Investigators were unable to pinpoint Peter's exact cause-of-death, or even estimate when he had been killed. 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. He vividly remembered hearing a young voice shout out (which we can assume was Richard) and a group of voices screaming in protest, almost in unison. He never made it home. The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. 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. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. 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. [3], Von Einem was convicted in 1984 of the murder of Kelvin and sentenced to life imprisonment. 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. Neil had several drug debts throughout Adelaide, and that is where police started their investigation. They now had five bodies - five victims - and five families pushing for answers. Witnesses would later recall having seen the two at some of the area's gay bars and clubs (which I referenced just a moment ago). 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. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. 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. Add onto that abductions, drug-lacing, mutilations, victims held in captivity for weeks, and death by sado-masochism. 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. Alan's body had fallen to the dirt below, twisting and contorting in such a way that - should he have been alive - would have surely resulted in death or serious injury. Police didn't believe that this voice was Richard, as he was a teenager with a deep voice that had already cracked. It shows the facts and most likely scenarios, but is fluid so when new information comes to light changes can easily be made. 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. 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). Unlike other drugs, Mandrax was heavily-regulated, meaning that police could search through government records to find out who had a prescription, and whether or not they appeared on their suspect lists. 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. [5] Others, who have examined the cases, however, argue that there were many more victims. 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. He told officers what the two had been up to that weekend: hanging out on Saturday and into Sunday morning, before splitting up. 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. Darko's brother dropped them at a bus stop near the corner of on Grand Junction Rd and Addison. 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. Bevan von Einems life revolved around sexual sadism. The group was involved in kidnapping, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering 5 boys. 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. 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. 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. While searching, they ended up discovering the body of Richard Kelvin, who had been missing for just shy of two months. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. 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. Veale Gardens had a thriving male prostitution scene, many of which were underage. His body also showed signs of beatings and torture. Hence, the odd scar that seemed to serve no other purpose. However, that was very circumstantial evidence at best, and anything but definitive. This was cancelled the night before. Only one suspect has been charged and convicted for a crime. They wanted to continue eliminating suspects that personally knew Alan ahead of time, but promised to check out von Einem in the future. This caller told detectives that a man named Bevan Spencer von Einem was responsible for Alan's death, and his name was added to the list of potential suspects to explore. Unfortunately, Richard Kelvin would never make it home. Criminologist Alan Perry of the University of Adelaide, has argued that the murders were part of widespread series of kidnappings and sexual assaults of boys that might number several hundred victims in South Australia from about 1973 to 1983.[11]. This has come to be disputed over the years, with some speculating that Alan might have willingly consumed the drug the weekend before his death; or, perhaps, he might have been slipped it by someone at the bars he was rumored to visit with his friends that Saturday. The Family Murders revolved around von Einem. It wasn't until Monday morning that Alan's parents decided to contact the police, having not seen him for several days. He then moved away from Adelaide and the murders continued. 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. 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. Over the next few days, it became apparent that Alan Barnes was not returning home. Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18,[17] murdered in February 1982. 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. But other than that, this friend had nothing new to offer police: he hadn't seen or heard from Alan since the two went their separate ways. Regardless, this information was incredibly helpful to police, who began to expand their interests to finding people in the area that drove similar vehicles. 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. See what they say here. They had no idea that they were about to make one of the most gruesome discoveries in Australian history. How did he manipulate large numbers of people to get involved to various degrees even if that involvement was merely remaining silent? 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. [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. 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. [citation needed]. In August of 1979, Neil was living alone in an apartment on Carrington Street, right in the middle of Adelaide itself. A span of 4 years. 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 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. A day or two prior, at least. 2020 familymurders.com All Rights Reserved. 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 . But his teachers recalled him being absent, and hours would pass that afternoon (heading into the evening) and Peter would fail to return home. Of the five men that fell prey to this violent killer, at least two had been drugged with Mandrax, as had George. Players - The Family Murders Players Five murdered young men, over 150 violent abduction drug-rapes, two people arrested, one person found guilty. This section explores the people who at this stage are thought to have been on the periphery. However, police would reach out to all of Mark's known friends, and learned that the night prior - February 27th - he had simply wandered off into the night and had not been seen since. The ongoing investigation featured in an episode of Crime Stoppers which went to air on 2 March 2009. And, with the recent discovery of the chemical cocktail found in Richard Kelvin's system, they had a pretty decent foundation for their investigation. Some of the victims were brutally tortured, or horrifically mutilated or cut up. Many of these people were directly involved in the abductions and rape of victims who survived. 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. 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. The news was heartbreaking for those that had known Alan. If you have information about the case then contact us through our contact page. 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. And at least one witness - a security guard that lived just down the street from the Kelvins - recalled some more details succinctly. Four of the five murders remain unsolved. Referred to as a "Randy Mandy" among the era's deviants, Mandrax was a sedative that had just become popular worldwide with the branding "Quaalude." Trevor Peters lived two doors away from one of the transgender suspects and mixed in the same circles as a number of suspects. 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. Millhouse would have. The Family Murders is one of Australia's most captivating true crime stories. If your information is verified and its not breaking any laws, we may publish it. 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. He is 50 metres from his beautiful family home. There, George was plied with beers and other alcoholic beverages while the older women flirted with him. The Clermont County Sheriff's Office . '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. A short time later, police were contacted and later arrived at the scene to document the grisly find. This website was built on publicly available information contributed by many people who have an interest in this case. Make no mistake, Bevan Spencer von Einem is the architect behind all these crimes. Our locations section shows where all the events happened and where all the players lived. Its always easier to visualise events when you have maps. [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. That was believed to have been Neil's cause-of-death, same as Alan Barnes. Peter Leslie Millhouse was a doctor from Mt. 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). Show True Crime Conversations, Ep The Family Murders Of Adelaide - 10 Nov 2021. 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. Between 1979 and 1983, a series of heinous murders shocked Adelaide. Richard Dallas Kelvin, (born 4 December 1967) aged 15,[23] murdered in July 1983. [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. Neil's penis had been cut, and he was missing a testicle at the time of discovery. Any person complicit in the abduction, rape and murders of the five victims, plus any person who visited the place of captivity when a victim was knowingly present, plus any person involved in the abduction, spiking and raping of teenage boys or young men with other members of The Family. He was also found to be wearing clothing that did not belong to him, and his original clothing was missing entirely. In the days immediately after Neil Muir's death, Dr. Millhouse had gone on a bit of a self-described "bender." This conflict has endured because Alan's bloodstream also showed signs of alcohol consumption, which Alan had participated in that same weekend. If you recall, M.E. 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. The older driver not only offered to give George a ride but offered to show him a good time with some ladies he knew. 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. 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. It was this rapport that caused Peter to skip school on Thursday, August 27th, 1981. 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. He had become so messed up on drugs and alcohol that a bouncer had to physically drag him outside of a bar, where he stumbled onto the pavement and struggled to get up. But at this point, police were already preoccupied with a separate lead from Neil Muir's social circle: a man named Dr. Peter Millhouse. He had school the next day, dinner was waiting, and he wanted to call his girlfriend. His friend likely just assumed that Peter had bailed on their plan, and likely gone to school that 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. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. 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. This meant that his remains had likely been sitting out in the wilderness for about a week. The skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. There were signs that he had been tortured and beaten by a sexual sadist, who had likely kept Alan drugged with a chemical compound named chloral hydrate. The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia. [8] Little more could be determined as the remains had been accidentally burnt by the farmer while clearing his property of scrub.[11][19]. [6] Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. 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. There are also notorious unsolved disappearances in Adelaide, including the Beaumont children.