There was little sympathy among the Australian public when serial killer Ivan Milat died in prison.
WATCH: Inside serial killer Ivan Milat’s prison cell
The 74-year-old was convicted of murdering seven backpackers in the Belanglo State Forest between 1989 and 1992. However, one person who is devastated by the loss is his daughter, Lynise Milat.
The 54-year-old is in shock following Ivan succumbing to terminal cancer while incarcerated at Long Bay Correctional Centre.
Lynise held out hope that her father would not only pull through the illness, but that he would also one day be found innocent of his crimes.
Heartbroken and grieving for the father she “loved’’, Lynise is said to have become a recluse.
The supermarket employee reportedly rarely leaves her Gosford house and the heinous crimes that her father was convicted of have overshadowed any chance she ever had of living a normal life.
Despite being condemned to a lifetime of judgement due to the infamous Milat surname, Lynise insists she will never change it. “People have their own ideas about Ivan,” she exclusively tells New Idea.
“They all have an opinion about the Milat name and about my family. I would rather know what that was from the beginning instead of them finding out later and talking about it behind my back. Just say it to my face.”
Lynise was the backpacker murderer’s love child, the result of an affair between her mother Marilyn and Ivan.
At the time, Marilyn was married to Ivan’s brother, Boris.
Lynise grew up in a dysfunctional household as part of a family that was well known to the authorities.
Articulate and highly intelligent, both traits she reportedly inherited from her infamous father, Lynise aced her school exams. But after Ivan’s 1994 arrest, Lynise admits she lost her promising future.
“I have certainly missed out on a lot of things because of who he is and who I am,” she says.
“No-one wants to be associated with that, no-one will take a chance.”
Even now that he’s gone, Lynise hesitates when asked the question everyone wants to know: “Do you think he is guilty?”
The mother of one sighs deeply before answering: “I don’t know if he did it, but I do know there are a lot of holes in the evidence. A lot of things don’t add up for me. Ivan was known to the police, they watched our house for a long time during the investigation, so why didn’t they arrest him earlier? I wanted someone to open up his case, to help him prove himself but no-one ever did.”
Her father was diagnosed with oesophageal and stomach cancer in May this year. Despite the diagnosis, Lynise convinced herself Ivan would survive and reportedly even refused to visit him in hospital to say her last goodbyes.
“He looked in better health than I have seen him in a long time,” she reveals. Lynise also shares a rare glimpse into their family’s unconventional dynamics by admitting her mum Marilyn still cared for Ivan, despite their illicit affair over 50 years ago.
“Mum was in touch with the hospital,” she says. “She calls and gets the updates and then tells me what’s going on.
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