His body had been dissected into parts, with his internal organs carved out and missing, replaced by his lower legs and arms, which had been sawed off and placed inside of his hollowed-out chest cavity. 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. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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. Players - The Family Murders Players Five murdered young men, over 150 violent abduction drug-rapes, two people arrested, one person found guilty. Over the next few days, it became apparent that Alan Barnes was not returning 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. 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 skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. Police got the number one offender. Their psychological profile indicated that Neil's body had been carved up due to either a psychotic killer that derived pleasure from inflicting pain on others or someone that wanted to hide his/her identity. Neil's numerous tattoos had also been cut away from his flesh, and those patches of inked skin had been placed into his chest cavity along with his severed limbs. Through these connections, police were able to link all of these crimes together. 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. Description. 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. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered 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. 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. Five young men who were drugged, viciously raped and tortured, kept captive for up to five weeks, horrifically mutilated, and ultimately murdered. 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. 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". Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs,[11][26] including Mandrax and Noctec. 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 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. Just two days after the body of Alan Barnes was discovered - when the investigation was still unfolding - an anonymous caller reached out to police. A thrash metal band singer and members of his family were killed in an apparent murder-suicide late last month, according to police. 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. 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. 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. While the men in the river struggled to make it back to the shore, the group that had thrown them into the water made their escape before camera crews or onlookers could begin to gather. 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. Some time after they went missing, their bodies would each be found, often horribly mutilated. Enjoy reading. 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. 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 website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. Mr B made contact with police two days after Alan Barnes was found. Major Crimes was primarily responsible for serial killings, mass killings, and any other high-profile crimes that the local government wanted to be handled by a specialized task force. If you recall, M.E. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. 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. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. Some of his strategies were to unscrew his car muffler or pull out his choke and ask an unsuspecting youth to help him with car trouble. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25,[12][13] murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979. 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. He had multiple channels to procuring young men. In May of 1972, three gay men - George Duncan, Roger James, and another man (whose identity has been withheld in the decades since) - were picked up by members of South Australia's police force. 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. 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. 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. His friend likely just assumed that Peter had bailed on their plan, and likely gone to school that day. Hundreds of sordid and terrifying crimes and only one man found guilty in relation to only one victim. 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. 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. 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. This was about 300 metres from his family home. 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. This section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. The Clermont County Sheriff's Office . He was able to exploit and manipulate enablers, helpers and participants over a long period of time. It is confirmed that 5 of these victims were murdered, usually by having an object forced so far up their anus that it split the lining and they bled out. 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. Unfortunately, this lead ultimately led nowhere, so police began investigating people more tentatively linked to Neil through his social circle. 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. He failed to make any contact with his family, and police began to express concern that he had gone missing under duress. Meanwhile, as police struggled to answer these basic questions, the trial against Dr. Peter Millhouse remained a thing of the past. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. 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. 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. Rumours of high-society involvement and cover-ups. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 | victim. Of only one victim. Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. 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. The fishermen probed the bags - a mystery just waiting to be unearthed - and quickly discovered that the bags held human remains. 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. The son was fifteen when he was snatched from the street . 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. Richard was found wearing the same clothing that he had been wearing on the day of his disappearance, but in an unusual twist, was found to be wearing his family dog's collar. 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. For that reason, many of these men and women had to keep their sexuality confined to specific locations. 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. 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. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. However, when Neil Muir's body was discovered, his internal organs had been removed and were gone entirely, leading to police being unable to test his blood levels. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. Police didn't believe that this voice was Richard, as he was a teenager with a deep voice that had already cracked. George and the driver, a man roughly twice his age with artificially-dyed hair, traveled to a nearby house where a couple of young women welcomed 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. 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. And Marshall is no novice at delving into the minds of evil men. In a word, no. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. 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. This is an analysis of the information provided by Wendy Roles and Greg McInerney in the book The Family Murders: Dissected The Timeline 25 Aug (Sat) Michael B sees band-aid on Neil's leg at the methadone clinic during the day. Sadly, Neil's biggest vice was his ever-evolving drug addiction. 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. This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. 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 son of popular local Nine Network news presenter Rob Kelvin, he was abducted a short distance from his North Adelaide home on 5 June. 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. George, an impressionable young man, was enticed by the offer and accepted. 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). Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. The Family Murders Of Adelaide. [8] Little more could be determined as the remains had been accidentally burnt by the farmer while clearing his property of scrub.[11][19]. Show True Crime Conversations, Ep The Family Murders Of Adelaide - 10 Nov 2021. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. Shockingly, police found an insane combination of sedatives in his system, which included the drugs Noctec, Mandrax, valium, Rohypnol, and amytal. 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. 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. 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. The severing of Neil's limbs and the mutilation of his body was originally believed to have been part of an effort to dispose of his body. Mr B - The Family Murders Mr B Mr B was named by South Australian police in 2008 as one of the three main suspects who were involved in the murders alongside Bevan von Einem. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. This was cancelled the night before. 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 . 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. 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. 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. His family knew this but accepted that there was little they could do to curtail this behavior; letting Alan grow and develop at his own pace as his adolescence came to an end. Bevan von Einem was an apex predator. Eventually, Peter returned home with his backpack, stowing it in his family's garage while his parents were at work. 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. Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. Was Dr Millhouse involved in Neil Muirs murder. 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. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide.