Backpacker Caroline Clarke, who was murdered by Ivan Milat along with travelling companion Joanne Walter while hitch hiking in Australia. Photo: PA/PA Wire
A SERIAL killer who murdered seven young backpackers - including a woman from Slaley - has died at the age of 74.
Australian Ivan Milat, who had been in prison since 1994, was diagnosed with oesophageal and stomach cancer earlier this year.
Authorities reportedly confirmed his death on Sunday.
Caroline Clarke, from Slaley, was among Milat's victims. The 21-year-old disappeared along with her travel companion Joanne Walters, 22, in 1992.
Milat murdered three German, two British, and two Australian backpackers after picking them up while they were hitchhiking.
The killings came to light when their bodies were found in a forest near Sydney over 14 months in 1992 and 1993.
Read more in the Hexham Courant.
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