the family murders adelaide victims the family murders adelaide victims

He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. Now, with Mark Langley, police were able to confirm the presence of the drug Mandrax in his system. Police didn't believe that this voice was Richard, as he was a teenager with a deep voice that had already cracked. But now, they needed to find a suspect. Police had still not linked the two cases - Barnes and Neil Muir - but while being questioned about the first murder, von Einem inquired about the second without any provocation. In particular, they were members of the Vice Squad, who typically crackdown on "moral" crimes such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal substances. But the rumors that he engaged in sex work were mainly perpetrated by those that knew him from his regular haunts: members of Adelaide's gay community, who regularly saw Neil at the gay-friendly bars they frequented. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. Moments later, George lost consciousness, falling prey to the drugs that he had consumed. A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. A witness says she saw Stogneff at Tea Tree Plaza with someone matching Noel Brook's appearance. Mark Langley attended party in Windsor Gardens but left with a male and female. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. Like most of the victims targeted by this unknown subject, Richard Kelvin was a young and athletic young man, who seemed destined to have a long and rewarding life. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. Unlike other drugs, Mandrax was heavily-regulated, meaning that police could search through government records to find out who had a prescription, and whether or not they appeared on their suspect lists. Of the young men whose stories I'll cover in this episode, he was by far the youngest, and his face showed it: he still had the youthful appearance of a child, and by all accounts, seemed to be your typical teenage boy. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. It is confirmed that 5 of these victims were murdered, usually by having an object forced so far up their anus that it split the lining and they bled out. Just two days after the body of Alan Barnes was discovered - when the investigation was still unfolding - an anonymous caller reached out to police. It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. In the days to come, police began asking around the area for any sign of Peter Stogneff and discovered that the teen had essentially vanished into thin air. The Family Murders was a series of murders in the 1970s and 1980s that targeted young men in Adelaide, South Australia between the ages of 14 and 25. Murdered victims were kept in captivity by the Family for up to five weeks. The Family Murders are a series of violent and depraved sex crimes committed against five young men and boys in South Australia throughout the 1970's and 1980's. In 1988 Detective Trevor Kipling described a group of people whom he suspected as being responsible as "one big happy family" and vowed to do all that he could to bring them to justice. This is made apparent when we look at a story from 1972, which ultimately led to drastic overhauls in Southern Australian law and cemented its place in the nation's history. Over a span of several years starting in 1979 and into the 80s five young men, aged from 14 to 25, went missing in different areas of Adelaide. In Adelaides gay community in the 1970s and 1980s, young men were coveted for sex. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. The Family werent an official club or group, rather a loose collection of people with Bevan von Einem at the centre. He also happened to be a relative of Robin Millhouse, South Australia's former Attorney General who would become a Supreme Court Justice in 1982. Unfortunately, that Thursday, Peter never arrived at the mall to meet his friend. This triggered a recurrence of his on-again/off-again bout with alcoholism, and within a week, he had checked himself into the Osmond House rehabilitation center but not before consulting with his attorney for any potential legal ramifications. Neil Muir was last seen in Hindley St, Adelaide in the company of Dr Peter Leslie Millhouse at 3pm on the day he was murdered. Bevan von Einem was no exception he also preferred youths between the 15 and 19 year old age group. So prosecutors and the police began to build their case around Millhouse without his cooperation, including witness statements that alleged the two had been together the weekend before Neil's violent death. Like the other victims, Richard Kelvin's blood and organs were tested for any sign of drugs, with investigators hoping to find a connection to any of the prior victims. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for the crimes: Bevan Spencer von Einem was sentenced in 1984 to a minimum of 24 years (later extended to a minimum 36-year term) for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. One such case is the Family Murders of Adelaide, Australia. By the time they managed to look outside, whoever had been outside had already sped off. His head had also been removed from the rest of his body, but was placed in its own separate black trash bag and connected with a rope tie to the rest of the remains. Some showed signs of prolonged captivity, while death came quick to others . On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. The bodies were found from 24th June 1979 and the fifth and last body on 24th July 1983. Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. It was speculated that a foreign object had caused the internal perforations, leading to the belief that the killer had been a sexual sadist whose only intent was to cause physical pain. Unfortunately, from there, the trail would go cold for over a year at which point, another victim had already become ensnared in this tragic saga. In a word, no. A couple of black trash bags were floating on the low tide of the river's coast. Alan Arthur Barnes, aged 16, murdered in 1979. Because Neil's transient lifestyle led to him becoming known as a bit of a vagabond, his sexuality was not exactly common knowledge. The severing of Neil's limbs and the mutilation of his body was originally believed to have been part of an effort to dispose of his body. Most were later described as being worthless, but a few piqued the interest of Investigator O'Brien. In the days after Neil Muir's body was discovered in separate black trash bags, police had received two separate phone calls alerting them to the victim's relationship with a local doctor. This ultimately resulted in a victory for Dr. Peter Millhouse's attorneys, earning the man an acquittal and his freedom. Witnesses would later recall having seen the two at some of the area's gay bars and clubs (which I referenced just a moment ago). There are also notorious unsolved disappearances in Adelaide, including the Beaumont children. Little is known about the unidentified man, but Roger James had his ankle broken when he was plunged into the river that May, and was only able to escape with the help of a friendly onlooker. Police thought that these gruesome and violent actions had been part of an effort to easily transport Neil's remains out to sea, and dispose of them in a way that they'd degrade before being identified. This caller told detectives that a man named Bevan Spencer von Einem was responsible for Alan's death, and his name was added to the list of potential suspects to explore. Because of this prime location, Adelaide has become one of the country's most populated areas, and more than a million Australians live in the city itself; which is split in half by the Torrens River, which runs through the center of Adelaide. Alan Barnes was a teenager growing up in this environment, who seemed to live on the bubble between childhood and adulthood in the winter of 1979. An ear witness said they heard some shouting, 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. However, unlike many of the others, it was believed that Richard had been held captive for an extended period of time, enduring torture and sexual abuse for weeks leading up to his death. Neil's numerous tattoos had also been cut away from his flesh, and those patches of inked skin had been placed into his chest cavity along with his severed limbs. A cold case review was opened in March 2008 with a $1,000,000 reward available for anyone who provided information leading to a conviction. Their psychological profile indicated that Neil's body had been carved up due to either a psychotic killer that derived pleasure from inflicting pain on others or someone that wanted to hide his/her identity. On the afternoon of Sunday, June 5th, 1983, Richard was kicking around a soccer ball with his father Rob and his friend Boris at a park near his home. This young man, Bevan Spencer von Einem - an acquaintance of James' - had helped James make it to shore and then drove him to the nearby Royal Adelaide Hospital. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. Even though he was nearly an adult at this point - and had a fair amount of independence in his life - this disappearance was deemed very out-of-the-ordinary. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. . It was a group of homosexual men and transgender women who formed a network around convicted murderer and sexual sadist Bevan Spencer von Einem, based on the drugging, raping and sometimes murder of youths and young men. They tried to hitch a ride on Grand Junction Road, a busy thoroughfare in Adelaide, before realizing that they were going to have no luck hitchhiking together. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. They kicked the footy around. Major Crimes was primarily responsible for serial killings, mass killings, and any other high-profile crimes that the local government wanted to be handled by a specialized task force. However, that was very circumstantial evidence at best, and anything but definitive. But he decided to instead head to a local mall, named Tea Tree Plaza, where Peter and his friends often hung out on the weekends. Later on, Ian would recall the argument cropping up around cigarettes, but that just proves the point of how nonessential it was. Millhouse would have. It was at around this time - the end of August - that Investigator Rod Hunter finally got around to interviewing Bevan Spencer von Einem, the man implicated by an anonymous caller in the murder of Alan Barnes. Because of this lack of clarity, police were unable to press forward with any charges for the offenders, and George's story would become buried by more pressing police concerns in the coming weeks and months. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. George gave police a description of the older man that had picked him up and driven him to the house in question, but he could not remember his name, nor the name of the two women at the house they had traveled to. Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25,[12][13] murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979. So, they believed that this crime might have been perpetrated by someone that Neil owed money to, who wanted to cover up their tracks afterward. It is estimated that over 150 youths and young men were abducted, drugged, and then raped. He had multiple channels to procuring young men. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. It has been reported that the exposed skin on his face and neck had begun to wither away, leading to the theory that he had been killed shortly after going missing. Alan's body had fallen to the dirt below, twisting and contorting in such a way that - should he have been alive - would have surely resulted in death or serious injury. Likely, he was one of the people seen hanging out with Neil at the bars and clubs just days that weekend. Gino Gambardella regularly scouted Rundle Mall and video game arcades for runaways, homeless teenagers, and youths who he was able to exploit. Mr B - The Family Murders Mr B Mr B was named by South Australian police in 2008 as one of the three main suspects who were involved in the murders alongside Bevan von Einem. It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. The Adelaide Festival of Arts (also known as just Adelaide Festival) started in 1960 and led to something of a "cultural revival" in the area. The death of George Duncan would serve as a catalyst, eventually martyring Duncan himself and leading to repeals of South Australia's harsh anti-homosexuality laws. After all, three of the victims (Alan Barnes, Neil Muir, and Mark Langley) had all died of similar injuries, and at least three (Alan Barnes, Mark Langley, and now Richard Kelvin) had all gone missing on Sundays. This has come to be disputed over the years, with some speculating that Alan might have willingly consumed the drug the weekend before his death; or, perhaps, he might have been slipped it by someone at the bars he was rumored to visit with his friends that Saturday. Due to the state of the young man's remains, it was believed that Alan had been detained against his will for several days. Richard was found wearing the same clothing that he had been wearing on the day of his disappearance, but in an unusual twist, was found to be wearing his family dog's collar. Alan's friend made it back to his house within minutes, but unfortunately, Alan was not so lucky. The medical examiners would also find a significant head wound on Neil, which wasn't significant enough to have killed him, but would have likely happened to incapacitate or subdue the man. Both witnesses - who were friends with Neil and drug users themselves - were prepared to testify should this man be tried for the murder. Police spoke to Alan's friend, who had left him behind on Grand Junction Road.