They wanted to continue eliminating suspects that personally knew Alan ahead of time, but promised to check out von Einem in the future. . 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. Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. But he didn't commit these crimes on his own. I think we might get closer to understanding what happened but I think lack of physical evidence pretty much rules out any more charges being laid. When this young man woke up the next day, he was surprised to find himself both at home and in significant pain. This section explores his social network. A couple of black trash bags were floating on the low tide of the river's coast. Just two days after the body of Alan Barnes was discovered - when the investigation was still unfolding - an anonymous caller reached out to police. 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. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. 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. After taking the pills, George's memory began to blur. 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). It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. 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. A span of 4 years. 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. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. 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. And, with the recent discovery of the chemical cocktail found in Richard Kelvin's system, they had a pretty decent foundation for their investigation. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. A thrash metal band singer and members of his family were killed in an apparent murder-suicide late last month, according to police. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. View description Share. High profile lawyer and murder victim Derrance Stevenson regularly entertained teenage youths. He then explained to the investigator that he was a former lover of Neil's, from roughly four years beforehand, and had run into the man just days before his eventual murder. The skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. They had no idea that they were about to make one of the most gruesome discoveries in Australian history. Needless to say, over the past few months, this investigation had become a new beast entirely. The convicted killer and notorious head of "The Family" ring who picked up hitchhikers and schoolboys to drug and offer to South Australia's elite to sexually abuse has broken his 20-year silence, to blame his victim, and to claim innocence over other murders. [8] Little more could be determined as the remains had been accidentally burnt by the farmer while clearing his property of scrub.[11][19]. 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. 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. 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. 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. March 3, 2023 - 7:08PM. 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. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. Do you think the Family Murders case will ever be solved? 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. 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. 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. 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. However, police would reach out to all of Mark's known friends, and learned that the night prior - February 27th - he had simply wandered off into the night and had not been seen since. 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. 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. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. 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. 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. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. 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. While in rehab, Dr. Millhouse refused to speak to police about Neil Muir (or his alleged relationship with the man). The final two - Mark Langley and Richard Kelvin - had disappeared just blocks away from one another. Among those voices, he described, was a higher-pitched voice, which sounded almost feminine. 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. The other murders remain unsolved. However, that was very circumstantial evidence at best, and anything but definitive. [5] Others, who have examined the cases, however, argue that there were many more victims. 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. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. While charges would later be filed against several police officers, they were ultimately acquitted; and it has been widely accepted in the decades since that local law enforcement engaged in a systematic cover-up. He likely did this to hide it from his parents, in case they made it home before he did. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. The periphery of The Family is a grey area. 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 section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. But he then set off again, likely headed towards the distant Rundle Mall, where he was due to meet up with his friend, Daniel, that day. Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile murders commonly referred to in the media as the 'Family Murders'. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. 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. And Marshall is no novice at delving into the minds of evil men. '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. 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. 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. While Neil Muir had endured a similar fate, his remains were too badly mutilated to test for any drugs; however, the injuries suffered seemed to be identical. In the latter half of the 1970s, South Australia had started to regulate drugs like Mandrax, known throughout most of the world as "Quaaludes." 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. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. See what they say here. George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. Likely, he was one of the people seen hanging out with Neil at the bars and clubs just days that weekend. Once known as the "City of Churches," Adelaide began going through a stark progression in the 1960s. This witness recalled Alan getting into a vehicle, which appeared to be a white Holden sedan. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. Investigators were unable to pinpoint Peter's exact cause-of-death, or even estimate when he had been killed. While changes in Southern Australia's draconian laws had decriminalized homosexuality, there were still people eager to prey on or harass gay men and women - behavior that lingers to this day. He had seemingly disappeared, and a brief search of the area failed to come up with him. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. 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. The name of the group stems from an interview a police detective gave on 60 Minutes,[1] claiming the police were taking action "to break up the happy family". The bodies were found from 24th June 1979 and the fifth and last body on 24th July 1983. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. [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. Now twenty-five years old, Neil had spent the better part of the last few years struggling with addictions and vices that left him moving from place-to-place pretty regularly. [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. 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,. 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. 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. This website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. They kicked the footy around. 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. 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. 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. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. 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). 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. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. Richard's family disputed this, vigorously denying the notion that Richard would have run away of his own accord. A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. The Family Murders is one of Australias most captivating true crime stories. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. For that reason, many of these men and women had to keep their sexuality confined to specific locations. However, instead of charging them with any known crimes, the officers proceeded to throw the three men into the nearby Torrens River. Whatever it was, it looked like a human body but was somehow twisted and contorted in an inhuman nature. Hours would begin to pass, and Alan would fail to return home at all that Sunday. 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). Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. Four of the five murders remain unsolved. 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. 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. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. Oh, that reminds me. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. The Family werent an official club or group, rather a loose collection of people with Bevan von Einem at the centre. He failed to make any contact with his family, and police began to express concern that he had gone missing under duress. In a word, no. Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of Adelaide. An ear witness said they heard some shouting, 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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. [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks. 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. A day or two prior, at least. 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. 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. When using other people (sometimes transgenders, sometimes cross-dressers, and sometimes Mr B), a common ploy was to ask a lone youth if he want to go to a party where there was plenty of booze and women. Our locations section shows where all the events happened and where all the players lived. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. The area around the scar had even been shaved away, implying that this a methodical decision by someone with surgical experience perhaps someone trying to rectify a mistake. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Description. 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. 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. Alan Arthur Barnes, aged 16, murdered in 1979. However, they were able to learn from a witness that a young man matching Peter's description had been spotted at Tea Tree Plaza the morning of his disappearance, and had been in the company of an adult male. 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 . He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. 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. At the same time he was developing a network of people who made it possible for him to carry out his sexually sadistic fantasies. [4][10], Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. Following the supposed abduction of Richard Kelvin, the police unit known as Major Crimes was tasked with overseeing the investigation. 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). 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. 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. It was this rapport that caused Peter to skip school on Thursday, August 27th, 1981. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. 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. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. 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. Over the next few days, it became apparent that Alan Barnes was not returning home. Because Neil's transient lifestyle led to him becoming known as a bit of a vagabond, his sexuality was not exactly common knowledge. That was when similar stories of young men being drugged and sexually assaulted began to make waves throughout Australia; young men that had been drugged with similar substances. 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. [16][22] The sedative-hypnotic drug Mandrax, popular in the 1970s disco scene, was found in Langley's blood. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. 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. 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. 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. SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. [18] His skeletal remains were found in October 1982 later by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. 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 Kelvins, though upset at the duration of time that had already passed, understood why the process was so delayed but were hopeful that their son would return home to them, safe and sound. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. Another anonymous caller claimed that they had seen Richard Kelvin in a snuff film, which had been filmed very recently. 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 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. 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. On the final weekend of August 1979, Neil was spotted at both the Duke of York and Buckingham Arms ("The Buck"), two local gay bars that I referenced at the top of the episode. 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. When they finally got around to doing this, after the discovery of Richard Kelvin's body, one name popped out at them. 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. 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 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. So the police began reaching out to people that worked or had otherwise been in the area. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. The "Family Murders" *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead. 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. Unfortunately, it did not. 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. Although each attack and mutilation appeared different, police investigators soon began to link the horrific murders to one another. 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. Even though he was nearly an adult at this point - and had a fair amount of independence in his life - this disappearance was deemed very out-of-the-ordinary. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. 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. Shockingly, police found an insane combination of sedatives in his system, which included the drugs Noctec, Mandrax, valium, Rohypnol, and amytal. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. The son of popular local Nine Network news presenter Rob Kelvin, he was abducted a short distance from his North Adelaide home on 5 June.
Specialized Housing Counselors, Brandon Fugal Family, Articles T