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. 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. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. This witness recalled Alan getting into a vehicle, which appeared to be a white Holden sedan. He was last seen stumbling down the street, supposedly wandering off to parts unknown. Many of these people were directly involved in the abductions and rape of victims who survived. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. A span of 4 years. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. 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. He had been sexually assaulted and went on to report this bizarre, terrifying incident to police. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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. 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). 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. 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. Witnesses would later recall having seen the two at some of the area's gay bars and clubs (which I referenced just a moment ago). Boris left on a bus, and Richard started making his way back home a trip that was no more than four-hundred meters. South Australia's overdue for another A thrash metal band singer and members of his family were killed in an apparent murder-suicide late last month, according to police. 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. The other murders remain unsolved. 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. 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 During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. Whatever it was, it looked like a human body but was somehow twisted and contorted in an inhuman nature. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. 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? [3], Von Einem was convicted in 1984 of the murder of Kelvin and sentenced to life imprisonment. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. Millhouse would have Peter intended to skip school and meet his uncle (similar age) in Rundle Mall. 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. Hence, the odd scar that seemed to serve no other purpose. 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. George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. 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. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. 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. It was this rapport that caused Peter to skip school on Thursday, August 27th, 1981. Bevan von Einems life revolved around sexual sadism. 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. The bodies were found from 24th June 1979 and the fifth and last body on 24th July 1983. 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. 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. 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. Richard's family disputed this, vigorously denying the notion that Richard would have run away of his own accord. Australia's most notorious unsolved serial killings. Apart from von Einem, three other core members are thought to be directly involved in the murders; while DNA testing re-commenced in 2008, no further charges have been laid. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. 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. Unfortunately, this lead ultimately led nowhere, so police began investigating people more tentatively linked to Neil through his social circle. 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. Do you think the Family Murders case will ever be solved? And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. Police first treated Richard as a runaway; an unfortunate symptom of the times. 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. Now twenty-five years old, Neil had spent the better part of the last few years struggling with addictions and vices that left him moving from place-to-place pretty regularly. 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. They wanted to continue eliminating suspects that personally knew Alan ahead of time, but promised to check out von Einem in the future. A man who donned a balaclava and stormed a man's Adelaide CBD unit, stabbing him within nine seconds, will spend 20 years behind bars. The "Family Murders" *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead. A witness says she saw Stogneff at Tea Tree Plaza with someone matching Noel Brook's appearance. Mark Langley attended party in Windsor Gardens but left with a male and female. This site is constantly being updated as more is learned. He was able to exploit and manipulate enablers, helpers and participants over a long period of time. Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. In the days immediately after Neil Muir's death, Dr. Millhouse had gone on a bit of a self-described "bender." Millhouse would have. 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. 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. The jury visits spot where Richard Kelvin's body was found, northeast of Adelaide. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered 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. 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. 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. This section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. 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. Over time Trevor kept diary records of his conversations with that suspect as well as another suspect. Show True Crime Conversations, Ep The Family Murders Of Adelaide - 10 Nov 2021. On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. The final two - Mark Langley and Richard Kelvin - had disappeared just blocks away from one another. 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. 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. 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. Five young men who were drugged, viciously raped and tortured, kept captive for up to five weeks, horrifically mutilated, and ultimately murdered. Mr B made contact with police two days after Alan Barnes was found. This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. View description Share. 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. 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. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. 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). He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. 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. Investigators were unable to pinpoint Peter's exact cause-of-death, or even estimate when he had been killed. Another anonymous caller claimed that they had seen Richard Kelvin in a snuff film, which had been filmed very recently. It is estimated that over 150 youths and young men were abducted, drugged, and then raped. His friend likely just assumed that Peter had bailed on their plan, and likely gone to school that day. 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 other two men thrown into the river with him managed to escape with their lives, but they did not escape unscathed. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. 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. 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. A farmer that lived nearby Middle Beach and Two Wells, roughly an hour north of Adelaide, had been cleansing his farmland during the advised winter months. These people have no such bond, only an association that with time probably no longer exists". Police didn't believe that this voice was Richard, as he was a teenager with a deep voice that had already cracked. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 . Veale Gardens had a thriving male prostitution scene, many of which were underage. 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. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. See what they say here. The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. The first of which was a very specific call alleging that two men - named Doug and Mark - were responsible for abducting Richard Kelvin. 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). He was in G Block of Yatala Prison for decades but was transferred to Port Augusta Prison in the north of the state in 2007. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. 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. Unfortunately, it did not. 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 Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. "The Family murders" occurred in the period of time between the late 1970s and 1980s. Unlike the other murder victims, however, Mark's body showed an odd sign of surgical precision. Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. 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. 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". 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. 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. 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. This included people that visited the same bars and clubs as Neil and perhaps knew him that way. Because homosexuality was still outlawed in Australia at this point, Vice officers would often detain individuals that they believed were loitering nearby known gay hotspots. 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. Bob O'Brien was an investigator for Major Crimes, who had just started working with the unit the year prior (1982). The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. They had no idea that they were about to make one of the most gruesome discoveries in Australian history. 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. It was there that they found his backpack hidden in the garage, which ultimately led to calls to all of his friends. A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. Four of the five murders remain unsolved. 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. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Among friends, Alan had begun to smoke weed and experiment with new things, pushing himself to the limits of his comfort zone to discover who he was and what he enjoyed. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. Some of the victims were brutally tortured, or horrifically mutilated or cut up. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. POLICE are investigating new information linking convicted killer Bevan Spencer von Einem to the abduction and murder of teenager Alan Barnes. 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. 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. They phoned police that evening, hoping that their son's whereabouts could be chalked up to a simple miscommunication. What the two got up to that evening is anyone's guess, but rumors and theories have propagated this story in the decades since. 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. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. The medical examiners would also find a significant head wound on Neil, which wasn't significant enough to have killed him, but would have likely happened to incapacitate or subdue the man.