In the wake of the Carl Williams murder comes the new series AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES OF CRIME, premiering with Backpacker Bloodshed, the story of the Milat family, this Sunday at 9.30pm on Channel Nine.
Australian Families of Crime unveils the most violent and terrifying crime families in Australia, including the Milats, Saffrons, Pettingills, Kanes, McPhersons, Freemans and Birnies. Presented by Vince Colosimo, this gripping, seven-part documentary-drama series from the producers of Crime Investigations Australia explores the lives and crimes of some of the most evil and fearsome criminals in our nation’s history.
Backpacker Bloodshed, the first instalment, is an unforgettable account of the gruesome Backpacker Murders that shocked Australia and reverberated around the world. It’s the story of serial killer Ivan Milat, who butchered seven young backpackers in the Belanglo state forest south of Sydney.
Backpacker Bloodshed chronicles Milat’s murderous rise to infamy through archival footage, exclusive interviews, startling re-enactments and family photographs.
Interviews with four of Milat’s brothers – Boris, Richard, George and David – take viewers inside the Milat home where viewers will find a close-knit family that stuck together, bonded by loyalty, a culture of lawlessness and an obsession with guns.
Family secrets are disclosed, along with startling revelations of adultery, jealousy and hatred, plus allegations of incest, and an insight into the shocking brutality experienced by the 14 Milat children at the hands of their father. The family code – “If you can’t think of anything to say, come up with a good lie” – is broken as stories of Ivan Milat’s cruel and violent nature unfold from the people who knew him best – his own family.
“Ivan was deceitful, super deceitful. He didn’t have a burning light in his soul. It had gone out,” says Boris Milat.
Backpacker Bloodshed also features interviews with forensic psychiatrist Dr Rod Milton; retired NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Clive Small; the late John Marsden, Ivan Milat’s defence lawyer; and the victim who got away, Paul Onions, a hitch-hiker from the United Kingdom, who sealed Milat’s fate by identifying him as the man who had tried to abduct him two years before the killings came to light.
These interviews paint a frightening picture of the Milat family, examine the police theory that Ivan Milat was abetted by a second killer, and detail the horrific crimes that put Milat behind bars for life.
Australian Families of Crime – Milat: Backpacker Bloodshed, this Sunday, April 25, at 9.30pm on Nine
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