Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. Mark had driven there with his family, as they were attending the party alongside him, but he would leave with a couple of friends afterward to hang out and cruise around the city with the young adults trying to squeeze out every bit of the Adelaide summer that they could. Several eyewitnesses remembered seeing Alan and his long, blond hair standing along Grand Junction Road that Sunday. It wasn't until the following year, 1983, that police finally rediscovered George's story. In 1979, residents of Adelaide were gripped by fear when several young men began to go missing under mysterious circumstances. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25,[12][13] murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. Five young men were mysteriously abducted in different . Murdered victims were kept in captivity by the Family for up to five weeks. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. In October of 1982 - in the very midst of this crime spree - a teenage hitchhiker named George had been picked up by a passing car. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor. The son was fifteen when he was snatched from the street . The Family Murders | Adelaide's most notorious unsolved serial killings He vividly remembered hearing a young voice shout out (which we can assume was Richard) and a group of voices screaming in protest, almost in unison. Players - The Family Murders Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. This witness recalled Alan getting into a vehicle, which appeared to be a white Holden sedan. 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. Our locations section shows where all the events happened and where all the players lived. He consented to any available tests or analysis, and during a medical screening, it was discovered that the young man did have tears in his anus, proving that he had been raped. Because Neil's transient lifestyle led to him becoming known as a bit of a vagabond, his sexuality was not exactly common knowledge. While working for Major Crimes, Investigator O'Brien received an anonymous tip that Richard Kelvin was being held against his will in a caravan in the Adelaide Foothills. With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . 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"). They hoped to use character witnesses to build up the relationship between the two, and then use other eyewitnesses to fill in the rest (the drugs, the sexual relationship, etc.). 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. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. He was seventeen years old, with a youthful, handsome appearance, and a carefree, fun-loving attitude. 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. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. The periphery of The Family is a grey area. 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 . But a discovery by the medical examiner seemed to undermine that: in addition to all of this, Neil's genitals had been mutilated by his killer. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. His friend likely just assumed that Peter had bailed on their plan, and likely gone to school that day. This website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. His body also showed signs of beatings and torture. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs,[11][26] including Mandrax and Noctec. [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. 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. This group was believed to be involved in the kidnapping and sexual abuse of approximately 150 teenage boys and young men, as well as the torture and murder of 5 young men aged between 14 and 25, in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, in the 1970s and 1980s. 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. Millhouse would have Peter intended to skip school and meet his uncle (similar age) in Rundle Mall. 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. 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. The Family Murders - Strange Matters Podcast Unfortunately, Richard Kelvin would never make it home. 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. 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. 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. Mark Langley The Family Murders: 'Dissected' Kindle Edition - Amazon.com.au 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. [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 notoriety brought with it a poor reputation, however, and by the late 1970s, Mandrax had become a regulated prescription drug throughout Australia. [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. The Adelaide Festival of Arts (also known as just Adelaide Festival) started in 1960 and led to something of a "cultural revival" in the area. 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. 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). For a week, his loved ones had been bracing themselves for the worst, but this was a confirmation of everything they had been fearing for the past several days: Alan had been violently murdered, and had spent his final hours in agony. Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. 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. The post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. This group was believed to be involved in the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a number of teenage boys and young men, as well as the torture and murder of five young men aged between 14 and 25, in Adelaide, South Australia, in the 1970s and 1980s. In a word, no. This caller alleged that the two older men had been driving around a 1963 EJ Holden sedan. 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. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. He had been sexually assaulted and went on to report this bizarre, terrifying incident to police. The Family Murders Of Adelaide - True Crime Conversations 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. 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 Butchered Boys: This episode revisits Adelaide's notorious Adelaide Family Murders case, where six young Adelaide men were murdered during the 1970s and '80s. In the latter half of the 1970s, South Australia had started to regulate drugs like Mandrax, known throughout most of the world as "Quaaludes." That Monday - August 27th, 1979 - Neil Muir was seen alive for the last time. A couple of black trash bags were floating on the low tide of the river's coast. This argument would carry on for a few minutes, while the trio was parked along War Memorial Drive, overlooking the Torrens River. At this point, the idea of a random killer hadn't even crossed investigators' minds. 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. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. Was Dr Millhouse involved in Neil Muirs murder. However, instead of charging them with any known crimes, the officers proceeded to throw the three men into the nearby Torrens River. 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. 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. 17-year-old Alan Barnes, 25-year-old Neil Muir, 14-year-old Peter Stogneff, 18-year-old Mark Langley and 15-year-old Richard Kelvin were later found dumped in the Adelaide Hills and surrounds. Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile murders commonly referred to in the media as the 'Family Murders'. The other murders remain unsolved. The night before he went missing he stayed at Darko Kastelan's house in Cheltenham. 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. The Family Murders - 5 Teen Boys Raped, Tortured, And Killed That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. [16][22] The sedative-hypnotic drug Mandrax, popular in the 1970s disco scene, was found in Langley's blood. 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. Allegations would even surface that indicated Dr. Millhouse had been one of the people in the area that supplied Neil with prescription drugs, but that would remain an allegation for the foreseeable future. Hours would begin to pass, and Alan would fail to return home at all that Sunday. 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. 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 'Family murders' involved the killing and torture of five young men from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. 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. 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 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. Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18,[17] murdered in February 1982. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. The "Family Murders" *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead. The Family Murders (Part Two: The Family) Unresolved Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. Dylan John Kovarskis sentenced to 20 years' jail for murder of Adelaide This was about 300 metres from his family home. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. These were connections that were hard to overlook, as police began to theorize that a single offender (or, rather, a group of offenders) had been behind all of these crimes. Five murders and over 150 rapes. 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. After taking the pills, George's memory began to blur. Case 166: The Family - Casefile: True Crime Podcast He had been killed elsewhere and then transported to this location postmortem, implying that the killer had a base of operations for his or her dark deeds. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. 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. Bevan von Einem had a network of around 25-30 people. He loved music - both playing it and listening to it - and had a good rapport with his friends, whom he hung around constantly. Case 166: The Family : r/Casefile - reddit Once in the car they would be offered a drink that was laced with a knockout drug. Likely, he was one of the people seen hanging out with Neil at the bars and clubs just days that weekend. Some of the victims were brutally tortured, or horrifically mutilated or cut up. Alan's friend made it back to his house within minutes, but unfortunately, Alan was not so lucky. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. The name of the group stems from an interview a police detective gave on 60 Minutes, claiming the police were taking action to break up the happy family. 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 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. Major Crimes was primarily responsible for serial killings, mass killings, and any other high-profile crimes that the local government wanted to be handled by a specialized task force. Police got the number one offender. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. 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. 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. Bevan Spencer von Einem - Wikipedia 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. This screening also revealed that the young man had been drugged with Mandrax ("Randy Mandys"), which had resulted in him losing consciousness. Unfortunately, this lead ultimately led nowhere, so police began investigating people more tentatively linked to Neil through his social circle. Unfortunately, by the time they returned, Mark was nowhere to be found. The Family Murders in South Australia : r/UnresolvedMysteries Lost diary gives South Australia police new lead into Alan Barnes It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. Oh, that reminds me. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. [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 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. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. If your information is verified and its not breaking any laws, we may publish it. Because Mark had been killed and his body been dumped in the Australian summer months, his remains had already suffered some serious decomposition by the time police were called to the scene. 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. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects.
Vondecarlo Brown Daughter, Woolwich Common Funfair 2021, Gbs Hchs Payment, Sims 4 Second Life Hair Conversions, Articles T