The Family Murders

Part Two: The Family

As the families of five young men mourned, investigators began to circle around their top suspect, Bevan Spencer von Einem. From the outside looking in, von Einem was incredibly average. But underneath the surface, a monster lingered…

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In the years since pulling Roger James from the Torrens River back in 1972, Bevan Spencer von Einem had lived a relatively mundane life... at least, from the outside looking in. He was now an accountant for a supplies company, was quickly approaching forty years old, and lived with his mother in a small house in northeastern Adelaide.

Everything about von Einem seemed to fit in with this persona that he had carefully crafted over several years: a polite man that endeared himself to his mother's older friends and constantly blended into his surroundings at work. However, underneath the surface, there was much more to von Einem than met the eye. When one looked at Bevan Spencer von Einem, they didn't see a monster. They saw a man who looked average in almost every way. His chin was quite large and he was slightly overweight, but that was about it. His hair had been prematurely graying since he was sixteen years old, but he managed that with frequent visits to a hairdresser named Denis St. Denis, who used dyes to bring it back to the darkened shade of von Einem's youth.

All-in-all, Bevan Spencer von Einem looked like a typical accountant from the 1980s. Physically, he seemed to be average in every possible way, and his public behavior seemed to verify that. However, privately, he suffered from insomnia and other sleep issues, which forced him to resort to late-night, alcohol-fueled drives around Adelaide to comfort himself. Later, it resulted in him having prescriptions for multiple sleep agents, including Mandrax and Rohypnol. This is what put him on the map of police, now investigating the high-profile murder of Richard Kelvin.

You see, in addition to being an average-looking accountant that lived at home with his mother, Bevan Spencer von Einem was also a sexual sadist that enjoyed abducting, drugging and sexually assaulted young men between the age of 13 and 25. And, in the decades since, police have speculated that von Einem wasn't alone when he perpetrated these crimes.

This is part two of the Family Murders.

In 1979, the body of 16-year-old Alan Barnes was found along the bank of the South Para Reservoir, having been drugged and sexually assaulted before being abandoned by his killer on the side of the road. Within months, police discovered another body - that of 25-year-old Neil Muir, who had been mutilated almost beyond recognition. Just like Barnes, he had been sexually assaulted before his death.

Police quickly identified an individual that they believed was their suspect - a local doctor named Peter Millhouse - but the subsequent trial against Dr. Millhouse resulted in a total acquittal.

Shortly after Dr. Millhouse's trial came to a close, the crime spree picked up yet again. Peter Stogneff, a local teenager, went missing in 1981 after skipping school. His body would not be found for over a year, and during that time, 18-year-old Mark Langley went missing after an argument with his friends near the Torrens River. A little over a week after Langley's disappearance, his remains would be found in the Adelaide Foothills, having been drugged and sexually assaulted in a similar manner as Alan Barnes and Neil Muir.

A few months later, the remains of missing Peter Stogneff would be found on a rural property about an hour outside of Adelaide. Unfortunately, the remains had been burned significantly, so police were unable to determine how Peter had died (or when). However, his body showed the same type of postmortem disfiguration as Neil Muir, so he was later linked to this crime spree. Then, in 1983, 15-year-old Richard Kelvin was abducted about one block away from his home in northern Adelaide.

Richard, the son of Channel 9 News anchor Rob Kelvin, became the highest-profile of all of the cases and caused the local Major Crimes division to begin overseeing the investigation. It was only then were these individual cases were connected, and an overarching casefile began to be developed. The search to find Richard Kelvin ended just shy of two months later when geologists stumbled upon his body in the Mount Crawford Forest. His body showed signs of having endured torture and abuse for upwards of a month, at the hands of an unknown captor, who had subjected the teen to horrific sexual violence. Just like Alan Barnes and Mark Langley, he had been kept drugged with numerous chemical agents; the most prominent among them was the substance Mandrax, a prescription drug throughout Australia.

When police began to look at who had been prescribed Mandrax in South Australia, a familiar name popped up: Bevan Spencer von Einem. He had been implicated in at least two of the murders thus far (as well as a separate abduction/sexual assault), and with this additional link, police began to take a closer look at von Einem and his associates.

Two days after the body of Alan Barnes was found - the first known victim of this crime spree - police had received an anonymous phone call alerting them to Bevan Spencer von Einem. This caller claimed that von Einem had been responsible, in no small way, for the disappearance and murder of the 17-year-old. It took police quite a few months to follow up on this tip; at which point, another victim had been sadistically murdered (Neil Muir). When police finally questioned von Einem about his potential involvement in the Barnes' murder, he admitted to not only being gay but carrying on a sexual relationship with Neil Muir years prior. He even admitted to having seen Neil just days before his murder; out at the gay-friendly bars and clubs that both were known to frequent.

Despite these links to the first two murder victims, Bevan Spencer von Einem managed to avoid closer scrutiny for some time. Police had become enamored with Dr. Peter Millhouse as their primary suspect and spent the better part of 1980 building a case against him as the sole perpetrator. During that time, the crimes seemed to abate, and it wasn't until Dr. Millhouse was acquitted that the murders picked up once again.

Peter Stogneff disappeared in 1981 and his remains weren't found until the following October (1982) but were too badly burned to disseminate any information from. However, a witness had reported seeing the teen in the company of an older male on the day he disappeared. As far as I know, von Einem was not investigated in this crime, due to a lack of any evidence whatsoever.

The same year that Stogneff's body was found, local teenager Mark Langley had disappeared from northeastern Adelaide, having last been seen near the Torrens River. His body was found in the Adelaide Foothills about a week later and was found to have been drugged and raped before his death. In this case, von Einem was questioned again, due to him having been accused of committing sexual assaults against two young men near the location Mark disappeared from: near the Torrens River. When questioned about Mark Langley's death, von Einem denied having any involvement but did admit to having been in the area on the night-in-question, having been cruising around the town while drinking to help treat his insomnia.

It wasn't until the body of Richard Kelvin was found in 1983 that police finally had a clear route to von Einem: the prescription drug Mandrax, which had been used to drug at least two of the murder victims, but also at least one additional sexual assault that they had tied to Bevan Spencer von Einem (that of the teenager "George," whose story I told you at the end of the last episode). Investigators were now able to link von Einem to this crime spree and believed him guilty of at least two murders: that of Richard Kelvin and Mark Langley.

After discovering that Bevan Spencer von Einem was one of the people in South Australia with a prescription for Mandrax, police decided to surprise him with a series of interviews at his home and workplace; hoping that the tactic of questioning him without any kind of preparation would allow them to get unfiltered, honest answers. Primarily, police decided to focus in on von Einem's whereabouts on the night that 15-year-old Richard Kelvin had disappeared: Sunday, June 5th, 1983. They figured that, since this was a Sunday afternoon/evening, von Einem would be able to recall what he had done that weekend. Surprisingly, von Einem had a response ready for them: he claimed that he'd been sick that weekend, having contracted the flu in early June and taken an entire week off of work to recover.

Of course, this wasn't much of an alibi at all. At least, not to police, who realized that von Einem taking an entire week off of work only meant that he had no record of his whereabouts. Even though von Einem had a doctor's note from that weekend, he had no other recollection of events, other than him having been at home, battling the flu. Even his doctor's appointment had been a quick one, with von Einem having been prescribed some more drugs to sleep and recover.

During this same round of questioning, von Einem revealed that he had indeed been prescribed Mandrax for his insomnia, which he also treated by driving around Adelaide while consuming alcohol. He had also been prescribed Rohypnol in the past ("roofies," commonly used in date-rape crimes). Police inquired if von Einem would consent to a search of his property, which included not only his home (where he lived with his mother) but both of the vehicles that were registered to him. von Einem then told police that he only owned one car at the moment, having sold the other in June. This, of course, happened to correlate with the period that Richard Kelvin had been abducted, murdered, and then possibly dumped in the Mount Crawford Forest.

Police would later learn that von Einem had sold the vehicle, a Ford Falcon, to a family friend of his, but not before repainting the trunk of the vehicle. Not the entire vehicle, mind you... just the trunk.

When questioned about his possible connections to the victims, von Einem seemed to have canned answers that had been prepared ahead of time. Other times, he seemed to deflect to racially-insensitive remarks, accusing people of Italian, Greek, or Lebanese descent of having committed the crimes. When asked if he would ever commit an act such as murder, von Einem told the investigators that murder was "unethical," which they viewed as being a very cryptic and bizarre response.

At the time, investigators began to slowly realize that they had found a killer (if not their killer). However, they were now left with the most difficult task: having to prove it.

As I've mentioned a couple of times now, police had received an anonymous phone call just two days after the body of Alan Barnes was discovered. This was back in 1979 before police would learn about the depths of this unknown killer's depravity. At the time, they still believed that Barnes had been killed by someone that knew him, believing that the motive was personal. Years later, police began circling back to this phone call. They wanted to get back in touch with the caller, to learn more about what they knew and why. If they could successfully link von Einem to the Alan Barnes case, they could successfully link him to at least 4/5 of the murders.

Surprisingly, years later, they were able to track down the original caller (in almost all of the press coverage of this case, this individual has been referred to with the alias "Mr. B" - which I will stick to throughout this episode).

Police wanted to track down "Mr. B" and learn about what he knew and when. When they got in touch with this individual, they discovered that he was a young bisexual man, who was in his early 20's at this point (making him a teenager at the time the crimes began). He claimed that he had befriended the older Bevan Spencer von Einem back then - in June of 1979 - at around the same time that Alan Barnes went missing.

"Mr. B" agreed to speak to police, but only if they agreed to keep his name out of any official documentation. He wanted to remain anonymous, and would only meet police in isolated locations away from prying eyes. Cautiously, police accepted these terms and agreed to meet with "Mr. B" after jumping through a series of hoops to avoid detection. When they finally had the chance to sit down with this young man, they learned much more than they ever bargained for.

"Mr. B" told police that he had befriended von Einem years beforehand, and the two had become quite literally partners-in-crime. The two would often cruise around Adelaide in von Einem's vehicles, with a cooler in the backseat that was always well-stocked with beers. They would pick up hitchhikers and other impressionable young men, and then use the beers to begin plying them with alcohol. According to "Mr. B", this scheme was surprisingly successful. von Einem and he would pick up several young men throughout Adelaide, often pretending that they were on their way to a party, where more alcohol and attractive women were waiting. After the young men ingested a couple of beers, von Einem would encourage these young men to take a couple of pills that he referred to as "No Doz" (a brand of commonly-used caffeine pill). In actuality, the pills were Rohypnol or Mandrax ("roofies" or "Randy Mandy's").

This story was almost identical to one told by police months prior, from a young man named George, who had reported being drugged and sexually assaulted under almost-identical circumstances. If that wasn't enough, "Mr. B" would go on to describe the location that George claims to have been taken to, where two women lived. "Mr. B" claimed that Bevan Spencer von Einem had a couple of friends in northern Adelaide, who were transgender women, who often provided a location to carry out sexual assaults in exchange for drugs and other favors. "Mr. B" also described to police how von Einem's mother would often leave her house every other weekend, leaving it in the care of von Einem. That is when von Einem would carry out these assaults, as the home had a very particular driveway that allowed him to transport the drugged young men into his house without being seen.

"Mr. B" claimed to have been present during several of these abductions but claimed to have never taken part in any of the sexual assaults. He described one incident in particular, where von Einem had drugged a pair of young men and then began sexually assaulting them in a manner that was very reminiscent to the area's male murder victims. Police doubted just how valid many of these claims were, especially since "Mr. B" seemed to allege a lot of illegal conduct on von Einem's part without accepting any of the blame himself, but this testimony was seen as a huge win for investigators. It filled in quite a few of the gaps that they had been struggling with and managed to establish von Einem as a sexual predator that preyed upon young men throughout Adelaide.

Police were successfully building the foundation for a strong case against Bevan Spencer von Einem: they had eyewitness testimony putting him and the victims in the same location shortly before their deaths, they had von Einem implicating himself in multiple statements, they had witness statements establish von Einem's propensity for sexual predation, and now it was time for investigators to find some physical evidence.

In the Fall of 1983, Adelaide police arranged a search of von Einem's home (where he lived with his mother). Inside, things looked relatively normal: there was no apparent evidence of a crime having been committed inside, let alone any evidence of von Einem having raped and butchered five young men. However, during the search, von Einem admitted that some prescription drugs found in the bathroom's medicine cabinet - namely, Rohypnol - did belong to him (he claimed that he had been prescribed the drug due to sleep-related issues). Inside von Einem's bedroom, police found a large harp; which, admittedly, von Einem was proficient at playing. I know this sounds random, but it would become somewhat-relevant later on.

While searching through von Einem's bedroom, police would also discover a "hidden ledge" on the inside of his closet; where bottles of several more prescription drugs were resting. These were the drugs valium, Mandrax, and Noctec, which von Einem also had prescriptions for. When asked about why the pill bottles were hidden away in his closet, von Einem had no legitimate response. This became a point of curiosity for investigators, who knew that at least three of the young male victims had been drugged before their death. If you recall, all of these drugs had been found in the system of the fifth and final victim, Richard Kelvin; even though - in a prior police interview - von Einem claimed to have run out of Mandrax pills months beforehand.

Police had long suspected that the killer they had been hunting for months would be an individual of high intellect: someone that had been able to perform surgery on a deceased victim at a moment's notice, who had also washed the bodies to avoid any detection. But if he was the killer (or played a part in the deaths of these five men) the discovery of these drugs in von Einem's home made him appear to be almost inept.

The search of von Einem's home carried on for several hours, and eventually, police set their sights on von Einem's vehicle. While they didn't find any incriminating, they did find something that backed up their witness statements: a cooler sitting in the backseat, which matched what both "Mr. B" and George had described months earlier.

On the evening that the search of Bevan Spencer von Einem's home was carried out, Investigator Bob O'Brien decided to circle back once again. This wasn't a part of any legitimate surveillance, but he just wanted to observe the suspect and see his actions hours afterward, to see what kind of things he'd be doing... or, to see who he met with.

That night - hours after police had left - Investigator O'Brien witnessed seeing an individual arrive and meet with von Einem. As he would later learn, this individual was a local businessman and a good friend of von Einem's (who I'll refer to as "Mr. R" throughout this episode). While the two were longtime associates, Investigator O'Brien would never have enough evidence to prove that "Mr. R" had any connections to this crime spree... even though this acquaintance remained at the von Einem home for hours after a search of the location, providing some kind of counsel or support for their only suspect.

On November 3rd, 1983, police arrested Bevan Spencer von Einem and officially charged him with the murder of Richard Kelvin. Due to the chemical compounds found in Kelvin's system, they believed that they had enough to convict von Einem in this heinous crime, and would set out to find evidence in the other three cases that von Einem was linked to (four, if you include the mysterious death of 14-year-old Peter Stogneff). Prosecutors believed that charging von Einem in the Kelvin murder and working their way backwards would provide them with the most likely chance of scoring convictions.

Over the next few months, police would begin to tear into Bevan Spencer von Einem's life, looking for any foothold that they could find that would take them up the figurative ladder that this case was becoming. This meant quite literally tearing apart his home, looking for any forensic evidence that might link von Einem to Richard Kelvin: hair fibers from his clothing and furniture, carpet fibers, blood samples, etc. Anything that could be taken as evidence was.

In the meantime, as police began rooting around von Einem's life, they began probing his social circle. Many of von Einem's coworkers, who had worked alongside him for months or even years at this point, described him as a very tame, quiet individual. A bit of a loner, if you will. However, that did not mean that he was without quirks. Some coworkers told police that von Einem had a bizarre sense of humor, which often expressed itself in concerning jokes; for example, when asked about how his weekend had been, he had once joked about having murdered someone. On another occasion, he was seen acting inappropriately with young men in front of a coworker. This was all stuff that seemed innocuous at the time but was becoming more alarming as police discovered von Einem's secrets.

Police also began looking into some of von Einem's associates; in particular, his friend, who I identified earlier as "Mr. R". Police had learned that this individual owned a business nearby, which was housed in a two-story building. When they searched the building, they discovered that the business was confined entirely to the bottom floor, while the top floor remained mostly empty. "Mr. R" claimed it was reserved for management, but a search of the property failed to find anything that backed that up. In fact, one of the upstairs rooms contained nothing but a mattress.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, police had set out to surveil "Mr. R" after he was spotted at von Einem's home the night of the police search. On multiple occasions, police spotted this individual aggressively flirting with young men, or even catcalling them. He seemed to close his business at lunch every day for an hour so that he could walk around, hitting up the area's gay hotspots in quick succession. This seemed to be a routine for him, and one that police - given the context - found troubling. Police also discovered that "Mr. R" had a roommate named Stephen George Woodards. Woodards was an Adelaide-area doctor who would be theorized to have played some part in this crime spree, who was swamped by claims of sexual assault for decades, before finally facing charges in 2011 for crimes he allegedly committed in the early 1980s.

Police began to connect these three men, theorizing that they might have been acting in tandem. They believed that von Einem had abducted and drugged the young victims, brought them back to "Mr. R's" establishment, and then had Woodards perform any surgical acts that might have been required (such as the impromptu surgery of Mark Langley or the dismemberments of Neil Muir and Peter Stogneff). This was just theorized, mind you; not proven in any court.

Police would be unable to successfully link these individuals together beyond them sharing a friendly relationship. However, these connections did reveal to police that Bevan Spencer von Einem ran in circles that preyed upon younger men. If what they were doing wasn't illegal, then it was certainly unethical and bordered somewhere between the two at the very least.

Up until this point in the story, Bevan Spencer von Einem had denied any wrongdoing whatsoever. He claimed to have had nothing to do with any of the murders and denied knowing 15-year-old Richard Kelvin in any way. However, his tune would begin to change when forensics began to prove otherwise. When police had discovered Richard Kelvin's body, they found him in the same clothing that he had been wearing when he disappeared weeks prior. They would examine these items of clothing and discovered fibers that linked directly to von Einem's clothing and his bedroom. Some of the fibers came from a specific cardigan of von Einem's, while others came from his linens and his carpet.

So now, police not only had the exact drugs found in Richard Kelvin's system linking the two, but they had specific fibers putting 15-year-old Richard Kelvin in 37-year-old Bevan Spencer von Einem's bedroom shortly before his death.

Now that his back was up against a wall, von Einem - awaiting trial in a local jail cell - chose to amend his original statement. Now, he remembered that he had met Richard Kelvin on the night of the teen's disappearance, having been driving around in the area on the way to pick up some food that afternoon. He claimed that he had been driving around Kelvin's neighborhood, looking for parking, when he encountered the teenager; who - according to him - came with him willingly. He said that the teenager entered the vehicle of his own accord, and as the two drove through Adelaide, Richard discussed issues that had been plaguing him (stuff at school, girlfriend problems, etc.). Of course, this was all stuff that had been disclosed in the area's newspapers in the preceding months; stuff that von Einem easily could have discovered through the media coverage.

Bevan von Einem then claimed that he took Richard Kelvin back to his house, and there, they proceeded to just talk for some time. He claimed that they hugged at one point, and von Einem played his harp for the teen, before dropping him off at a local bus stop and giving him $20 to get back home.

If this seems unbelievable to you at home, imagine how it felt to be one of the officers having to hear it.

Police didn't buy this new statement for a variety of reasons. Namely, Bevan Spencer von Einem had previously claimed to have been sick and bedridden that entire week. Now, he just-so-happened to place himself in Kelvin's neighborhood, picking up some food from a local restaurant? Also, witnesses in the Kelvin neighborhood had recalled hearing screams and shouts, which indicated a forceful abduction; so the idea that Richard went along willingly with his abductor was laughable, at best.

Additionally, the fibers found on Richard Kelvin's clothing were fresh additions. Police still believed that Richard Kelvin had been held captive for over five weeks, and the fibers had been added to his clothing closer to the time of his discovery than his initial disappearance. If von Einem and he had interacted back in June, then the fibers wouldn't have been as prevalent than when his body was found and examined in July. It just didn't make any sense.

Needless to say, police and prosecutors weren't buying von Einem's new statement whatsoever. It just cemented the fact that von Einem wasn't a criminal genius, as they had been expecting, but a demented deviant desperately trying to stay afloat as he slowly drowned. For more proof of that, just consider this: Bevan Spencer von Einem had just now implicated himself in this crime, making himself the last known person to have seen Richard Kelvin alive before the teen was murdered. To prosecutors, this statement was a confession in all but name. As you can imagine, they were now pushing for the trial to begin as soon as possible, and within months, von Einem would be entering a plea of not guilty.

The trial of Bevan Spencer von Einem began on October 15th, 1984, and highlighted most of the information I've already recounted: von Einem's sketchy alibi, the witnesses that were called to prove (or dispute) his guilt, etc.

After leaning almost entirely on circumstantial evidence against Dr. Peter Millhouse in 1980, prosecutors wanted to go with a more heavy-handed approach in this trial. They laid out a compelling case that not only linked von Einem to the victim, 15-year-old Richard Kelvin, through the drugs but also forensic testing. This seemed to inarguably prove that von Einem had picked up Richard Kelvin, and was the last person to see him before he was sexually abused, murdered, and dumped near the Adelaide Foothills.

Bevan von Einem's defense, on the other hand, worked only to punch holes in the prosecution. They faced an uphill battle, as you can imagine, and failed to establish any kind of cohesive narrative; especially since von Einem's statements to investigators seemed to discredit any valid alibi that might have been established. Their only shot seemed to be playing up von Einem's ineptitude, which could only get them so far.

Throughout the trial, von Einem's lawyers also implied that Richard Kelvin had been a closeted bisexual; which, they claimed, he had disclosed to von Einem during their consensual conversation on the night that Kelvin disappeared. Of course, the only witness for this was the accused, who tried to imply that the victim felt some kind of attraction to him and confided this to him, personally. Richard's family and friends were called to testify, putting an end to this rumor once and for all.

On November 5th, 1984, the jury broke for deliberation, returning after roughly seven-and-a-half hours with a guilty verdict. Bevan Spencer von Einem was found guilty of Richard Kelvin's murder and automatically given a life sentence with a non-parole period of 24 years (the longest possible sentence allowed under South Australian law at the time). He was sent to spend the rest of his life at the Yatala Labour Prison, where he remains to this day.

Of course, one of the first guests to visit him behind bars would be none other than "Mr. R," the acquaintance that police believed had also been involved in the commission of these crimes.

Police had now successfully closed the book on at least one of the murders attributed to this crime spree. The loved ones of Richard Kelvin were now able to put a name and face to the killer of their beloved teenager, but four other young men were facing less-than-certain circumstances: lower-profile cases that seemed to have fallen by the wayside, which didn't exactly have the star-power of the Kelvin name.

As Bevan Spencer von Einem began serving his sentence, police began looking forward. They had already been working on ways to connect him to the other murders, but - unlike the case of Richard Kelvin - there was a lot less linking them to von Einem. In the case of Alan Barnes and Mark Langley, police had loose connections related to the drugs found in their system, but other than the causes-of-death, that was about it. There was no forensic or physical evidence linking von Einem to any of the other disappearances or murders.

As weeks began to stretch into months and years, the four unsolved cases began to languish in cold case hell. This led to several unanswered questions, such as: had Bevan Spencer von Einem been involved in the other four cases, and - if so - had he acted alone?

"Mr. R", one of von Einem's closest associates, continued to visit him in prison, even though police still suspected him of potential involvement. As far as they were concerned, he was one of their main suspects, and still expressed the troubling behavior that they had observed back in 1983: he continued to prowl the area around his business, at times harassing and catcalling young men. But, other than this bizarre behavior and his association with von Einem, nothing was connecting him to the unsolved murders.

Feeling hopeless with the sad state of the investigation, investigators again reached out to "Mr. B", the young man whose testimony had helped convict von Einem. He agreed to continue cooperating as an informant, but - perhaps to avoid implicating himself in any of the prior crimes - tried to avoid going into the specifics of what he knew. This frustrated investigators, who believed that the young man knew plenty more about the crime spree that he wasn't saying, so they kept pushing him for information.

Eventually, "Mr. B" would disclose that he had once overheard a conversation between Bevan Spencer von Einem and his longtime acquaintance, "Mr. R". In this conversation, he claims that the two had expressed interest in making a "snuff film" of Alan Barnes, the first victim from back in 1979. If you recall, "Mr. B" had originally tagged von Einem as the killer of Barnes back then, through an anonymous phone call, and allegations of a "snuff film" had been propagating the casefile ever since. A separate anonymous tipster had even claimed to have seen said film but offered up no proof. Now the word of this film was reaching investigators' ears yet again, breathing new life into the rumor.

"Mr. B" would later tell police that von Einem had told him once, in conversation, about having been involved in two separate abductions from over a decade prior. The first, he alleged, was that of the infamous Beaumont Children, who went missing from an Adelaide-area beach in 1966. The second was the 1973 disappearance of Kristy Gordon and Jeanne Ratcliffe from the Adelaide Oval. As you can imagine, there was no evidence to support either of these claims, but police would find this statement interesting in its own right.

Unfortunately, police were ultimately unable to make much of "Mr. B's" allegations, especially since he seemed more than willing to implicate von Einem in particularly heinous crimes, but often avoided going into detail (likely to avoid implicating himself in the same crimes). Police understand why, of course - theorizing that "Mr. B" had likely been involved in the commission of these crimes (far beyond what he was admitting to) - but his inability to properly convey the truth to them was as frustrating as it was unhelpful.

Eventually, police were contacted by the sister of "Mr. B", who told them that he had once confessed involvement to her in a personal conversation. According to his sister, "Mr. B" had once told her about a time he had participated in the abduction and murder of a young man in Adelaide, which resulted in him throwing the body off of a bridge. To investigators, this implied that "Mr. B" might know much more about the murder of Alan Barnes than he had indicated so far, but almost a decade after the crime was originally committed, this would also prove to be an investigative dead end.

In 1988, police created a reward for information in this evolving saga: $250,000 to whoever was able to provide information in the still-unsolved murders of Alan Barnes, Neil Muir, Peter Stogneff, or Mark Langley. The next year, 1989, the reward would be doubled ($500,000). This renewed interest led to a revival in cries for justice, and police finally began building a case against Bevan Spencer von Einem for the murders of Alan Barnes and Mark Langley. These two, at least, had been drugged before their deaths and could convincingly be tied to the already-prosecuted murder of Richard Kelvin.

In 1990, von Einem was preparing to stand trial for these two additional crimes, with prosecutors figuring that if they managed to pin two more murders onto von Einem, it would then become easier to obtain convictions in the cases of Neil Muir and Peter Stogneff (cases where there was almost no physical evidence and conflicting witness reports). Unfortunately, before the case could even move forward, they began to fall apart under its own weight.

The testimony of "Mr. B" provided the prosecution with most of its heft, but - with the most recent additions - had started to become too sensational, too unrealistic, to stand up to real scrutiny. Even investigators had a hard time believing all of "Mr. B's" claims, and it didn't help that their star witness's sister was prepared to testify against him, potentially implicating him in the murder of Alan Barnes (and such, giving him the motive to want to pin the crime solely on von Einem).

With all of this weighing on prosecutors' minds, they decided to pull the case against von Einem; knowing that if they tried him for the murders and failed to obtain a conviction, he would forever stand acquitted of the crimes, even if new evidence were to surface. So, having to swallow their pride, the prosecution pulled the case and kicked it back to the investigators, who had failed to obtain a necessary level of proof to try the case in court.

Over the next three decades, police would fail to come up with any more evidence incriminating Bevan Spencer von Einem in this case. Despite being convicted for the murder of Richard Kelvin, that remains that only crime he - or anyone else, for that matter - has been successfully tried for in this story.

Over the years, the story of these murders would continue to grow in notoriety. And for good reason: this is a heinous crime spree, which remains mostly-unsolved to this day.

While appearing on "60 Minutes," a police officer that worked on this case made the quip of wanting to break up "the happy family," in regards to an alleged conspiracy involving Bevan Spencer von Einem and other suspects (whom he alleged were wealthy businessmen and other higher-ups in the Adelaide social stratosphere). This would go on to be the name that stuck, and is how we describe this crime spree to this day: "The Family Murders."

It's easy to point out the flaws with this theory: that a group of wealthy men had been acting in tandem to abduct, rape, torture, and ultimately butcher young men in the Adelaide area. But over the years, many have pointed to the still-unsolved nature of the crime: no one has been convicted for 4/5 of the murders, and in the single case that saw resolution (Richard Kelvin), the lone culprit has become a divisive figure. Many have a hard time believing that von Einem acted alone.

After all, Bevan von Einem wasn't particularly smart; he worked as a middling accountant for a mid-level supply company and still lived at home with his mother well into his 30's. He hadn't been successful in life, and wasn't particularly deft at hiding his secrets: when police searched his home, they quickly found evidence linking him to the murder of Richard Kelvin, including several pill bottles that he had simply placed on a hidden ledge in his closet. Besides, his own statements to police had been the linchpin in his conviction, making him the last known person to have seen Richard Kelvin alive.

It was obvious to anyone that Bevan Spencer von Einem wasn't a criminal mastermind. Was he evil? Sure. But was he capable of committing crimes like this by himself, without any additional help? Probably not. Police still had no explanation for how Richard Kelvin had been held captive for over a month (since von Einem had no other property under his name) and the surgical know-how needed to commit some of the other crimes remained a major unknown. As far as police knew, von Einem had no such medical expertise, so he could not have conducted the impromptu surgery on Mark Langley's corpse.

This leads to a couple of possibilities: the first is that von Einem wasn't the only sadistic killer prowling Adelaide during the same period. Perhaps there had been another sexual sadist, who preyed upon young men and boys and drugged them in similar ways before killing them. It's possible. Maybe von Einem had simply stolen the idea from them, before committing the fifth (and possibly final) murder of Richard Kelvin.

The other possibility is that von Einem wasn't alone. That he had cooperated with others in the commission of these crimes, and that he had been the only one among them to face any kind of punishment for his involvement.

Throughout the 1990s, the case began to fade from the public eye and transformed into the conspiracy-fringed urban legend that it is now. But finally, in 2008, the investigation into the Family Murders was reopened after several years of inactivity, and police began to finally re-examine some of the long-forgotten evidence. This time, they were able to test the evidence for DNA, which had been an impossibility back in the 1980s.

By this point, police had narrowed down their investigation to three individuals, who they believed had aided von Einem in the commission of these crimes, or had been involved in some capacity.

Suspect #1 was a businessman that lived in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide. This is that individual that I have identified as "Mr. R" throughout the episode, who was a longtime acquaintance of von Einem's and visited him in prison on multiple occasions. Police suspected him of involvement as early as 1983 and he was actually going to be indicted as a co-conspirator in the failed case against von Einem for Alan Barnes's and Mark Langley's murders, which fell apart in the early 1990s. Police have yet to ever officially clear him as a suspect; instead, believing that they have simply never had enough evidence to pursue charges. However, they believe that he acted in-tandem alongside von Einem, or at the very least provided a location for von Einem to carry out these heinous crimes.

Suspect #2 was a former Adelaide doctor, who became (infamously) well-known in Adelaide's gay community. This individual - who was publicly outed by numerous publications in 2011 - was Stephen George Woodards, an Adelaide-area doctor that was later accused of sexually assaulting young men between 1982 and 1984. While the trial against Woodards fell apart due to a lack of physical evidence, Woodards was believed to have supplied drugs to von Einem and "Mr. R," and likely provided surgical expertise when-needed. When cold case investigators began reviewing this case once again, in 2008, Woodards refused to cooperate or answer any questions.

Suspect #3 was a former male sex worker who was believed to be a close friend of both von Einem and suspect #1 ("Mr. R"). This is the individual that I have been identifying as "Mr. B" throughout this episode. Police were able to contain a significant amount of information that seems to implicate him in the abduction, drugging, and sexual abuse of several young men in the Adelaide area (including his own testimony). He was believed to be with von Einem on the day that Alan Barnes was abducted, despite claiming to not know about the crime itself. Shortly after the cold case review began in 2008, this individual moved away from the Adelaide area and was believed to be working as a bus driver in the Brisbane area as recently as just a couple of years ago.

These are just the three primary suspects that police believed have more information than they are letting on. While investigators believe that these three played some part in the commission of the Family Murders, they are by no means the only suspects; in fact, it is theorized today than many more men might have taken part in this crime spree, but have managed to avoid identification and punishment in the years since.

In 2014, the family of Trevor Peters was going through his belongings in Kensington, an eastern suburb of Adelaide. Peters had died just a short time earlier, and after several days, they decided that it was time to go through his belongings and see what mementos he had left behind.

Peters, it turns out, was a gay man that had run around in the same circles as Bevan Spencer von Einem back in the late 1970s and early 1980's. The two were friends and were often seen together in public gatherings.

As Peters' family members went through his belongings, they ended up finding a diary, which had been sitting undisturbed for seemingly decades. As they read through the diary, they discovered that Peters had discussed at-length his relationship with von Einem, as well as the other individuals that ran in their social circle: this including the other individuals that had been linked to the case, such "Mr. R" and Stephen George Woodards. Of course, in Peters' diary, he had used their full names (which police had not released to the press), describing them and their activities in excessive detail.

According to Trevor Peters' diary, von Einem had once discussed the abduction of Alan Barnes with his hairdresser, Denis St. Denis; the same man that he had relied upon, for years, to keep his hair dyed. According to Peters' diary, the pair had both been involved in the Barnes murder and apparently even discussed taking pictures of Barnes in the days that he was held captive. Peters' diary also claimed that von Einem had rented an apartment in eastern Adelaide alongside two of his associates (Denis St. Denis and another man) for the duration of the crime spree (likely listing it under an alias or one of the others' identity).

While investigators originally approached the existence of this diary with trepidation, they were convinced that Trevor Peters might have known something, simply because he had accurately described the inner-workings of von Einem's social circle, and had done so as a friend. He also had no reason to lie, with this diary remaining in his possession until after his death. It would also be discovered that Trevor Peters had lived just a house away from two transgender women that were tentatively linked to von Einem, who had allegedly lured young men to their house under the guise of alcohol and women. Police believe that this is where von Einem had lured the teenager George (whose story I told you at the end of the last episode) and other young men, who claimed to have been similarly assaulted.

By the time the contents of this diary were published, one of the women was dead. She was identified posthumously as Pru Firman, while the other was only identified as being the living sister of an Olympic wrestler. Many have theorized that one - or both - of these women had potentially been involved in the abduction and murder of the five victims; perhaps even providing an answer to the high-pitched voice that witnesses had heard during the abduction of Richard Kelvin.

Unfortunately, due to the deaths of multiple named individuals, police have been no closer to closing this case than they were thirty years ago.

Over the years, people have pointed fingers at several sexual offenders, who they claim conspired to perpetrate this crime spree. This is what the Australian media - and the world at large, really - refers to as "The Family." While some believe that the idea of such a conspiracy is outlandish, others point to figures such as Jeffrey Epstein or the Catholic Church to prove that such conspiracies do exist, and are often rooted in some kind of truth.

Before I wrap up this episode, I would just like to point out that - while the Family Murders were happening - numerous scandals were unfolding in the Adelaide area. While none of these individuals are known to have any known connection to the still-unsolved crime spree you've heard throughout these two episodes, their exploits are worth mentioning:

"Mr. R," the second suspect in these crimes, who is believed to have cooperated with Bevan Spencer von Einem throughout this spree.

Stephen George Woodards, an Adelaide-area doctor that had personal connections to both von Einem and "Mr. R." In 2011, he would face charges of sexual assault - crimes that allegedly took place between 1982 and 1985 - but was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

"Mr. B," the police informant that cooperated in the trial against Bevan Spencer von Einem, is believed to have participated in many of the abductions. Police believe that he likely only cooperated with police to avoid jail time himself.

Pru Firman and her roommate, who allegedly allowed their house to be used by Bevan Spencer von Einem and his associates in exchange for drugs.

Denis St. Denis, a longtime associate of von Einem's, who was believed to have been involved in the abduction and sexual abuse of the first known "Family" victim, Alan Barnes.

Derrance Stevenson, a high-profile lawyer that was murdered in 1979 by his teenage lover. He was a known acquaintance of many of these figures, and a noted philanderer that enjoyed having sex with young men. He was believed to have a connection to Alan Barnes, and the two were murdered just weeks apart from one another.

Gino "Luigi" Gambardella, a chiropractor that was close friends with both Derrance Stevenson and Bevan Spencer von Einem. He fled Australia in the early 1980s, after multiple sexual assault allegations put him in the crosshairs of investigators, ultimately seeking refuge in his nation of birth, Italy (where he is believed to still reside today).

Robert William Symonds, also known as "Mother Goose," an Adelaide-area bookmaker that was accused of sexually assaulting young men over nearly 20 years (ranging from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s). Known mostly for his odd gait and peculiar style-of-walking (hence the nickname "Mother Goose'), Symonds first stood trial for some of the assaults in 2011 and was ultimately acquitted. But more recently, he was convicted on three counts of child abuse in March 2018.

Peter Liddy was South Australia's longest-tenured magistrate when he was convicted back in 2001 of multiple sex crimes, including the sexual assaults of young men as far back as 1969. Many of the assaults he was accused of committing couldn't even be tried because the statute of limitations had expired, but he was ultimately sentenced to life in prison, where he became neighbors with none other than Bevan Spencer von Einem.

Richard Dutton Brown was another of South Australia's magistrates who was accused of multiple sexual assaults in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a gay man that was often seen in the same areas as the other "Family" suspects and passed away in 2010 before prosecutors could officially file charges against him for the numerous accusations.

Ric Marshall was the host of children's TV programs throughout the 1970s and 1980s, who was believed to be the ringleader of a child sex ring that focused on young boys. While he wasn't convicted until 2012, because of his old age, he was allowed to be sentenced to only 25 years of house arrest; a sentence that many of his victims believe was not nearly enough. He would ultimately pass away in November of 2019, managing to avoid almost all punishment for his heinous actions.

Then we have Donald John Storen, a well-known boxing promoter and close friend of former-South Australian Premier Don Dunstan. At one point, Storen left Australia to live in Indonesia, where he was later convicted of sexually assaulting and raping four boys in the mid-2000s. He was eventually extradited to Australia after serving his sentence.

As if that wasn't enough, a recent article from the Australian publication The Age has established that the Catholic Church - throughout Victoria and South Australia - systematically covered up decades of child abuse and rape in a covert system meant to avoid detection. To many, this is almost identical to the allegations leveled at "The Family," and it has been theorized that there might even be some overlap.

I know that this is a lot to take in, because, trust me, I get it. It's hard to tell what is a fact in this case and what is a rumor. Some of the theories even seem to be rooted, at least partially, in homophobia, brought on by the evolution of gay rights throughout the 1970s and 1980s (the same fear that led many to describe AIDS as "the gay plague" and brought on the hysteria of Satanic Panic). In this case, in particular, it can be hard to differentiate between fact and gossip, and I only hope that I've done a good job of straddling that line.

However, what I think needs to be said is that Adelaide was home to many, many sick people at the time this tragic saga was unfolding: perverts and pedophiles alike that preyed upon young men, perhaps under the assumption that these victims would be the least likely to report their crimes. We've seen this behavior express itself in not just the Family Murders, but the other crimes I just detailed; individuals that all seem to have some kind of connection to other deviants... many of whom were wealthy or held powerful positions.

Personally, I think that believing Bevan Spencer von Einem acted alone is the easy answer. The harder answer, which is likely unprovable all of these years later, is that he likely had help... from someone (or someones) that have managed to avoid justice in the decades since. For that reason, while the case file on Richard Kelvin may have been closed years ago, the murders of Alan Barnes, Neil Muir, Peter Stogneff, and Mark Langley remain unresolved.

Episode Information

Writing, research, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan

Published on on March 8th, 2020

Originally published on April 10th, 2017

Producers: Maggyjames, Ben Krokum, Roberta Janson, Quil Carter, Peggy Belarde, Laura Hannan, Damion Moore, Amy Hampton, Scott Meesey, Steven Wilson, Scott Patzold, Astrid Kneier, 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