For most people, coming face to face with Australia’s most notorious serial killer would be terrifying – but Russell Manser is not your average bloke.
The former career criminal speaks animatedly of the day he met Ivan Milat in 1997 while he was doing a spot of gardening in the yards at Maitland Gaol.
“[Milat] was digging up a garden bed and I walked past and said, ‘are you digging up an old friend, Ivan?’ He couldn’t stop laughing,” Russell recalls to New Idea.
“I will say he was one of the happiest people I’ve ever met in my life – he was always smiling and being jovial.
“The only time I ever saw his smile dissipate was when he ended up in that wheelchair.”
Russell’s history of incarceration began when he was a child, carjacking in the western suburbs of Sydney.
This story is from the January 02, 2023 edition of New Idea.
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This story is from the January 02, 2023 edition of New Idea.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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