Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. "The Family murders" occurred in the period of time between the late 1970s and 1980s. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered 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). 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. 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. Peter Leslie Millhouse was a doctor from Mt. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. 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. 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. They now had five bodies - five victims - and five families pushing for answers. Boris left on a bus, and Richard started making his way back home a trip that was no more than four-hundred meters. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. [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. 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. He loved music - both playing it and listening to it - and had a good rapport with his friends, whom he hung around constantly. The jury visits spot where Richard Kelvin's body was found, northeast of Adelaide. Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. Moments later, George lost consciousness, falling prey to the drugs that he had consumed. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 | victim. 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. See what they say here. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. Among those voices, he described, was a higher-pitched voice, which sounded almost feminine. [14] The hair around the area had been shaved as it would have been in an operation in a hospital. 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. It was there that they found his backpack hidden in the garage, which ultimately led to calls to all of his friends. Because of this lack of clarity, police were unable to press forward with any charges for the offenders, and George's story would become buried by more pressing police concerns in the coming weeks and months. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18,[17] murdered in February 1982. 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. Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. A span of 4 years. 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. 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 . Alan's friend made it back to his house within minutes, but unfortunately, Alan was not so lucky. 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. This was about 300 metres from his family home. For that reason, this crime remains technically unsolved to this day. 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. 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. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. 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. 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). 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. This screening also revealed that the young man had been drugged with Mandrax ("Randy Mandys"), which had resulted in him losing consciousness. Referred to as a "Randy Mandy" among the era's deviants, Mandrax was a sedative that had just become popular worldwide with the branding "Quaalude." The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. Although each attack and mutilation appeared different, police investigators soon began to link the horrific murders to one another. Description. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. 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 . Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. Bevan von Einem was no exception he also preferred youths between the 15 and 19 year old age group. 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. POLICE are investigating new information linking convicted killer Bevan Spencer von Einem to the abduction and murder of teenager Alan Barnes. He never made it home. 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'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. 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. [7] Suspect 1, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. 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. 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. Needless to say, over the past few months, this investigation had become a new beast entirely. 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. Neil had several drug debts throughout Adelaide, and that is where police started their investigation. Millhouse would have Peter intended to skip school and meet his uncle (similar age) in Rundle Mall. [4][10], Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. Police had still not linked the two cases - Barnes and Neil Muir - but while being questioned about the first murder, von Einem inquired about the second without any provocation. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. Between 1979 and 1983, the city of Adelaide in South Australia was the stage for a horrific string of crimes against young men and teenagers.Five known victims of kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder showed up in those years, and police became convinced that the perpetrator was actually a group of several men . Richard walked him down the road to the nearby O'Connell Street bus stop, arriving without incident, and waited there for his friend's bus to arrive. 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. The following morning, however, is a different story. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor. In June of 1983, Richard Kelvin was approaching sixteen years of age. He was last seen while hitchhiking being picked up by a white HQ Holden sedan carrying three or four people. This section explores his social network. On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. 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. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. But now, they needed to find a suspect. 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. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the case is how did von Einem find accomplices willing to be involved in such crimes? '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. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. 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. Like most of the victims targeted by this unknown subject, Richard Kelvin was a young and athletic young man, who seemed destined to have a long and rewarding life. If your information is verified and its not breaking any laws, we may publish it. On Saturday, February 27th, 1982, Mark attended a friend's 18th birthday party in Windsor Gardens, a neighborhood in northeastern Adelaide. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. For many, that meant gay-specific bars and clubs, where these individuals were allowed to socially express themselves honestly for the first time in their lives. 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. This witness recalled Alan getting into a vehicle, which appeared to be a white Holden sedan. The body count had essentially doubled within a couple of months, and police were still unsure whether or not the cases were related. Because Neil's transient lifestyle led to him becoming known as a bit of a vagabond, his sexuality was not exactly common knowledge. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks. The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. It wasn't until Monday morning that Alan's parents decided to contact the police, having not seen him for several days. Ten years von Einem's junior, Mr B helped von Einem pick up, drug, and rape several young men. 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. It was broad daylight, and both were assured that Alan would easily be able to find a ride to take him the few miles home. Millhouse would have. 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. 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. It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. Bevan von Einem was an apex predator. 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. From the outside looking in, von Einem was incredibly average. Following the supposed abduction of Richard Kelvin, the police unit known as Major Crimes was tasked with overseeing the investigation. So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. 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. 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. Victims - The Family Murders Victims Alan Barnes Feb 12, 2021 The night before he went missing he stayed at Darko Kastelan's house in Cheltenham. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. Unfortunately, it did not. [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. In Adelaides gay community in the 1970s and 1980s, young men were coveted for sex. [3], Von Einem was convicted in 1984 of the murder of Kelvin and sentenced to life imprisonment. 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. 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. Other times he would just pick up a hitch hiker. It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. 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. The Kelvins, though upset at the duration of time that had already passed, understood why the process was so delayed but were hopeful that their son would return home to them, safe and sound. Later on, Ian would recall the argument cropping up around cigarettes, but that just proves the point of how nonessential it was. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. His body also showed signs of beatings and torture. 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. 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. 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. This ultimately resulted in a victory for Dr. Peter Millhouse's attorneys, earning the man an acquittal and his freedom. He has spent that Sunday, June the 5th, playing footy, until the afternoon when his best friend Karl came over. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. Needing to get away from his friends and clear his head, Mark decided to get out and walk away. This caller alleged that the two older men had been driving around a 1963 EJ Holden sedan. The police came to this conclusion due to the status of his remains, which weren't nearly as decomposed as they should have been; by the time he was discovered at the end of July, he had been dead for no more than a week or two, despite having gone missing at the beginning of June. Bevan von Einems life revolved around sexual sadism. 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. While investigators had been keeping information closely guarded in this case, they decided to publicize this information to the media in the hopes that it would attract follow-up tips. 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. 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. So the police began reaching out to people that worked or had otherwise been in the area. 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. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. When Dr. Millhouse's trial eventually commenced in the latter half of 1980 - more than a year after Neil Muir's murder - the prosecution continued to rely heavily upon their circumstantial evidence and witness statements, failing to establish any motive for the crime or provide any definitive evidence. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25,[12][13] murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979. . While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. 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. 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. Subsequent efforts to reach Alan through his friends had failed, and none of them had seen him since the weekend. Peter Stogneff. Of only one victim. The other murders remain unsolved. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. 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). 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. He was last seen stumbling down the street, supposedly wandering off to parts unknown. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. The two were hiking through the area near the South Para Reservoir when they noticed something on the ground. A thrash metal band singer and members of his family were killed in an apparent murder-suicide late last month, according to police. He had school the next day, dinner was waiting, and he wanted to call his girlfriend. 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. 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 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. Mark Langley Part One: The Murders Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. 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. 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. Unfortunately, Richard Kelvin would never make it home. At this point, the idea of a random killer hadn't even crossed investigators' minds. [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. Unfortunately, that Thursday, Peter never arrived at the mall to meet his friend. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. 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. 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. Following the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1975, Adelaide began to be known as one of the more progressive cities in all of Australia. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. He had multiple channels to procuring young men. South Australia's overdue for another This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. 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. 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. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. Alan lived with his parents, both English immigrants, in Salisbury: a northern suburb of Adelaide. According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. Because this murder seemed like the type of crime beset by emotional issues - or likely someone with an ax to grind against Alan, personally - police initially began investigating this as a personal crime. This was as good of a tip as police were going to get, and since the most recent victim of this strange killing spree had been found in the Foothills, police decided to follow through on the tip. Dylan John Kovarskis murdered Nathan Russell in 2021 . 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. No additional leads would surface in that time-span, and police would continue to refrain from stating that the two victims so far - Alan Barnes and Neil Muir - were connected in any way (at least, they wouldn't say so publicly). 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. 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. 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. [5][9] The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. With tattoos, long hair, and a gruff demeanor, Neil looked like your average rock musician, and his transient lifestyle seems to support that. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely.
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