Ivan Milat ‘liked shooting’, chilling final report reveals

Ivan Milat’s brother William told a coronial inquiry into the serial killer’s death that Ivan had always ­enjoyed ‘target shooting’.

Backpacker serial killer Ivan Milat, right, camping with brothers William and Christopher at Wombeyan Caves in NSW in 1991.

Ivan Milat’s brother William told a coronial inquiry into the serial killer’s death that Ivan had always ­enjoyed “target shooting”.

The jarring comment is included in final coronial report into Milat’s death, released on Tuesday. The report says Milat, 74, died of cancer in a prison hospital on October 27, 2019.

He was serving multiple life sentences, after being convicted of the murder of seven backpackers.

In the report, deputy NSW coroner Derek Lee records the fact that Milat was one of 14 children.

William maintained contact with him after his conviction and told the inquiry that “he enjoyed a number of hobbies including camping, target shooting, motorbike riding and reading.”

The report says Milat first came into contact with police in 1962, having been charged with many crimes, including “offences of a sexual nature”. On May 22, 1994, Milat was arrested and charged with seven counts of murder.

He is believed to have tortured and then buried his victims in the Belanglo State Forest in NSW.

He spent most of his imprisonment at Goulburn Correctional Centre but was transferred in May 2019 to Long Bay Hospital “following a deterioration in his health”.

He declined some medical advice, and had a “no resuscitate” order on his file.

“There is no evidence to suggest that any aspect of his medical care … contributed in any way to his death,” the report states.