The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Unlike the other murder victims, however, Mark's body showed an odd sign of surgical precision. 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. The Family were not an official group, gang, or organisation. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. Alan lived with his parents, both English immigrants, in Salisbury: a northern suburb of Adelaide. 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. 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. For obvious reasons, he didn't tell his parents, setting out that morning with his backpack and heading off like any other day. For that reason, this crime remains technically unsolved to this day. It wasn't until the following year, 1983, that police finally rediscovered George's story. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the case is how did von Einem find accomplices willing to be involved in such crimes? His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. In October of 1982 - in the very midst of this crime spree - a teenage hitchhiker named George had been picked up by a passing car. 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. 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". When police had arrived at the crime scene, they assumed that whoever had tried to dump the body of Alan Barnes had failed, in some way. 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. 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. 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. Allegations would even surface that indicated Dr. Millhouse had been one of the people in the area that supplied Neil with prescription drugs, but that would remain an allegation for the foreseeable future. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. 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. This section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. He has spent that Sunday, June the 5th, playing footy, until the afternoon when his best friend Karl came over. Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile murders commonly referred to in the media as the 'Family Murders'. Mark's remains had also clearly been thoroughly washed before being dumped, just like Alan Barnes. 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. It was there that they found his backpack hidden in the garage, which ultimately led to calls to all of his friends. It was at around this time - the end of August - that Investigator Rod Hunter finally got around to interviewing Bevan Spencer von Einem, the man implicated by an anonymous caller in the murder of Alan Barnes. So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. But only one recalled seeing where Alan might have gone. Neil Muir was someone that you could describe as a transient. 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. Like the other victims, investigators would learn a lot from the status of Mark's remains. It was the body of Neil Muir or, rather, what remained of him. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. He remembered going to a back room of the house to have sex with one of the older women, only to discover - during the act itself - that she was transgender. 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. 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. 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. Trevor Peters lived two doors away from one of the transgender suspects and mixed in the same circles as a number of suspects. 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). 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. by enjin | Feb 12, 2021 | victim. Listen to "The Family Murders (Part One: The Murders)" on Spreaker. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. According to his family, this was right in-line with Richard's odd sense of humor. 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. 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. 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. The head was tied to the torso with rope passed through the mouth and out through the neck. 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. The area around the scar had even been shaved away, implying that this a methodical decision by someone with surgical experience perhaps someone trying to rectify a mistake. After a bit, Rob decided to walk home, leaving the two boys at the park; assured that it was just down the street from their house and it was still early in the day. As the 1970s entered their homestretch, Alan was beginning to enter the phase of his life where he experimented with drug and alcohol usage. Global Nav Open Menu . A farmer that lived nearby Middle Beach and Two Wells, roughly an hour north of Adelaide, had been cleansing his farmland during the advised winter months. Sadly, Neil's biggest vice was his ever-evolving drug addiction. In the latter half of the 1970s, South Australia had started to regulate drugs like Mandrax, known throughout most of the world as "Quaaludes." 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. 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. 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. 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. Unfortunately, as the farmer's land burned, so did the remains of the missing teenager. SA convicted murderer Bevan Spencer Von Einem during the jury's tour of North Adelaide dumping spot of Richard Kelvin's body. In June of 1983, Richard Kelvin was approaching sixteen years of age. 17-year-old Alan Barnes, 25-year-old Neil Muir, 14-year-old Peter Stogneff, 18-year-old Mark Langley and 15-year-old Richard Kelvin were later found dumped in the Adelaide Hills and surrounds. [3], Von Einem was convicted in 1984 of the murder of Kelvin and sentenced to life imprisonment. 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. 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. These were connections that were hard to overlook, as police began to theorize that a single offender (or, rather, a group of offenders) had been behind all of these crimes. The name of the group stems from an interview a police detective gave on 60 Minutes, claiming the police were taking action to break up the happy family. Like the other victims, Richard Kelvin's blood and organs were tested for any sign of drugs, with investigators hoping to find a connection to any of the prior victims. 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. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. 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. Just two days after the body of Alan Barnes was discovered - when the investigation was still unfolding - an anonymous caller reached out to police. This section explores his social network. He was last seen stumbling down the street, supposedly wandering off to parts unknown. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. Now, with Mark Langley, police were able to confirm the presence of the drug Mandrax in his system. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. (What a lovely country, Australia!) 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 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". He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. 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. He had struggled to wean himself off of heroin, using methadone to do so, only to have methadone become his next addiction. 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. Enjoy reading. Among those voices, he described, was a higher-pitched voice, which sounded almost feminine. 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.