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? The Family Murders Of Adelaide - True Crime Conversations He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. 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 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. Several eyewitnesses remembered seeing Alan and his long, blond hair standing along Grand Junction Road that Sunday. 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). 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. 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. 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. And, with the recent discovery of the chemical cocktail found in Richard Kelvin's system, they had a pretty decent foundation for their investigation. Millhouse would have Peter intended to skip school and meet his uncle (similar age) in Rundle Mall. Murdered victims were kept in captivity by the Family for up to five weeks. 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. While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. When they finally got around to doing this, after the discovery of Richard Kelvin's body, one name popped out at them. SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. Ian and Paula, Mark's friends, drove away but would return just minutes later, cooler heads having prevailed. I first heard of the murders in an episode of an Australian television program called . Victims - The Family Murders [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. Because very little physical evidence had been left behind, it was hard to tell whether or not these crimes belonged to the same spree, or were simply copycats. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. Sadly, this dark and tragic saga was just beginning. The "Family Murders" *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead. Richard Kelvin's disappearance was a slightly higher profile case than the others I've covered so far - due to him being the son of the region's top newscaster - but even then, the investigation was not without fault. After taking the pills, George's memory began to blur. If you recall, M.E. Mark Langley [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. It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. In 1979, residents of Adelaide were gripped by fear when several young men began to go missing under mysterious circumstances. The Family Murders (Part Two: The Family) Unresolved The Family Murders Part Two: The Family As the families of five young men mourned, investigators began to circle around their top suspect, Bevan Spencer von Einem. The post-mortem revealed that Langley had died from a massive loss of blood from gross injuries to his anus, similar to Barnes. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. 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. 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. At the same time he was developing a network of people who made it possible for him to carry out his sexually sadistic fantasies. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS. The Family Murders is the name given to the murders of five young men and boys between 1979 and 1983, with all abducted from the streets of Adelaide before being taken to another location,. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison 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. Veale Gardens had a thriving male prostitution scene, many of which were underage. Bevan von Einem was an apex predator. This witness recalled Alan getting into a vehicle, which appeared to be a white Holden sedan. 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. The Family Murders | Adelaide's most notorious unsolved serial killings This story would become historic, in more ways than one. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. 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. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. 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. 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. This case includes mysterious attacks, brutal murders, and a dark conspiracy surrounding a secret group of elites that preyed on the young in the city. 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. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks. [4][10], Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. Ten years von Einem's junior, Mr B helped von Einem pick up, drug, and rape several young men. A Breakdown of a series of murders that took place in Adelaide, South Dylan John Kovarskis murdered Nathan Russell in 2021 . He had multiple channels to procuring young men. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered 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 included people that visited the same bars and clubs as Neil and perhaps knew him that way. 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. 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). 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. Bob O'Brien was an investigator for Major Crimes, who had just started working with the unit the year prior (1982). Lock up your sons in the world's murder capital [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 victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Just a few months later, in June of 1982, the family of missing 14-year-old Peter Stogneff would finally get some resolution. 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. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. They admitted that he'd faced some issues with other kids at his school, but he was otherwise happy and had just gotten a serious girlfriend. Enjoy reading. 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 . 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. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. A short time later, police were contacted and later arrived at the scene to document the grisly find. Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. Five murders and over 150 rapes. One victim was killed and dumped within 24 hours, another was kept alive for five weeks, and the rest were in between. It wasn't until Monday morning that Alan's parents decided to contact the police, having not seen him for several days. 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. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. The Family Murders of Adelaide Australia : r/UnresolvedMysteries - reddit But now, they needed to find a suspect. Alan lived with his parents, both English immigrants, in Salisbury: a northern suburb of Adelaide. 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. 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. Neil's penis had been cut, and he was missing a testicle at the time of discovery. 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. The Family Murders - Strange Matters Podcast 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. On this night, in particular, that included these three men. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. The following morning, however, is a different story. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is perhaps most well known for its beautiful, scenic landscape, which is wedged in-between the Adelaide Foothills to the east, the coastline that runs along the west and down into the southern cape, and expanse of vast Australia that lies to the north. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. Whatever it was, it looked like a human body but was somehow twisted and contorted in an inhuman nature. But he didn't commit these crimes on his own. 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. Young Blood refers to the age of the victims who were brutally murdered. 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. 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. The Family werent an official club or group, rather a loose collection of people with Bevan von Einem at the centre. 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. Show True Crime Conversations, Ep The Family Murders Of Adelaide - 10 Nov 2021. View description Share. 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. The convicted killer and notorious head of "The Family" ring who picked up hitchhikers and schoolboys to drug and offer to South Australia's elite to sexually abuse has broken his 20-year silence, to blame his victim, and to claim innocence over other murders. [citation needed]. 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.