Keren Rowland: Is This The Murder That Should Have Stopped Ivan Milat?

What if Ivan Milat’s first victim was killed more than two decades before the backpacker murders? Keren Rowland was 5 months pregnant when she was brutally murdered and hidden in a pine forest in 1971. In this episode, Tim & Xanthe sit down with Keren's brother Steve Rowland and former UK detective Hugh Hughes. They detail years of fighting for answers, alleging police ignored crucial leads, withheld information and failed to properly investigate Milat despite mounting evidence linking him to Keren’s murder. More than 55 years on, the family is still asking the question that haunts this case: if police had done more back then, could Ivan Milat have been stopped before his backpacker killing spree began? In Australia's Killer Secrets, Tim & Xanthe are taking you inside the hearings to explore the evidence - talking to family, police and politicians - in this new search for answers in some of Australia's most enduring mysteries. Motive & Method is an expert-led weekly Australian true crime podcast. Join Dr Xanthe Weston and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro as they unpack what really makes the offenders behind some of history’s most notorious cases tick, and also react and unpack crimes as they hit the headlines. ______________________________________ CHAPTERS 0:00 - Could Milat Have Been Stopped? 0:45 - The Rowland's 55 Years of Grief 1:44 - Expert Detective Weighs In 2:50 - The Murder of Keren 4:20 - ACT vs NSW Police 4:50 - Police Mistakes Exposed 7:04 - The Milat Connection 9:27 - A Confession Letter? 11:36 - Police Finally Admit Milat 13:16 - Milat's work records appeal 16:40 - Milat's Psychopathic Triggers 18:43 - Exposing "Institutional Corruption" 22:13 - Flawed Autopsy Report 23:22 - Missed Opportunities 24:54 - Demanding Accountability 27:07 - The Toll of Intergenerational Trauma