Concerns rise over possible serial killer in Byron Bay

New South Wales MP Jeremy Buckingham has urged authorities to investigate a disturbing possibility: that a serial killer may be operating along the north coast of NSW. 

During a speech in Parliament, Buckingham highlighted the cases of 67 women who have gone missing or been murdered between 1977 and 2009, suggesting that these incidents may be connected.

On today’s episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt unpacks the claims and asks the MP why he’s chosen to raise this issue now. 

Is there really a serial killer on the loose in Byron Bay?

The theory has gained traction on TikTok, but it also raises questions about whether these claims genuinely reflect growing concerns for women’s safety or risk reopening painful wounds for affected families.

“It’s an absolute stain on our society that we have not solved these cases and that some of them have been so poorly investigated,” Buckingham said. 

He likened the situation to past unsolved crimes, including the notorious case of Ivan Milat, who was convicted of multiple murders.

“I think what’s alarming is that these crimes are unsolved and that there are remarkable similarities among many of them,” he said. 

His call has prompted renewed scrutiny of police practices and the handling of these cases over the decades.

“So many of these women were black hippies, they were poor and came from working-class backgrounds..And that’s one of the key things, if this had happened in the eastern suburbs of a major city, then I think we would have had a much better outcome.”

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