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. POLICE are investigating new information linking convicted killer Bevan Spencer von Einem to the abduction and murder of teenager Alan Barnes. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. So the police began reaching out to people that worked or had otherwise been in the area. Bevan Spencer von Einem is serving a life sentence for one of those murders. There were signs that he had been tortured and beaten by a sexual sadist, who had likely kept Alan drugged with a chemical compound named chloral hydrate. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor. There's a conviction in the last murder in the series, but I will include it due to the similarity and due to the man convicted being suspected in the other murders as well. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. 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 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. Unlike the other murder victims, however, Mark's body showed an odd sign of surgical precision. 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. Some of the employees that worked at the area's bars recalled seeing the two together multiple times that weekend, and other character witnesses described Dr. Millhouse and Neil as being very close friends (intimate, even). 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. Some of his strategies were to unscrew his car muffler or pull out his choke and ask an unsuspecting youth to help him with car trouble. Some time after they went missing, their bodies would each be found, often horribly mutilated. 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. He had been sexually assaulted and went on to report this bizarre, terrifying incident to police. 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. Australia's most notorious unsolved serial killings. In particular, they were members of the Vice Squad, who typically crackdown on "moral" crimes such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal substances. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. In Adelaides gay community in the 1970s and 1980s, young men were coveted for sex. 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 Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. The post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. Enjoy reading. And Marshall is no novice at delving into the minds of evil men. A farmer that lived nearby Middle Beach and Two Wells, roughly an hour north of Adelaide, had been cleansing his farmland during the advised winter months. [5] Others, who have examined the cases, however, argue that there were many more victims. But his teachers recalled him being absent, and hours would pass that afternoon (heading into the evening) and Peter would fail to return home. [14][24] His body was found on 24 July by a geologist who was searching for moss-covered rocks near a dirt airstrip at Kersbrook. Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile murders commonly referred to in the media as the 'Family Murders'. 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. He had struggled to wean himself off of heroin, using methadone to do so, only to have methadone become his next addiction. Five young men who were drugged, viciously raped and tortured, kept captive for up to five weeks, horrifically mutilated, and ultimately murdered. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. 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. Shockingly, police found an insane combination of sedatives in his system, which included the drugs Noctec, Mandrax, valium, Rohypnol, and amytal. 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. On July 24th, 1983, a family was out looking for moss rocks in the vast reaches of the Mount Crawford Forest, about 35 kilometers northeast of Adelaide. Police wouldn't get around to conducting a door-to-door canvas of the neighborhood until Tuesday, two days after Richard had gone missing. 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. How did he manipulate large numbers of people to get involved to various degrees even if that involvement was merely remaining silent? 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. Also, like the other victims, Mark's cause-of-death seemed to be nearly identical: blood loss from an anal injury, caused by the forced insertion of an unknown item. They had no idea that they were about to make one of the most gruesome discoveries in Australian history. A short time later, police were contacted and later arrived at the scene to document the grisly find. 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. Progressive ideas began to spread out from Adelaide, but even then, progress itself was rather slow to catch on throughout large chunks of South Australia. 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. This ultimately resulted in a victory for Dr. Peter Millhouse's attorneys, earning the man an acquittal and his freedom. Despite there being an overwhelming lack of physical evidence, police decided to pursue charges against Dr. Millhouse anyways, using the rope and trash bags recovered from his home as their primary building block. 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. [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. 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. Our locations section shows where all the events happened and where all the players lived. A day or two prior, at least. Police first treated Richard as a runaway; an unfortunate symptom of the times. Detective O'Brien was the unfortunate one tasked with notifying the Kelvins that Richard's body had been found; which he describes in his book as one of the most heartbreaking duties he's ever had to endure. While the men in the river struggled to make it back to the shore, the group that had thrown them into the water made their escape before camera crews or onlookers could begin to gather. Mark Langley Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. If you recall, M.E. 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. 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. Unfortunately, information gathered by police that fateful Tuesday began to cast doubt on the idea that Richard had willingly chosen to run away from home. 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. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. It was there that they found his backpack hidden in the garage, which ultimately led to calls to all of his friends. This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. A post-mortem examination revealed that Barnes had died of massive blood loss from an anal injury, likely caused by the insertion of a large blunt object. Just a few months later, in June of 1982, the family of missing 14-year-old Peter Stogneff would finally get some resolution. The Family Murders is the name given to the murders of five young men and boys between 1979 and 1983, with all abducted from the streets of Adelaide before being taken to another location,. 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. Gino Gambardella regularly scouted Rundle Mall and video game arcades for runaways, homeless teenagers, and youths who he was able to exploit. [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. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. Some of the victims were brutally tortured, or horrifically mutilated or cut up. Like the other victims, investigators would learn a lot from the status of Mark's remains. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. The following morning, however, is a different story. Mark Andrew Langley RICHARD KELVIN Richard Kelvin, aged 15 years, was abducted at about 6.15 p.m. on Sunday 5 June 1983 from a laneway off Ward Street, North Adelaide. A couple of black trash bags were floating on the low tide of the river's coast. They admitted that he'd faced some issues with other kids at his school, but he was otherwise happy and had just gotten a serious girlfriend. One such case is the Family Murders of Adelaide, Australia. That Monday - August 27th, 1979 - Neil Muir was seen alive for the last time. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. The Family Murders is one of Australias most captivating true crime stories. 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. He had seemingly disappeared, and a brief search of the area failed to come up with him. Part One: The Murders Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. He would literally go on to write the book about this terrifying saga, called "Young Bloods," which - if you're interested - is one of the best resources for this case. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. They kicked the footy around. Once in the car they would be offered a drink that was laced with a knockout drug. An examination of Richard's body discovered that his cause-of-death was virtually identical to the other young male victims: blood loss caused by extensive anal injuries. 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. Unfortunately, that Thursday, Peter never arrived at the mall to meet his friend. The head was tied to the torso with rope passed through the mouth and out through the neck. See what they say here. 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. 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. 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. After doing away with his old, dried-up crops, the farmer was looking over his land when he came upon the now-charred remains of young Peter Stogneff. 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. 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. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. Hours would begin to pass, and Alan would fail to return home at all that Sunday. Bevan von Einems life revolved around sexual sadism. 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. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. Neil's remains were brought in and carefully examined by the area's medical examiners, who quickly discovered an alarming red flag, which harkened back to the discovery of Alan Barnes' corpse. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered 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. But he didn't commit these crimes on his own. At the same time he was developing a network of people who made it possible for him to carry out his sexually sadistic fantasies. The Family Murders Of Adelaide. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. After being arrested, Dr. Millhouse had denied ever knowing Neil, and continued stating so over the next year, openly defying the dozens of witness statements that claimed they were acquaintances at the least, intimate friends at the most. Now, with Mark Langley, police were able to confirm the presence of the drug Mandrax in his system. 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. Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. Once known as the "City of Churches," Adelaide began going through a stark progression in the 1960s. 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. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. When they finally got around to doing this, after the discovery of Richard Kelvin's body, one name popped out at them. 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]. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. Alan lived with his parents, both English immigrants, in Salisbury: a northern suburb of Adelaide. Because homosexuality was still outlawed in Australia at this point, Vice officers would often detain individuals that they believed were loitering nearby known gay hotspots. Police were now back, right where they had started. Five young men were mysteriously abducted in different . He remembered going to a back room of the house to have sex with one of the older women, only to discover - during the act itself - that she was transgender. For that reason, many of these men and women had to keep their sexuality confined to specific locations. 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. This section explores his social network. At this point, the idea of a random killer hadn't even crossed investigators' minds. When this young man woke up the next day, he was surprised to find himself both at home and in significant pain. Among friends, Alan had begun to smoke weed and experiment with new things, pushing himself to the limits of his comfort zone to discover who he was and what he enjoyed. Five murders and over 150 rapes. Police spoke to Alan's friend, who had left him behind on Grand Junction Road. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. Over the next few days, it became apparent that Alan Barnes was not returning home. This reported sighting led police to the notion that a group of people might have been acting in-tandem to abduct Richard, for reasons that appeared nefarious. 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. The male and female drove off but returned At about 6pm on a Sunday afternoon, Richard walked his friend to the bus stop on O'Connell St, North Adelaide. He failed to make any contact with his family, and police began to express concern that he had gone missing under duress. 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. However, they were able to learn that - before his body was burned in the brush fire - his remains had been cut into multiple parts with a saw. [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. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. Neil Muir had suffered the same type of anal injuries as Alan, implying that a large, bottle-shaped object had been used to intentionally injure him, which caused a large amount of blood loss. The ongoing investigation featured in an episode of Crime Stoppers which went to air on 2 March 2009. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. They drove to War Memorial Drive (150m east of the Adelaide Rowing Club ) when Mark had a minor argument with the other male so got out and left. He was last seen while hitchhiking being picked up by a white HQ Holden sedan carrying three or four people. 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. 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. Both witnesses - who were friends with Neil and drug users themselves - were prepared to testify should this man be tried for the murder. 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 Young Blood refers to the age of the victims who were brutally murdered. There was not much to connect them, other than the graphic sexual nature of the crimes, and months would continue to pass before this story would begin to surface again in the public eye. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. Five murders and over 150 rapes. 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). How, why, or where they had seen this tape escaped the caller, but it was enough to send detectives through the paces of investigating every lead related to this: known deviants, underground porn shops, etc. This notoriety brought with it a poor reputation, however, and by the late 1970s, Mandrax had become a regulated prescription drug throughout Australia. The smallness of Adelaide and the six degrees of separation theory became even more evident when it was revealed that one of the Family murder victims was Richard Kelvin, son of a popular Channel . March 3, 2023 - 7:08PM. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. 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. However, that was very circumstantial evidence at best, and anything but definitive. Bevan von Einem was no exception he also preferred youths between the 15 and 19 year old age group. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. 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. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 . Ten years von Einem's junior, Mr B helped von Einem pick up, drug, and rape several young men. His mother, Judy, would later describe him as being incredibly witty; "cheeky," as she describes in a 2006 documentary, going on to say that Alan was always quick on his feet, and would respond to any type of comment with something sarcastic and bitterly funny. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. Sadly, almost all of the evidence that may have been left behind was now gone, burned away to ash along with all of Peter's remaining soft tissue. Things then came full circle when he began using heroin again, and shortly thereafter, followed that up with a dependence on Rohypnol ("roofies", commonly known as the date-rape drug). 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. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. 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. Because Neil's transient lifestyle led to him becoming known as a bit of a vagabond, his sexuality was not exactly common knowledge. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. While investigators had been keeping information closely guarded in this case, they decided to publicize this information to the media in the hopes that it would attract follow-up tips. The fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. Victims - The Family Murders Victims Alan Barnes Feb 12, 2021 The night before he went missing he stayed at Darko Kastelan's house in Cheltenham. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. [2] The suspects and their associates were linked mainly by their shared habits of "actively [having] sought out young males for sex," sometimes drugging and raping their victims. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. 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. Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25,[12][13] murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979.

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