The next show alphabetically on Paramount Plus in the UK was "Claremont: A Killer Among Us" a three-part documentary chronicling the mammoth two-decade long investigation into the disappearance and murder of three women from the Claremont district of Perth, Australia. Despite the profile that the case had, I wasn't aware of any of the details of this one.
In 1996, two women disappear from the Claremont area of Perth in Western Australia. The fate of the first victim, Sarah Spiers, would never be conclusively proven but the body of the second, Jane Rimmer would be discovered some 55 days after her disappearance. A third woman, Clare Glennon would taken the following year and her body would be found 19 days later. The investigation into these cases would be the most expensive and lengthy in Australian history and would require several improvements in scientific methodology to conclude. In 2016, Bradley Robert Edwards would be arrested after DNA connected him with the victims.
At just three 45-minute episodes this mini-series manages to avoid the complaint that I have with many Netflix crime documentaries, of endless padding to try and lengthen the run time. Even at this format though, they could probably have tightened up the series even further and told the story in just two episodes. It also didn't feel exploitative, there weren't salacious teasers for what was to happen. Also, it really doesn't glamorise Edwards at all, in face he's barely in it, featuring in photographs twice and the video of his arrest are about it.
The interviews that the series had were well done. They interviewed quite a few reporters from the time, who gave background to the investigation and even talked a bit about how bad it feels to do the "death knock" as they called it, knocking on the doors of grieving families and asking for comment.
It's tough to actively recommend something with such grim subject matter, but comparative to other shows in this genre, I think this was a better one.
