THE mother of a young Tynedale woman brutally murdered in Australia almost 30 years ago has insisted ‘she is with us every day’.

Caroline Clarke had not long moved to Slaley with her family when she embarked on a dream backpacking trip to Australia, with her friend Joanne Walters, who was from Wales.

But the pair were among the victims of Australian serial killer Ivan Milat, who murdered seven people over a four-year period between 1989 and 1993.

Milat, who died in prison aged 74, in October 2019, is now the focus of a crime documentary on Australia’s Channel 7, in which experts claim to expose new evidence that he was responsible for 20 more deaths.

The documentary, Ivan Milat: Buried Secrets, was set to be screened over the weekend of March 13 and 14.

Caroline’s mum Jacqui told the Courant that she and her husband Ian no longer lived in Slaley, but remained in the Tyne Valley.

She said: “We haven’t seen this documentary but we fully intend to once we are able to. It is very difficult to say anything at this stage in connection with that.”

Caroline was the youngest of Jacqui and Ian’s three children, and the couple now have three grandchildren.

“She is with us every day,” said Jacqui. “Caroline was a lovely girl and it had been her ambition to go to Australia since she was quite young.

“She saved enough money to pay for a flight out and we were thrilled for her, we didn’t want to stop her.”

The Clarkes moved to Slaley from Surrey in the early 1990s, and Caroline stayed with them for about six months before going travelling.

She picked fruit at Brocksbushes near Corbridge, before going inter-railing in Europe, and spending nine months in Australia before her death.

While she wasn’t sure of what her long-term career goals were, Caroline had carried out a role as an au pair, but had plans to continue her travelling to the likes of Indonesia and China.

Caroline had a huge circle of friends, many of whom have stayed in contact with her parents for the three decades since her untimely death, which has provided them with great comfort.

Milat also murdered three German and two Australian backpackers after picking them up while they were hitchhiking. He died in prison aged 74, in October 2019.

The killer had been in prison since 1994, and was diagnosed earlier in 2019 with oesophageal and stomach cancer.

See also Courant opinion - A family's courage through almost 30 years of grief for their daughter: https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/19179436.life-precious/