Clifford Palmer is buried next to his wife of over twenty years. He was known to his family as “Poppy Cliff”. Known to his second family that is. His first family knew him as Clifford Cecil Bartholomew; a man whose brutal past would evade family and friends for decades. Several decades before his death, in the early hours of the morning, September 7, 1971, Clifford would claim that “love” was the driving force behind Australia’s most horrific case of familicide. What started as an insatiable idea that his wife was h...
Clifford Palmer is buried next to his wife of over twenty years. He was known to his family as “Poppy Cliff”. Known to his second family that is. His first family knew him as Clifford Cecil Bartholomew; a man whose brutal past would evade family and friends for decades. Several decades before his death, in the early hours of the morning, September 7, 1971, Clifford would claim that “love” was the driving force behind Australia’s most horrific case of familicide. What started as an insatiable idea that his wife was having an affair with a younger man would evolve in a plot to stop her from destroying their family and end in an unfathomable slaughter of 10 people. Listen as Chelsea and Bailey discuss the wild string of events that would take a small-town family in rural Australia to a death sentence and finally the grave. We will explore ideas of impulse control, love, the legal system, and redemption. So, buckle up Wildciders, it’s about to get bumpy!
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References:
COURT REPORTS Death sentence for wife killer - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 24 Nov 1971. (n.d.). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110689926?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FC%2Ftitle%2F11%2F1971%2F11%2F24%2Fpage%2F11957962%2Farticle%2F110689926
ExpressDigest. (2018, June 2). Mass murderer who killed his seven biological kids remembered as a ‘gentleman’ by adopted children. Express Digest. https://expressdigest.com/mass-murderer-who-killed-his-seven-biological-kids-remembered-as-a-gentleman-by-adopted-children/
10 SHOT DEAD Husband is charged with wife’s murder - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 7 Sep 1971. (n.d.). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110676163?searchTerm=%22clifford%20palmer%22
Husband faces court for murder - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 8 Sep 1971. (n.d.). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110676396?searchTerm=%22clifford%20palmer%22
COURT TOLD HOW 10 WERE SLAIN - Papua New Guinea Post-Courier (Port Moresby : 1969 - 1981) - 8 Sep 1971. (n.d.). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250201105?searchTerm=%22clifford%20palmer%22
COURT REPORTS - To stand trial for murder - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 5 Oct 1971. (n.d.). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110680549?searchTerm=%22clifford%20palmer%22
Grace, L. (2014, January 12). Crimes that horrified South Australia. theaustralian.com.au. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/some-of-the-most-notorious-crimes-that-shook-and-horrified-south-australia/news-story/44fe98668d454c5dc1f7c7a3c71ff269
Merlyn Juliet Palmer (1929-2012) - Find a Grave. . . (1929, April 11). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/216729520/merlyn-juliet-palmer?_gl=1*1wt8jjr*_gcl_au*Nzc3NDQzNTA2LjE3MTY0MDE0MDU.*_ga*NTc3NzQyNDAxLjE3MTY0MDE0MTA.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*NTdmMjNlZTAtNjE5NS00NGE3LTg2MzEtOWI3NDI3MTljMWQ2LjIuMS4xNzE2NDE5ODc3LjQyLjAuMA..*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*NTdmMjNlZTAtNjE5NS00NGE3LTg2MzEtOWI3NDI3MTljMWQ2LjIuMS4xNzE2NDE5ODgwLjAuMC4w#view-photo=214821386
COURT REPORTS Death sentence for wife killer - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 24 Nov 1971. (n.d.-b). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110689926?searchTerm=%22Clifford%20Bartholomew%22
Slaughterman on charge of murder - Papua New Guinea Post-Courier (Port Moresby : 1969 - 1981) - 7 Sep 1971. (n.d.). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250200952?searchTerm=%22clifford%20palmer%22
Killer of 10 paroled after 7½ years - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 12 Dec 1979. (n.d.). Trove. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110973174?searchTerm=%22clifford%20palmer%22
He killed 10 people — and may still be among us. (7 Nov 2015). https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/almost-45-years-ago-clifford-cecil-bartholomew-killed-10-members-of-his-family-but-served-just-eight-years-behind-bars-is-he-still-alive/news-story/7fc602a10e65720d1979bdddf6714e22
The Father’s Day massacre. (15 Nov 2015). https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/clifford-bartholomew-suspected-his-wife-was-having-an-affair-with-a-vietnam-war-veteran--so-on-fathers-day-1971-he-snapped-and-shot-dead-10-family-members/news-story/053e64a449837cb15acd536d5265713d
Revealed: Mass murderer’s secret second life. (26 May 2018). https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/mass-murderer-clifford-bartholomews-secret-life-since-leaving-jail-revealed-by-survivor-who-lived-in-fear-till-now/news-story/ae88010055cb5b3f2ac89527ce3e7b5b
