The Family Murders Of Adelaide. Mr B made contact with police two days after Alan Barnes was found. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. He remembered going to a back room of the house to have sex with one of the older women, only to discover - during the act itself - that she was transgender. He also happened to be a relative of Robin Millhouse, South Australia's former Attorney General who would become a Supreme Court Justice in 1982. These individuals have come to be known as the "The Family" and are believed to have kidnapped and sexually abused over 150 boys and are believed to have tortured and murdered at least five teenage boys during a crime spree in Adelaide, South Australia. It is estimated that over 150 youths and young men were abducted, drugged, and then raped. Needless to say, over the past few months, this investigation had become a new beast entirely. The male and female drove off but returned At about 6pm on a Sunday afternoon, Richard walked his friend to the bus stop on O'Connell St, North Adelaide. Although there were in excess of 150 youths and young men who were drugged and raped, often by multiple men, this section focuses on the five young men who didnt come home. Hours would begin to pass, and Alan would fail to return home at all that Sunday. In June of 1983, Richard Kelvin was approaching sixteen years of age. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. The ongoing investigation featured in an episode of Crime Stoppers which went to air on 2 March 2009. 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. Mark's remains had also clearly been thoroughly washed before being dumped, just like Alan Barnes. 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. 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. (What a lovely country, Australia!) Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. At this point, the idea of a random killer hadn't even crossed investigators' minds. High profile lawyer and murder victim Derrance Stevenson regularly entertained teenage youths. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. It was there that they found his backpack hidden in the garage, which ultimately led to calls to all of his friends. Many of these people were directly involved in the abductions and rape of victims who survived. 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. Some showed signs of prolonged captivity, while death came quick to others . He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. 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. Between 1979 and 1983, the city of Adelaide in South Australia was the stage for a horrific string of crimes against young men and teenagers.Five known victims of kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder showed up in those years, and police became convinced that the perpetrator was actually a group of several men . The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. When police had arrived at the crime scene, they assumed that whoever had tried to dump the body of Alan Barnes had failed, in some way. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. '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. 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 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 . 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. 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. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the case is how did von Einem find accomplices willing to be involved in such crimes? Four of the five murders remain unsolved. He had a network of over 30 people. 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. By the time they managed to look outside, whoever had been outside had already sped off. While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. 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. Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of Adelaide. [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. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. 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 . 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). Detective O'Brien was the unfortunate one tasked with notifying the Kelvins that Richard's body had been found; which he describes in his book as one of the most heartbreaking duties he's ever had to endure. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. The Family murders are the name of the murders of five young men and teenagers who happened in Adelaide, South Australia between 1979 and 1983. This screening also revealed that the young man had been drugged with Mandrax ("Randy Mandys"), which had resulted in him losing consciousness. 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. Australia's most notorious unsolved serial killings. 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. Peter Leslie Millhouse was a doctor from Mt. When this young man woke up the next day, he was surprised to find himself both at home and in significant pain. 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. In 2014 when Trevor passed away, his diaries were recovered. Police thought that these gruesome and violent actions had been part of an effort to easily transport Neil's remains out to sea, and dispose of them in a way that they'd degrade before being identified. Peter Stogneff. A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. The Family werent an official club or group, rather a loose collection of people with Bevan von Einem at the centre. 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. 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 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. Once known as the "City of Churches," Adelaide began going through a stark progression in the 1960s. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. At the same time he was developing a network of people who made it possible for him to carry out his sexually sadistic fantasies. With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. Richard Kelvin's disappearance was a slightly higher profile case than the others I've covered so far - due to him being the son of the region's top newscaster - but even then, the investigation was not without fault. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs,[11][26] including Mandrax and Noctec. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. 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. 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. 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 believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. 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. The final two - Mark Langley and Richard Kelvin - had disappeared just blocks away from one another. View description Share. It was this rapport that caused Peter to skip school on Thursday, August 27th, 1981. Because Neil's transient lifestyle led to him becoming known as a bit of a vagabond, his sexuality was not exactly common knowledge. Trevor Peters lived two doors away from one of the transgender suspects and mixed in the same circles as a number of suspects. Show True Crime Conversations, Ep The Family Murders Of Adelaide - 10 Nov 2021. He loved music - both playing it and listening to it - and had a good rapport with his friends, whom he hung around constantly. 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. Do you think the Family Murders case will ever be solved? Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. The fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. And Marshall is no novice at delving into the minds of evil men. 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. Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. 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. 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. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. 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]. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. Writing, research, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan, Producers: Maggyjames, Ben Krokum, Roberta Janson, Quil Carter, Peggy Belarde, Laura Hannan, Damion Moore, Amy Hampton, Scott Meesey, Steven Wilson, Scott Patzold, Marie Vanglund, Lori Rodriguez, Jessica Yount, Aimee McGregor, Danny Williams, Sue Kirk, Victoria Reid, Sara Moscaritolo, Thomas Ahearn, Marion Welsh, Seth Morgan, Sydney Scotton, Alyssa Lawton, Kelly Jo Hapgood, Patrick Laakso, Meadow Landry, Rebecca Miller, and Tatum Bautista, Original music created by Micheal Whelan through Amper Music, Other music created and composed by Ailsa Traves, Young Bloods: The Story of the Family Murders by Bob OBrien, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Alan Arthur Barnes, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Neil Fredrick Muir, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Peter Stogneff, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Mark Andrew Langley, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Richard Kelvin, The Sydney Morning Herald - Adelaides Duncan case: letting some light shine in, The Sydney Morning Herald - Boys murderer refused High Court appeal, The Sydney Morning Herald - Macabre Adelaide (1), The Sydney Morning Herald - Macabre Adelaide (2), The Sydney Morning Herald - Murderer quizzed on death of youth, The Age - Men fled as Duncan died, court told, The Sydney Morning Herald - The Beaumonts, Kirste and Joanne: the mystery may be over, The Sydney Morning Herald - Witness feared threats to his life, The Age - Court told rape victim thought he would die, The Sydney Morning Herald - Family killings murder charge dropped, The Age - Lock up your sons in the worlds murder capital, The Weekend Australian - How Mother Goose ducked pedophile net, The Advertiser - Police seek von Einem associate, Perth Now - DNA tests for Family murder suspects, The Advertiser - $5M reward bid to solve Family murders, The Sydney Morning Herald - Reward doubled to solve Family murders, The Telegraph - Australian police reopen notorious 1970s Family murders case, The Sydney Morning Herald - Aussie pedophile deported from Indonesia, The Advertiser - Focus on three key suspects, The Advertiser - Revealed: The double life of a magistrate who sought young men, ABC News - Mother Goose sex trial starts in Adelaide, The Advertiser - Mother Goose claims he was set up by gay ex-prostitutes, The Advertiser - Doctor with alleged links to The Family identified as Stephen George Woodards, The Advertiser - Sex-case doctor Stephen George Woodards free to practise, ABC News - Mother Goose acquitted of sex charges, The Advertiser - Paedophile Peter Liddy fears prison attack, ABC News - Former TV entertainer sentenced for sex offences, The Advertiser - Lost diary gives South Australia police new lead into Alan Barnes murder by The Family, The Daily Mail - Will $13million reward solve the murders of 18 children? This young man, Bevan Spencer von Einem - an acquaintance of James' - had helped James make it to shore and then drove him to the nearby Royal Adelaide Hospital. An accountant by profession, he was convicted in 1984 for the murder of 15-year-old Adelaide teenager Richard Kelvin, the son of local television and radio personality Rob Kelvin. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. 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. 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. 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. Global Nav Open Menu . Of the five men that fell prey to this violent killer, at least two had been drugged with Mandrax, as had George. 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. Five murders and over 150 rapes. On this night, in particular, that included these three men. This bore signs of premeditation, implying that this wasn't an impulsive decision, but a conscious one by a killer afraid of being identified through forensic testing. 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." A short time later, police were contacted and later arrived at the scene to document the grisly find. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. 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. So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. Bevan von Einem had a network of around 25-30 people. [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. This horrific sight was quickly reported to police, who arrived at the scene and immediately cordoned off the area around where the fisherman had reportedly discovered the floating trash bags. 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. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. 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. 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. And, with the recent discovery of the chemical cocktail found in Richard Kelvin's system, they had a pretty decent foundation for their investigation. 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. He had been sexually assaulted and went on to report this bizarre, terrifying incident to police. They tried to hitch a ride on Grand Junction Road, a busy thoroughfare in Adelaide, before realizing that they were going to have no luck hitchhiking together. George gave police a description of the older man that had picked him up and driven him to the house in question, but he could not remember his name, nor the name of the two women at the house they had traveled to. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. 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. 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. 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. 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. This argument would carry on for a few minutes, while the trio was parked along War Memorial Drive, overlooking the Torrens River. Mark Andrew Langley RICHARD KELVIN Richard Kelvin, aged 15 years, was abducted at about 6.15 p.m. on Sunday 5 June 1983 from a laneway off Ward Street, North Adelaide. The post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. Examiners discovered that just a few inches above his groin - just below his navel - Mark had a small surgical scar that had been sealed shut with staples and a specific type of Johnson & Johnson surgical tape. 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. 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. George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. 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 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. This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. 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. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. The medical examiners conducting the autopsy and examinations also discovered that Alan's body had been washed extensively after his death; likely an effort to scrub away any evidence linking him to the killer. This section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. These people have no such bond, only an association that with time probably no longer exists". Description. The jury visits spot where Richard Kelvin's body was found, northeast of Adelaide. [citation needed]. Neil Muir had been missing for less than 24 hours by the time his body was discovered, and because he was an adult that lived alone, police were already at a disadvantage when it came to trying to figure out what happened to him. This site is constantly being updated as more is learned. But his teachers recalled him being absent, and hours would pass that afternoon (heading into the evening) and Peter would fail to return home. Police were now back, right where they had started. 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. Mark Langley was an 18-year-old with the entire world in front of him: an athletic and good-looking young man, who quickly endeared himself to others.
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