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"Young Blood – the story of the family murders"

Bob O’Brien

HarperCollins 2002 ABN 36 009 913 517 paperback

Reviewed by: Dr Robert N Moles

Strange to say, but it seems that only in South Australia does the word “family” have scary implications. This is a book about some of the more bizarre murders in South Australia.

Seven young woman had been killed and their bodies dumped near Truro 100 kms north of Adelaide in the case known as "the Truro murders".

Alan Barnes (17) disappeared in June 1979. His body was found at the South Para Reservoir where it had been thrown off a bridge and landed on a road below. He had disappeared as he was hitching a lift to his home in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide. Dr Colin Manock completed the autopsy. He said that Barnes had been assaulted by having something like a bottle forced into his anus which caused massive blood loss.

Neil Muir (25) was found in August 1979 floating in the Port River. His body had been subjected to terrible mutilation and dissection. Both Barnes and Muir had suffered severe anal injuries.

O’Brien had been a police officer involved in the investigation of the cases. He said that the disposal of the bodies had been careless, and whilst those disposing of them intended the bodies to disappear for ever, they had in both cases been found soon after disposal. Of course, another theory is that they were intended to be found.

The body of Mark Langley (18) was found at Mount Lofty in March 1982. That of Peter Stogneff (14) was found at middle beach June 1982.

There was much discussion about the fact that some of the boys had taken drugs, had been anally assaulted by having something forced into their rectums, causing severe blood loss. Dr Manock said that the evidence suggested that the victims had been killed and then cleaned up. Some of the bodies had been washed or redressed after death.

On June 5 1983 Richard Kelvin, the son of a well-known South Australian television news reader was abducted and later found dead. Bevan Spencer Von Einem was subsequently convicted in 1984 of his murder and sentenced to 24 years non parole period. It was said that Von Einem had been involved with drugs, young boys, transsexuals and transvestites. Whilst Von Einem had been charged in relation to some of the other cases, for various reasons those other charges were not proceeded with.

If Von Einem had been involved with cases other than that of Kelvin, he could not have perpetrated such acts on his own. There must still be others yet to be brought to account. An account well worth reading

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