Boris left on a bus, and Richard started making his way back home a trip that was no more than four-hundred meters. Part One: The Murders Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. No additional leads would surface in that time-span, and police would continue to refrain from stating that the two victims so far - Alan Barnes and Neil Muir - were connected in any way (at least, they wouldn't say so publicly). Over the next few days, it became apparent that Alan Barnes was not returning home. 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. Due to changes in the Forensic Procedures Act, which later allowed DNA samples to be taken from suspects in major indictable offences, all the suspects voluntarily submitted to DNA testing. Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. By the time they managed to look outside, whoever had been outside had already sped off. Rather than have to read the whole site, or miss updates in the case because you dont know they exist, this section will show time-stamped updates so you can keep up to date with developments. We know that on the morning of Sunday, June 17th, Alan and his friend woke up, and tried their luck hitchhiking back to Alan's family's house (a practice that wasn't that uncommon in the late 1970s). The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. Unfortunately, it did not. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the case is how did von Einem find accomplices willing to be involved in such crimes? This was commonly found in the drug Noctec, which was an over-the-counter pharmaceutical used to aid people with sleep problems, which had been given to Alan sometime before his death. [14][15] Skin bearing tattoos had been removed and most of the body parts were placed in another garbage bag before being placed within the abdominal cavity. But other than that, this friend had nothing new to offer police: he hadn't seen or heard from Alan since the two went their separate ways. Following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1975, Adelaide began to be known as one of the more progressive cities in all of Australia. He had struggled to wean himself off of heroin, using methadone to do so, only to have methadone become his next addiction. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. Bevan von Einem had a network of around 25-30 people. Some time after they went missing, their bodies would each be found, often horribly mutilated. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. 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]. 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". 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). 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. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. While in rehab, Dr. Millhouse refused to speak to police about Neil Muir (or his alleged relationship with the man). Our locations section shows where all the events happened and where all the players lived. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. A thrash metal band singer and members of his family were killed in an apparent murder-suicide late last month, according to police. Oh, that reminds me. In May of 1972, three gay men - George Duncan, Roger James, and another man (whose identity has been withheld in the decades since) - were picked up by members of South Australia's police force. The Clermont County Sheriff's Office . It wasn't until the following year, 1983, that police finally rediscovered George's story. While police pounded the pavement to find out what had happened to Richard Kelvin, the young man's life was slowly coming to an end. But now, they needed to find a suspect. Once known as the "City of Churches," Adelaide began going through a stark progression in the 1960s. This is an analysis of the information provided by Wendy Roles and Greg McInerney in the book The Family Murders: Dissected The Timeline 25 Aug (Sat) Michael B sees band-aid on Neil's leg at the methadone clinic during the day. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. 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. 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. The two were hiking through the area near the South Para Reservoir when they noticed something on the ground. 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. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. Ten years von Einem's junior, Mr B helped von Einem pick up, drug, and rape several young men. Now, with Mark Langley, police were able to confirm the presence of the drug Mandrax in his system. 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. Just east of Adelaide, this area is well-known to Southern Australians, as it serves as a primary destination for the area's outdoorsmen and women. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . In June of 1983, Richard Kelvin was approaching sixteen years of age. This was as good of a tip as police were going to get, and since the most recent victim of this strange killing spree had been found in the Foothills, police decided to follow through on the tip. 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. 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. At the time of the murder, Dr. Millhouse - a gay man in his mid-forties - lived alone in northern Adelaide, and drove a ten-year-old Holden sedan. In 2014 when Trevor passed away, his diaries were recovered. This bore signs of premeditation, implying that this wasn't an impulsive decision, but a conscious one by a killer afraid of being identified through forensic testing. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. 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. Sadly, Neil's biggest vice was his ever-evolving drug addiction. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks. 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. And Marshall is no novice at delving into the minds of evil men. But a discovery by the medical examiner seemed to undermine that: in addition to all of this, Neil's genitals had been mutilated by his killer. The night before he went missing he stayed at Darko Kastelan's house in Cheltenham. Murdered victims were kept in captivity by the Family for up to five weeks. However, they quickly began to narrow in on the one avenue of the investigation that seemed most enticing to them at the time: Neil's dependency on drugs and alcohol. 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. How did he manipulate large numbers of people to get involved to various degrees even if that involvement was merely remaining silent? Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison 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. Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is perhaps most well known for its beautiful, scenic landscape, which is wedged in-between the Adelaide Foothills to the east, the coastline that runs along the west and down into the southern cape, and expanse of vast Australia that lies to the north. Police were now back, right where they had started. High profile lawyer and murder victim Derrance Stevenson regularly entertained teenage youths. These were connections that were hard to overlook, as police began to theorize that a single offender (or, rather, a group of offenders) had been behind all of these crimes. 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. 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. 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. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. 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. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. He was able to exploit and manipulate enablers, helpers and participants over a long period of time. It was there that they found his backpack hidden in the garage, which ultimately led to calls to all of his friends. [4][5] In 1989, von Einem was charged with the murders of two other victims, Barnes and Langley, but the prosecution entered a nolle prosequi (voluntarily discontinue criminal charges) during the trial when crucial similar fact evidence was deemed inadmissible by the presiding judge. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. 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. Four of the five murders remain unsolved. Because this murder seemed like the type of crime beset by emotional issues - or likely someone with an ax to grind against Alan, personally - police initially began investigating this as a personal crime. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. Gay people (in particular, gay men) began to become more comfortable in their own skin, and no longer had to suppress their sexuality in public. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. However, what wasn't up for debate was the fact that Alan had been violently tortured for hours before his death, with his death ultimately coming from blood loss due to an anal injury. This theory is that whatever item had been used to sexually assault Mark with - which ultimately led to his death - had gotten caught up in his intestines, and required surgery to retrieve. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. 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. When Boris had last seen Richard, walking away from the bus stop down the street from his home, he had still been wearing the collar, and it is has been theorized that the collar itself might have been a trigger for the deviant (or deviants) that ultimately decided to abduct Richard. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. 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. Peter Stogneff. Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. Several eyewitnesses remembered seeing Alan and his long, blond hair standing along Grand Junction Road that Sunday. With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. 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".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 . It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. Mark Langley was an 18-year-old with the entire world in front of him: an athletic and good-looking young man, who quickly endeared himself to others. 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. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 . Needless to say, over the past few months, this investigation had become a new beast entirely. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. He consented to any available tests or analysis, and during a medical screening, it was discovered that the young man did have tears in his anus, proving that he had been raped. 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. 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. This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. But his teachers recalled him being absent, and hours would pass that afternoon (heading into the evening) and Peter would fail to return home. Australia's most notorious unsolved serial killings. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. The police came to this conclusion due to the status of his remains, which weren't nearly as decomposed as they should have been; by the time he was discovered at the end of July, he had been dead for no more than a week or two, despite having gone missing at the beginning of June. 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. This horrific sight was quickly reported to police, who arrived at the scene and immediately cordoned off the area around where the fisherman had reportedly discovered the floating trash bags. Over time Trevor kept diary records of his conversations with that suspect as well as another suspect. 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. Unfortunately, it would later be determined that he would suffer in anguish for weeks before meeting eventually dying more than a month after his initial disappearance. There are also notorious unsolved disappearances in Adelaide, including the Beaumont children. 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. Investigators were unable to pinpoint Peter's exact cause-of-death, or even estimate when he had been killed. 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. This ultimately resulted in a victory for Dr. Peter Millhouse's attorneys, earning the man an acquittal and his freedom. 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. 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. Nine days after Mark Langley went missing, his body was discovered in the Adelaide Foothills, close to Mount Lofty in the area known as Summertown. Mark Langley [21] Among the mutilations was a wound that appeared to have been cut with a surgical instrument that went from his navel to the pubic region and part of his small bowel was missing. Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. Richard and Boris remained at the park for a bit longer, kicking around the soccer ball and chatting, before eventually, Boris decided to make his way home. This witness recalled Alan getting into a vehicle, which appeared to be a white Holden sedan. 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. Bevan von Einem was no exception he also preferred youths between the 15 and 19 year old age group. Police wouldn't get around to conducting a door-to-door canvas of the neighborhood until Tuesday, two days after Richard had gone missing. Some showed signs of prolonged captivity, while death came quick to others . Police got the number one offender. Even though Dr. Peter Millhouse had supposedly known Neil Muir for several years, there was never any proof that the two had a sexual relationship. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. Gino Gambardella regularly scouted Rundle Mall and video game arcades for runaways, homeless teenagers, and youths who he was able to exploit. South Australia's overdue for another See what they say here. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. It's important to note that, even though members of the LGBTQ community felt more comfortable to express themselves socially, that did not mean that everyone in the area was necessarily welcoming. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. Description. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. 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 man that had driven George there offered him a couple of pills called "No-Doz," which - he promised - would help him stay awake to enjoy the party. Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. 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. The older man in the driver's seat reached into the backseat and pulled out a beer from a cooler, offering it to George. 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. The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. 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. In 1979, residents of Adelaide were gripped by fear when several young men began to go missing under mysterious circumstances. If your information is verified and its not breaking any laws, we may publish it. The 'Family murders' involved the killing and torture of five young men from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. The periphery of The Family is a grey area. 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. The Family Murders (Part Two: The Family) Unresolved The Family Murders Part Two: The Family As the families of five young men mourned, investigators began to circle around their top suspect, Bevan Spencer von Einem. At the same time he was developing a network of people who made it possible for him to carry out his sexually sadistic fantasies. [15] A post-mortem examination revealed that Muir had died of massive blood loss from an anal injury, likely caused by the insertion of a large blunt object[16] and Noctec was found in his blood. 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. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. Rumours of high-society involvement and cover-ups. It had been reported that Richard was wearing the collar as a joke on the afternoon he went missing, while he was kicking around the soccer ball in the park with his dad and his friend, Boris. Both witnesses - who were friends with Neil and drug users themselves - were prepared to testify should this man be tried for the murder. 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. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. Subsequent efforts to reach Alan through his friends had failed, and none of them had seen him since the weekend. So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. Because Mark had been killed and his body been dumped in the Australian summer months, his remains had already suffered some serious decomposition by the time police were called to the scene. Due to the state of the young man's remains, it was believed that Alan had been detained against his will for several days. 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.
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