the family murders adelaide victims the family murders adelaide victims

Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs,[11][26] including Mandrax and Noctec. 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. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. 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. Hours would begin to pass, and Alan would fail to return home at all that Sunday. Following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1975, Adelaide began to be known as one of the more progressive cities in all of Australia. Shockingly, police found an insane combination of sedatives in his system, which included the drugs Noctec, Mandrax, valium, Rohypnol, and amytal. 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. In the days immediately after Neil Muir's death, Dr. Millhouse had gone on a bit of a self-described "bender." 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. 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. Despite there being an overwhelming lack of physical evidence, police decided to pursue charges against Dr. Millhouse anyways, using the rope and trash bags recovered from his home as their primary building block. 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. Unfortunately, by the time they returned, Mark was nowhere to be found. The son was fifteen when he was snatched from the street . Little is known about the unidentified man, but Roger James had his ankle broken when he was plunged into the river that May, and was only able to escape with the help of a friendly onlooker. Unfortunately, that Thursday, Peter never arrived at the mall to meet his friend. While in rehab, Dr. Millhouse refused to speak to police about Neil Muir (or his alleged relationship with the man). Following the supposed abduction of Richard Kelvin, the police unit known as Major Crimes was tasked with overseeing the investigation. Four of the five murders remain unsolved. 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. Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25,[12][13] murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979. He had struggled to wean himself off of heroin, using methadone to do so, only to have methadone become his next addiction. His body also showed signs of beatings and torture. Make no mistake, Bevan Spencer von Einem is the architect behind all these crimes. 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. Our locations section shows where all the events happened and where all the players lived. The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. March 3, 2023 - 7:08PM. Police first treated Richard as a runaway; an unfortunate symptom of the times. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. 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. 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. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. [18] His skeletal remains were found in October 1982 later by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 | victim. Five murders and over 150 rapes. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. If that was true, then could that have been happening to the other young male victims that had been viciously murdered in the preceding years? 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. 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 . The two had been dating for about a month now, and Richard had excitedly told his mother that he planned on proposing when his girlfriend and he were nineteen years old. SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. 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. Do you think the Family Murders case will ever be solved? If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. The periphery of The Family is a grey area. A short time later, police were contacted and later arrived at the scene to document the grisly find. 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. Unlike the other murder victims, however, Mark's body showed an odd sign of surgical precision. 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. Mr B - The Family Murders Mr B Mr B was named by South Australian police in 2008 as one of the three main suspects who were involved in the murders alongside Bevan von Einem. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. There's a conviction in the last murder in the series, but I will include it due to the similarity and due to the man convicted being suspected in the other murders as well. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. 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. 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. Like most of the victims targeted by this unknown subject, Richard Kelvin was a young and athletic young man, who seemed destined to have a long and rewarding life. 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. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. 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. Although each attack and mutilation appeared different, police investigators soon began to link the horrific murders to one another. In addition to the driver, there appeared to be a couple of other occupants inside of the car that they, unfortunately, could not recall many details of. [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. 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. [citation needed]. Bevan von Einems life revolved around sexual sadism. 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. 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. 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. 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. It was a group of homosexual men and transgender women who formed a network around convicted murderer and sexual sadist Bevan Spencer von Einem, based on the drugging, raping and sometimes murder of youths and young men. Ten years von Einem's junior, Mr B helped von Einem pick up, drug, and rape several young men. Police were now back, right where they had started. 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 . On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. 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. 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". 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). Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of Adelaide. This website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. 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). 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. 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. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. This theory is that whatever item had been used to sexually assault Mark with - which ultimately led to his death - had gotten caught up in his intestines, and required surgery to retrieve. Nine days after Mark Langley went missing, his body was discovered in the Adelaide Foothills, close to Mount Lofty in the area known as Summertown. He was seen in the presence of individuals who would become relevant later on, but - at the time - were simply believed to have been his friends. The 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. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. POLICE are investigating new information linking convicted killer Bevan Spencer von Einem to the abduction and murder of teenager Alan Barnes. A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. In particular, they were members of the Vice Squad, who typically crackdown on "moral" crimes such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal substances. Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. 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. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. 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. 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. This section explores his social network. 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. 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. 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. 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. Neil had several drug debts throughout Adelaide, and that is where police started their investigation. 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. 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. [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" occurred in the period of time between the late 1970s and 1980s. This screening also revealed that the young man had been drugged with Mandrax ("Randy Mandys"), which had resulted in him losing consciousness. Peter Stogneff was a fourteen-year-old that lived with his family in a middle-class home, in a northeastern suburb of Adelaide. 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. Richard and Boris remained at the park for a bit longer, kicking around the soccer ball and chatting, before eventually, Boris decided to make his way home. The two were hiking through the area near the South Para Reservoir when they noticed something on the ground. The skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. Police spoke to Alan's friend, who had left him behind on Grand Junction Road. But he didn't commit these crimes on his own. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. The closest thing to hard evidence that police found in this sweep was what appeared to be traces of blood on the bathroom floor, which had been cleaned multiple times over with a chemical agent; and, as such, could not be tested. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. Sadly, Neil's biggest vice was his ever-evolving drug addiction. He had a network of over 30 people. The Family Murders (Part Two: The Family) Unresolved The Family Murders Part Two: The Family As the families of five young men mourned, investigators began to circle around their top suspect, Bevan Spencer von Einem. George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. Enjoy reading. 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. 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. 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. 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. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. 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." 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. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. Due to changes in the Forensic Procedures Act, which later allowed DNA samples to be taken from suspects in major indictable offences, all the suspects voluntarily submitted to DNA testing. The fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. Gino Gambardella regularly scouted Rundle Mall and video game arcades for runaways, homeless teenagers, and youths who he was able to exploit. 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 meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . [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. 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. Of only one victim. Among those voices, he described, was a higher-pitched voice, which sounded almost feminine. [2] The suspects and their associates were linked mainly by their shared habits of "actively [having] sought out young males for sex," sometimes drugging and raping their victims. The ongoing investigation featured in an episode of Crime Stoppers which went to air on 2 March 2009. Investigators were unable to pinpoint Peter's exact cause-of-death, or even estimate when he had been killed. 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. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. 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. His friend likely just assumed that Peter had bailed on their plan, and likely gone to school that day. It was at around this time - the end of August - that Investigator Rod Hunter finally got around to interviewing Bevan Spencer von Einem, the man implicated by an anonymous caller in the murder of Alan Barnes.