Australia - Australia -the Family, 1979-83, Adelaide, B S Von Einem Neil had several drug debts throughout Adelaide, and that is where police started their investigation. 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. A span of 4 years. When Dr. Millhouse's trial eventually commenced in the latter half of 1980 - more than a year after Neil Muir's murder - the prosecution continued to rely heavily upon their circumstantial evidence and witness statements, failing to establish any motive for the crime or provide any definitive evidence. 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. Just two days after the body of Alan Barnes was discovered - when the investigation was still unfolding - an anonymous caller reached out to police. The Family Murders was a series of murders in the 1970s and 1980s that targeted young men in Adelaide, South Australia between the ages of 14 and 25. 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" *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead. Once known as the "City of Churches," Adelaide began going through a stark progression in the 1960s. 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. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. 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. Police got the number one offender. The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. Several eyewitnesses remembered seeing Alan and his long, blond hair standing along Grand Junction Road that Sunday. This was commonly found in the drug Noctec, which was an over-the-counter pharmaceutical used to aid people with sleep problems, which had been given to Alan sometime before his death. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. This was cancelled the night before. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. 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. Bevan Spencer von Einem - Wikipedia Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. [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. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. Five young men who were drugged, viciously raped and tortured, kept captive for up to five weeks, horrifically mutilated, and ultimately murdered. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. It has been reported that the exposed skin on his face and neck had begun to wither away, leading to the theory that he had been killed shortly after going missing. Veale Gardens had a thriving male prostitution scene, many of which were underage. A day or two prior, at least. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. 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. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . The information is easy to navigate and easy reference. 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. 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). The Family Murders is one of Australias most captivating true crime stories. 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 failed to make any contact with his family, and police began to express concern that he had gone missing under duress. One such case is the Family Murders of Adelaide, Australia. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. The son was fifteen when he was snatched from the street . 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 . 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. 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. 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. 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. Because of this prime location, Adelaide has become one of the country's most populated areas, and more than a million Australians live in the city itself; which is split in half by the Torrens River, which runs through the center of Adelaide. Global Nav Open Menu . Of only one victim. Another anonymous caller claimed that they had seen Richard Kelvin in a snuff film, which had been filmed very recently. Wife 'kills family in murder-suicide' - news.com.au Like the other victims, investigators would learn a lot from the status of Mark's remains. 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. 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. With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. Oh, that reminds me. Mark Langley This included people that visited the same bars and clubs as Neil and perhaps knew him that way. Mark's remains had also clearly been thoroughly washed before being dumped, just like Alan Barnes. 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. Subsequent efforts to reach Alan through his friends had failed, and none of them had seen him since the weekend. Boris left on a bus, and Richard started making his way back home a trip that was no more than four-hundred meters. [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. Once in the car they would be offered a drink that was laced with a knockout drug. The medical examiners would also find a significant head wound on Neil, which wasn't significant enough to have killed him, but would have likely happened to incapacitate or subdue the man. 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". 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. 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. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. The Family Murders: 'Dissected' Kindle Edition - Amazon.com.au Was Dr Millhouse involved in Neil Muirs murder. [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. 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." 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. Rumours of high-society involvement and cover-ups. 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. 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. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. 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. Police spoke to Alan's friend, who had left him behind on Grand Junction Road. 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. 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. Alan Arthur Barnes, aged 16, murdered in 1979. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. The Family Murders is the name given to a series of five sadistic murders committed by a loosely connected group of individuals who came to be known as The Family. The Family Murders in South Australia : r/UnresolvedMysteries Australian police launch appeal to solve string of notorious killings stretching back to 1966, The Advertiser - Doctor found not guilty of Family murder of Neil Muir dies in NSW, Kimberly Riley & Jeremy Britt-Bayinthavong, Paul Skiba, Sarah Skiba, and Lorenzo Chivers, June & Jennifer Gibbons (The Silent Twins). 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. 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. And, with the recent discovery of the chemical cocktail found in Richard Kelvin's system, they had a pretty decent foundation for their investigation. 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. However, what wasn't up for debate was the fact that Alan had been violently tortured for hours before his death, with his death ultimately coming from blood loss due to an anal injury. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. A Breakdown of a series of murders that took place in Adelaide, South He had a network of over 30 people. In the days after Neil Muir's body was discovered in separate black trash bags, police had received two separate phone calls alerting them to the victim's relationship with a local doctor. Any person complicit in the abduction, rape and murders of the five victims, plus any person who visited the place of captivity when a victim was knowingly present, plus any person involved in the abduction, spiking and raping of teenage boys or young men with other members of The Family. Some were involved in the abduction of victims who were murdered, some were involved in the rape of murdered victims, and some were involved in murder. This is an analysis of the information provided by Wendy Roles and Greg McInerney in the book The Family Murders: Dissected The Timeline 25 Aug (Sat) Michael B sees band-aid on Neil's leg at the methadone clinic during the day. He was seventeen years old, with a youthful, handsome appearance, and a carefree, fun-loving attitude. Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. Part One: The Murders Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. South Australia's overdue for another 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. Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile murders commonly referred to in the media as the 'Family Murders'. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered He had school the next day, dinner was waiting, and he wanted to call his girlfriend. When they finally got around to doing this, after the discovery of Richard Kelvin's body, one name popped out at them. 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. Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. Alan lived with his parents, both English immigrants, in Salisbury: a northern suburb of Adelaide. George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. 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. 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. Bevan von Einem was no exception he also preferred youths between the 15 and 19 year old age group. Police first treated Richard as a runaway; an unfortunate symptom of the times. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. This website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. There are also notorious unsolved disappearances in Adelaide, including the Beaumont children. 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). 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 ongoing investigation featured in an episode of Crime Stoppers which went to air on 2 March 2009. 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 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 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. Peter Stogneff was a fourteen-year-old that lived with his family in a middle-class home, in a northeastern suburb of Adelaide. The Family werent an official club or group, rather a loose collection of people with Bevan von Einem at the centre. 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. And Marshall is no novice at delving into the minds of evil men. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. 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. So the police began reaching out to people that worked or had otherwise been in the area. 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. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. This section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. Dylan John Kovarskis murdered Nathan Russell in 2021 . Perhaps the most amazing thing about the case is how did von Einem find accomplices willing to be involved in such crimes? 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. 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. On this night, in particular, that included these three men. Australia's murder capital: Why can't Adelaide bury the myth? 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. 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 first of which was a very specific call alleging that two men - named Doug and Mark - were responsible for abducting Richard Kelvin. Later on, Ian would recall the argument cropping up around cigarettes, but that just proves the point of how nonessential it was. This period saw the creation of gay clubs in Adelaide (such as a location known as the Mars Bar) and other clubs where all sexualities were welcome (such as the Duke of York or Buckingham Arms, known in the area as "The Buck"). 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 . 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. Both witnesses - who were friends with Neil and drug users themselves - were prepared to testify should this man be tried for the murder. These details made it clear to police that this mutilation was not done simply for the killer's ease-of-mind, but indicated that they were a particularly savage killer that had likely committed similar crimes in the past. This was about 300 metres from his family home. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. [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. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor. Father of boat crash victim Mallory Beach snubs Alex Murdaugh's family 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. 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. The Family Murders - 5 Teen Boys Raped, Tortured, And Killed 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. Bevan von Einems life revolved around sexual sadism. 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. But the rumors that he engaged in sex work were mainly perpetrated by those that knew him from his regular haunts: members of Adelaide's gay community, who regularly saw Neil at the gay-friendly bars they frequented.

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