the family murders adelaide victims

True Crime Conversations: The Family Murders Of Adelaide on - Apple When they finally got around to doing this, after the discovery of Richard Kelvin's body, one name popped out at them. In Adelaides gay community in the 1970s and 1980s, young men were coveted for sex. The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. Later on, Ian would recall the argument cropping up around cigarettes, but that just proves the point of how nonessential it was. The Family Murders - Wikipedia Four of the five murders remain unsolved. He loved music - both playing it and listening to it - and had a good rapport with his friends, whom he hung around constantly. Of the five men that fell prey to this violent killer, at least two had been drugged with Mandrax, as had George. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. The Family Murders Of Adelaide - True Crime Conversations The skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. According to some witnesses in the area, screams had been heard at around the time that Richard had disappeared, some time between 5:30 and 6:30 PM that Sunday. Part One: The Murders Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. 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. [16][22] The sedative-hypnotic drug Mandrax, popular in the 1970s disco scene, was found in Langley's blood. He had good grades at school, was well-liked by just about everyone, had a stable of trusted friends, and played soccer for a local Lockley club on the weekends. In June of 1983, Richard Kelvin was approaching sixteen years of age. While changes in Southern Australia's draconian laws had decriminalized homosexuality, there were still people eager to prey on or harass gay men and women - behavior that lingers to this day. It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. Australia's murder capital: Why can't Adelaide bury the myth? George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. South Australia's overdue for another 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. von Einem is serving life imprisonment. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. He had multiple channels to procuring young men. Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. He vividly remembered hearing a young voice shout out (which we can assume was Richard) and a group of voices screaming in protest, almost in unison. When using other people (sometimes transgenders, sometimes cross-dressers, and sometimes Mr B), a common ploy was to ask a lone youth if he want to go to a party where there was plenty of booze and women. High profile lawyer and murder victim Derrance Stevenson regularly entertained teenage youths. This was cancelled the night before. Because very little physical evidence had been left behind, it was hard to tell whether or not these crimes belonged to the same spree, or were simply copycats. [18] His skeletal remains were found in October 1982 later by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. Mark Langley In particular, they were members of the Vice Squad, who typically crackdown on "moral" crimes such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal substances. Meanwhile, the mutilation of Neil Muir's body seemed to be identical to that perpetrated upon Peter Stogneff's remains, whose limbs had been similarly severed with a saw-like device. Within hours, Alan's father and grandfather found themselves tagged to identify the remains, which were undoubtedly the remains of their missing 17-year-old. Unfortunately, it did not. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. He was found wearing most of the clothing he had last been seen in, minus an undershirt and without the chains he often wore around his neck (which contained his zodiac sign, Cancer). Players - The Family Murders Alan was supposed to find a ride back home and was taking his luck hitchhiking, hoping that someone willing to pick him up would be heading north towards his family's neighborhood of Salisbury. The name of the group stems from an interview a police detective gave on 60 Minutes, claiming the police were taking action to break up the happy family. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. Case 166: The Family : r/Casefile - reddit This section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. When this young man woke up the next day, he was surprised to find himself both at home and in significant pain. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. The Family Murders Of Adelaide. On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. However, when Neil Muir's body was discovered, his internal organs had been removed and were gone entirely, leading to police being unable to test his blood levels. Mark's remains had also clearly been thoroughly washed before being dumped, just like Alan Barnes. The Family murders: Bevan Spencer von Einem's shocking jailhouse I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . The victims ranged in age from 14 to 25, and most were found to have suffered brutal violence, sexual assaults, and/or body mutilation before their death. This caller alleged that the two older men had been driving around a 1963 EJ Holden sedan. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. The father of boat crash victim Mallory Beach refused to shake hands with Alex Murdaugh 's family in court after the legal scion was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and son . A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. Homosexuality itself would become decriminalized just a few years later, in 1975, with the passing of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, making South Australia the first Australian state or territory where members of the LGBTQ community no longer had to fear government persecution. 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. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. This group was believed to be involved in the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a number of teenage boys and young men, as well as the torture and murder of five young men aged between 14 and 25, in Adelaide, South Australia, in the 1970s and 1980s. On the final weekend of August 1979, Neil was spotted at both the Duke of York and Buckingham Arms ("The Buck"), two local gay bars that I referenced at the top of the episode. This witness would also recall hearing this supposed argument on the street come to a sudden end, punctuated with the sound of a loud exhaust system as a car sped down the street. The Kelvins, though upset at the duration of time that had already passed, understood why the process was so delayed but were hopeful that their son would return home to them, safe and sound. Referred to as a "Randy Mandy" among the era's deviants, Mandrax was a sedative that had just become popular worldwide with the branding "Quaalude." This argument would carry on for a few minutes, while the trio was parked along War Memorial Drive, overlooking the Torrens River. Although there were in excess of 150 youths and young men who were drugged and raped, often by multiple men, this section focuses on the five young men who didnt come home. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. The medical examiners conducting the autopsy and examinations also discovered that Alan's body had been washed extensively after his death; likely an effort to scrub away any evidence linking him to the killer. 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. See what they say here. This case includes mysterious attacks, brutal murders, and a dark conspiracy surrounding a secret group of elites that preyed on the young in the city. Some were involved in the abduction of victims who were murdered, some were involved in the rape of murdered victims, and some were involved in murder. Allegations would even surface that indicated Dr. Millhouse had been one of the people in the area that supplied Neil with prescription drugs, but that would remain an allegation for the foreseeable future. For many, that meant gay-specific bars and clubs, where these individuals were allowed to socially express themselves honestly for the first time in their lives. Once known as the "City of Churches," Adelaide began going through a stark progression in the 1960s. It wasn't until the following year, 1983, that police finally rediscovered George's story. These people have no such bond, only an association that with time probably no longer exists". The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. Description. Richard's family disputed this, vigorously denying the notion that Richard would have run away of his own accord. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. 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. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. Unfortunately, Richard Kelvin would never make it home. In addition to the driver, there appeared to be a couple of other occupants inside of the car that they, unfortunately, could not recall many details of. Hence, the odd scar that seemed to serve no other purpose. 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. This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. Murdered victims were kept in captivity by the Family for up to five weeks. Shockingly, police found an insane combination of sedatives in his system, which included the drugs Noctec, Mandrax, valium, Rohypnol, and amytal. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. However, police would reach out to all of Mark's known friends, and learned that the night prior - February 27th - he had simply wandered off into the night and had not been seen since. The son of popular local Nine Network news presenter Rob Kelvin, he was abducted a short distance from his North Adelaide home on 5 June. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. He was the son of Channel 9 News host Rob Kelvin, who had just recently taken over the hosting gig after more than a decade of field reporting through the station and a radio affiliate. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. The Family Murders is the name given to a series of five murders speculated to have been committed by a loosely connected group of individuals who came to be known as "The Family". 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. A thrash metal band singer and members of his family were killed in an apparent murder-suicide late last month, according to police. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. "CIA: Crime Investigation Australia" The Butchered Boys (TV - IMDb But, just like the failure to properly drop Alan's body into the water, these bags had failed to make it to their intended location; still resting against the coast, instead of floating out to sea, where they'd have been lost forever. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. The final two - Mark Langley and Richard Kelvin - had disappeared just blocks away from one another. When a warrant was eventually served on Dr. Millhouse's cottage in northern Adelaide, police found the same type of trash bags and rope that had been found with Neil Muir's remains. Alan and his friend bid adieu to one another, with his friend assured that Alan would be okay; Grand Junction Road was always busy and teeming with life, and it wasn't like he was leaving Alan in the middle of the night. Unlike the other murder victims, however, Mark's body showed an odd sign of surgical precision. This site is constantly being updated as more is learned. Alan's friend made it back to his house within minutes, but unfortunately, Alan was not so lucky. While charges would later be filed against several police officers, they were ultimately acquitted; and it has been widely accepted in the decades since that local law enforcement engaged in a systematic cover-up. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. 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. 1979: The Family (1 year) 1999: Snowtown murders discovered (20 years) As of 2021, this is the longest Adelaide has gone without a crime that has made national or international headlines as either a weird case (Somerton Man), child kidnapping or brutal serial killings since WWII. Criminologist Alan Perry of the University of Adelaide, has argued that the murders were part of widespread series of kidnappings and sexual assaults of boys that might number several hundred victims in South Australia from about 1973 to 1983.[11]. Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. The Family Murders | Adelaide's most notorious unsolved serial killings Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of Adelaide. A man who donned a balaclava and stormed a man's Adelaide CBD unit, stabbing him within nine seconds, will spend 20 years behind bars. Between 1979 and 1983, the city of Adelaide in South Australia was the stage for a horrific string of crimes against young men and teenagers.Five known victims of kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder showed up in those years, and police became convinced that the perpetrator was actually a group of several men . Australia - Australia -the Family, 1979-83, Adelaide, B S Von Einem Millhouse would have. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. Bevan von Einem was an apex predator. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. Do you think the Family Murders case will ever be solved? Likely, he was one of the people seen hanging out with Neil at the bars and clubs just days that weekend. The very next day - August 28th, 1979 - a couple of fishermen were heading out to the Port Adelaide River, on what was supposed to be a regular workday for them. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. 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 fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. Unsolved - The Family Murders | Page 148 | BigFooty Forum Australia's most notorious unsolved serial killings. Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. This group was believed to be involved in the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a number of teenage boys and young men, as well as the torture and murder of five young men aged between 14 and 25, in Adelaide, South Australia, in the 1970s and 1980s. It was there that they found his backpack hidden in the garage, which ultimately led to calls to all of his friends. When police had arrived at the crime scene, they assumed that whoever had tried to dump the body of Alan Barnes had failed, in some way. What the two got up to that evening is anyone's guess, but rumors and theories have propagated this story in the decades since. The following Sunday, June 24th - one week after Alan had last been seen alive - a couple of hikers were bushwalking up in the area known as the Adelaide Foothills. 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. These details made it clear to police that this mutilation was not done simply for the killer's ease-of-mind, but indicated that they were a particularly savage killer that had likely committed similar crimes in the past. But he then set off again, likely headed towards the distant Rundle Mall, where he was due to meet up with his friend, Daniel, that day. Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18,[17] murdered in February 1982. [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. The "Family Murders" *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead. Apart from von Einem, three other core members are thought to be directly involved in the murders; while DNA testing re-commenced in 2008, no further charges have been laid. Dylan John Kovarskis murdered Nathan Russell in 2021 . Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. 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. The closest thing to hard evidence that police found in this sweep was what appeared to be traces of blood on the bathroom floor, which had been cleaned multiple times over with a chemical agent; and, as such, could not be tested. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. Several eyewitnesses remembered seeing Alan and his long, blond hair standing along Grand Junction Road that Sunday. While police began to investigate who might be responsible for this heinous crime, medical examiners testing the body made a pretty shocking discovery: the presence of drugs in his blood. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim.