The Family Murders

Police believe that up to 12 people, several of them high-profile Australians, were involved in the kidnappings. The suspects and their associates were linked mainly by their shared habits of "actively [having] sought out young males for sex," sometimes drugging and raping their victims.Suspect 1, David Richmond, an Eastern Suburbs businessman, is believed to have been with von Einem when Kelvin was abducted. The others are Suspect 2, a former male prostitute and close friend of von Einem known as Mr B. (Robert Bland), and Suspect 3, an Eastern Suburbs doctor, Dr.Stephen George Woodards. Von Einem was convicted in 1984 of the murder of Kelvin and sentenced to life imprisonment The non-parole period was increased to 36 years after appeal in March 1985. In 1989, von Einem was charged with the murders of two other victims, Barnes and Langley, but the prosecution entered a nolle prosequi (voluntarily discontinue criminal charges) during the trial when crucial similar fact evidence was deemed inadmissible by the presiding judge. Von Einem was also one of the last people seen with a fourth victim, Muir, following his abduction. Apart from von Einem, three other core members are thought to be directly involved in the murders; while DNA testing re-commenced in 2008, no further charges have been laid. 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. The cold case review was completed in November 2010 with no charges being laid against any of the three key suspects. Some authorities do not recognise the term "The Family", stating that "[t]hey should not be given any title that infers legitimacy. These people have no such bond, only an association that with time probably no longer exists". Von Einem died of natural causes in prison aged 79 on 5 December 2025. Rewards ranging from $200,000 to $1 million continue to be offered in each case, for information leading to a conviction. ==Victims==

Alan Arthur Barnes, aged 16, murdered in 1979. He was last seen while hitchhiking being picked up by a white HQ Holden sedan carrying three or four people on Grand Junction Road. His body had been severely mutilated and dumped in the South Para Reservoir, northeast of Adelaide. 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. His body also showed signs of beatings and torture. Noctec was found in his blood, suggesting he had been drugged. Neil Fredrick Muir, aged 25, murdered two months after Barnes in August 1979. His remains had been dissected and neatly cut into many pieces, placed in a garbage bag and thrown into the Port River at Port Adelaide. 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. The head was tied to the torso with rope passed through the mouth and out through the neck. and Noctec was found in his blood. Peter Stogneff, aged 14, murdered in August 1981. His skeletal remains were found later in October 1982 by a local farmer at Middle Beach, 50km north of Adelaide. Stogneff's body had been cut into three pieces in a similar fashion to Muir. Little more could be determined as the remains had been accidentally burnt by the farmer while clearing his property of scrub. Mark Andrew Langley, aged 18, His mutilated body was found in scrub in the Adelaide foothills nine days after his disappearance. 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. The sedative-hypnotic drug Mandrax, popular in the 1970s disco scene, was found in Langley's blood. Richard Dallas Kelvin, aged 15 (born 4 December 1967), murdered in July 1983. A son of popular local Nine Network news presenter Rob Kelvin, he was abducted a short distance from his North Adelaide home on 5 June. His body was found on 24 July by a geologist who was searching for moss-covered rocks near a dirt airstrip at Kersbrook. Kelvin was held captive for approximately five weeks likely caused by the insertion of a large blunt object. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of four hypnotic drugs, including Mandrax and Noctec. Trace evidence, including hair and fibres from von Einem's home, was found on Kelvin's body and clothing. ==See also==