
-With AAP.
1. “It’s a huge coincidence.” The serial killer theory that may explain the recent number of missing backpackers in NSW.
A leading forensic scientist believes the disappearances of three young backpackers in beachside towns on the NSW east coast could be the work of a serial killer.
Tim Watson-Munro believes police should not rule out a link between the disappearance of English backpacker Hugo Palmer, 20, Frenchman Erwan Ferrieux, 21, and missing Belgian Theo Hayez, 18.
“I don’t want to be hysterical about it but you have three foreign backpackers who have disappeared off the eastern seaboard of Australia, 300 kilometres apart, in very mysterious circumstances,” Watson-Munro told Channel 7’s The Latest on Wednesday.
The disappearances of three backpackers on the NSW coast could be the work of a serial killer, says a leading forensic psychologist. Tim Watson-Munro believes police should investigate the possible link between the three more thoroughly. https://t.co/TEbB9Q4PbU #TheLatest #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/JytqXdZVsw
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) July 17, 2019
“If you move the location from the coast to say, the New England highway, and you had three backpackers that were missing I think you’d have much greater cause for alarm.
“It’s a bit too cute to say they all drowned. It’s a huge coincidence if that’s the case.”
Friends Ferrieux and Palmer went missing from Shelly Beach near Port Macquarie on February 18.

Top Comments
Is it really so odd to think that three backpackers might have drowned? People, especially tourists who are unfamiliar with Aussie beaches, drown all the time. It’s an area with a large number of backpackers, there’s a greater likelihood that one will come to harm. I think you need to be very careful about scaremongering, when there is currently little to no evidence of a serial killer.