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 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 In 1979, residents of Adelaide were gripped by fear when several young men began to go missing under mysterious circumstances. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. [14][24] His body was found on 24 July by a geologist who was searching for moss-covered rocks near a dirt airstrip at Kersbrook. 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. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. A day or two prior, at least. 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. Some showed signs of prolonged captivity, while death came quick to others . 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 . Most were later described as being worthless, but a few piqued the interest of Investigator O'Brien. 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. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. Their psychological profile indicated that Neil's body had been carved up due to either a psychotic killer that derived pleasure from inflicting pain on others or someone that wanted to hide his/her identity. Police first treated Richard as a runaway; an unfortunate symptom of the times. When they finally got around to doing this, after the discovery of Richard Kelvin's body, one name popped out at them. 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. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. 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. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. 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. March 3, 2023 - 7:08PM. This was about 300 metres from his family home. 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. 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 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. This argument would carry on for a few minutes, while the trio was parked along War Memorial Drive, overlooking the Torrens River. 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. Do you think the Family Murders case will ever be solved? That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. Unfortunately, it did not. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. Many of these people were directly involved in the abductions and rape of victims who survived. Unfortunately, Richard Kelvin would never make it home. It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. In a word, no. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. 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 . A thrash metal band singer and members of his family were killed in an apparent murder-suicide late last month, according to police. 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. [citation needed]. 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. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. 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. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. 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. 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 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. 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. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. 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? Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. This witness would also recall hearing this supposed argument on the street come to a sudden end, punctuated with the sound of a loud exhaust system as a car sped down the street. 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. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. Just a few months later, in June of 1982, the family of missing 14-year-old Peter Stogneff would finally get some resolution. 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). For that reason, this crime remains technically unsolved to this day. Police spoke to Alan's friend, who had left him behind on Grand Junction Road. While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. 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. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. 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. 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. 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. Unfortunately, this lead ultimately led nowhere, so police began investigating people more tentatively linked to Neil through his social circle. The emergence of this drug would prove to be very interesting in the years to come, but at this point in the investigation, police were still struggling to connect all of the dots. This section explores his social network. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. On the afternoon of Sunday, June 5th, 1983, Richard was kicking around a soccer ball with his father Rob and his friend Boris at a park near his home. 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 believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. From the outside looking in, von Einem was incredibly average. Mandrax was quickly gaining notoriety as a drug used in the commission of date-rape crimes, and the local government decided that the best way to combat their usage was to keep them regulated so that they had a record of everyone that was prescribed them. [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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. This screening also revealed that the young man had been drugged with Mandrax ("Randy Mandys"), which had resulted in him losing consciousness. Bob O'Brien was an investigator for Major Crimes, who had just started working with the unit the year prior (1982). [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. 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. 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. While investigators had been keeping information closely guarded in this case, they decided to publicize this information to the media in the hopes that it would attract follow-up tips. 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. 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. 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. Another anonymous caller claimed that they had seen Richard Kelvin in a snuff film, which had been filmed very recently. 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. 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. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. Following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1975, Adelaide began to be known as one of the more progressive cities in all of Australia. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. 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. 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. Homosexuality itself would become decriminalized just a few years later, in 1975, with the passing of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, making South Australia the first Australian state or territory where members of the LGBTQ community no longer had to fear government persecution. The other two men thrown into the river with him managed to escape with their lives, but they did not escape unscathed. There were signs that he had been tortured and beaten by a sexual sadist, who had likely kept Alan drugged with a chemical compound named chloral hydrate. The skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. The bodies were found from 24th June 1979 and the fifth and last body on 24th July 1983. He had a network of over 30 people. 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. He found like minded people who shared a similar sexual bent, and he found people he could mutually exploit to lure victims into his car. The following morning, however, is a different story. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. He loved music - both playing it and listening to it - and had a good rapport with his friends, whom he hung around constantly. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. Five murders and over 150 rapes. 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. 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. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. 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. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. Stogneff's body had been cut into three pieces in a similar fashion to Muir. This witness recalled Alan getting into a vehicle, which appeared to be a white Holden sedan. However, when Neil Muir's body was discovered, his internal organs had been removed and were gone entirely, leading to police being unable to test his blood levels. Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. [15] A post-mortem examination revealed that Muir had died of massive blood loss from an anal injury, likely caused by the insertion of a large blunt object[16] and Noctec was found in his blood. Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of Adelaide. 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. Neil had several drug debts throughout Adelaide, and that is where police started their investigation. The Family Murders are a series of violent and depraved sex crimes committed against five young men and boys in South Australia throughout the 1970's and 1980's. In 1988 Detective Trevor Kipling described a group of people whom he suspected as being responsible as "one big happy family" and vowed to do all that he could to bring them to justice. 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. [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 post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. Once known as the "City of Churches," Adelaide began going through a stark progression in the 1960s. According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. 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. 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. This is made apparent when we look at a story from 1972, which ultimately led to drastic overhauls in Southern Australian law and cemented its place in the nation's history. 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. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. This website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. In the days immediately after Neil Muir's death, Dr. Millhouse had gone on a bit of a self-described "bender." The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. 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. [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. Veale Gardens had a thriving male prostitution scene, many of which were underage. 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. von Einem is serving life imprisonment. 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. Some time after they went missing, their bodies would each be found, often horribly mutilated. Because Neil's transient lifestyle led to him becoming known as a bit of a vagabond, his sexuality was not exactly common knowledge. 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. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. He never made it home. 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. 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". George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. But his teachers recalled him being absent, and hours would pass that afternoon (heading into the evening) and Peter would fail to return home. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. While in rehab, Dr. Millhouse refused to speak to police about Neil Muir (or his alleged relationship with the man). Murdered victims were kept in captivity by the Family for up to five weeks. 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 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. Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. 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. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. 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. 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. The two were hiking through the area near the South Para Reservoir when they noticed something on the ground. 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. They wanted to continue eliminating suspects that personally knew Alan ahead of time, but promised to check out von Einem in the future. Make no mistake, Bevan Spencer von Einem is the architect behind all these crimes. Richard's family disputed this, vigorously denying the notion that Richard would have run away of his own accord. Later on, Ian would recall the argument cropping up around cigarettes, but that just proves the point of how nonessential it was. Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. 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. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. The jury visits spot where Richard Kelvin's body was found, northeast of Adelaide. 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. Oh, that reminds me. Over the next few days, it became apparent that Alan Barnes was not returning home. Young Blood refers to the age of the victims who were brutally murdered. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. Five murders and over 150 rapes. There are also notorious unsolved disappearances in Adelaide, including the Beaumont children. He was seventeen years old, with a youthful, handsome appearance, and a carefree, fun-loving attitude.
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