For the film based on the murders, see Snowtown (film).
Snowtown murders
Criminal charge
Twelve counts of murder
Penalty
Bunting: 11 life sentences without parole Wagner: 10 life sentences without parole Vlassakis: four life sentences with 26 year non-parole period Haydon: 25 years with 18 year non-parole period
Details
Victims
12
Span of crimes
August 1992 – May 1999
Country
Australia
State(s)
South Australia
Date apprehended
21 May 1999
The Snowtown murders (also known as the bodies in barrels murders) were a series of murders committed by John Justin Bunting, Robert Joe Wagner, and James Spyridon Vlassakis between August 1992 and May 1999, in and around Adelaide, South Australia. A fourth person, Mark Haydon, was convicted of helping to dispose of the bodies. The trial was one of the longest and most publicised in Australian legal history.
Most of the bodies were found in barrels in an abandoned bank vault in Snowtown, South Australia, hence the names given in the press for the murders. Only one of the victims was killed in Snowtown itself, which is approximately 140 kilometres (87 miles) north of Adelaide, and neither the twelve victims nor the three perpetrators were from the town. Although motivation for the murders is unclear, the killers were led by Bunting to believe that the victims were pedophiles, homosexuals, or "weak". In the case of some victims, the murders were preceded by torture, and efforts were made to appropriate victims' identities, social security payments and bank accounts.
Although initially the notoriety of the murders led to a short-term economic boost from tourists visiting Snowtown, it created a stigma, with authorities considering a change of the town's name and identity. The case has been chronicled in numerous books as well as a film adaptation released in 2011 to critical acclaim.
The Snowtownmurders (also known as the bodies in barrels murders) were a series of murders committed by John Justin Bunting, Robert Joe Wagner, and James...
prominence for playing Elizabeth Harvey in the film Snowtown (2011) (based on the Snowtownmurders of 1999), for which she received an Australian Academy...
bodies-in-barrels bank says Snowtown is 'nice and quiet'". "Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof pleads guilty to state murder charges". The Guardian. April...
early episodes relate to Australian cases (e.g., Port Arthur or the Snowtownmurders), although notable crimes from the UK and the US were increasingly...
"Justin Kurzel". HLA Management. Retrieved 22 November 2023. "The SnowtownMurders". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 February 2019. "The 2015 Official Selection"...
February 24, 2012 Forgiveness of Blood March 2, 2012 Last Days Here The SnowtownMurders March 9, 2012 The Decoy Bride March 16, 2012 Kid with a Bike March...
accomplice Jason Joseph Roberts in the Moorabbin Police murders. May 1999 – The Snowtownmurders were discovered when the remains of eight bodies were found...
manga series about serial killers of killers, inspired by Rodrigues. Snowtownmurders, an Australian serial killing incident that is based on similar grounds...
submission at the trial of perpetrators of the Snowtownmurders, in South Australia, revealed that two of the murderers fried and ate a part of their final victim...
village in Uruguay in the 1940s Snowtown (2011) – Australian biographical crime film drama film based on the Snowtownmurders Soul Surfer (2011) – biographical...
from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2019. "Snowtownmurderers get life". Lateline. 29 October 2003. Archived from the original on...
robbery, and murdered two sex workers in 1990 John Bunting, murder of 12 victims known as the Snowtownmurders or bodies in a barrel murders. Robert Francis...
Machine Two found guilty of Snowtownmurder, ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-09-08/two-found-guilty-of-snowtown-murders/1475874 Archived 22 May...
Bondi. Three men were convicted of his murder in the early 1990s. Several of the victims of the Snowtownmurders (1992–1999) were openly gay men, while...
armed robbery, and murdered two prostitutes in 1990. John Bunting, Robert Wagner and James Vlassakis: convicted of the Snowtownmurders of 12 people between...
Bunting (born 1966), Australian serial killer and ringleader of the Snowtownmurders Jack Bunting (John Baden Bunting, 1900–1951), English football goalkeeper...
Bobby Giddens Ko – You Are the Apple of My Eye Justin Kurzel – The SnowtownMurders Julia Leigh – Sleeping Beauty Brad Lewis – Cars 2 Yonah Lewis and Calvin...
ringleader in the Snowtownmurders, and his accomplices Robert Wagner, James Vlassakis, and Mark Haydon. Bevan Spencer von Einem – convicted murderer and suspected...
the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2010. "Tynong North murders: Four dead women found in Victorian bushland". Archived from the original...
Heart on Shock Records. A track, "There's No Town Like Snowtown" referenced the Snowtownmurders and was labelled "insensitive" by the Adelaide Tourism...
and laying wounded for almost three hours until able to be rescued. Snowtownmurders (1992-1999) - serial killings which occurred mainly in two outer-suburban...
War In the Land of Blood and Honey 2011 1992 Bosnian War Snowtown 2011 1992–1999 Snowtownmurders Black Hawk Down 2001 1993 The Battle of Mogadishu, Somali...
including one in August 2004 led by Paul Schramm, the officer who had led the Snowtown investigation. It was finally wound down in September 2005 and the investigation...
(born 9 August 1982) is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in Snowtown (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role...
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