The Family Murders

Last updated

The Family Murders is the name given to a series of five murders in Australia, 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 Australia, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Contents

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". 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. The other murders remain unsolved.

Case

Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. [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. [3]

Von Einem was convicted in 1984 of the murder of Kelvin and sentenced to life imprisonment. [4] [5] In 1989, von Einem was charged with the murders of two other victims, Barnes and Langley, but the prosecution entered a nolle prosequi (voluntarily discontinue criminal charges) during the trial when crucial similar fact evidence was deemed inadmissible by the presiding judge. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction.[ citation needed ]

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. [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor.

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. [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. 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 ongoing investigation featured in an episode of Crime Stoppers which went to air on 2 March 2009. [5] [9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. [4] [10]

Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. These people have no such bond, only an association that with time probably no longer exists". [5] Others, who have examined the cases, however, argue that there were many more victims. 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 in the ten years from about 1973 to 1983. [11]

Victims

Alan Arthur Barnes, aged 16, murdered in 1979. He was last seen while hitchhiking being picked up by a white HQ Holden sedan carrying three or four people on Grand Junction Road. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. A post-mortem examination revealed that Barnes had died of massive blood loss from an anal injury, likely caused by the insertion of a large blunt object. His body also showed signs of beatings and torture. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged.

Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25, [12] [13] murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979. 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. [14] [15] Skin bearing tattoos had been removed and most of the body parts were placed in another garbage bag before being placed within the abdominal cavity. The head was tied to the torso with rope passed through the mouth and out through the neck. [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.

Peter Stogneff, aged 14, [17] murdered in August 1981. [18] His skeletal remains were found later in October 1982 by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. Stogneff's body had been cut into three pieces in a similar fashion to Muir. [8] Little more could be determined as the remains had been accidentally burnt by the farmer while clearing his property of scrub. [11] [19]

Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18, [17] murdered in February 1982. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. [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. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. The post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. [16] [22] The sedative-hypnotic drug Mandrax, popular in the 1970s disco scene, was found in Langley's blood.

Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15, [23] murdered in July 1983. The son of popular local Nine Network news presenter Rob Kelvin, he was abducted a short distance from his North Adelaide home on 5 June. [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. 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. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs, [11] [26] including Mandrax and Noctec. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of the Beaumont children</span> 1966 disappearance in Australia

Jane Nartare Beaumont, Arnna Kathleen Beaumont and Grant Ellis Beaumont, collectively referred to as the Beaumont children, were three Australian siblings who disappeared from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia, on 26 January 1966 in a suspected abduction and murder.

The Snowtown murders were a series of murders committed by John Justin Bunting, Robert Joe Wagner and James Spyridon Vlassakis between August 1992 and May 1999, in and around Adelaide, South Australia. A fourth person, Mark Haydon, was convicted of helping to dispose of the bodies. The trial was one of the longest and most publicised in Australian legal history.

The backpacker murders were a spate of serial killings that took place in New South Wales, Australia, between 1989 and 1993, committed by Ivan Milat. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partially buried in the Belanglo State Forest, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-west of the New South Wales town of Berrima. Five of the victims were foreign backpackers and two were Australians from Melbourne. Milat was convicted of the murders on 27 July 1996 and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, as well as 18 years without parole. He died in prison on 27 October 2019, having never confessed to the murders for which he was convicted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bevan Spencer von Einem</span> Australian child murderer

Bevan Spencer von Einem is a convicted child murderer and suspected serial killer from Adelaide, South Australia. 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. Von Einem is serving life imprisonment. 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.

Rob Kelvin is an Australian former television news presenter. He was a presenter of the weeknight edition of Nine News Adelaide produced by NWS-9. Kelvin presented the bulletin with Kevin Crease until February 2007, when Crease retired after being diagnosed with cancer. Kelvin presented with Kelly Nestor and then Michael Smyth until he retired in December 2010.

Nigel James Smart is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Smart played as a defender, and he was part of Adelaide's inaugural team in the 1991 AFL season. He was a two-time premiership player, a three-time All-Australian, and the first person to play 250 matches for Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr Cruel</span> Unidentified serial child rapist and suspected murderer

Mr Cruel is the moniker for an unidentified Australian serial child rapist who attacked three girls in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also the prime suspect in the 1991 abduction and murder of a fourth girl, Karmein Chan. His moniker came from a headline in the Melbourne newspaper The Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Denyer</span> Australian serial killer

Paul Charles Denyer is an Australian serial killer currently serving three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 30 years for the murders of three young women in Melbourne, in 1993. Denyer became known in the media as the Frankston Serial Killer as his crimes occurred in the neighbouring suburbs of Frankston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatton murders</span> Unsolved triple homicide of 1898 Australia

The Gatton Murders, also known as the Gatton Tragedy, the Gatton Mystery and the Murphy Murders, is the name given to an unsolved triple homicide that occurred 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the town of Gatton, Queensland Colony, in Australia. Michael Murphy, aged 29, and his younger sisters, Honora (Norah), aged 27, and Theresa (Ellen), aged 18, were murdered between 10pm and 4am on 26–27 December 1898, while returning home from a cancelled dance. All three siblings had been bludgeoned; in addition, Michael had been shot and Norah strangled.

The Sundown murders were the murders of Sally (Thyra) Bowman (43), her daughter Wendy Bowman (14), and family friend Thomas Whelan (22) on Sundown Station in northern South Australia outback in December 1957. The search for their killer was one of the biggest manhunts in South Australian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrick Todd Lee</span> American serial killer (1968–2016)

Derrick Todd Lee, also known as The Baton Rouge Serial Killer, was an American serial killer. From 1992 to 2003, Lee murdered seven women in the Baton Rouge area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Milat</span> Australian serial killer (1944–2019)

Ivan Robert Marko Milat, commonly referred to in media as the Backpacker Murderer, was an Australian serial killer who abducted, assaulted, robbed and murdered two men and five women in New South Wales between 1989 and 1992. His modus operandi was to approach backpackers along the Hume Highway under the guise of providing them transport to areas of southern New South Wales, then take his victims into the Belanglo State Forest where he would incapacitate and murder them. Milat is also suspected of having committed many other similar offences and murders around Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon</span> Missing Australian girls since 1973

Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Jane Gordon were two Australian girls who went missing while attending an Australian rules football match at the Adelaide Oval on 25 August 1973. Their disappearance, and presumed abduction and murder, became one of South Australia's most infamous crimes. The presumed murders are thought by South Australia Police and the media to be related to the disappearance of the Beaumont children in 1966. The case is sometimes referred to as the Adelaide Oval abductions.

The murders of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce Pearce were initially treated as unrelated. The skeletal remains of Pearce-Stevenson were found in Belanglo State Forest, New South Wales, Australia in 2010. Her daughter Khandalyce Pearce's remains were found near Wynarka, South Australia in July 2015. The two cases were not linked until positive identification was confirmed by DNA testing in October 2015. The mother and daughter were last seen by family in 2008 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory and reported missing in 2009; however, the report was withdrawn. It was discovered Pearce-Stevenson's mobile phone was used for years following her death to send false "proof of life" messages to family and friends. The mother and child's identities were exploited by third parties to commit social security and other types of identity fraud.

Derek Ernest Percy was an Australian suspected serial killer and convicted child killer who was also a person of interest linked to the mysterious deaths and disappearances of multiple children in the 1960s, including the Beaumont disappearances and the Wanda Beach murders.

Mark Errin Rust is a convicted Australian serial sex murderer and rapist: he was convicted of two murders committed in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Rust is currently on an indefinite detention order.

Crime in South Australia is prevented by the South Australia Police (SAPOL), various state and federal courts in the criminal justice system and the state Department for Correctional Services, which administers the prisons and remand centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Vivianne Ruiz</span> 1991 Australian murder involving unique fingerprint evidence

The murder of Vivianne Ruiz occurred in Sydney, Australia. Her body was discovered in garbage bags on 28 December 1991 without any identification. A postmortem found strangulation to be the likely cause of death. Animal hairs were found on the body, and newspaper was stuffed inside her mouth.

Darren Jason Shannon was an 11-month-old Australian baby who disappeared on 9 June 1973.

References

  1. ↑ Von Einem: Lawyers in new bid to re-open Kelvin case 27 October 1996
  2. ↑ "Reward Doubled to Solve Family Murders". The Sydeney Morning Herald. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  3. ↑ Hunt, Nigel (1 April 2008). "Shadowy clique preyed on the young". The Advertiser. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Hunt, Nigel (26 October 2008). "$5m reward bid to solve Family murders". News.com.au . Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Hunt, Nigel (29 March 2008). "DNA tests for Family murder suspects". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Murder case abandoned". The Canberra Times. 2 February 1991. p. 10. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  7. ↑ Dowdell, Andrew (18 July 2015). "Doctor found not guilty of 'Family' murder of Neil Muir dies in NSW". The Advertiser. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  8. 1 2 Malkin, Bonnie (28 October 2008). "Australian police reopen notorious 1970s Family murders case". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Family Murders – Adelaide Crime Stoppers 2 March 2009
  10. ↑ Hunt, Nigel (5 December 2010). "Family murder truth may never be known". The Advertiser. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "The Butchered Boys". Crime Investigation Australia. Series 1. Episode 16. Crime & Investigation Network.
  12. ↑ "Neil Fredrick Muir". Crime Stoppers. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Body in bag: jury acquits doctor in Adelaide". The Sydney Morning Herald . 10 October 1980. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 Brown, Malcolm (25 May 1999). "A deadly serious State". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  15. 1 2 Dowdell, Andrew (18 July 2015). "Doctor found not guilty of 'Family' murder of Neil Muir dies in NSW". The Advertiser. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Sex murder 'could have been prevented'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 March 1988. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  17. 1 2 Hunt, Nigel (8 February 2014). "Lost diary gives South Australia police new lead into Alan Barnes murder by The Family". The Advertiser . Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "South Australia Family Murders Reports". netk.net.au. 3 March 1988. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  19. ↑ O'Brien, Bob (2014). Young Blood: The Story of the Family Murders. HarperCollins. p. 13. ISBN   978-1-4607-0370-0.
  20. ↑ "Mark Andrew Langley". Crime Stoppers. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  21. ↑ "Murderer quizzed on death of youth". The Sydney Morning Herald . 15 July 1987. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "Fresh look at teenage sex murders". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 July 1987. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  23. ↑ "Many Theories, Few Clues in String of Adelaide Murders". The Canberra Times. 14 August 1983. p. 2. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  24. 1 2 "Richard Kelvin". Crime Stoppers. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Sex assault victim tells of ordeal". The Canberra Times. 31 March 1990. p. 10. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  26. ↑ "Record 24-year non-parole period for boy's killer". The Canberra Times. 10 November 1984. p. 10. Retrieved 3 January 2017.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.