The victims were chosen by Bunting for imagined
infractions; some victims were murdered as Bunting suspected them of being
paedophiles, based on flimsy evidence or rumours. Others were killed due to his dislike of
obese people,
drug users, or because they were
homosexual. Most of the victims were friends or acquaintances of at least one member of Bunting's group. Some were family members, occasionally sharing a residence with one of the murderers. Some were befriended for a short time and pulled into the group as easy targets for Bunting. was bludgeoned to death with a shovel in Bunting's living room in
Salisbury, South Australia after being invited inside for a social visit on 31 August 1992. Bunting accused Trezise of being a paedophile and referred to him in conversations after his murder as "Happy Pants". Trezise was found buried two years after his murder in a shallow grave on 16 August 1994, at
Lower Light, South Australia. In 1997, Trezise was the subject of two episodes of the Australian television show ''
Australia's Most Wanted''. Bunting watched an episode of the show with Vlassakis and his mother and boasted, "That's my handiwork" and revealed to Vlassakis that he had murdered Trezise while living at Waterloo Corner Road in Salisbury, and that he disposed of Trezise's body in Lower Light with Wagner and Vanessa Lane's assistance. •
Ray Allan Peter Davies, 26, •
Michelle Gardiner, 19, was a
transgender woman who lived in the residence of Nicole Zuritta, a cousin of Wagner's wife. Gardiner presented as female and Bunting referred to her as "the biggest homo". Shortly before her disappearance in September 1997, Gardiner was playing with Wagner's children in her front yard. Gardiner grabbed one of the children and placed her hand over the child's mouth. Wagner saw the incident and became infuriated. Bunting and Wagner took Gardiner to
Murray Bridge, South Australia where they strangled her in a shed, forcing her to stand up each time she collapsed. Wagner and Bunting then staged a robbery at Gardiner's home, stealing some of Zuritta's belongings and convincing her that Gardiner had stolen them in order to pay for a
gender-affirming surgery. Gardiner's body was kept in a barrel in the shed until it was moved to the Snowtown bank vault before it was found on 20 May 1999. Her right ear was covered by a slip knot in a rope that was wrapped around her neck. Her left foot had been cut off so the drum's lid could be shut. •
Vanessa Lane, 42, was Wagner's ex-partner. Lane, a transgender woman, began a relationship with Wagner when the latter was 15 years old. They had been living together for eight years when Lane and Wagner met Bunting upon his move to Salisbury North. Bunting held an open disdain for Lane, who had previously been convicted of child sexual abuse, but nevertheless accepted Lane into his circle of friends because she kept him informed of the activities of local paedophiles. Wagner ended the relationship with Lane in 1996, after which Thomas Eugenio Trevilyan (next victim, see below), with whom Lane had a concurrent relationship, moved in with Lane in April 1997. According to Lane, the killing of Trezise left her
traumatised. She told her mother and Bunting's ex-girlfriend about the incident, and when they questioned Bunting about Lane's statements, he confirmed they were accurate. Trevilyan also told Bunting that Lane had been sexually abusing him. On 17 October 1997, Bunting, Wagner and Trevilyan picked up Lane and on orders from Bunting, Lane called and verbally abused her mother, who could hear Trevilyan in the background prompting her with what to say. After telling her mother she was moving to
Queensland and wanted nothing further to do with her, she hung up. They tortured Lane for information about her bank accounts, crushing her toe with pliers. Lane was then strangled to death. Bunting assumed control of Lane's vehicle and claimed her welfare payments. •
Gavin Allan Porter, Vlassakis's friend, 29, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, for which he had spent many years in mental institutions. Following the death of his mother he moved to Adelaide from
Victoria in 1997 where he met Vlassakis and moved in with him. Both Vlassakis and Porter were
heroin addicts. After Bunting, Elizabeth Harvey and her children, including Vlassakis, moved to
Murray Bridge in late 1997, Porter also moved with them. Bunting referred to Porter as a "waste" who no longer deserved to live. Bunting was pricked by a used syringe Porter had left on the couch in his living room, and decided he should be the next victim. Porter was sleeping in his parked automobile on Bunting's property when Bunting and Wagner attacked him. When Porter awoke, he managed to stab Bunting in the hand with a screwdriver before being overpowered and strangled. Porter's body was displayed to Vlassakis before being put in a barrel for disposal. Porter's body was found on 20 May 1999. On 21 November 1998, Bunting and Wagner arrived at her residence. Her husband and children had gone out for the night. Elizabeth was dragged to her bathroom, tortured, then killed. A rope was left around her neck, and a gag had been taped into her mouth. Purportedly, later that day, when her husband was shown her remains, he laughed. Elizabeth's body was placed in a barrel. On 20 May 1999, Haydon's body was found in the Snowtown bank vault. •
David Johnson, 24, was Vlassakis's stepbrother. Bunting did not like Johnson because he was fastidious with his cleanliness and appearance and Bunting frequently referred to him as a "
yuppie" and a "
faggot". Bunting began talking about "getting" Johnson and suggested that Vlassakis find a way to get him to the bank in Snowtown. On 9 May 1999, Vlassakis told Johnson that there was a computer for sale cheap in Snowtown and he agreed to go with Vlassakis to buy it. He was overpowered as soon as he entered the building. Johnson was the only victim who died in Snowtown and his body was found on 20 May 1999. ==Investigation==