Snowtown murders
Encyclopedia
The Snowtown murders, also known as the Bodies in Barrels murders, were the murders of 11 (the twelfth charge of Suzanne Allen was dropped due to lack of evidence) people in South Australia
, Australia
between August 1992 and May 1999. The crimes were uncovered when the remains of eight victims were found in barrels of acid located in a rented former bank building in Snowtown, South Australia
on 20 May 1999. The town of Snowtown is 145 km north of Adelaide
, the capital city of South Australia. Though Snowtown is frequently linked with the crimes, the bodies had been held in a series of locations around Adelaide for some time, and were moved to Snowtown in early 1999, very late in the crime spree that had spanned several years. Only one victim was killed in Snowtown; none of the victims or the perpetrators were from that town.
Eight bodies were found in six plastic barrels in the disused bank vault on 20 May. Three days later two bodies were found buried in a backyard in Salisbury North
, a suburb north of Adelaide. By the end of June, nine of the ten victims had been identified. The discoveries followed a lengthy, covert criminal investigation by South Australian Police
. During the investigation two mysterious deaths already known to authorities were found to have been murders perpetrated by the "Snowtown" murderers.
A total of four people were arrested and charged over the murders. All were convicted of the murders or assisting in the murders. The Court decided that John Justin Bunting was the ringleader of this conspiracy. More than 250 suppression orders prevented publication of details of this case. In early 2011, a judge lifted the remaining orders in response to a request by the producers of the film Snowtown
, a dramatic account of the murders.
The various victims were mainly chosen on a whim by John Bunting for imagined infractions. He especially hated paedophiles, and some victims were murdered as Bunting suspected them of being a paedophile, usually based on flimsy evidence or rumour. Others were killed due to dislike of obese people, or drug users or because they were gay
men. Most of the victims were friends or acquaintances of at least one of the group. Others were relatives, sometimes living in the same house as one of the killers. Others were briefly befriended and drawn into the group as they were picked as easy targets to satisfy Bunting's desire to commit murder. Usually victims' social security
and bank details were obtained, and the murderers or their associates impersonated the victims to continue to collect their pensions after their deaths. Although a total of $97,200 was obtained in this manner, social security fraud was not judged to have been the primary motive for the killings.
The final murder was conducted in the bank building after the barrels had been moved there for storage. Of the scene encountered in this building, one Snowtown officer said: "It was a scene from the worst nightmare you've ever had, I don't think any of us was prepared for what we saw." The building was littered with tools used by the killers to torture and murder their victims, including:
The pathologists report later revealed that prolonged torture
had taken place using everyday tools such as pincers, pliers and clamps. Examples of all of these implements were found in the vault. Wendy Abraham QC
, the deputy Director of Public Prosecutions
, reported at the Supreme Court of South Australia
that the victims were forced to call their torturers 'God', 'Master', 'Chief Inspector' and 'Lord Sir'.
Ray Davies was garrotted with a piece of rope and a tyre lever after being placed in a bath, attacked with clubs, repeatedly beaten about his genitals and having a toe crushed with a pair of pliers.
Frederick Brooks received electric shock
s to his penis and testicles, and had a burning sparkler pushed down into his penis; after his toes were crushed and his nose and ears burned with cigarettes, he was allowed to choke to death on his gag.
A piece of the flesh of the eleventh and final victim, David Johnson, was fried and eaten by Bunting and Wagner.
The investigation began to take shape after Elizabeth Haydon's brother reported her missing within days of her disappearance. Her brother did not believe her husband Mark Haydon's explanations for her disappearance, which seemed to contradict each other in varying versions he gave, and the brother also did not believe she would leave without her two young sons. Police found it suspicious that her husband had not reported her missing, and investigated her disappearance. Elizabeth Haydon was closely affiliated with all of the murderers, so they all fell under close scrutiny once police started their investigations.
The discovery that Trezise and Lane had known each other was one of the first clues in the police discovering that there was more than a routine missing person investigation.
The remains found at Lower Light were later determined to have been those of Clinton Trezise, who had been murdered in Bunting's living room at Salisbury North, South Australia. Ray Davies and Suzanne Allen were found buried in the back yard of that house.
The bodies in barrels were variously stored in several places before finally being moved to the bank vault in Snowtown. These included a shed behind Bunting's house at Murray Bridge
in April 1998; the three barrels were then moved to Haydon's property at Smithfield Plains later in 1998. Then five barrels were stored in a Toyota Land Cruiser
at Hoyleton
, a locality on the Adelaide Plains
near the Clare Valley
, with a sixth in a Mitsubishi Sigma
back at Murray Bridge. Both of these vehicles were later moved to Snowtown, and afterwards the barrels moved into the bank vault, which had been rented by Haydon, using the name "Mark Lawrence", the name he had used before he married.
The movement of unfamiliar vehicles to Snowtown, a small town where strangers stand out, and loading activity at the old bank led to the bank building being searched. Of the Snowtown location one local police source said, "From what I understand there was no person involved in those murders from within Snowtown or the surrounding district. They were murdered elsewhere and the drums were brought to Snowtown because it was a quiet little town and there was a premises ideal for the persons involved."
Examiners attempting to identify the remains found them mummified rather than dissolved, the latter being the apparent intention of storing the bodies in barrels of acid. The killers had chosen hydrochloric acid
which mummified the remains.
The Supreme Court trial for Wagner and Bunting began on 14 October 2002 and within a short space of time the court experienced difficulties with the jury. At least one juror refused to continue due to the horror of the evidence and some sources report that a total of three jurors withdrew from the panel for this reason. Both Bunting and Wagner were found guilty on 8 September 2003. Bunting was convicted of eleven murders and Wagner, who had pleaded guilty to three murders, was convicted of seven; both appealed their convictions. They were each sentenced to imprisonment for life on each count to be served cumulatively; the presiding judge, Justice Brian Martin
, stated that the men were "in the business of killing for pleasure" and were also "incapable of true rehabilitation".
The proceedings against Haydon continued into 2004, and on 2 August a trial opened in which he was charged with two counts of murder and six counts of "assisting offenders". Haydon testified that he was not party to the crimes. However, on 19 December, the jury returned from four days of deliberations, convicting Haydon of five counts of assisting in the crimes and reaching no verdict on the two counts of murder and the remaining charge of assistance. Haydon was held in detention as of December 2004 awaiting a possible retrial. In May 2005 the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Bunting and Wagner, who have now exhausted their avenues of appeal in South Australia. In September 2005 the murder charges against Haydon were dropped in return for guilty pleas to two new charges of assisting in the killings of his wife, Elizabeth Haydon, and Troy Youde. Prosecutors also agreed to drop an additional charge of assisting offenders in relation to the murder of David Johnson.
The final outstanding murder charges against John Bunting and Robert Wagner, concerning Suzanne Allen, were dropped on 7 May 2007, when a jury was unable to reach a verdict.
killer Ivan Milat as Australia's worst serial killers.
The particulars of the case, especially the manner in which the victims were found, horrified and fascinated the public. The murders garnered Snowtown much unwanted attention, and the town is now best known for the murders. According to local residents, in the 18 months following the discovery in the disused bank vault, a steady stream of unwelcome visitors would stop to look at and photograph the building.
At the time, the local press reported a suggestion that the town's name be changed to avoid the stigma now associated with the name, although this suggestion was never acted upon. One suggested new name in press reports was "Rosetown".
The house in Salisbury North was owned by the South Australian Housing Trust
, and has been demolished. Today, units for older people are in its place.
", regarding the life of John Bunting was released in Australia on 19 May 2011.
Books:
Web sites:
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
between August 1992 and May 1999. The crimes were uncovered when the remains of eight victims were found in barrels of acid located in a rented former bank building in Snowtown, South Australia
Snowtown, South Australia
The town of Snowtown is located in the Mid North of South Australia 145 km north of Adelaide and lies on the main route between Adelaide and Perth. The town's elevation is 103 metres and on average the town receives 389 mm of rainfall per annum.-History:...
on 20 May 1999. The town of Snowtown is 145 km north of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, the capital city of South Australia. Though Snowtown is frequently linked with the crimes, the bodies had been held in a series of locations around Adelaide for some time, and were moved to Snowtown in early 1999, very late in the crime spree that had spanned several years. Only one victim was killed in Snowtown; none of the victims or the perpetrators were from that town.
Eight bodies were found in six plastic barrels in the disused bank vault on 20 May. Three days later two bodies were found buried in a backyard in Salisbury North
Salisbury, South Australia
Salisbury is a northern suburb in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the seat of the City of Salisbury, and in the South Australian Legislative Assembly electoral district of Ramsay and the Australian House of Representatives divisions of Wakefield and Port Adelaide...
, a suburb north of Adelaide. By the end of June, nine of the ten victims had been identified. The discoveries followed a lengthy, covert criminal investigation by South Australian Police
South Australia Police
The South Australia Police is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. It is an agency of the Government of South Australia within the South Australian Department of Justice.-History:...
. During the investigation two mysterious deaths already known to authorities were found to have been murders perpetrated by the "Snowtown" murderers.
A total of four people were arrested and charged over the murders. All were convicted of the murders or assisting in the murders. The Court decided that John Justin Bunting was the ringleader of this conspiracy. More than 250 suppression orders prevented publication of details of this case. In early 2011, a judge lifted the remaining orders in response to a request by the producers of the film Snowtown
Snowtown (film)
Snowtown is 2011 film about the Snowtown murders directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant.Screen Australia announced in March 2010 that they would be funding the film....
, a dramatic account of the murders.
Perpetrators
- John Justin BuntingJohn Bunting (serial killer)John Justin Bunting is an Australian serial killer from Brisbane, Queensland, currently serving eleven consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his role in the murder of 11 victims of the Snowtown murders....
(b. 1966 in Inala, QueenslandInala, QueenslandInala is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia, situated in the south-west of the metropolitan area.-History:Following World War II there was a shortage of 250,000 houses across Australia. State and Commonwealth Governments responded by making housing a priority. In Queensland alone over 4000 families...
) was convicted of murdering all listed victims except Suzanne Allen. He was found to have been the leader of the perpetrators. Forensic psychiatrist Professor Kevin Howells, who has worked at Broadmoor HospitalBroadmoor HospitalBroadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...
in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
suggested http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2003/09/08/1062901998339.html that Bunting's behaviour lacks emotion and the capacity to empathise with his victims. Howells observed that Bunting fits the profile of a psychopathic killer who derives satisfaction from controlling his victims. When he was young, his favourite pastime was burning insects in acid. During his teenage years he was a neo-Nazi. During adulthood Bunting developed a deep hatred of paedophiles and homosexuals. - Robert Joe WagnerRobert Wagner (serial killer)Robert Joe Wagner is an Australian serial killer, currently serving ten consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his role in the murder of ten victims of the Snowtown murders...
was befriended by Bunting in 1991. He was encouraged by Bunting to assist him in the various murders, and complied. - Mark Ray Haydon was not convicted of any of the murders, but pleaded guilty to helping the serial killers dispose of the bodies.
- James Spyridon Vlassakis, along with his mother and half-brother, lived with Bunting, and was gradually drawn into helping with the murders and tortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Later became the Crown's star witness. - Elizabeth Harvey, Vlassakis' mother, who knew about the murders, and with Bunting's encouragement, assisted in one of them, died of cancer after the arrests of Bunting, Wagner, Vlassakis, and Haydon.
- Thomas Trevilyan assisted in the murder of Barry Lane in 1997, murdered by the other gang members prior to police involvement.
- Jodie Elliott, sister of Mark Ray Haydon's wife Elizabeth Haydon, was a woman with below-average intelligence who had become besotted with Bunting. She impersonated a deceased former acquaintance of Bunting's, Suzanne Allen, to collect her social security payments. Elliott's son Frederick Brooks was later murdered by the gang.
The murders
Bunting moved into the Salisbury North home in 1991 and quickly befriended Wagner and his boyfriend Barry Lane, and Mark Haydon, who all lived nearby.The various victims were mainly chosen on a whim by John Bunting for imagined infractions. He especially hated paedophiles, and some victims were murdered as Bunting suspected them of being a paedophile, usually based on flimsy evidence or rumour. Others were killed due to dislike of obese people, or drug users or because they were gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
men. Most of the victims were friends or acquaintances of at least one of the group. Others were relatives, sometimes living in the same house as one of the killers. Others were briefly befriended and drawn into the group as they were picked as easy targets to satisfy Bunting's desire to commit murder. Usually victims' social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
and bank details were obtained, and the murderers or their associates impersonated the victims to continue to collect their pensions after their deaths. Although a total of $97,200 was obtained in this manner, social security fraud was not judged to have been the primary motive for the killings.
The final murder was conducted in the bank building after the barrels had been moved there for storage. Of the scene encountered in this building, one Snowtown officer said: "It was a scene from the worst nightmare you've ever had, I don't think any of us was prepared for what we saw." The building was littered with tools used by the killers to torture and murder their victims, including:
- Knives
- A bloodstained saw
- Double barrelled shotgun
- Coils of rope
- Rolls of tape
- Rubber gloves
- Cloths
- A Variac metallurgyMetallurgyMetallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
tool that the killers used to administer electric shocks to the genitals and other sensitive parts of the victim's body
The pathologists report later revealed that prolonged torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
had taken place using everyday tools such as pincers, pliers and clamps. Examples of all of these implements were found in the vault. Wendy Abraham QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, the deputy Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
, reported at the Supreme Court of South Australia
Supreme Court of South Australia
The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court for the Australian State of South Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court...
that the victims were forced to call their torturers 'God', 'Master', 'Chief Inspector' and 'Lord Sir'.
Ray Davies was garrotted with a piece of rope and a tyre lever after being placed in a bath, attacked with clubs, repeatedly beaten about his genitals and having a toe crushed with a pair of pliers.
Frederick Brooks received electric shock
Electric shock
Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....
s to his penis and testicles, and had a burning sparkler pushed down into his penis; after his toes were crushed and his nose and ears burned with cigarettes, he was allowed to choke to death on his gag.
A piece of the flesh of the eleventh and final victim, David Johnson, was fried and eaten by Bunting and Wagner.
The victims
- Clinton Trezise, 22 (d. Aug 1992), was found buried in a shallow graveShallow Grave-Track listing:# Leftfield – "Shallow Grave" – 4:38# Simon Boswell – "Shallow Grave Theme" – 3:30# Nina Simone – "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 3:38# Simon Boswell – "Laugh Riot" – 3:02# Leftfield – "Release the Dubs" – 5:45...
in 1994 at Lower Light. Was killed in Bunting's living room at his home in Salisbury North, by being bashed with a shovel after being invited in for a social visit. - Ray Davies, 26 (d. Dec 1995), a mentally handicapped man who lived in a caravanTravel trailerA travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
in the back yard behind Suzanne Allen's house who became a target after her accusation that he was a paedophile. Harvey assisted in his tortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Davies was never reported missing. - Suzanne Allen, 47, a friend of Bunting's. She died some time after Davies, and her remains were found buried above his in the garden of the house at Salisbury North. Her remains were wrapped in eleven different plastic bags. Her death was concealed by the accused and they continued to collect her pension, but they later claimed she had actually died of a heart attack. Based on the evidence presented at trial, the jury was unable to decide without doubt that she had been murdered.
- Michael Gardiner, 19 (d. Aug 1997) an openlyComing outComing out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay man murdered after a suspicion arose that he was also a paedophile. - Barry Lane, 42 (d. Oct 1997), a gay man and cross-dresser who had been in a relationship with Wagner at the time Bunting first met them in 1991 when he moved to their neighbourhood. Trevilyan was a later boyfriend of Lane's. Lane had been tortured by having his toes crushed with pliers.
- Thomas Trevilyan, 18 (d. 1997) was found hanging from a tree near KersbrookKersbrook, South AustraliaKersbrook is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Kersbrook had a population of 367.-History:...
in the Adelaide HillsAdelaide HillsThe Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
, and was initially presumed to have committed suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. He had helped in the murder of Barry Lane, but was later killed after discussing the crime with others. He was known to his family to have suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was easily persuaded. - Gavin Porter, 29 (d. Apr 1998), a heroin addict and friend of Vlassakis. After Bunting, Elizabeth Harvey, Vlassakis, and Youde moved to Murray Bridge, South AustraliaMurray Bridge, South AustraliaMurray Bridge is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. It is located east-southeast of Adelaide and north of Meningie....
, Porter also moved in. Bunting decided he should be the next victim after he was pricked by a discarded syringe Porter left on the couch in the living room. Porter was strangled in his car parked on the property. - Troy Youde, 21 (d. Sep 1998), Vlassakis' half-brother and son of Elizabeth Harvey who was living with them at Bunting's Murray Bridge house at the time of his death. He was killed in the house after being dragged from his bed while asleep. This was the first murder Vlassakis participated in.
- Fred Brooks, 18 (d. Sep 1998). The intellectually disabled son of Jodie Elliott, a woman in love with Bunting, was chosen by Bunting as an easy victim and lured to his house where he was attacked and brutally tortured.
- Gary O'Dwyer, 29 (d. Nov 1998), man disabled in an earlier car accident and on a pension, O'Dwyer was a stranger, picked as an easy target. He was killed in his home in Frances Street, Murray Bridge, by Bunting, Wagner and Vlassakis.
- Elizabeth Haydon, 37 (d. Nov 1998), Mark Haydon's wife, killed by Bunting and Wagner in her home while her husband was out.
- David Johnson, 24 (d. May 1999), Vlassakis' step-brother. Murdered by Bunting in the bank building having been lured there by Vlassakis. He was the only victim who died in Snowtown.
The investigation began to take shape after Elizabeth Haydon's brother reported her missing within days of her disappearance. Her brother did not believe her husband Mark Haydon's explanations for her disappearance, which seemed to contradict each other in varying versions he gave, and the brother also did not believe she would leave without her two young sons. Police found it suspicious that her husband had not reported her missing, and investigated her disappearance. Elizabeth Haydon was closely affiliated with all of the murderers, so they all fell under close scrutiny once police started their investigations.
The discovery that Trezise and Lane had known each other was one of the first clues in the police discovering that there was more than a routine missing person investigation.
The storage of bodies
The discovery of the barrels in May 1999 in Snowtown was the culmination of five years of criminal investigation. Police involvement with the then unlinked crimes had begun with the discovery of human remains at Lower Light. After Elizabeth Haydon's disappearance, the police installed a listening device in Mark Haydon's house in Smithfield Plains, recordings which were later used as court evidence.The remains found at Lower Light were later determined to have been those of Clinton Trezise, who had been murdered in Bunting's living room at Salisbury North, South Australia. Ray Davies and Suzanne Allen were found buried in the back yard of that house.
The bodies in barrels were variously stored in several places before finally being moved to the bank vault in Snowtown. These included a shed behind Bunting's house at Murray Bridge
Murray Bridge, South Australia
Murray Bridge is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. It is located east-southeast of Adelaide and north of Meningie....
in April 1998; the three barrels were then moved to Haydon's property at Smithfield Plains later in 1998. Then five barrels were stored in a Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota Land Cruiser
The is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation. It is not related to the Studebaker Land Cruiser car produced in the US from 1934-1954....
at Hoyleton
Hoyleton, South Australia
Hoyleton is a former railway town in South Australia, west of the Clare Valley, halfway between Leasingham and Halbury. At the 2006 census, Hoyleton had a population of 283....
, a locality on the Adelaide Plains
Adelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and Gulf St Vincent on the west. The plains are generally fertile with annual rainfall of about per year....
near the Clare Valley
Clare Valley
The Clare Valley is one of Australia's oldest wine regions, best known for Riesling wines. It lies in the Mid North of South Australia, approximately 120 km north of Adelaide. The valley runs north-south, with Main North Road as the main thoroughfare....
, with a sixth in a Mitsubishi Sigma
Mitsubishi Sigma
Mitsubishi Sigma may refer to one of several vehicles manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors between 1976 and 1996:*The Mitsubishi Galant Σ , a version of the Mitsubishi Galant sedan built between 1976 and 1987...
back at Murray Bridge. Both of these vehicles were later moved to Snowtown, and afterwards the barrels moved into the bank vault, which had been rented by Haydon, using the name "Mark Lawrence", the name he had used before he married.
The movement of unfamiliar vehicles to Snowtown, a small town where strangers stand out, and loading activity at the old bank led to the bank building being searched. Of the Snowtown location one local police source said, "From what I understand there was no person involved in those murders from within Snowtown or the surrounding district. They were murdered elsewhere and the drums were brought to Snowtown because it was a quiet little town and there was a premises ideal for the persons involved."
Examiners attempting to identify the remains found them mummified rather than dissolved, the latter being the apparent intention of storing the bodies in barrels of acid. The killers had chosen hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
which mummified the remains.
Trials
After a series of pre-trial hearings, the first of the accused to be sentenced was Vlassakis, who was given four life sentences on 21 June 2001 after pleading guilty to four murders. Later that year, Bunting, Haydon and Wagner each pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of murder. Many of the charges against Haydon were later dropped due to insufficient evidence.The Supreme Court trial for Wagner and Bunting began on 14 October 2002 and within a short space of time the court experienced difficulties with the jury. At least one juror refused to continue due to the horror of the evidence and some sources report that a total of three jurors withdrew from the panel for this reason. Both Bunting and Wagner were found guilty on 8 September 2003. Bunting was convicted of eleven murders and Wagner, who had pleaded guilty to three murders, was convicted of seven; both appealed their convictions. They were each sentenced to imprisonment for life on each count to be served cumulatively; the presiding judge, Justice Brian Martin
Brian Ross Martin
Brian Ross Martin AO QC was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory from 2004 to 2010. He was sworn in as the Northern Territory's fifth Chief Justice on 27 January 2004 following the retirement of Brian Frank Martin.At the time of his appointment he was a judge of the...
, stated that the men were "in the business of killing for pleasure" and were also "incapable of true rehabilitation".
The proceedings against Haydon continued into 2004, and on 2 August a trial opened in which he was charged with two counts of murder and six counts of "assisting offenders". Haydon testified that he was not party to the crimes. However, on 19 December, the jury returned from four days of deliberations, convicting Haydon of five counts of assisting in the crimes and reaching no verdict on the two counts of murder and the remaining charge of assistance. Haydon was held in detention as of December 2004 awaiting a possible retrial. In May 2005 the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Bunting and Wagner, who have now exhausted their avenues of appeal in South Australia. In September 2005 the murder charges against Haydon were dropped in return for guilty pleas to two new charges of assisting in the killings of his wife, Elizabeth Haydon, and Troy Youde. Prosecutors also agreed to drop an additional charge of assisting offenders in relation to the murder of David Johnson.
The final outstanding murder charges against John Bunting and Robert Wagner, concerning Suzanne Allen, were dropped on 7 May 2007, when a jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Community impact
Bunting and Wagner have been described, alongside backpacker murdersBackpacker murders
The Backpacker Murders is a name given to serial killings that occurred in New South Wales, Australia during the 1990s. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partly buried in the Belanglo State Forest, south west of the New South Wales town of Berrima...
killer Ivan Milat as Australia's worst serial killers.
The particulars of the case, especially the manner in which the victims were found, horrified and fascinated the public. The murders garnered Snowtown much unwanted attention, and the town is now best known for the murders. According to local residents, in the 18 months following the discovery in the disused bank vault, a steady stream of unwelcome visitors would stop to look at and photograph the building.
At the time, the local press reported a suggestion that the town's name be changed to avoid the stigma now associated with the name, although this suggestion was never acted upon. One suggested new name in press reports was "Rosetown".
The house in Salisbury North was owned by the South Australian Housing Trust
South Australian Housing Trust
The South Australian Housing Trust was a statutory authority established by the of the Government of South Australia responsible for providing low-cost rental housing to working people and their families.-History:...
, and has been demolished. Today, units for older people are in its place.
Film
A movie, "SnowtownSnowtown (film)
Snowtown is 2011 film about the Snowtown murders directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant.Screen Australia announced in March 2010 that they would be funding the film....
", regarding the life of John Bunting was released in Australia on 19 May 2011.
External links and references
News articles:- "SA: Chronology of Events in the Bodies-in-Barrels Case". Australian Associated Press, 19 December 2004.
Books:
- Snowtown Murders: The Real Story Behind the Bodies in the Barrels Killings, Andrew McGarry, ISBN 0-7333-1482-1
- Snowtown: The Bodies In Barrels Murders: The Grisly Story of Australia's Worst Serial Killings, Jeremy Pudney, ISBN 0-7322-6716-1
- All Things Bright And Beautiful: Murder In The City Of Light, Susan Mitchell, ISBN 1-4050-3610-9
Web sites: