3 – Matthew Milat – Copycat of Ivan Milat
This is a particularly scary copycat story because this killer was the great-nephew of the man he imitated. Ivan Milat was one of Australia’s most feared serial killers as he hunted, tortured, and murdered seven people in the Belanglo Forest in the 1990s. After completing his dastardly deeds and satiating his sick desires, Milat buried his victims in shallow graves. It is the perfect location for such activities as the forest is an isolated area of scrub some 90 miles from Sydney. He was finally caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1996.
Fast forward to 2010 and history repeated itself as his great-nephew, Matthew, along with an accomplice Cohen Klein, lured their friend David Auchterlonie to Belanglo Forest with the promise of booze and cannabis. It was Auchterlonie’s 17th birthday, and he had no reason to suspect the real motives of his supposed friends. Before the murder, Matthew allegedly exclaimed: “We’re going to Belanglo, someone’s going to die.”
Matthew was apparently enchanted by the deeds of his relative and even changed his surname from Muleman to Milat in homage to the infamous killer. On the fateful day, Matthew drove to the Forest with Klein and his victim. Klein claimed he only wanted to scare Auchterlonie and didn’t know Matthew would commit murder. When they arrived at the Forest, the killer produced an ax and struck his victim repeatedly on the head until he died.
Klein recorded the audio of the killing on his mobile phone, and it reveals that Matthew repeatedly taunted his victim during the attack. He accused Auchterlonie of telling people about his affairs and told his victim to look at the ground and swear that he was innocent. Although the victim complied, it wasn’t enough to save him as he was bludgeoned to death. Police quickly arrested Matthew and the chilling recording was played in court.
Justice Matthews sentenced Matthew to 43 years in prison with no possibility of parole for 30 years. Klein was sentenced to 32 years in jail with no possibility of parole for 22 years. While in prison awaiting trial, Matthew wrote a poem called ‘Your Last Day’ which practically outlines the joy he received from committing the crime. Like his relative, Matthew has never shown remorse and will hopefully rot behind bars. Ivan Milat reportedly chuckled when told of his great-nephew’s crime.