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The Victims

In December 2003, John Bunting was convicted of committing eleven murders starting in 1992 through to 1999. The victims were chosen if Bunting suspected them of being homosexuals, disabled, pedophiles, or useless. Here are their names and a little bit of information about them:

James Vlassakis

6) Thomas Trevilyan: Described as having psychiatric problems. Shared a house with Barry Lane (one of the earlier victims) for five months and then assisted Bunting and Wagner in the murder of Mr Lane. Was a target for murder after Bunting found out that he had told others of his involvement in Lane's murder. Was forced to stand on a box while a noose was fastened around his neck and the box kicked from under him. Trevilyan's body was found on 5 November 1997.

7) Troy Youde: Half brother of Vlassakis. Vlassakis had earlier confided to Bunting that Youde had molested him when he was younger. Bunting, Wagner, and Vlassakis dragged Youde from his bed and murdered him. His body was dismembered and stored in a barrel.

8) Frederick Brooks: Intellectually disabled nephew of Elizabeth Haydon (Mark Haydon's wife). Was murdered by Bunting, Wagner, and Vlassakis on 17 September 1998.

9) Gary O'Dwyer: 29 years old. Was an intellectually disabled man. Murdered so Bunting could gain from his welfare payments. His body contained burn marks which were inflicted by using a variac machine to apply electric shocks.

10) Elizabeth Haydon: Wife of Mark Haydon. Only female victim. Bunting murdered her on 20 November 1998. Mark Haydon assisted concealing the murder. Police inquiries into Elizabeth Haydon's disapperance led them to the disused bank in Snowtown, which eventually led to the discovery of eight bodies stored in a vault; including that of Elizabeth Haydon.

11) David Johnson: Was lured to the disused bank in Snowtown by his stepbrother, James Vlassakis, on 9 May 1999. Was strangled by Robert Wagner and then his body was dismembered, fried, and parts of his flesh were eaten.

John Justin Bunting

Trials and Verdicts

1) Clinton Trezise: First victim. 22 years old. Accused of being a paedophile. Bashed to death in Bunting's living room after being invited inside for a "social visit". Died in 1992.

2) Ray Davies: Intellectually disabled man. Became a target for murder after he was accused of making sexual advances towards a neighbour's grandson. Murdered by Bunting and Wagner in December 1995 and was never reported missing.

3) Michael Gardiner: Openly gay man. Murdered by Bunting and Wagner in August 1997. Gardiner had shared a house with friends nearby.

4) Barry Lane: Openly homosexual man and cross dresser. He had previously been in a relationship with Robert Wagner. The pair had shared a house in Bingham Road, Salisbury North, near the home of Bunting. Lane's dismembered body was found by police in a barrel in the bank vault in Snowtown, along with the body of Michael Gardiner. He was last seen alive in October 1997.

5) Gavin Porter: 31 years old. Was a friend of Vlassakis' from Victoria. Heroin addict. Became a target for murder when Bunting was pricked with a used syringe discarded by Porter on the sofa. Murdered by Bunting and Wagner while sleeping in his car. Died in 1998.

What was the verdict?

The trial of Bunting and Wagner, lasting almost twelve months, was the longest in the history of the state. In December 2003, Bunting was convicted of committing eleven murders, and Wagner of ten murders, of which he had confessed to only three. Vlassakis pleaded guilty to four of the murders. In 2004, Mark Haydon was convicted on five counts of assisting with the murders (of which he admitted to two). The jury did not come to a decision on two murder charges against Haydon, and another charge of assisting murder. The final count against Bunting and Wagner-that of murdering Suzanne Allen-was also dropped on 7 May 2007, when a jury was unable to reach a final verdict.

The court decided that Bunting was the ringleader and sentenced him to 11 consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of release on parole. Wagner was sentenced to 10 consecutive terms under the same conditions, and at his sentencing, he stated from the dock: "Paedophiles were doing terrible things to children. The authorities didn't do anything about it. I decided to take action. I took that action. Thank you". Vlassakis was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences with a non-parole period of 26 years and Haydon was sentenced to 25 years with no possibility of parole for 8 years.

Robert Wagner

Extra Information

Bibliography

  • John Bunting had fashioned a "rock spider wall" on a wall of a spare room in his house. The chart, created using paper notes and wool, was an interconnected web of names of people Bunting suspected to be paeodophiles or homosexual. At times, Bunting would randomly select a name from the wall and call them, insinuating they were paedophiles and "would get what's coming to them".

  • Snowtown, the movie, is based on the true story and it is directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant. The film premiered at the 2011 Adelaide Film Festival and won the festival's "Audience Award," and was also selected as one of seven films from around the world that were shown at the International Critics' Week competitions that ran in parallel with the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, the film was awarded with a Special Mention.

  • Many books telling the story of the Snowtown murders have been published, including: Snowtown Murders: The Real Story Behind the Bodies in the Barrels Killings (written by Andrew McGarry), Snowtown: The Bodies In Barrels Murders: The Grisly Story of Australia's Worst Serial Killings (written by Jeremy Pudney), and All Things Bright And Beautiful: Murder In The City Of Light (written by Susan Mitchell).

1) http://murderpedia.orgmale.B/b/bunting-john-justin.html/

2) http://aussiecriminals.com.au/2012/04/25/snowtown-murders-bodies-in-the-barrels/

3) http://serialkillers.wikia.com/wiki/John_Justin_Bunting/

4) http://www.skcentral.om/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=70&rowstart=20/

5) http://truecrimehothouse.tumblr.com/post/56653589414/australian-killers-inmates-address-list/

6) Some youtube videos :)

My Opinion

John Justin Bunting

Who is he?

Impact

How did the community/people react?

John Justin Bunting (Above)

The notoriety and infamy of the murders led to a short-term economic boost from tourists visiting Snowtown, but created a lasting disgrace. The Age reported in 2011 that the town of Snowtown would be "forever stigmatised" due to its relationship to the murders. Shortly after the discovery of the bodies there, the community discussed changing the town's name to "Rosetown," but no further actions were taken.

The house in Salisbury North where Bunting lived and buried two bodies was demolished by its owner, the South Australian Housing Trust. The bank, with a four-bedroom attached house, was placed on auction in February 2012 but only reached half its reserve price of $200,000. After holding an open house which raised $700 for charity through charging an entrance fee, the property sold on 27 September for just over $185,000 with the new owners intending to live in the house while running a business from the bank.

A plaque will be installed to commemorate the victims.

John Justin Bunting is an Australian serial killer from Adelaide, South Australia, who is currently serving eleven consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his role in the murders of 11 victims of the Snowtown murders.

Bunting was the so called leader of a "degenerate sub-culture" of murderers whose victims were people they already knew. Under the instruction of Bunting, the group (consisting of Bunting, James Vlassakis and Robert Wagner) would prey upon the weak so they could steal their welfare payments. His crimes led to the longest and most expensive investigations and criminal trials in South Australia's history. He was driven to murder by his hatred for paedophiles and homosexuals and has been described as a skilled manipulator of people and "Australia's worst serial killer".

I strongly agree with the length of imprisonments that the four men were sentenced to because I believe that this is a fair punishment for what they did and that the judge made a good decision.

This decision would've also made the Snowtown community feel much safer and feel like they got a sense of justice.

The Snowtown Murders

More about them:

The Snowtown Murders (Sometimes referred to as the bodies-in-barrels murders) were a series of homicides committed by John Bunting, Robert Wagner, and James Vlassakis between August 1992 and May 1999 in South Australia. A fourth person, Mark Haydon, was also convicted for helping to dispose of the bodies.

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. Although Snowtown is frequently linked with the crimes, only one victim was killed there; none of the victims or the perpetrators were from the town.

Eight bodies were found in plastic barrels in a disused bank vault and two bodies were found buried in a backyard in Salisbury North, a suburb north of Adelaide (where John Bunting lived). By the end of June, nine of the ten victims found 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.

John Justin Bunting

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