They knew then that the description of the remains - should it become public knowledge - would alert a lot of media to the story and scare a lot of people. The bags looked as if they had been dropped from the higher-up wharf, just like the body of Alan Barnes had been. Police were called out to the scene, and an extensive search of the area commenced. 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. Mark had likely hitched a ride with someone, and his friends trusted that he would make it home. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 25, and most were found to have suffered brutal violence, sexual assaults, and/or body mutilation before their death This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. Now, with Mark Langley, police were able to confirm the presence of the drug Mandrax in his system. Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. POLICE are investigating new information linking convicted killer Bevan Spencer von Einem to the abduction and murder of teenager Alan Barnes. 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. 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 . That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. 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. von Einem is serving life imprisonment. Several eyewitnesses remembered seeing Alan and his long, blond hair standing along Grand Junction Road that Sunday. Peter Stogneff, aged 14,[17] murdered in August 1981. He had good grades at school, was well-liked by just about everyone, had a stable of trusted friends, and played soccer for a local Lockley club on the weekends. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. 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. However, the medical examiners in Adelaide concluded definitively that Alan had died several hours before this happened. Of the five men that fell prey to this violent killer, at least two had been drugged with Mandrax, as had George. 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. The victims were all young men, who had gone missing in or near the northern section of town. Some time after they went missing, their bodies would each be found, often horribly mutilated. Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor. 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. In the latter half of the 1970s, South Australia had started to regulate drugs like Mandrax, known throughout most of the world as "Quaaludes." Bevan von Einem was no exception he also preferred youths between the 15 and 19 year old age group. 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 . The jury visits spot where Richard Kelvin's body was found, northeast of Adelaide. How did he manipulate large numbers of people to get involved to various degrees even if that involvement was merely remaining silent? When Boris had last seen Richard, walking away from the bus stop down the street from his home, he had still been wearing the collar, and it is has been theorized that the collar itself might have been a trigger for the deviant (or deviants) that ultimately decided to abduct Richard. 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. However, they were able to learn from a witness that a young man matching Peter's description had been spotted at Tea Tree Plaza the morning of his disappearance, and had been in the company of an adult male. Peter Stogneff was a fourteen-year-old that lived with his family in a middle-class home, in a northeastern suburb of Adelaide. What the two got up to that evening is anyone's guess, but rumors and theories have propagated this story in the decades since. Over the next few days, it became apparent that Alan Barnes was not returning home. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. In particular, they were members of the Vice Squad, who typically crackdown on "moral" crimes such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal substances. 4 had horrific injuries with clear signs of torture, abuse and confinement lasting up to 5 weeks. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. 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. 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. It wasn't until Monday morning that Alan's parents decided to contact the police, having not seen him for several days. Gino Gambardella regularly scouted Rundle Mall and video game arcades for runaways, homeless teenagers, and youths who he was able to exploit. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. Mark's remains had also clearly been thoroughly washed before being dumped, just like Alan Barnes. The ongoing investigation featured in an episode of Crime Stoppers which went to air on 2 March 2009. 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. 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. 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 older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. Neil Muir's body had been so badly mutilated that he still barely resembled an entire being. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. Police got the number one offender. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. 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. 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. He immediately contacted the police, and when they arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly identify the remains as Peter. During the 1970s von Einem started developing strategies to lure victims into his car. 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. Description. Neil's penis had been cut, and he was missing a testicle at the time of discovery. 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). [18] His skeletal remains were found in October 1982 later by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. 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. 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". [4][10], Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. 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. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up.