A couple of black trash bags were floating on the low tide of the river's coast. 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 is one of Australias most captivating true crime stories. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the case is how did von Einem find accomplices willing to be involved in such crimes? They had no idea that they were about to make one of the most gruesome discoveries in Australian history. For that reason, many of these men and women had to keep their sexuality confined to specific locations. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. 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. It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. At this point, the idea of a random killer hadn't even crossed investigators' minds. 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. Millhouse was charged and went to trial but was acquitted. von Einem is serving life imprisonment. 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. 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. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. It wasn't until the next day, Sunday (February 28th), that Mark's parents began to grow concerned. It was this rapport that caused Peter to skip school on Thursday, August 27th, 1981. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. Once in the car they would be offered a drink that was laced with a knockout drug. 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. 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. That was when similar stories of young men being drugged and sexually assaulted began to make waves throughout Australia; young men that had been drugged with similar substances. According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. The other murders remain unsolved. 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. The father of boat crash victim Mallory Beach refused to shake hands with Alex Murdaugh 's family in court after the legal scion was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and son . The two were hiking through the area near the South Para Reservoir when they noticed something on the ground. He had seemingly disappeared, and a brief search of the area failed to come up with him. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. Unfortunately, it did not. 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. 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. Alan's friend made it back to his house within minutes, but unfortunately, Alan was not so lucky. Writing, research, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan, Producers: Maggyjames, Ben Krokum, Roberta Janson, Quil Carter, Peggy Belarde, Laura Hannan, Damion Moore, Amy Hampton, Scott Meesey, Steven Wilson, Scott Patzold, Marie Vanglund, Lori Rodriguez, Jessica Yount, Aimee McGregor, Danny Williams, Sue Kirk, Victoria Reid, Sara Moscaritolo, Thomas Ahearn, Marion Welsh, Seth Morgan, Sydney Scotton, Alyssa Lawton, Kelly Jo Hapgood, Patrick Laakso, Meadow Landry, Rebecca Miller, and Tatum Bautista, Original music created by Micheal Whelan through Amper Music, Other music created and composed by Ailsa Traves, Young Bloods: The Story of the Family Murders by Bob OBrien, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Alan Arthur Barnes, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Neil Fredrick Muir, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Peter Stogneff, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Mark Andrew Langley, Crime Stoppers (South Australia) - Richard Kelvin, The Sydney Morning Herald - Adelaides Duncan case: letting some light shine in, The Sydney Morning Herald - Boys murderer refused High Court appeal, The Sydney Morning Herald - Macabre Adelaide (1), The Sydney Morning Herald - Macabre Adelaide (2), The Sydney Morning Herald - Murderer quizzed on death of youth, The Age - Men fled as Duncan died, court told, The Sydney Morning Herald - The Beaumonts, Kirste and Joanne: the mystery may be over, The Sydney Morning Herald - Witness feared threats to his life, The Age - Court told rape victim thought he would die, The Sydney Morning Herald - Family killings murder charge dropped, The Age - Lock up your sons in the worlds murder capital, The Weekend Australian - How Mother Goose ducked pedophile net, The Advertiser - Police seek von Einem associate, Perth Now - DNA tests for Family murder suspects, The Advertiser - $5M reward bid to solve Family murders, The Sydney Morning Herald - Reward doubled to solve Family murders, The Telegraph - Australian police reopen notorious 1970s Family murders case, The Sydney Morning Herald - Aussie pedophile deported from Indonesia, The Advertiser - Focus on three key suspects, The Advertiser - Revealed: The double life of a magistrate who sought young men, ABC News - Mother Goose sex trial starts in Adelaide, The Advertiser - Mother Goose claims he was set up by gay ex-prostitutes, The Advertiser - Doctor with alleged links to The Family identified as Stephen George Woodards, The Advertiser - Sex-case doctor Stephen George Woodards free to practise, ABC News - Mother Goose acquitted of sex charges, The Advertiser - Paedophile Peter Liddy fears prison attack, ABC News - Former TV entertainer sentenced for sex offences, The Advertiser - Lost diary gives South Australia police new lead into Alan Barnes murder by The Family, The Daily Mail - Will $13million reward solve the murders of 18 children? Boris left on a bus, and Richard started making his way back home a trip that was no more than four-hundred meters. 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. 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. And, with the recent discovery of the chemical cocktail found in Richard Kelvin's system, they had a pretty decent foundation for their investigation. 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. 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. 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. If you recall, M.E. He was last seen stumbling down the street, supposedly wandering off to parts unknown. The man that had driven George there offered him a couple of pills called "No-Doz," which - he promised - would help him stay awake to enjoy the party. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. They now had five bodies - five victims - and five families pushing for answers. By the time they managed to look outside, whoever had been outside had already sped off. Of only one victim. 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. 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. For that reason, this crime remains technically unsolved to this day. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. This story would become historic, in more ways than one. In Adelaides gay community in the 1970s and 1980s, young men were coveted for sex. Alan lived with his parents, both English immigrants, in Salisbury: a northern suburb of Adelaide. Murdered victims were kept in captivity by the Family for up to five weeks. 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. 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. The jury visits spot where Richard Kelvin's body was found, northeast of Adelaide. This included people that visited the same bars and clubs as Neil and perhaps knew him that way. 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. His friend likely just assumed that Peter had bailed on their plan, and likely gone to school that day. 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. For a week, his loved ones had been bracing themselves for the worst, but this was a confirmation of everything they had been fearing for the past several days: Alan had been violently murdered, and had spent his final hours in agony. Some were involved in the abduction of victims who were murdered, some were involved in the rape of murdered victims, and some were involved in murder. [8] Little more could be determined as the remains had been accidentally burnt by the farmer while clearing his property of scrub.[11][19]. [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. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. 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. 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. 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. 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. [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. He had multiple channels to procuring young men. Make no mistake, Bevan Spencer von Einem is the architect behind all these crimes. 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). And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. Over time Trevor kept diary records of his conversations with that suspect as well as another suspect. 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. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. 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. Do you think the Family Murders case will ever be solved? SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. In the days immediately after Neil Muir's death, Dr. Millhouse had gone on a bit of a self-described "bender." At the time of the murder, Dr. Millhouse - a gay man in his mid-forties - lived alone in northern Adelaide, and drove a ten-year-old Holden sedan. But the rumors that he engaged in sex work were mainly perpetrated by those that knew him from his regular haunts: members of Adelaide's gay community, who regularly saw Neil at the gay-friendly bars they frequented. Medical examiners and investigators began to theorize about the rationale for the surgical scar, and the most plausible one to-date is perhaps one of the worst to imagine. POLICE are investigating new information linking convicted killer Bevan Spencer von Einem to the abduction and murder of teenager Alan Barnes. This site is constantly being updated as more is learned. The Family murders are the name of the murders of five young men and teenagers who happened in Adelaide, South Australia between 1979 and 1983. 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. 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. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. Unfortunately, by the time they returned, Mark was nowhere to be found. 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. 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. The Family Murders are a series of violent and depraved sex crimes committed against five young men and boys in South Australia throughout the 1970's and 1980's. In 1988 Detective Trevor Kipling described a group of people whom he suspected as being responsible as "one big happy family" and vowed to do all that he could to bring them to justice. Unfortunately, this lead ultimately led nowhere, so police began investigating people more tentatively linked to Neil through his social circle. While in rehab, Dr. Millhouse refused to speak to police about Neil Muir (or his alleged relationship with the man). The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. 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). The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. Rumours of high-society involvement and cover-ups. He loved music - both playing it and listening to it - and had a good rapport with his friends, whom he hung around constantly. An ear witness said they heard some shouting, 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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). [8] The reward carried an offer of immunity to accomplices, dependent on their level of involvement. That Monday - August 27th, 1979 - Neil Muir was seen alive for the last time. '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. He was seventeen years old, with a youthful, handsome appearance, and a carefree, fun-loving attitude. [18] His skeletal remains were found in October 1982 later by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. 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. But a discovery by the medical examiner seemed to undermine that: in addition to all of this, Neil's genitals had been mutilated by his killer. 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. Hours would begin to pass, and Alan would fail to return home at all that Sunday. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. They hoped to use character witnesses to build up the relationship between the two, and then use other eyewitnesses to fill in the rest (the drugs, the sexual relationship, etc.). [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 bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been.