Hi, listeners. Welcome back to the conclusion of The Backpacker Murders, a shocking killing spree that left seven people dead in Australia's Balangelo State Forest. Enjoy part two today and join us next week for all new episodes of serial killers.

Due to the graphic nature of this episode, listener discretion is advised.

This episode contains discussions of murder, domestic abuse, and sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing.

Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13.

Sometimes Sometime in 1977, 18-year-old friends married Terese,

chatted amicably to the kind stranger who just picked them up.

The pair were traveling home to Canberra from Sydney's outer suburbs

and figured hitchhiking was the cheapest way to get there.

Their driver was older than them.

They guessed probably in his early 30s and had straggly black hair.

He was friendly enough, and the drive south was largely uneventful for the first 45 minutes or so.

Out the windows, the teenagers watched the picturesque scenery slide by.

Just outside the town of Midagong, the man turned off the Hume Highway, the main thoroughfare to Canberra.

He winked at Mary and Terese, telling them it was a shortcut.

But the new road brought them closer to dense vegetation

that pressed in on either side. Just moments later, he turned onto a small dirt road and slowed to a

stop. Undoing his seatbelt, he got out of the car muttering something about needing to relieve

himself. But within seconds, he yanked open Mary's door and grabbed her by the arms. With malice

in his eyes, he asked, okay, girls, who's first? The girls acted on instinct alone.

Mary wrenched free of the man's grasp and punched him in the arm.

The girls scrambled from the car and fled into the dense scrub.

They moved quickly, hiding themselves in thick bush as the man tried to follow.

...