The Family Murders. Greg McInerny
my blunt statement with his own, saying “where are the files?”
My reply was “police have already searched my place as you obviously know, I don’t have them”.
My brain was turning over at a hundred miles an hour, coming to the rapid conclusion that somehow; von Einem had been informed about my ‘whistle blowing’ and even more alarmingly seemed to be running his own investigation from inside the prison!
Being a bit defiant I had to have what I thought would be the last word, so as I stood up to leave I stared him down and said “good luck with it, I’m guessing you won’t be getting out any time soon”, to which he replied “why would I want to, I’ve got everything I need right here”.
That was the end of that chapter, but it wasn’t the end of my own personal dealings with The Family.
It was around this time that I came to know former bikie boss Steve Williams. Steve was involved in setting up a group originally called ‘Bikers United Against Child Abuse’ or BUACA at the time, and was looking for some guidance as to how they could be a positive influence in child protection. The friendship that I developed with Steve is whole other story within a story and deserves far more than just a mention in an introduction; however it is incredibly relative to the topic. Steve, by his own choice, became fundamental to the recovery of some of the assets of disgraced ex Magistrate pedophile Peter Liddy. His assistance didn’t end there though, he had gathered up enough information and evidence to blow the remnants of Liddy & The Family right out of the water. So much so, that at the time that Steve disappeared, he was set to meet with a detective friend of mine who had worked extensively on the Liddy case.
Shortly after first meeting Steve, I left my researcher role at Today Tonight and commenced as a volunteer for the then Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Peter Lewis. My role was to meet with victims of child abuse and to gather statements which would be used to establish the need for what we hoped would be a royal commission into child sex abuse. This seemed to be the natural passage to take considering the abolishment of the statute of limitations. The flood gates had opened, victims who were abused prior to 1982 that were previously unable to get a prosecution against their offender were now able to tell their stories again with the hope of a prosecution (if the offender was still alive). What we ended up with was a Commission of Inquiry into sexual abuse of children in state care headed up by former Justice Ted Mullighan (otherwise referred to as the Mullighan Inquiry). Sadly, the terms of reference excluded the broader issues that needed addressing including The Family murders. It seemed that their ‘immunity’ would continue beyond any commission of inquiry. It hadn’t stopped the hundreds of victims, witnesses and informants from coming forward however, many had already divulged all that they had experienced well before the inquiry was established, and some would continue through from the Speaker’s office to the Commission of Inquiry regardless of the terms of reference.
Having heard the various stories over many years that all shared a commonality, I knew that I was looking at the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that somehow needed to be put together. One day whilst at the Adelaide Supreme Court, I was approached by Judy Barnes (mother of Family Murder victim Alan Barnes). Despite my initial embarrassment at not knowing who she was, she thanked me for what i was doing and said “you’re on the right track, just keep going but stay safe, they’ll (The Family) get you”. At that point I still had no real understanding of what she meant; there was just the awkwardness of actually meeting one of the victim’s relatives and not really knowing what to say. Sadly, Judy has since passed and her son’s murder retains the status of a ‘cold case’.
It was also during this period whilst assisting in Parliament that I first met Greg McInerney, the main author behind this book. I consider myself privileged that he should allow me assist as co-author. From our first meeting until now, Greg had spent nearly a decade studying the court files at length. He could recite almost every date, every event and every outcome. Greg has provided valuable research to other authors such as Tom Mann and Professor Robert Moles, and more recently assisted with background information on The Family Murders documentary produced by Graham McNiece for Crime Investigations Australia, and we thank Graham wholeheartedly for his continued support and encouragement.
So the time had come for us both to collaborate and analyse the vast knowledge that we had, and to present it in book form. Although Greg’s experiences were less hectic than mine, they were no less personal and he made it his life goal to step beyond the role of researcher into author. Greg’s expertise in the matter went well beyond any other person I had ever met throughout the course of my journey in child protection, media, parliament and the commission of inquiry that followed. I cannot emphasize enough that although we are co-authors it is Greg, with the support of his amazing wife and family, that has done the hard yards over many years which has brought us to this point.
We the authors will endeavor to dissect the myths from the facts, and to bring forth our collective research which spans over two decades. Our information is derived not only from thousands of court documents made available to us, but from face to face meetings and interactions with surviving victims, deceased victim’s relatives, detectives, legal professionals, authors, media and even members and associates of ‘The Family’ including Bevan Spencer von Einem himself.
To this day, von Einem remains the only person to be convicted for the abduction and murder of Richard Kelvin. The murders of Alan Barnes, Mark Langley, Peter Stogneff and Neil Muir remain unsolved. This book is for them.
CHAPTER 1
The Origins
In 1988 Detective Trevor Kipling described a group of people whom he suspected as being responsible for five ghastly murders of Adelaide boys and young men as “one big happy family “. He did so during an interview on top rating current affairs program Sixty Minutes. From there the media used the term ‘The Family’ to describe the particular group of men allegedly involved.
Kipling was the most qualified, learned and balanced person in the land to comment on the murders of Alan Barnes, Neil Muir, Peter Stogneff, Mark Langley and Richard Kelvin. The media were aware of this fact and it was of no surprise that they collectively chose the term as a ‘hook’ on which to hang the murders.
From the information available in court documents and media reports it appears that The Family originated in a small Adelaide bookshop in 1960. A group of Adelaide men had been importing hard core homosexual pornography in the form of magazines and films from Europe. At the time, the group allegedly consisted of two journalists, two prominent members of the legal profession and a young lawyer named Derrance Stevenson.
During the day these men went about their relative professions and were respected members of the community. At night however they would gather at the bookshop where their attention would turn to more sordid interests such as books, magazines and films that depicted the sexual abuse of boys in a variety of forms. As the group grew larger, they soon outgrew the small bookshop. They found the perfect meeting place at lawyer Derrance Stevenson’s home which was located on the fringe of Adelaide city.
By the mid 1970's the old building that stood at 189 Greenhill Road was demolished and a brand new, very unique office and home took its place. The house quickly became an adored iconic sight with the public. It bordered on a tourist attraction due to its edgy, angled and distinctive appearance. It screamed ‘look at me’ and epitomized the arty, progressive Dunstan era in South Australia.
Derrance Stevenson would carry out his office duties as a lawyer at the house by day but at night after his secretary had left it became his home. This was unlike any other home in Adelaide however, not just due to its avant garde appearance but for its visitors and the nature of their meetings. This was the place to be for the sordid and elite, particularly on Friday nights.
By this stage the Family is reputed to have grown not only in numbers but also in importance, power and ruthlessness. Until now, they had operated in relative anonymity, hovering below the radar despite their positions of influence in the community. However their late night lifestyles were starting to gain the attention of the South Australian Police.
In 1975 the South Australian Government,