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The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders) - Spreaker According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. He had a network of over 30 people. 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. While in rehab, Dr. Millhouse refused to speak to police about Neil Muir (or his alleged relationship with the man). 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. The Butchered Boys of Adelaide. Interview with Homicide Detective Bob O The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. Neil's penis had been cut, and he was missing a testicle at the time of discovery. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. 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. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. Unsolved - The Family Murders | Page 148 | BigFooty Forum After all, three of the victims (Alan Barnes, Neil Muir, and Mark Langley) had all died of similar injuries, and at least three (Alan Barnes, Mark Langley, and now Richard Kelvin) had all gone missing on Sundays. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. 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. However, they were able to learn from a witness that a young man matching Peter's description had been spotted at Tea Tree Plaza the morning of his disappearance, and had been in the company of an adult male. Make no mistake, Bevan Spencer von Einem is the architect behind all these crimes. Australia's most notorious unsolved serial killings. 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 [16][22] The sedative-hypnotic drug Mandrax, popular in the 1970s disco scene, was found in Langley's blood. With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. The jury visits spot where Richard Kelvin's body was found, northeast of Adelaide. 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. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. 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. Bevan Spencer von Einem is serving a life sentence for one of those murders. Over time Trevor kept diary records of his conversations with that suspect as well as another suspect. Any person complicit in the abduction, rape and murders of the five victims, plus any person who visited the place of captivity when a victim was knowingly present, plus any person involved in the abduction, spiking and raping of teenage boys or young men with other members of The Family. In the days immediately after Neil Muir's death, Dr. Millhouse had gone on a bit of a self-described "bender." 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. [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. After taking the pills, George's memory began to blur. 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. 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). At the same time he was developing a network of people who made it possible for him to carry out his sexually sadistic fantasies. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . 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. 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. 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. 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" - Amateur Sleuth 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. He would literally go on to write the book about this terrifying saga, called "Young Bloods," which - if you're interested - is one of the best resources for this case. Some showed signs of prolonged captivity, while death came quick to others . 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". Now, with Mark Langley, police were able to confirm the presence of the drug Mandrax in his system. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. Whatever it was, it looked like a human body but was somehow twisted and contorted in an inhuman nature. 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. Just a few months later, in June of 1982, the family of missing 14-year-old Peter Stogneff would finally get some resolution. Unfortunately, that Thursday, Peter never arrived at the mall to meet his friend. 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. 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. [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. Investigators were unable to pinpoint Peter's exact cause-of-death, or even estimate when he had been killed. 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. Trevor Peters lived two doors away from one of the transgender suspects and mixed in the same circles as a number of suspects. Neil had several drug debts throughout Adelaide, and that is where police started their investigation. 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. If your information is verified and its not breaking any laws, we may publish it. 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). The Family Murders - Strange Matters Podcast 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. 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. 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. 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. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. They had no idea that they were about to make one of the most gruesome discoveries in Australian history. He had seemingly disappeared, and a brief search of the area failed to come up with him. 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. The Family murders: Bevan Spencer von Einem's shocking jailhouse And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. The following morning, however, is a different story. 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. Unfortunately, it would later be determined that he would suffer in anguish for weeks before meeting eventually dying more than a month after his initial disappearance. Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. [5] Others, who have examined the cases, however, argue that there were many more victims. Subsequent efforts to reach Alan through his friends had failed, and none of them had seen him since the weekend. Peter Stogneff was a fourteen-year-old that lived with his family in a middle-class home, in a northeastern suburb of Adelaide. On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. 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. 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. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. The very next day - August 28th, 1979 - a couple of fishermen were heading out to the Port Adelaide River, on what was supposed to be a regular workday for them. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs,[11][26] including Mandrax and Noctec. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. Was Dr Millhouse involved in Neil Muirs murder. 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 Family Murders Of Adelaide - True Crime Conversations 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. Bevan von Einem was no exception he also preferred youths between the 15 and 19 year old age group. 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. The fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 | victim. Our locations section shows where all the events happened and where all the players lived. For that reason, many of these men and women had to keep their sexuality confined to specific locations. This section explores his social network. He likely did this to hide it from his parents, in case they made it home before he did. March 3, 2023 - 7:08PM. The Family werent an official club or group, rather a loose collection of people with Bevan von Einem at the centre. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. 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. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. 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. 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. Description. 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. 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. They kicked the footy around. The two were hiking through the area near the South Para Reservoir when they noticed something on the ground. Both witnesses - who were friends with Neil and drug users themselves - were prepared to testify should this man be tried for the murder. 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. Later on, Ian would recall the argument cropping up around cigarettes, but that just proves the point of how nonessential it was. 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. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. 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. This argument would carry on for a few minutes, while the trio was parked along War Memorial Drive, overlooking the Torrens River. Dylan John Kovarskis murdered Nathan Russell in 2021 . 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. 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). Another anonymous caller claimed that they had seen Richard Kelvin in a snuff film, which had been filmed very recently. 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 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. 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. Stogneff still skipped school but never made it home. 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. A short time later, police were contacted and later arrived at the scene to document the grisly find. Due to the state of the young man's remains, it was believed that Alan had been detained against his will for several days. 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. The Family Murders Of Adelaide. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. 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. Mr B - The Family Murders 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]. 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. But, just like the failure to properly drop Alan's body into the water, these bags had failed to make it to their intended location; still resting against the coast, instead of floating out to sea, where they'd have been lost forever. He loved music - both playing it and listening to it - and had a good rapport with his friends, whom he hung around constantly. von Einem is serving life imprisonment. 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). Five young men who were drugged, viciously raped and tortured, kept captive for up to five weeks, horrifically mutilated, and ultimately murdered. Like the other victims, investigators would learn a lot from the status of Mark's remains. 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. Boris left on a bus, and Richard started making his way back home a trip that was no more than four-hundred meters. And Marshall is no novice at delving into the minds of evil men. 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. 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. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. Millhouse would have Peter intended to skip school and meet his uncle (similar age) in Rundle Mall. 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. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. 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. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. Following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1975, Adelaide began to be known as one of the more progressive cities in all of Australia. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. Five young men were mysteriously abducted in different . However, Neil's life was far less glamorous; rumors persist to this day that, leading up to August of 1979, Neil was engaging in sex work to support his bad habits and lifestyle. South Australia's overdue for another 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. 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. [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 Family Murders of Adelaide Australia : r/UnresolvedMysteries - reddit 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. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. 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. We know, from the 2014-2017 Royal Commission, that Debi Marshall's count of 150 disappeared boys in Adelaide is miniscule compared to the number tens of thousands of victims who stepped forward once they were invited by the RC. This notoriety brought with it a poor reputation, however, and by the late 1970s, Mandrax had become a regulated prescription drug throughout Australia. [3], Von Einem was convicted in 1984 of the murder of Kelvin and sentenced to life imprisonment. 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. Once in the car they would be offered a drink that was laced with a knockout drug. 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. Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. 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 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. 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 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. 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 screening also revealed that the young man had been drugged with Mandrax ("Randy Mandys"), which had resulted in him losing consciousness. How, why, or where they had seen this tape escaped the caller, but it was enough to send detectives through the paces of investigating every lead related to this: known deviants, underground porn shops, etc. Australia's murder capital: Why can't Adelaide bury the myth? An ear witness said they heard some shouting, 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. From the outside looking in, von Einem was incredibly average. 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. Eventually, Peter returned home with his backpack, stowing it in his family's garage while his parents were at work. These details made it clear to police that this mutilation was not done simply for the killer's ease-of-mind, but indicated that they were a particularly savage killer that had likely committed similar crimes in the past. Police got the number one offender. He was last seen stumbling down the street, supposedly wandering off to parts unknown. For that reason, this crime remains technically unsolved to this day. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. 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. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. 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. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. 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. He was seventeen years old, with a youthful, handsome appearance, and a carefree, fun-loving attitude. Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of Adelaide. 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. 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. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered 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). It wasn't until the following year, 1983, that police finally rediscovered George's story. 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. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. Gino Gambardella regularly scouted Rundle Mall and video game arcades for runaways, homeless teenagers, and youths who he was able to exploit. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. He was last seen while hitchhiking being picked up by a white HQ Holden sedan carrying three or four people. Hours would begin to pass, and Alan would fail to return home at all that Sunday. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. 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. Police were now back, right where they had started. 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. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks.