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Accused 'Claremont serial killer' faces Perth court, has case adjourned

Dressed in prison greens and glasses with his hair neatly trimmed and his hands clasped together, the accused Claremont serial killer made his second appearance in court on Wednesday, with interest in the case so intense his hearing was moved to its own courtroom. 

Bradley Robert Edwards has been behind bars for a month since being taken into custody by police on December 22.

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Police search former home of alleged Claremont killer

Police scouring the former home of the alleged Claremont killer Bradley Robert Edwards. He lived at the Huntingsdale property when Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon were abducted and murdered. Vision: Nine News Perth

The 48-year-old Kewdale man is charged with the murders of Jane Rimmer, 23, and Ciara Glennon, 27, in 1996 and 1997 respectively.

He has also been charged with the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Claremont in 1995, and the indecent assault of an 18-year-old woman in a Huntingdale home in 1988.

Around 25 people, many curious members of the public, and some with connections to the alleged victims or the accused, filled the public gallery at Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday for the brief appearance of Mr Edwards.

He appeared via video link from Hakea Prison, with the hearing over within minutes after prosecution lawyer Carmen Barbagallo requested an eight week adjournment to provide documents to Mr Edward's lawyer and for his lawyer to receive further instructions from Mr Edwards.

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He was remanded in custody to appear again on March 29. 

The long-time Telstra technician's home was raided last month, with several bags of evidence taken away by police.

In the weeks following, Mr Edwards' former home in Huntingdale - where he lived when Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon were killed – was searched along with his parents' homes.

Since his arrest, forensic tests have also been carried out on a vehicle he drove in the 1990s and detectives have spoken to his two former wives.  

During his first brief court appearance the day after police raided his Kewdale home, Mr Edwards remained silent, speaking only to confirm his name to the magistrate.

Family members of the alleged victims did not appear to attend Wednesday's hearing after waiting 20 years for someone to be charged with their loved ones' deaths.

Mr Edwards was 27 and 28 when Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon were found dead.

He has not been charged in relation to the suspected murder of Sarah Spiers after she disappeared from a nightclub in Claremont in 1996.

Her body has never been found and the investigation into her disappearance is ongoing.

The hunt for the Claremont serial killer has become Australia's longest running and most expensive murder investigation with more than 3000 people investigated under the 'Task Force Macro' operation.