A Sydney father has described the unsettling experience of spending three months in a prison cell with notorious serial killer Ivan Milat.
Speaking on Triple M Breakfast with Beau Ryan, Cat & Woodsy, former inmate Robbie said he came to know one of Australia’s most infamous killers on a surprisingly personal level while both men were held at Sydney’s Long Bay Jail.
“It was surreal,” Robbie said.
“To comprehend what he was accused of — and later found guilty of — and then see what he was like as a person… it was incredibly difficult to process.”
Robbie said he felt a chill when his children began interacting with the man convicted of murdering seven backpackers and hitchhikers.
“During visits, my older kids actually spent time with Ivan in the visitors’ area,” he recalled.
“They were jumping all over him and playing with him. He was great with kids.”
“At first, I sh*t myself… but seeing my children climb all over him showed me a different side of the human being. At that moment, he seemed like a completely ordinary person.”
A Sydney father has described the unsettling experience of spending three months in a prison cell with notorious serial killer Ivan Milat
Although Robbie admitted he was initially nervous about sharing a cell with Milat, he said he never believed his life was in danger.
“Once I got to know him, I wasn’t afraid of him,” Robbie said.
“He was different, there’s no doubt. I’ll admit there were moments when I felt uneasy. But at the end of the day, what can you do?”
“He was a normal human being who was later found guilty of being a serial killer.”
Host Beau Ryan was also curious about how the pair decided who would sleep where in their shared cell.
“Mate, just quickly — when you walked in, did he say, ‘I’m taking the bottom bunk and you’re on top’? How did that work?” Beau asked.
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Robbie laughed before replying: “Mate, he was on the bottom. I wasn’t going to argue with him.”
He also remembered Milat becoming visibly distressed after returning from court.
“There were a couple of occasions when he came back from court and was extremely emotional — and I mean extremely emotional,” Robbie said.
“On one particular occasion, he said, ‘I didn’t do it.’ And it was like, okay… what do you do or say?”
“He had been found guilty. Once your peers find you guilty, that’s essentially it. With the amount of evidence against him, there really wasn’t any doubt.”
Speaking on Triple M Breakfast with Beau Ryan, Cat & Woodsy, former inmate Robbie said he came to know one of Australia’s most infamous killers on a surprisingly personal level
Robbie said he had no contact with Milat after leaving prison.
“I survived Ivan,” he said.
“But I don’t think he was calculating enough to try anything while he was locked up. He was focused on proving that he was innocent.”
Milat was serving a life sentence for the brutal murders of seven backpackers between 1989 and 1992. He was also suspected of other killings but never confessed to any of them.
He died aged 74 in October 2019 after being diagnosed with stomach and throat cancer.
Seven years after his death, Australians continue to recount disturbing stories about encounters with the convicted killer.
“I met a bloke called Jordan who told me an incredible story about his father hitchhiking,” Beau Ryan said.
“His dad got out of the car and said they had a perfectly normal conversation during the journey. Later that night, they were watching the news when they realised it was Ivan Milat.
“Jordan’s dad had literally dodged a bullet and a shovel.”
