The jury had to make their ordinary person of the same race, age, ethnicity and personal background as the accused. The woman called 911. The body was found placed in the foetal position with his legs bent towards his chest and his head forward with his arms wrapped around his legs. For their part, the police saw the homosexual community as the criminals - because they were. The very next night, however, Robert Woodland went to Veale Gardens where he was seen by an acquaintance about 1am, on Sunday December 5. The man, known as "Mr. B", was located and informed police in great detail how he and von Einem picked up young male hitchhikers, gave them alcoholic drinks laced with hypnotic drugs, and took them to von Einem's previous home in the Adelaide suburb of Campbelltown, where the young men were abused overnight and sent home the next day. There was a furious drumming of knife blows to Negres chest. The jury also believed that the ferocity of the response was reasonable. Five young men and teenage boys were drugged, sexually abused, tortured and murdered between 1979 and 1983. His blood showed a combination of several drugs and sedatives. No mates in sight. Other forensic scientists were called to testify about the hair and fibre samples collected that were linked to von Einem himself and his home. Faced with such damning scientific evidence, the defence tried to counter this during cross-examination by floating a possible theory that after von Einem's last contact with Kelvin, he had been abducted by other people, who had stored his clothing for five weeks before murdering him and re-dressing him. He told me how a boy of my age could go to The Wall and make a lot of money and life would be fabulous and youd have sugar daddies and everything would fall into your lap.. Even if they are police officers theyre not exempt from the law are they? He admitted that he did in fact recognise two of the attackers and picked out two vice squad officers. Analysis of Kelvin's bloodstream revealed traces of alcohol and five hypnotic drugs, Mandrax, Noctec, Amytal, Valium and Rohypnol. The purchaser of von Einem's Ford Falcon detailed the condition of the car, and the relative who hosted the birthday party on 10 July stated that von Einem and his mother had arrived there at 5:30pm and left at 10:30pm. His skeletal remains were found 10 months later in Middle Beach, by a farmer who was doing a prescribed burn in his land. It became rather surreal at the time. He didnt come home. He came out of the car and then it just got out of hand and, er, this fellow fell down and we panicked and took off.. A study in Melbourne showed that seven out of 10 LGBTQI people still dont report assaults and harassment. I think collectively it put a fair bit of pressure on police, recalls Purcell. Another witness also came forward to claim he had seen von Einem and Barnes drinking together in the weeks before Barnes's death. I say this, that although some additional distress will probably be caused to the Kelvin family as a result of publication of the fact larvae or maggots were on Richard Robinson pulls up alongside and winds down his window. Negres phone was answered by his new friend Michael Lindsay who told her to come on over. In fact, the prosecution had to present the evidence of provocation to show a motive, but not so strongly as to turn a motive into an excuse. The autopsy revealed the same injuries the previous victims had and the gut-wrenching fact that he had been kept alive, being tortured and sexually assaulted, for around 5 weeks. Out of Sight: The untold story of Adelaides gay-hate murders The hope was that the pictures might get the chatter going in prison to bring information to the surface. Feel free to contact me! Ruks died from internal bleeding of the abdomen. von Einem pleaded not guilty to both murders, and his defence counsel (now consisting of barrister Mark Griffin with assistance from Marie Shaw) immediately claimed that it would be an abuse of justice for their client if he was ordered to stand trial given the mass coverage of the murders in the media in the past year. As we got into the late-80s and early 90s, says Purcell, there were definitely bashers in cars going around to the beats, again, and the police seemed to be more interested in chasing homosexuals than the bashers in cars. This was the period when Jim Blaxland was attacked next to his Mercedes in Veale Gardens. When we finished I stood up and the fellow was laying there and I thought, Wow! She had the radio on. Lewis says he probably has a copy in storage but he wasnt able to go looking for me. According to Lewis and his team, two female social workers had, independently, already come forward claiming knowledge of the same allegation against the same people. I said to them on a number of occasions, Youll drown one one day. And it got him an occasional television star boyfriend, cabaret singer Tony Monopoly, with whom he lived. This clue led police back to Bevan Spencer von Eimen, who had been prescribed such drug. I was sent in as bait because of how young I looked to lure guys into the bushes. Twenty-year-old Peter Stephens had Doig on the ground with his hands behind his head. Forensic investigators were able to match the many fibres found on Kelvin's clothing to those taken from von Einem's home, along with hairs found which matched those belonging to von Einem. And my successes in all those years were generally in areas around the beats. It all happened so fast there was no resistance. What have we done? Meanwhile, the Mullighan inquiry into the sexual abuse of children in state care found that it was very common for state wards to run away and head to the beat at Veale Gardens to make money, much as Brad Shannon had done. If it hadnt been for Jamess presence, the dead body would probably have surfaced a week or so later and the death would have remained an obscure event - a mystery even more opaque than the one we are left with today. One of the men, Dr. George Duncan, a British lecturer in law who had arrived in Australia only seven weeks before, was drowned. Von Eimen hinted at some point that he was scared of giving names to police. Von Einem admitted that the drugs were his and said that he used them to help him sleep. As a vice squad officer, the diligent 22-year-old had a duty to uphold the laws against gambling, SP bookmakers and prostitution, to monitor the nightclubs and to keep the homos in check. You should try it.. The Family murders cowed the gay community in South Australia. Karen Carpenter's eating disorder damaged her heart. Despite the efforts of police and the investigation passing on to the Major Crimes unit, the teenager remained missing until July 24, when his body was found in Mount Crawford Forest. No mention of the homosexual motive was made when the three were convicted, either. Once there, the street kids bashed and robbed them. They spent the next three years in court. And then whether or not a homosexual advance was sufficient to explain the subsequent extreme violence meted out. When Rex Robinson was doing his first cruise along the strip that summers night in early 1992, another man who well call Tom also cruised in. There was no struggle, nothing. Williamson got a good enough look at the bloke to decide that he was, indeed, larger. He was next seen at 1.30am by two women who approached him a block away from the Mars Bar, heading away from Veale Gardens near Adelaides Chinatown. Eventually, Negre grew tired. He cant see anyone in it. At the time, a witness gave the police a name they would hear again: Bevan Spencer von Eimen. Yep. Lindsays sister Ashleigh would recall someone making a comment about someone being gay. He was in G Block of Yatala Prison for decades but was transferred to Port Augusta Prison in the north of the state in 2007. So John was staying at Mums, recalls his sister Helen Hillard. In 2007, Mark Anthony Ninnes was convicted of manslaughter over the death of Walter Handley in the carpark. Mick OShea recalls being there at the time trying to get a pinch. von Einem was found guilty of the murder and was automatically sentenced to life at Yatala Labour Prison. They had a wonderful social scene but they had to be very careful because they could easily be dragged before the courts.. We had a few to drink so I wasnt, er, wasnt too clear. He described how he and Londema had started smoking cones in the morning, then drank Strongbow cider through the afternoon. But if we take the victims of gay-bashing murders as a random sample of beat users and perhaps they are except for a bias towards an older, slower cohort they represent a cross-section of society, according to criminologist Professor Stephen Tomsen, who studied 74 gay murders in NSW in the 1980s and 90s. WebThe autopsy is designed to determine the cause of death, properly document findings, and collect evidence. Neils dismemberment was highly unusual: his head was separated from his body but tied to his torso with a rope, and his organs had been removed and the killers had placed his lower legs and arms inside his abdominal cavity. He admitted hitting Blaxland a couple of times. His lawyer believed a handwriting analysis would clear von Einem. von Einem stated he thought Kelvin had bisexual tendencies and said that the two of them then had a conversation about problems Kelvin had been having at school, and Kelvin willingly got into the car and they drove to von Einem's home. He puts his high beam on and sees a shape on the road next to it. Theres an ambulance coming.. It was a great success and it was the memory of that triumph that kept drawing him back. We were in the under 13s and Gavin, blond haired and freckle-faced, was the smallest member of the team. In some cases, there may be an additional charge for the transportation of the body to and from the autopsy facility. Before Peter was found, there was a fourth victim. Also entered as evidence were samples taken from Barnes's body which showed that sedative drugs had been present. His name was Pete., Can I tell you what he did? And its needed. Plans to change the law in Queensland are back on the drawing board. His story was consistent with his friends about the beer and the bongs and the random nature of their stopping. The youth asked: Do you come here often?, Then, out of the blue, someone grabbed Blaxland from behind. It is more attractive to them. Soon after the news report went to air, two young men, Robert Verco and Jason Londema, walked into Adelaide police station with their parents and handed themselves in. WebThe Dallas County Medical Examiner & Coroner creates death records that can be used in criminal investigations, to resolve insurance claims, or to monitor Dallas public health. Under cross-examination, the prosecution were able to show inconsistencies in her current testimony compared to her earlier statements to police about von Einem's whereabouts on the weekend of 45 June, which weakened the defence case considerably as this highlighted von Einem's change the previous February of his account of what happened on the night of 5 June 1983. Another is a prominent businessman in South Australia and a third one is a former male sex worker. David John Saint was an ordinary guy. The 26-year-old might not have worked a day in his life but he owned it all thanks to a $2.2 million payout hed received from having been hit by a car when he was 20 months old. But the institutions dealt with the case appropriately and the killers went down for long stretches. This story will take you into the world of beats and bashings during those dark decades, at a time when society with all its fears and biases not only tolerated but perpetuated the abuse. Shannon did a trade in selling milk and newspapers out of his van to these blokes so theyd have something to take to their wives. France in 1791.). Little effort was put into concealing the body; Kelvin was found wearing the same Channel 9 shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers which he wore on the day of his abduction, together with the dog collar fitted around his neck. The story had its origins a few years earlier when Peter Lewis, the independent Speaker of the South Australian parliament, and a small team of committed campaigners fought to change the statute of limitations on child sex-abuse cases. It belonged to Neil Muir (25, first picture), a transient and drug addict that had been seen alive the night before. It was like pulling up bloody weeds. They were hospitality workers. I just wanted to be liked and accepted. Finally, there was Richard Kelvin (15, last picture), the son of a famous local news presenter. The coppers will be here shortly. And I said, But Im not doing nothing wrong. And he said. During this investigation, one detective interviewed Bevan von Eimen, and he claimed hed been Neils lover a couple of years before. Episode 1 Rex, the beat, and the bashing, This investigation was the basis of SBS True Stories Podcast Season Three. Of course she panicked. When the police arrived at the house shortly after they took one look at a photo of him and said, Yeah, thats John.. And put a small, a small axe through the back of his head.. The first known victim was Alan Barnes (17, third picture). He wished he had bolted after he called the ambulance. Kelvin was murdered by von Einem on or around 10 July 1983 in Adelaide, South Australia after having been abducted, held captive, sexually abused, drugged and tortured for five weeks. They each received minimum sentences of 16 months. I was taken to hospital and the police came and saw me and questioned me but when they heard where I was, they verbally abused me, calling me a fucking poofter and a pervert and I got what I deserved. Theyll watch the married men come in and have a laugh at the desperation of it all, have a dig at their own sluttiness, slipping into the darkness when the cops come rolling through to harass them. His leg was broken, as were some ribs. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Local gay community leader Bill Rutkin knew Doig through common friends who could attest to his popularity in their circles. The guy moans and rolls over, revealing a face covered in blood. Neither of Lewiss researchers, victims rights advocate Wendy Utting and Lewiss old school friend Barry Standfield, have strong recollections of Woodland or what he said. Three months later, however, Woodlands death would become a whole lot more. And so I decided to focus on the city of churches and bodies in barrels a socially progressive city with a reputation for twisted darkness where even while they were leading the way in gay law reform, men were being viciously bashed behind the bushes. What did the guy do that she killed? her housemate asked. The committal hearing to determine if von Einem should stand trial for the murders of Barnes and Langley began on 5 March 1990 before magistrate David Gurry. He took his parents to the Melbourne Cup when they got too old for their regular coach trip. Because he was on Death Row, Hickock couldnt go to churchso instead, he participated in Bible Correspondence courses, according to a Special Progress Report from The red Mercedes. It was a thing. A primary objective is to try to reconstruct the circumstances and events When asked about drugs, von Einem did admit he had Mandrax. I came around to discover I still had my wallet; that I had my shoelaces around my throat which had left a slight mark and I sort of staggered drunkenly back to the car.. This was about 300 metres from his family home. Shannon said it was a habit he got into on the Wall. So they set up a similar white van at the beat and asked people to come forward with information, no questions asked. Before he reaches the Merc, however, he glides past a Valiant with fat tyres, mag wheels and doors painted a different colour to the body. It was before lunch that I was told about it, recalls Lewis, and it made me sick and Im not often made sick because hed been afraid of that happening to him., I ask Lewis if he was alleging that Woodland had been killed to shut him up. James has suggested elsewhere that this fear that the police were trying to discredit him by having him identify an innocent officer made him clam up. Nevertheless, on the way home they thought it would be a good idea to punch back a few more cones, so they pulled into this little track in the South Parklands, completely unaware, he said, that theyd just driven into Adelaides most thumping beat. I dont have any doubt that that was the reason for him being murdered, he says. Lewis tried to make contact with another witness to the same goings-on at Veale Gardens, Walter Handley. Well, exactly. Richard Dallas Kelvin (1 December 1967 c.10 July 1983), was the son of Adelaide television personality Rob Kelvin. Von Einem still denied ever coming into contact with Kelvin. This time the charge was murder and he got a minimum of 22 years. Lindsay declined. The bashers had got away with it. They also found traces of a sedative in his blood. This page was last edited on 1 April 2023, at 21:47. WebAutopsy: The Last Hours of: With Michael Hunter, Eric Meyers, Linda Papadopoulos, Iain Glen. - Atlantic Noir Theme All Rights Reserved. In their summation, the prosecution stated that the evidence they presented proved that von Einem's story was full of lies and inconsistencies, and that he did murder (with the help of others) Kelvin. Hed left a big party to go to Veale Gardens. At trial, he argued it wasnt him that stabbed Negre, it was Hutchings. A parishioner found his body the next morning. Why? However, it turned out to be impossible to corroborate these allegations. "Mr B" also gave startling allegations of von Einem being involved in the unexplained Beaumont children disappearance in 1966, as well as the disappearance of two girls at the Adelaide Oval in 1973. On December 3, 2004, former Supreme Court judge Ted Mullighan was appointed to head a commission of inquiry into the abuse of children in state care. So why, the day after the murder, did they tell the media that it was? Subscribe to 7NEWS Australia for the latest news video https://7news.link/YTSubscribeConnect with Seven News onlineVisit https://7news.com.au7NEWS Podcast http://smarturl.it/7NewsDailyFacebook https://www.facebook.com/7NewsAustraliaTwitter https://twitter.com/7NewsAustraliaInstagram https://www.instagram.com/7newsaustralia/ 7NEWS combines the trusted and powerful news brands including Sunrise, The Morning Show, The Latest, and 7NEWS.com.au, delivering unique, engaging and continuous coverage on the issues that matter most to Australians. Certainly you just cant explain the level of violence and the level of targeting if you think the motive is a simple robbery, for what is very often only a very small amount of money or fairly worthless property.. They gave him a towel and offered to take him to hospital, but he declined. The next pick-up is always just a glance away. A forensic pathologist (currently Dr. Michael Hunter) analyzes the official autopsy reports of various celebrities to determine their cause of death. This day shed left parliament and was heading home when Williams rang. Lewis had wanted something more wide ranging. Thats robbery. Before he shuts the door in my face, he tells me he is going in for surgery next week on the leg that Verco and Londema had broken all those years ago. After a few minutes, he saw four men in suits and waistcoats running along the bank. When I asked why police said robbery was the motive for David Saints murder, they answered: The motive for his murder remains unclear with no evidence to suggest that it was robbery.. Attempts were made to link Von Einem to the other murders but the Kelvin murder was the only one that stuck. She called a cab and left. He says that the whole drama cost him his job. Police forces across the country have made huge advances in the way they deal with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex communities. I hit beats at the sweet spot where it coincided with the legalisation of homosexuality in South Australia, and shortly after also in NSW. I remember a guy in my footy team, Gavin, boasting about doing it. They were white-collar office workers. Read more about this topic: Bevan Spencer Von Einem, Criminal History, A joke, even if it be a lame one, is nowhere so keenly relished or quickly applauded as in a murder trial.Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (18351910), We are taking the Nautilus down for the last time.Earl Felton, and Richard Fleischer. What else was there to ask the Speaker and his staff about? It bobs down. Take the murder of Ken Doig. The group was dubbedThe Family by the media after one of the detectives involved in the case mentioned in TV that they wouldbreak up the happy family of criminals. The autopsy revealed that Neil had died from the same cause as Alan. But the other reason was they were afraid that the public sympathy over what had happened might be diminished if it came out that Ken was gay and that he was doing the beat. I, like, detest that kind of thing A struggle broke out and he said he called out to his friend Jason. Lindsay appealed the decision on the basis that provocation colloquially known as the gay panic defence was not put properly to the jury. And then he just slipped away the river swallowed him. One of the attackers stripped to his underwear and dived in as if to rescue the other man, but he had disappeared. However, hed follow them up in the mainstream media and court documents only to find that the victims homosexuality had been left out. The victims came flooding through the Speakers door with their stories of abuse. The prosecuting authorities, however, declined to act. The prosecution was led again by Brian Martin QC, who was assisted this time by Tom Birchall, and their case against von Einem relied on evidence of the Kelvin murder, with the details of the crime being so strikingly similar to the murders of Barnes and Langley. WebAutopsy: The Last Hours. About 1.30am, they all left together, going back to Lindsays place where they cracked open another round of pre-mixed bourbon cans. It was only after three months that I could leave my apartment After six months I returned to the beats. My informants tell me that in Canberra, no one gets out of their car. Then Handley left a message on Lewiss mobile asking if Lewis could get him a handgun for protection. One of them was Peter Millhouse, who died in a retirement home in 2015. Police didnt keep stats and even if they did, they would have been worthless because gay people didnt go to the police. It contains several medical reports in lieu of the examination they took from the deceased. Terrified, Mildwaters took refuge in a nearby bedroom. Gay bashing is something that is almost monopolised by teenage boys and young men, Tomsen says. Lindsays de facto Mel Glover, the mother of his son, wasnt impressed. Then his car got a bump from the back. I wish people in other states would step in and actually start research projects on whats happened elsewhere, he said. Nothing about the fact that that area of the South Parklands was a well-known beat or that David Saint was in fact homosexual. On August 28 of that same year, a body cut in pieces was found inside garbage bags thrown in the Port River. Richard Dallas Kelvin (1 December 1967 c. 10 July 1983), was the son of Rob Kelvin, a long-time television news presenter for Adelaide station NWS 9. Despite the blood, he was chatty. The first time he went to a beat, at what is now the Himeji Japanese Garden, he was a 23-year-old with a girlfriend, still in denial about his sexuality. A simple phone call could have saved his life.. The acquittal came as a shock to the gay community. The verdict prompted legal academic Alan Berman to start a petition to change the laws in Queensland. Police previously did see this harp in his room when they seized the drugs. The message from this decision is that gay people are no longer protected by the law, Penley said. Police also questioned other people who von Einem associated with, however they volunteered little information. Soon after Todds email, another one lands in my inbox: Heard of your research and can maybe help, anonymously. What makes it interesting is the name at the bottom that of a prominent Adelaidean. I didnt want people laughing and talking., When the police came around the day after his death, they seemed to be on the case, says Helen. Pushed on this point in a later police interview, he said hed been there before. They were there to find out about these allegations.. Detective Linda Mildren interviewed Londema next. They also found traces of hypnotic drugs. The man bore a striking resemblance to a youthful von Einem. It became widely believed that a close-knit group of prominent Adelaideans The Family was behind it. The detective clarified that there had been no aggression from the victim. In an instant, Lindsay was punching Negre in the head. The Advertiser ran a letter from the secretary of the Moral Renewal Society, David W Griffiths, which agreed: The signal being sent to the homosexual community [by the verdict] is one of: be warned, unnatural behaviour, if advanced unwarranted to a normal person, can be construed as offensive and retaliation can be accepted as self-defence.. The Richard family was in the courtroom when Martin's autopsy report was read. [At beats] you get people like me and people who are not out. It has moved to where the Valiant had previously been parked. She declined. Hes now 73, and still behind bars, and has been hardly a model prisoner, having been accused of raping another inmate and convicted of possessing child pornography in 2009. I was lonely and horny and thought this time I would know better, but again that voice rang out in the night, Bashers! I got away but I did see one guy lying on the grass, getting kicked over and over by these guys. von Einem's defence counsel appealed the decision, launching an abuse of process action in the Supreme Court of South Australia to achieve a permanent stay of proceedings, as well as stating that the huge media interest in the charges would result in their client not getting a fair trial. He didnt know where he was or how he came to be there. Of course, it didn't. We talk for a while about the Duncan murder and how one of the acquitted officers ended up owning a pub where people would go wanting to see the bloke who threw Duncan in the river. She said that she had been told Richard Kelvin had been held in a unit and that Denis had cut Kelvins hair during that time. Loves the thrill of it all. *Warning: graphic content and mentions of sexual abuse ahead. Ten days later, Coonies brother checked and found him still in his bed, dead. Kevin Williamson, not long out of the army, had a few beers at the Torrens Drill Hall on the parade grounds below Government House, before heading to his car about 10.45pm on May 10, 1972. The South Australian appeal court agreed. He was murdered by Bevan Spencer von Einem in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1983 after having been kidnapped and tortured for five weeks. A week or two later, after much cajoling, Utting convinced Williams to come in and meet a police officer she trusted with a view to handing over some of his information about how paedophiles were getting away with it through the legal system. In Victoria, sodomy carried the death penalty until 1949. There is a long pause. This blog is about mysteries and true crime. The whole group saw it, and they heard Lindsay tell him to stop. Then they started bringing one person in at a time. There was also that person who had tipped off police about Von Eimen initially. Various police officers who worked on the case testified to their investigation of von Einem since they had first questioned him about the murder, as well as their visit to von Einem's home, where a police officer claimed that von Einem's bedroom appeared to have been cleaned "extensively". I phone the number attached and the voice confirms his identity. It was closed. His housemate, Brigette Mildwaters, told him to let Negre go. James crawled to a road where he waved down a passing car, driven by a man called Bevan Von Einem, who would later go on to notoriety as a convicted child murderer and suspected serial killer. Blaxland sat on the back corner of his car, about three metres from the youth on the two-tone Valiant. Defence lawyer Sam Abbott said he expected the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop the most serious charge of producing the material and, if not, he would argue there was no case to answer. Even some of the out-and-proud gay community looked down on what those men did in the darkness. On 29 January 2006, the Sunday Mail reported that von Einem was currently being investigated for allegedly raping an inmate several times at Yatala Labour Prison. I ran, but straight into the bashers who beat me senseless. The attackers ran off. Pins in his leg. WebThe medical examiners conducting the autopsy and examinations also discovered that Alan's body had been washed extensively after his death; likely an effort to scrub away any However, the police then found the bottle of Noctec and von Einem immediately became nervous and told police that he "rarely used those drugs". The evidence presented was that they went to the park just to rob someone. They actually thought they were engaged in some sort of leisure sport that actually had a degree of community approval.. The murders focused attention on the sort of things that went bump and grind in the night, and threw up rumours about a cadre of paedophiles in high places.
