In the summer of 1990, a man was hitchhiking along the Hume Highway on Australia on what he thought was the adventure of a lifetime.

The driver who picked him up was friendly and the journey was off to a great start.

Unbeknownst the man though, the driver was actually a true monster and what would happen in the next few moments would lead to the discovery of some of the most horrific crimes in Australian history. And although the events in this video are fleeting and non-descriptive,

they are still highly disturbing, so viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Paul Onions was bored of life following his service in the British Navy.

At only 24 years old, 1989, he had taken a job as an air conditioning repairman and was making a fine living, but he was still young and wanted to experience more of the world than he saw

in the military. One of the top places on his list to visit was Australia, and when friends would ask him why

he wanted to see the country so badly, he always replied that it might just be one of the

last places on earth where you could have a real adventure.

That explanation was enough to satisfy the question, but it was also one that answered

the yearning Paul felt in his soul for something more out of life.

Finally, in January of 1990, he decided it was now or never, so he quit his job in Birmingham, England,

and hopped on a plane bound for Sydney, Australia, was nothing more than a backpacked worth of belongings.

When he arrived, he spent some time at a backpacker's hostel to figure out his plan for his extended visit. And knowing he needed to get a job to support himself, he heard about a fruit picking opportunity

in the city of Mildura about 625 miles west of Sydney.

He figured this would give him a chance to see more of the country, while the job itself would

give him plenty of fresh air and sunshine, so he took a train to the outskirts of Sydney

with plans of hitchhiking the Hume Highway to Mildura.

Today, in many areas, the concept of hitchhiking is associated with danger and uncertainty,

as you never know who might come along to pick you up.

But in Australia, in the decades leading up to 1990, hitchhiking was a normal and economical way to travel,

particularly for backpackers.

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