The nephew of Australia’s most notorious serial killer, Ivan Milat, has made headlines for his disturbing new hobby while incarcerated. Matthew Milat, 32, is currently serving a 43-year sentence for the brutal axe murder of his school friend, David Auchterlonie, in 2010. According to a former inmate, Nathan Paddison, who was once a prison gang leader, Matthew has taken up witchcraft and wizardry, believing he can cast spells. This bizarre behavior has even the most hardened criminals in Lithgow Correctional Centre worried. Paddison revealed that Matthew was found with a book on witchcraft in the prison library and was seen drawing symbols and lying in a circle, prompting his cellmate to call for help from prison officers during the night.
Matthew Milat’s crime mirrors the brutal methods of his great-uncle, Ivan, who murdered seven backpackers in the Belanglo State Forest in the 1990s. In a chilling act, Matthew and his friend, Cohen Klein, lured their childhood friend David to the same forest on his 17th birthday. They brutally murdered him with a double-bladed axe and even recorded the crime, keeping the footage as a twisted memento. During the trial, it was revealed that Matthew gloated about the killing, bragging, "You know the last name Milat, I did what they do." This eerie similarity to his uncle’s crimes has left many questioning whether violence and depravity run deep in the Milat family.
Paddison, who spent 13 years in jail for various offenses, including fraud and violent crimes, has spoken openly about his time behind bars and his encounters with Matthew. He described how Matthew’s struggle to cope with his lengthy sentence led him down a dark path of satanic worship and an obsession with the 1996 teen witch movie, The Craft. Paddison revealed that Matthew would spend hours staring into a mirror, hoping to see his reflection move and talk back, just like in the film. When his cellmate found him in a trance-like state, he called for help, and Matthew was eventually taken to the hospital. There were even rumors that Matthew had ingested 300 muscle relaxants in an attempt to "get into the zone."
The strange occurrences in Matthew’s cell have become the talk of the prison. Paddison claimed that prison guards found witchcraft symbols and other occult paraphernalia in Matthew’s cell, which he believes were part of a makeshift shrine. While he never saw the shrine himself, the buzz around the prison suggested that Matthew’s behavior was becoming increasingly erratic and alarming. His fixation on witchcraft and wizardry has left even the toughest inmates wary of him, with many wondering what he might be capable of next.
Despite his sinister hobbies, Matthew is described as overly friendly and eager to please. Paddison noted that Matthew would go to great lengths to ingratiate himself with other inmates, even going so far as to craft a watch with a swastika for a white supremacist inmate celebrating his birthday. However, this charm is deceiving, and Paddison warns that Matthew’s politeness hides a darker side. "You don’t know what they are thinking when they are up there at night," he said, hinting at the unpredictability of Matthew’s behavior.
The case of Matthew Milat is a tragic reminder of the devastating consequences of violence and the lasting impact it has on families and communities. Paddison, who now runs a YouTube channel called PaddoTube where he shares stories about his time in jail, expressed sympathy for all the families involved, particularly David’s. He described the murder as a "pretty sad case," noting that David was just an ordinary kid who never made it home after being picked up by Matthew on his 17th birthday. The haunting similarities between Matthew’s crimes and those of his infamous uncle raise questions about the influence of family legacy and the cyclical nature of violence. As Matthew continues to serve his sentence, his bizarre behavior and preoccupation with the occult have left many wondering if he will ever find redemption or if he will continue down a path of darkness.
