This is made apparent when we look at a story from 1972, which ultimately led to drastic overhauls in Southern Australian law and cemented its place in the nation's history. '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. 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. Alan lived with his parents, both English immigrants, in Salisbury: a northern suburb of Adelaide. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. Whatever it was, it looked like a human body but was somehow twisted and contorted in an inhuman nature. The skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. 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. The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders) - Spreaker 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. [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. He had seemingly disappeared, and a brief search of the area failed to come up with him. A Breakdown of a series of murders that took place in Adelaide, South Richard walked him down the road to the nearby O'Connell Street bus stop, arriving without incident, and waited there for his friend's bus to arrive. 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. Mark Langley If that was true, then could that have been happening to the other young male victims that had been viciously murdered in the preceding years? victim - The Family Murders So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. Mr B made contact with police two days after Alan Barnes was found. The Family murders: Bevan Spencer von Einem's shocking jailhouse And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. 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. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. They now had five bodies - five victims - and five families pushing for answers. But now, they needed to find a suspect. 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. 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. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. 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. The Family Murders Of Adelaide. 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. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. He found like minded people who shared a similar sexual bent, and he found people he could mutually exploit to lure victims into his car. 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. 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. Some time after they went missing, their bodies would each be found, often horribly mutilated. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. Like the other victims, investigators would learn a lot from the status of Mark's remains. 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. The Family Murders | Adelaide's most notorious unsolved serial killings The "Family Murders" - Amateur Sleuth 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. 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. 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. The first of which was a very specific call alleging that two men - named Doug and Mark - were responsible for abducting Richard Kelvin. 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. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. 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 evidence is contained in a detailed diary kept by a man who was a close associate of several key players in the so-called Family murders. If your information is verified and its not breaking any laws, we may publish it. 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. 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. 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. 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. [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. He had struggled to wean himself off of heroin, using methadone to do so, only to have methadone become his next addiction. Five murders and over 150 rapes. 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. 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. 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. Australia's most notorious unsolved serial killings. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. Lock up your sons in the world's murder capital 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. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. 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. 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. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. 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 An ear witness said they heard some shouting, 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. The Family werent an official club or group, rather a loose collection of people with Bevan von Einem at the centre. 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. Unfortunately, it did not. High profile lawyer and murder victim Derrance Stevenson regularly entertained teenage youths. 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. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. 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. George and the driver, a man roughly twice his age with artificially-dyed hair, traveled to a nearby house where a couple of young women welcomed them. What the two got up to that evening is anyone's guess, but rumors and theories have propagated this story in the decades since. Father of boat crash victim Mallory Beach snubs Alex Murdaugh's family Bevan von Einem had a network of around 25-30 people. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. 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. 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. However, that was very circumstantial evidence at best, and anything but definitive. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. The other murders remain unsolved. The Family Murders (Part Two: The Family) Unresolved Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. Show True Crime Conversations, Ep The Family Murders Of Adelaide - 10 Nov 2021. That Monday - August 27th, 1979 - Neil Muir was seen alive for the last time. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. A witness says she saw Stogneff at Tea Tree Plaza with someone matching Noel Brook's appearance. Mark Langley attended party in Windsor Gardens but left with a male and female. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. "CIA: Crime Investigation Australia" The Butchered Boys (TV - IMDb 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. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. 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 . Part One: The Murders Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. The Family Murders: 'Dissected' Kindle Edition - Amazon.com.au Victims - The Family Murders Peter Stogneff. 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. 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 notoriety brought with it a poor reputation, however, and by the late 1970s, Mandrax had become a regulated prescription drug throughout Australia. Millhouse would have Peter intended to skip school and meet his uncle (similar age) in Rundle Mall. 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 fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. [18] His skeletal remains were found in October 1982 later by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. 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. Bob O'Brien was an investigator for Major Crimes, who had just started working with the unit the year prior (1982). One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of Adelaide. 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 next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. 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. Dylan John Kovarskis murdered Nathan Russell in 2021 . Little is known about the unidentified man, but Roger James had his ankle broken when he was plunged into the river that May, and was only able to escape with the help of a friendly onlooker. Wife 'kills family in murder-suicide' - news.com.au It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. 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. 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. Mr B - The Family Murders 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. 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. He was able to exploit and manipulate enablers, helpers and participants over a long period of time. 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 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. 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 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. Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. 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. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. [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. Now, with Mark Langley, police were able to confirm the presence of the drug Mandrax in his system. 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. 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. 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." Description. 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. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. Unfortunately, Richard Kelvin would never make it home. His remains had been dissected and neatly cut into many pieces, placed in a garbage bag and thrown into the Port River at Port Adelaide. 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. 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. The two had been dating for about a month now, and Richard had excitedly told his mother that he planned on proposing when his girlfriend and he were nineteen years old. Global Nav Open Menu . Peter Stogneff was a fourteen-year-old that lived with his family in a middle-class home, in a northeastern suburb of Adelaide.