandoned the emotional turmoil evidence, which the State had previously relied on, saying that Bradley Edwards was abandoned by his first wife, who had left him for another man, that night she rejected him.

But that evidence can’t be used anymore.

Edwards’ defence lawyer questioned the timeline the prosecution mapped out for how they say Sarah disappeared.

In the early hours of January 27, 1996, Sarah Spiers made a phone call from a phone box in Claremont, to go to Mosman Park at 2.06am. 3 minutes later, the taxi arrived but she was gone.

Mosman Park resident, Wayne Stewart gave evidence that he heard a woman’s blood-curdling scream at around 3am that same morning, and he saw a car under a street light.

Mr Yovich pointed out that Mosman Park is around a 10-minute drive from Claremont, but the screams were heard at around 3am - around an hour after Sarah was last seen.

He also said Justice Hall could not find that this evidence could prove that the screams came from Sarah, or that the car belonged to Bradley Edwards.

Join Natalie Bonjolo, Tim Clarke and Alison Fan as they dissect the fourth day of the defence’s closing statements.

If you have any questions for the Claremont in Conversation podcast team, send them in to claremontpodcast@wanews.com.au

The West Australian has also released a two-part video series, as Tim Clarke takes you through the areas which are key to the trial, from Claremont, where the women went missing, to Hollywood hospital and to the sites were Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon’s bodies were found.

To watch those videos, head to Part One and Part Two