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. 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. 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. He likely did this to hide it from his parents, in case they made it home before he did. 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. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. 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. Both witnesses - who were friends with Neil and drug users themselves - were prepared to testify should this man be tried for the murder. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. 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. A day or two prior, at least. 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. At this point, the idea of a random killer hadn't even crossed investigators' minds.
Case 166: The Family : r/Casefile - reddit Unfortunately, Richard Kelvin would never make it home. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. 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. 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. 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. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. 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.
The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . Ten years von Einem's junior, Mr B helped von Einem pick up, drug, and rape several young men. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs,[11][26] including Mandrax and Noctec. But he decided to instead head to a local mall, named Tea Tree Plaza, where Peter and his friends often hung out on the weekends. 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".
The Family Murders Unresolved 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. 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. A few more anonymous calls would be received in the coming weeks. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. 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. 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. The Butchered Boys: This episode revisits Adelaide's notorious Adelaide Family Murders case, where six young Adelaide men were murdered during the 1970s and '80s. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. The 'Family murders' involved the killing and torture of five young men from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. 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. But his teachers recalled him being absent, and hours would pass that afternoon (heading into the evening) and Peter would fail to return home. By the time they managed to look outside, whoever had been outside had already sped off. The periphery of The Family is a grey area. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. 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? For that reason, many of these men and women had to keep their sexuality confined to specific locations. 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. Police were now back, right where they had started.
The Family Murders - Wikipedia Bevan Spencer von Einem - Wikipedia This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. Subsequent efforts to reach Alan through his friends had failed, and none of them had seen him since the weekend. 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. 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. So the police began reaching out to people that worked or had otherwise been in the area. 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. It was speculated that a foreign object had caused the internal perforations, leading to the belief that the killer had been a sexual sadist whose only intent was to cause physical pain. 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. From the outside looking in, von Einem was incredibly average. 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. Bevan Spencer von Einem is serving a life sentence for one of those murders. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. Neil Muir was last seen in Hindley St, Adelaide in the company of Dr Peter Leslie Millhouse at 3pm on the day he was murdered. 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. It's important to note that, even though members of the LGBTQ community felt more comfortable to express themselves socially, that did not mean that everyone in the area was necessarily welcoming. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. 's had discovered the chemical compound chloral hydrate in the system of Alan Barnes, who also had an above-average level of alcohol in his system: roughly four times the legal limit, which was unusually high for a teenager. . Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. One such case is the Family Murders of Adelaide, Australia. Richard's family disputed this, vigorously denying the notion that Richard would have run away of his own accord. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. 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. 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). 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. Mark Andrew Langley RICHARD KELVIN Richard Kelvin, aged 15 years, was abducted at about 6.15 p.m. on Sunday 5 June 1983 from a laneway off Ward Street, North Adelaide. SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. 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. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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. 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 . (What a lovely country, Australia!) Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. 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. A span of 4 years. If you recall, M.E. 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. 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. 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. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. The following morning, however, is a different story. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. Investigator Hunter made note of this, finding it odd that one man would have connections to two separate murder investigations - especially two gruesome murders that shared such grisly traits. [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. 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. 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. They began probing those that knew Alan and might have taken issue with something he did or said in the weeks before his death; in particular, those that drove a white sedan. 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. Unfortunately, information gathered by police that fateful Tuesday began to cast doubt on the idea that Richard had willingly chosen to run away from home.
Australia's murder capital: Why can't Adelaide bury the myth? He remembered going to a back room of the house to have sex with one of the older women, only to discover - during the act itself - that she was transgender. 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. But now, they needed to find a suspect. 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. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. 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. It was this rapport that caused Peter to skip school on Thursday, August 27th, 1981. [4][10], Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. Some showed signs of prolonged captivity, while death came quick to others . They tried to hitch a ride on Grand Junction Road, a busy thoroughfare in Adelaide, before realizing that they were going to have no luck hitchhiking together. 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. On this night, in particular, that included these three men. 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. This reported sighting led police to the notion that a group of people might have been acting in-tandem to abduct Richard, for reasons that appeared nefarious. In a word, no. Show True Crime Conversations, Ep The Family Murders Of Adelaide - 10 Nov 2021. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. Neil's penis had been cut, and he was missing a testicle at the time of discovery. And, with the recent discovery of the chemical cocktail found in Richard Kelvin's system, they had a pretty decent foundation for their investigation. Just a few months later, in June of 1982, the family of missing 14-year-old Peter Stogneff would finally get some resolution. 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. The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the case is how did von Einem find accomplices willing to be involved in such crimes? The son was fifteen when he was snatched from the street . 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. 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. Peter Leslie Millhouse was a doctor from Mt. The "Family Murders" *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead.
The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders) - Spreaker But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. Also, like the other victims, Mark's cause-of-death seemed to be nearly identical: blood loss from an anal injury, caused by the forced insertion of an unknown item. His friend likely just assumed that Peter had bailed on their plan, and likely gone to school that day.
Father of boat crash victim Mallory Beach snubs Alex Murdaugh's family Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. The smallness of Adelaide and the six degrees of separation theory became even more evident when it was revealed that one of the Family murder victims was Richard Kelvin, son of a popular Channel . Gino Gambardella regularly scouted Rundle Mall and video game arcades for runaways, homeless teenagers, and youths who he was able to exploit. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. After taking the pills, George's memory began to blur. Following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1975, Adelaide began to be known as one of the more progressive cities in all of Australia. Later on, Ian would recall the argument cropping up around cigarettes, but that just proves the point of how nonessential it was. The area around the scar had even been shaved away, implying that this a methodical decision by someone with surgical experience perhaps someone trying to rectify a mistake. Of the five men that fell prey to this violent killer, at least two had been drugged with Mandrax, as had George.
The Family Murders: 'Dissected' - Amazon.com.au So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. Some time after they went missing, their bodies would each be found, often horribly mutilated. He had school the next day, dinner was waiting, and he wanted to call his girlfriend. Young Blood refers to the age of the victims who were brutally murdered.
The Family Murders - Wikipedia There's a conviction in the last murder in the series, but I will include it due to the similarity and due to the man convicted being suspected in the other murders as well. Neil Muir's body had been so badly mutilated that he still barely resembled an entire being. Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. 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. In 1979, residents of Adelaide were gripped by fear when several young men began to go missing under mysterious circumstances. He had been sexually assaulted and went on to report this bizarre, terrifying incident to police. [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. 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. 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 argument would carry on for a few minutes, while the trio was parked along War Memorial Drive, overlooking the Torrens River. 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 has spent that Sunday, June the 5th, playing footy, until the afternoon when his best friend Karl came over. This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. Unfortunately, from there, the trail would go cold for over a year at which point, another victim had already become ensnared in this tragic saga. Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. 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. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. 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. Due to the state of the young man's remains, it was believed that Alan had been detained against his will for several days. 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. 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. 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. It is estimated that over 150 youths and young men were abducted, drugged, and then raped. 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 next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. Because Mark had been killed and his body been dumped in the Australian summer months, his remains had already suffered some serious decomposition by the time police were called to the scene. 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. 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. With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. 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 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. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. 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.