In an exclusive interview with the Crime Insiders podcast, police veteran Todd Bowler reveals the last-minute trick he used to arrest the Claremont serial killer.
Warning: This article contains mention of sexual assault, rape and murder.
The Claremont killer haunted Perth for more than 25 years. In December 2016, Bradley Robert Edwards was arrested for a series of abductions, rapes and murders of young women in the late 1990s.
On the day of Edward’s arrest, Todd Bowler was leading the WA Tactical Response Group, which devised a plan to apprehend Edwards inside his home.
WA Police Veteran Todd Bowler unpacks the moment police arrested the Claremont serial killer on the Crime Insiders podcast:
“There had been no movement at the house, so we couldn’t confirm whether he was in there,” Bowler said.
Bowler first needed to confirm Edwards was in his home, and sent an undercover cop to knock on his door disguised as a neighbour.
“Bradley Edwards answered the front door, and the covert guy basically said, oh, I just saw some kids mucking around with your car at the front. You might want to check it out. Bradley Edwards said, yeah, thanks for the heads up. Went out, checked his car doors and went back inside the house.”
“Within a couple of minutes from there, we got our team sorted and we rolled in. My role in that one was to break the front door open,”
To hear the Claremont killer’s unexpected reaction to officers in his home, listen to this episode of Crime Insiders.
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