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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Unlike other drugs, Mandrax was heavily-regulated, meaning that police could search through government records to find out who had a prescription, and whether or not they appeared on their suspect lists. If you recall, M.E. 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. Gambier, a city roughly five hours south of 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. 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. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered 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. 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. 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. March 3, 2023 - 7:08PM. The head was tied to the torso with rope passed through the mouth and out through the neck. 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. In particular, they were members of the Vice Squad, who typically crackdown on "moral" crimes such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal substances. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. 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. How did he manipulate large numbers of people to get involved to various degrees even if that involvement was merely remaining silent? 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. Once it became clear that something had happened to Peter, his family launched a frantic search for him, starting in the family's home. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. 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]. 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. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. 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. [20] His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. They organized a helicopter search of the area, which O'Brien was present for, but unfortunately, the police were unable to find anything definitive. Millhouse would have Peter intended to skip school and meet his uncle (similar age) in Rundle Mall. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. 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? It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. Little is known about the unidentified man, but Roger James had his ankle broken when he was plunged into the river that May, and was only able to escape with the help of a friendly onlooker. [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. 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. 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. 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. 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. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. 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. Police wouldn't get around to conducting a door-to-door canvas of the neighborhood until Tuesday, two days after Richard had gone missing. Police thought that these gruesome and violent actions had been part of an effort to easily transport Neil's remains out to sea, and dispose of them in a way that they'd degrade before being identified. 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. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. Peter Stogneff was a fourteen-year-old that lived with his family in a middle-class home, in a northeastern suburb of Adelaide. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. Bevan von Einem was an apex predator. He had school the next day, dinner was waiting, and he wanted to call his girlfriend. 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. This website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. 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. On July 24th, 1983, a family was out looking for moss rocks in the vast reaches of the Mount Crawford Forest, about 35 kilometers northeast of Adelaide. Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. 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. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. View description Share. The Family Murders is one of Australias most captivating true crime stories. On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. This ultimately resulted in a victory for Dr. Peter Millhouse's attorneys, earning the man an acquittal and his freedom. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. 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. Enjoy reading. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. 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. 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. Part One: The Murders Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. 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 victims ranged in age from 14 to 25, and most were found to have suffered brutal violence, sexual assaults, and/or body mutilation before their death. While 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 following morning, however, is a different story. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. He was last seen stumbling down the street, supposedly wandering off to parts unknown. The two were hiking through the area near the South Para Reservoir when they noticed something on the ground. He was able to exploit and manipulate enablers, helpers and participants over a long period of time. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks. He had multiple channels to procuring young men. However, they quickly began to narrow in on the one avenue of the investigation that seemed most enticing to them at the time: Neil's dependency on drugs and alcohol. This site is constantly being updated as more is learned. This was commonly found in the drug Noctec, which was an over-the-counter pharmaceutical used to aid people with sleep problems, which had been given to Alan sometime before his death. 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. 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. 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. 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. Of the five men that fell prey to this violent killer, at least two had been drugged with Mandrax, as had George. The post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile murders commonly referred to in the media as the 'Family Murders'. But now, they needed to find a suspect. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. But he didn't commit these crimes on his own. So the police began reaching out to people that worked or had otherwise been in the area. Boris left on a bus, and Richard started making his way back home a trip that was no more than four-hundred meters. 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. At this point, the idea of a random killer hadn't even crossed investigators' minds. Oh, that reminds me. 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. According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. 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.

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