[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. A span of 4 years. It wasn't until the following year, 1983, that police finally rediscovered George's story. A Breakdown of a series of murders that took place in Adelaide, South [16][22] The sedative-hypnotic drug Mandrax, popular in the 1970s disco scene, was found in Langley's blood. 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 . True Crime Conversations: The Family Murders Of Adelaide on - Apple This site is constantly being updated as more is learned. [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. The Family Murders of Adelaide Australia : r/UnresolvedMysteries - reddit Police got the number one offender. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. Banquet: A Marvelous Book about "The Family Murders" in Adelaide Stogneff still skipped school but never made it home. In the days immediately after Neil Muir's death, Dr. Millhouse had gone on a bit of a self-described "bender." The post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. 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. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. Shockingly, police found an insane combination of sedatives in his system, which included the drugs Noctec, Mandrax, valium, Rohypnol, and amytal. In 1979, residents of Adelaide were gripped by fear when several young men began to go missing under mysterious circumstances. Trevor Peters lived two doors away from one of the transgender suspects and mixed in the same circles as a number of suspects. 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. In 2014 when Trevor passed away, his diaries were recovered. Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18,[17] murdered in February 1982. It wasn't until Monday morning that Alan's parents decided to contact the police, having not seen him for several days. See what they say here. Following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1975, Adelaide began to be known as one of the more progressive cities in all of Australia. The Family Murders | Adelaide's most notorious unsolved serial killings One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. He had a network of over 30 people. In a word, no. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. Veale Gardens had a thriving male prostitution scene, many of which were underage. While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. 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. South Australia's overdue for another Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. 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. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. [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. 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. Police first treated Richard as a runaway; an unfortunate symptom of the times. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. 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. Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. 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. 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. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. We know, from the 2014-2017 Royal Commission, that Debi Marshall's count of 150 disappeared boys in Adelaide is miniscule compared to the number tens of thousands of victims who stepped forward once they were invited by the RC. 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. (What a lovely country, Australia!) [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. Make no mistake, Bevan Spencer von Einem is the architect behind all these crimes. 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). [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. Sadly, Neil's biggest vice was his ever-evolving drug addiction. 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. 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. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. His family knew this but accepted that there was little they could do to curtail this behavior; letting Alan grow and develop at his own pace as his adolescence came to an end. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. 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 . He failed to make any contact with his family, and police began to express concern that he had gone missing under duress. 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). Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. 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 . Description. In June of 1983, Richard Kelvin was approaching sixteen years of age. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. For that reason, this crime remains technically unsolved to this day. 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. "The Family murders" occurred in the period of time between the late 1970s and 1980s. 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. 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. 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. The Clermont County Sheriff's Office . 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. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. 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. 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. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. 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 Family Murders - Wikipedia The Family Murders is one of Australias most captivating true crime stories. The Butchered Boys: This episode revisits Adelaide's notorious Adelaide Family Murders case, where six young Adelaide men were murdered during the 1970s and '80s. 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. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. But now, they needed to find a suspect. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. But he didn't commit these crimes on his own. Medical examiners and investigators began to theorize about the rationale for the surgical scar, and the most plausible one to-date is perhaps one of the worst to imagine. 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). 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. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. 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. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. 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. POLICE are investigating new information linking convicted killer Bevan Spencer von Einem to the abduction and murder of teenager Alan Barnes. They knew then that the description of the remains - should it become public knowledge - would alert a lot of media to the story and scare a lot of people. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. 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. They began probing those that knew Alan and might have taken issue with something he did or said in the weeks before his death; in particular, those that drove a white sedan. Wife 'kills family in murder-suicide' - news.com.au 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. 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. The Family Murders Of Adelaide. 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. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. 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." 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. Once in the car they would be offered a drink that was laced with a knockout drug. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. So the police began reaching out to people that worked or had otherwise been in the area. 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 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. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. This caller alleged that the two older men had been driving around a 1963 EJ Holden sedan. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. 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. Investigator Hunter made note of this, finding it odd that one man would have connections to two separate murder investigations - especially two gruesome murders that shared such grisly traits. 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. It was this rapport that caused Peter to skip school on Thursday, August 27th, 1981. Players - The Family Murders He never made it home. 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. Eventually, Peter's parents discovered the plot among Peter and his friend to skip school, and conveyed this information to the police - who were just as alarmed as they were. There was a bridge above where his body had been discovered, with a clearing of about a meter; implying that whoever had tried to throw him into the water below had missed the mark, but had not rectified their mistake. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. 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. Eventually, Peter returned home with his backpack, stowing it in his family's garage while his parents were at work. 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. 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. The Family Murders - Strange Matters Podcast The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs,[11][26] including Mandrax and Noctec. The son was fifteen when he was snatched from the street . Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. 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. When they finally got around to doing this, after the discovery of Richard Kelvin's body, one name popped out at them. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . 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. [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. He had been sexually assaulted and went on to report this bizarre, terrifying incident to police. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. Kelvin was held captive for approximately five weeks[24] and a post-mortem examination revealed that he had died of massive blood loss from an anal injury,[25] likely caused by the insertion of a large blunt object. Alan's friend made it back to his house within minutes, but unfortunately, Alan was not so lucky. Family Murders Are Adelaide's Most Horrific Unsolved Crime - PEDESTRIAN.TV A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. 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. He had become so messed up on drugs and alcohol that a bouncer had to physically drag him outside of a bar, where he stumbled onto the pavement and struggled to get up. This was done in a different method to what had happened to Neil Muir's remains, but medical examiners were able to identify points in the bones just above the knees and the back where a saw had carved the body into pieces. 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]. His body had been dissected into parts, with his internal organs carved out and missing, replaced by his lower legs and arms, which had been sawed off and placed inside of his hollowed-out chest cavity. Mr B - The Family Murders With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. This was about 300 metres from his family home. 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,. Case 166: The Family : r/Casefile - reddit After a bit, Rob decided to walk home, leaving the two boys at the park; assured that it was just down the street from their house and it was still early in the day. Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. 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. The Family Murders (Part Two: The Family) Unresolved View description Share. 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 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. This included people that visited the same bars and clubs as Neil and perhaps knew him that way. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. [4][10], Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. With these results, police were able to successfully link Richard's disappearance and death to at least two prior cases: Alan Barnes and Mark Langley, who had been similarly drugged and sexually assaulted before their deaths. 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. The other two men thrown into the river with him managed to escape with their lives, but they did not escape unscathed. He was in G Block of Yatala Prison for decades but was transferred to Port Augusta Prison in the north of the state in 2007. 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. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. Stogneff's body had been cut into three pieces in a similar fashion to Muir. [citation needed]. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. The information is easy to navigate and easy reference. When this young man woke up the next day, he was surprised to find himself both at home and in significant pain. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. 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. 's had discovered the chemical compound chloral hydrate in the system of Alan Barnes, who also had an above-average level of alcohol in his system: roughly four times the legal limit, which was unusually high for a teenager. Due to the state of the young man's remains, it was believed that Alan had been detained against his will for several days. Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. Like the other victims, investigators would learn a lot from the status of Mark's remains. So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. [11], Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 04:35, List of serial killers by number of victims, Von Einem: Lawyers in new bid to re-open Kelvin case, "Doctor found not guilty of 'Family' murder of Neil Muir dies in NSW", "Australian police reopen notorious 1970s Family murders case", "Body in bag: jury acquits doctor in Adelaide", "Lost diary gives South Australia police new lead into Alan Barnes murder by The Family", "Many Theories, Few Clues in String of Adelaide Murders", "Record 24-year non-parole period for boy's killer", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Family_Murders&oldid=1141259172, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 04:35. Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. Police wouldn't get around to conducting a door-to-door canvas of the neighborhood until Tuesday, two days after Richard had gone missing. 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. 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. One such case is the Family Murders of Adelaide, Australia. The fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. It was broad daylight, and both were assured that Alan would easily be able to find a ride to take him the few miles home. He was last seen while hitchhiking being picked up by a white HQ Holden sedan carrying three or four people. 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). This argument would carry on for a few minutes, while the trio was parked along War Memorial Drive, overlooking the Torrens River. 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. 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. However, Neil's life was far less glamorous; rumors persist to this day that, leading up to August of 1979, Neil was engaging in sex work to support his bad habits and lifestyle. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor. Australia - Australia -the Family, 1979-83, Adelaide, B S Von Einem He was able to exploit and manipulate enablers, helpers and participants over a long period of time. Dylan John Kovarskis murdered Nathan Russell in 2021 . Most were later described as being worthless, but a few piqued the interest of Investigator O'Brien. Peter Stogneff was a fourteen-year-old that lived with his family in a middle-class home, in a northeastern suburb of Adelaide. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. He had school the next day, dinner was waiting, and he wanted to call his girlfriend. He was seen in the presence of individuals who would become relevant later on, but - at the time - were simply believed to have been his friends. 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. 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. 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. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. Bevan von Einem had a network of around 25-30 people.
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