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. Sadly, Neil's biggest vice was his ever-evolving drug addiction. 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. Once in the car they would be offered a drink that was laced with a knockout drug. The next day was a Sunday, they both planned to hitchhike to Alan's home in Salisbury. 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 particular, they were members of the Vice Squad, who typically crackdown on "moral" crimes such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal substances. He was seen in the presence of individuals who would become relevant later on, but - at the time - were simply believed to have been his friends. George Duncan, one of the three men thrown into the Torrens, would drown that evening. Both witnesses - who were friends with Neil and drug users themselves - were prepared to testify should this man be tried for the murder. Just like Neil Muir, whoever had taken him had killed him and dumped his body pretty quickly, within a day or two. 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. He failed to make any contact with his family, and police began to express concern that he had gone missing under duress. They hoped to use character witnesses to build up the relationship between the two, and then use other eyewitnesses to fill in the rest (the drugs, the sexual relationship, etc.). 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. The victims were found in random locations throughout the state, their bodies neatly cut into pieces. 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. Also, like the other victims, Mark's cause-of-death seemed to be nearly identical: blood loss from an anal injury, caused by the forced insertion of an unknown item. 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. 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? 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. For that reason, many of these men and women had to keep their sexuality confined to specific locations. Over the next year or so, the case would stagnate. Subsequent efforts to reach Alan through his friends had failed, and none of them had seen him since the weekend. 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. After taking the pills, George's memory began to blur. Players - The Family Murders Players Five murdered young men, over 150 violent abduction drug-rapes, two people arrested, one person found guilty. [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. This meant doing away with large plots of dried-out farmland in a prescribed burn to prepare for the upcoming spring bloom. The skeletal remains of one victim bore marks to reasonably indicate a similar experience and outcome. 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). But he didn't commit these crimes on his own. [11], Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 04:35, List of serial killers by number of victims, Von Einem: Lawyers in new bid to re-open Kelvin case, "Doctor found not guilty of 'Family' murder of Neil Muir dies in NSW", "Australian police reopen notorious 1970s Family murders case", "Body in bag: jury acquits doctor in Adelaide", "Lost diary gives South Australia police new lead into Alan Barnes murder by The Family", "Many Theories, Few Clues in String of Adelaide Murders", "Record 24-year non-parole period for boy's killer", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Family_Murders&oldid=1141259172, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 04:35. Progressive ideas began to spread out from Adelaide, but even then, progress itself was rather slow to catch on throughout large chunks of South Australia. The night before he went missing he stayed at Darko Kastelan's house in Cheltenham. [8] Little more could be determined as the remains had been accidentally burnt by the farmer while clearing his property of scrub.[11][19]. 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. 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. So they tried to safely guard the parts of the investigation that they could. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. The last victim was the son of our local television newsreader. 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. However, they were able to learn that - before his body was burned in the brush fire - his remains had been cut into multiple parts with a saw. 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. Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18,[17] murdered in February 1982. Needless to say, over the past few months, this investigation had become a new beast entirely. Trevor Peters lived two doors away from one of the transgender suspects and mixed in the same circles as a number of suspects. When using other people (sometimes transgenders, sometimes cross-dressers, and sometimes Mr B), a common ploy was to ask a lone youth if he want to go to a party where there was plenty of booze and women. By the time they managed to look outside, whoever had been outside had already sped off. 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 . His body also showed signs of beatings and torture. The following Sunday, June 24th - one week after Alan had last been seen alive - a couple of hikers were bushwalking up in the area known as the Adelaide Foothills. 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. Alan's friend made it back to his house within minutes, but unfortunately, Alan was not so lucky. 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. He had multiple channels to procuring young men. That evening, as Mark drove around with his friend Ian and Ian's girlfriend, Paula, an argument broke out. Unfortunately, this lead ultimately led nowhere, so police began investigating people more tentatively linked to Neil through his social circle. 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. 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. On Saturday, June 16th, 1979, Alan spent the night at a friend's house. 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. Shockingly, police found an insane combination of sedatives in his system, which included the drugs Noctec, Mandrax, valium, Rohypnol, and amytal. 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. Bevan Spencer von Einem was jailed for life for the murder of 15-year-old Richard Kelvin. When Dr. Millhouse's trial eventually commenced in the latter half of 1980 - more than a year after Neil Muir's murder - the prosecution continued to rely heavily upon their circumstantial evidence and witness statements, failing to establish any motive for the crime or provide any definitive evidence. Just east of Adelaide, this area is well-known to Southern Australians, as it serves as a primary destination for the area's outdoorsmen and women. It's 1983, and a 15-year-old boy named Richard Kelvin is in a laneway in North Adelaide. 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). If you recall, M.E. Police believe this murder is associated with other high profile murders commonly referred to in the media as the 'Family Murders'.