August 28, 2024 • 26 mins
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What drives individuals to commit acts of unimaginable horror? On this episode of the End of Reason podcast, we unravel the terrifying story behind the Snowtown Murders, a case that shocked Australia to its core. We start with the grisly discovery of six plastic barrels filled with human remains in an abandoned bank vault in Snowtown, South Australia, in 1999. This gruesome find set off a chain of events that would reveal the dark motives and twisted mindset of John Bunting and his gang. By tracing the origins of their killing spree, we recount the pivotal moments, from the initial murder of Clinton Trezis in 1992 to the critical disappearance of Elizabeth Hayden in 1998, laying bare the horror that gripped this small town.
Join us as we explore the chilling rise of Bunting and his accomplices, Robert Joe Wagner, James Spiridon Vlasakis, and Mark Ray Hayden, who saw themselves as vigilantes fighting against supposed pedophiles. We delve into the dark psychology and brutal tactics that fueled their misguided crusade. Each murder, driven by personal vendettas and false accusations, paints a picture of how they descended into barbarity. From the personal revenge killings to the torturous deaths of innocents, leading to their capture and life sentences, this episode examines how these criminals became the embodiment of the very evil they professed to destroy. This is a sobering reflection on the lasting impact of their heinous acts on Snowtown and its residents.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Before we begin today's episode, we want to
provide a subject matter warning.
This podcast delves intoreal-life crimes and their often
graphic and disturbing details.
Today's episode containsdiscussions of violence, murder
and other sensitive topics thatmay not be suitable for all
listeners.
We understand that this contentcan be triggering or upsetting
(00:22):
for some, and we urge you toconsider your own well-being as
you listen.
With that said, let's proceedwith today's case.
On May 20th 1999, southAustralian police discovered six
(00:53):
plastic barrels containing theremains of eight unidentified
bodies at an abandoned bank inthe small town of Snowtown.
Needless to say, then, thisrevelation immediately sent
shockwaves throughout the localcommunity, as both those who
lived there and the authoritiesthemselves desperately began
searching for answers.
Unfortunately for the citizensof Snowtown, though, what would
(01:14):
later come to light during oneof the longest and most
published trials in Australianlegal history would forever make
this place infamous.
Welcome to the End of Reasonpodcast.
Today, we're going to be lookingat the case of the Snowtown
Murders.
Snowtown was a pretty quietplace prior to the turn of the
millennium, but with apopulation of only around 400
(01:35):
people living there at the time,this was only to be expected.
It was the kind of place whereeveryone knew their neighbours
and people would come togetheras a community to help each
other out if necessary.
And if you weren't happy withthat and wanted some more of the
big city style of living, you'dhave to travel around 90 miles
north towards Adelaide instead.
(01:55):
Still, for those that did livethere, this quiet life was
exactly what they were lookingfor.
So when their worlds wererocked upon the discovery that a
series of murders had beentaking place in their vicinity,
it changed everything andbrought a dark cloud down upon
the town forever.
But let's rewind a moment,because before we can get into
(02:16):
the full grisly details of thecase, we first have to go back
to what would retroactively bedeemed the initial murder which
sparked it all, and that was thedeath of Clinton Trezis.
It would be back in August of1992 that 22-year-old Clinton
had gone missing, with hisfamily quickly growing worried
at this point and reporting itto the police.
(02:38):
Sadly for everyone involved,though, it would take a full two
years before his fate would berevealed.
When his body was found buriedin the town of Lower Light, and
upon inspection of his remainshere, it was determined he died
as a result of blunt forcetrauma to the head.
At the time, however, the deathwas deemed to be a stand-alone
(02:59):
incident, and while police didtry to find the killer, they
would ultimately be unable to doso.
But that wasn't the only bodylater attributed to the Snowtown
Killer which would bediscovered prior to 1999, as on
November 5th 1997, three yearsafter Clinton Trezis' body had
been discovered, thomasTrevillian, an 18-year-old boy,
(03:22):
would be seen hanging from atree in nearby Kirsbrook.
That said, given the evidencethey had to work with at the
time, local police would deemthis one to be the result of a
suicide, with there being nofurther need to investigate the
situation after that.
No, it wouldn't be until a thirdperson, 37-year-old Elizabeth
Hayden, went missing in Novemberof 1998 that things would
(03:45):
finally begin to fall into place.
And that's because, afterspending the following six
months searching for any sign ofher, the local authorities
would be led to the small townof Snowtown.
Of course, as we now know, itwould be there that, after
suspicions raised by a number oflocals led to them deciding to
search an abandoned former bankvault, they would find the six
(04:08):
acid-filled barrels which setthe whole case in motion.
So, of course, at this pointthe problem became not only
identifying these bodies, butalso finding out what exactly
had happened to them and whoexactly was responsible.
Luckily for police, then, theywere still in good enough
condition that they were able tobe identified, and so soon
(04:33):
enough a list of victims wouldbe revealed, with these being
19-year-old Michelle Gardner,42-year-old Vanessa Lane,
31-year-old Gavin Porter,21-year-old Troy Youde,
18-year-old Frederick Brooks,21-year-old Troy Youde,
18-year-old Frederick Brooks,29-year-old Gary O'Dwyer,
37-year-old Elizabeth Hayden and24-year-old David Johnson.
(04:55):
But, as you can see, theredidn't appear to be any clear
modus operandi when it came tothe age or the gender the killer
was targeting, making it, onthe face of things at least
harder to pin down who it mighthave been.
And we say on the face ofthings because, in another
stroke of luck for theauthorities, it would quickly
become clear that a number ofnewcomers had been travelling in
(05:18):
and out of the town quiteregularly in the preceding
months, with this beingsomething which had been
reported as suspicious by thelocals and which would lead
police to the door of a mannamed John Bunting soon
thereafter, of course, whileinitially they had only gone to
his house in nearby Salisbury toquestion him about what he may
or may not have been doingdriving strange vehicles into
(05:41):
Snowtown.
Once they arrived on the scene,it became clear he knew more
than he was letting on, and thesame could be said for his three
friends who were with him atthe time Robert Wagner, mark
Hayden and James Vlasakis.
So, with them having enoughsuspicion to warrant carrying
out a search at this point, theywould go through Bunting's
(06:01):
property with a fine tooth comb,eventually discovering such
deadly items as knives, saws,shotguns, rope, tarp and a
metallurgy tool used forelectrocution.
After that, upon doing afurther search of the property,
the cops would find the body of26-year-old Ray Davies buried in
the garden, something which ledto all four men being formally
(06:24):
arrested and charged with thecrimes.
But why had they done it?
Well, that was now the questionpolice were going to have to
try and get an answer to, andwhile they set about questioning
the four alleged culprits, thenews would leak out the media
and turn it into the biggeststory South Australia had seen
in years.
In the case of Snowtown,however, the fact that most of
(06:47):
the bodies had been found intheir town meant much of this
attention, unwanted as it was,fell down upon them.
But even if their citizens wereuncomfortable with suddenly
having the whole countrywatching their every move.
They were at least happy thekillers had seemingly been
caught and that they could nowbe brought to justice.
So at this point, then, let's gointo a little more detail about
(07:09):
each of these killers.
First off, we have theringleader, john Justin Bunting.
John was born on September 4th1966 in Inala, queensland, and
it was while growing up therethat he would be subject to a
series of assaults at the handsof a friend's older brother,
with these being both physicaland sexual.
(07:30):
This, then, was why, as he gotolder, john would develop a
particularly strong disdain fornot only pedophiles but
homosexuals too, as he equatedthem with being the same thing
the people who had ruined hischildhood.
But hatred enough isn't enoughto lead someone to commit a
series of murders.
No, you have to have the skillswith which to carry it out as
(07:51):
well, and in the case of thiskiller, he would develop such
skills while still a young man,in fact by the time he was 22,.
After having spent much of histeenage years being fascinated
by weaponry, photography andanatomy, he would get a job at a
local abattoir, where hereportedly bragged to his
colleagues on a regular basisabout how much he enjoyed
(08:13):
slaughtering the animals there.
Why was this?
Well, according to him, he'dbeen doing so ever since he was
a kid, and, as is the case withmany killers, then he would
eventually graduate towardshurting humans too, though this
wouldn't come about until 1991,at which point he his wife and
his stepchildren bought a housein Salisbury North and there
(08:36):
befriended a number of thelocals.
And is where we come to ournext culprit, as one of the
locals John would grow close tohere would be Robert Joe Wagner.
Of course, as it happened,robert would have, just as one
of the locals John would growclose to here would be Robert
Joe Wagner.
Of course, as it happened,robert would have just as much
of a hatred for paedophiles asJohn did, with him later stating
at his trial paedophiles weredoing terrible things to
children.
(08:56):
The authorities didn't doanything about it.
I decided to take action.
I took that action, but, aswe'll get to in a moment, many
of the accusations made by Johnand Robert would be largely
unsubstantiated, with theminstead relying on rumour rather
than the kind of cold facts thepolice might employ.
Still, as far as they saw it,their campaign to wage war on
(09:19):
all child molesters in the areawas a righteous one, and so it
didn't matter if they had hardevidence or not.
They knew the people they weregoing after were guilty, as
would the third killer of thegroup, james Spiridon Vlasakis,
someone who had also beensexually abused as a child.
Of course, being only 23 whenthe killings began, he would be
(09:43):
far more impressionistic,something which made it easier
for his two older cohorts to gethim involved in what they were
planning.
But that wasn't the only reasonhe got involved, because,
believe it or not, he wasactually the stepson of John
Bunting and was living with himat the time.
Still, that doesn't take awayfrom the fact that he was still
a willing participant, as wasthe fourth and final culprit,
mark Ray Hayden.
That said, what separated Markfrom the other three in this
(10:06):
case is that, unlike them, hedoesn't appear to have taken
part in any of the murdersdirectly.
No, he would instead help themdispose of the bodies after the
fact, something he appeared todo with glee.
So now that we've introduced themain players in the story, we
have to look at how thingsreally got started.
And it all began when JohnBunting and Robert Wagner first
(10:31):
met in 1991, as then they wouldquickly realise they shared a
common interest in ridding theworld of anyone they deemed to
be a danger to children.
But with both agreeing, theauthorities weren't doing enough
to combat the problem, they'dmake a pact to take care of
things themselves Soon afterthat, and Bunting had begun
(10:52):
developing what he called a rockspider wall inside of his house
.
Of course, rock spider is aslang Australian term for
pedophilia, and so, with that inmind, it's pretty clear who he
was trying to document with this.
The only problem was that, aswe've already alluded to, many
of Bunting and Wagner's methodsfor identifying offenders were
(11:13):
faulty at best, and that wasbecause, trusting their emotions
more than what they could proveit would lead to them accusing
a number of people falsely, andthat's where we come to the
first killing, because once thetwo had built up enough nerve,
they'd go after Clinton Treziseat this point.
Why him?
Well, john had come to believehe was a paedophile and, as such
(11:37):
, a danger to children in thearea.
Of course, there is no hardevidence to suggest this was the
case, but it didn't stop himcaving his head in with a hammer
and burying him in the nearbytown of Lower Light in 1992.
And when the body was finallydiscovered a couple of years
later, it would only emboldenJohn to continue on this path,
(11:57):
as at the time it seemed likehe'd gotten away with it
scot-free.
Yes, after seeing a report onthe news about the murder,
bunting would reportedly brag tohis nephew about his handiwork,
and it seems like it was atthis point that Vlasakis also
admitted to his stepfather thathe had been abused as a child
(12:17):
too and that he wanted to helpin future.
So now, with three people onboard, the group would take
things to the next level, as,not long following this, they'd
go after their next victim, thistime all doing so together, and
this victim would be Ray Davies, a young man who lived in a
caravan on property owned by anelderly pensioner named Susanna
(12:40):
Allen and who had beenpreviously accused of sexually
abusing her grandchildren.
Of course it's important tonote that Davies was never
charged or convicted with any ofthese crimes.
But that didn't matter to ourtrifecta of killers, because as
far as they were concerned, inthe court of public opinion… he
was guilty.
So they would go to his homeone night in December of 1995
(13:04):
and strangle him to death, then,at this point, decide to bury
the body in John Bunting'sbackyard, as they felt it would
be less likely to be discoveredthere.
And it should also be notedhere that, while Bunting was
certainly the ringleader of thegroup and the one who took the
lead in this murder too, robertWagner was very much involved
this time around, with himpersonally helping to strangle
(13:27):
the victim.
Of course, that wouldn't be theend of their murder spree,
though.
No, far from it, in fact,because after that they would go
after their next target,michelle Gardner, and what
separated her from the priorvictims was that there was no
suggestion she was a paedophileat all.
No, her crime was being openlygay and transvestite.
(13:47):
That's right.
Michelle's birth name wasMichael, and though she had not
undergone a full sex change, shedid identify as a woman.
So it's obvious why this wouldhave incensed John Bunting then,
giving his pre-existing hatredof the gay community, that is.
But what makes this one moreinteresting is that he was able
to get his neighbours and hisstepson in on this one to, as up
(14:11):
until then they'd shown nodesire to harm anyone of the
LGBTQ community.
In fact, wagner himselfappeared to be gay or at very
least bisexual, as in the pasthe'd had a relationship with a
man named Barry Lane.
That said, this relationshipand his feelings towards other
men appeared to be something hewas having difficulty processing
(14:34):
, and that's possibly what ledto him agreeing to add gay
people to their list of targets.
So, after Michelle Gardner hadbeen killed in the same way as
Ray Davies before her, wagnerwould suggest that their next
target be none other than BarryLane himself.
By then, though, barry wasliving as a woman too, one who
(14:55):
was going by the name of Vanessa, and with this only seeming to
anger the trio of killers thatmuch more, they'd target her one
month later, in October, withBunting and Wagner eventually
killing her by means ofstrangulation, but with there
being little room left to buryher or some of the prior victims
(15:16):
, on John Bunting's property.
At this point, the threeculprits would take to stuffing
their bodies in plastic barrelsand hiding them away as best
they could in his house instead.
Of course, that wasn't along-term solution either, but,
thankfully for them, they wouldfind one soon enough.
Before this happened, though,another potential victim of the
(15:37):
group would be killed,47-year-old Susanna Allen yes,
we haven't mentioned this oneyet, as Susanna's body was not
one of those discovered later on, and no direct link has even
been made between her untimelyend and our murderers.
That said, she was anex-girlfriend of John Bunting
(15:57):
and while she didn't fit themodus operandi of being a
paedophile or being gay, givenwhat Bunting and co were doing
at the time, many still believethey had some involvement in her
death.
But while this was never proven, there would be no doubts as to
who was responsible for thedeath which came after this.
And that's because it would beThomas Trevelyan, the last known
(16:18):
partner of Vanessa Lane.
And, as should be obvious then,trevelyan's crime was being
homosexual too.
But while we mentioned earlierthat his death was originally
ruled to be a suicide, as he wasfound hanging from a tree,
based on what would later bediscovered, the Snowtown killers
would be deemed responsible forthis by means of torturing and
(16:40):
hounding him into doing it.
Of course, with none of thesekillings had taken place in
Snowtown at this point, thequestion is still to be answered
how did these small place cometo be the final resting place of
so many of the victims?
Well, that was because Mark RayHayton, another friend of John
Bunting, and Raymond Wagnerwould get involved here too, but
(17:02):
he would not have any directinvolvement in the murders
themselves.
No, his role would be to findthe others a place where they
could hide the bodies, with thatplace being an abandoned state
bank building in Snowtown whichhe was able to rent out at a low
cost.
So with this now in place, thefoursome could begin
transporting the bodies they hadin barrels over to the new
(17:23):
location, all while they madepreparations to go after their
next victim while they were atit.
Who was this next victim?
Well, that would be GavinPorter, a former co-worker of
James Vlasakis, as it happened.
Because, with him now feelingmore emboldened by the fact that
they were all getting away withwhat they were doing, he would
(17:44):
start suggesting some targetshimself.
Of course, it's unclear why theothers chose to go after Porter
, as there was no suggestion hewas either homosexual or a
pedophile.
Still, the likelihood is that,with James clearly having some
kind of vendetta against him, hewas able to convince the others
that he was, and that was why,in April of 1998, he'd be
(18:06):
strangled in his car by Buntingand Wagner.
But that wouldn't be the end ofVlasakis' targets, because once
this was done and the body ofGavin Porter was hidden away in
Snowtown, the crew would next goafter Troy Ewed.
Why Troy Ewed?
Well, he was the half-brotherof James Vlasakis and, according
to him, the one who hadsexually assaulted him as a
(18:29):
youth.
So given how personal this wasfor the youngest of the culprits
, then it's no surprise that itwould mark the first time he
directly got involved in one ofthe murders, as in August of
that year he, bunting and Wagerwould all beat Ewed with planks,
then torture him before killinghim outright.
After that, with the trioseemingly being on a high, the
(18:51):
final victims would come thickand fast, as between September
of 1998 and May of 1999, thelast four killings would take
place, and the first of thesewould be Frederick Brooke, the
son of a woman who John Buntinghad at one time been engaged to
and who he had come to believewas abusing children.
But this one would beparticularly gruesome as it
(19:13):
would also feature the tortureof the victim before the final
act was carried out, with thistorture seeming to be something
which Robert Wagner inparticular enjoyed.
And he also appeared to enjoytorturing and killing Gary
O'Dwyer not long after this, akilling they carried out after
managing to get inside his homeunder the pretense of having a
(19:34):
few drinks with him.
That said, by this point, itappeared, even the killers were
starting to lose sight of theiroriginal goal, as, when it came
to O'Dwyer, his crime would notbe that he was what they deemed
to be a sexual deviant.
No, it was that, as he hadsuffered brain damage in a car
crash prior to this, he wassimply too weak to live.
(19:57):
As for the penultimate victim,however, elizabeth Hayden, the
reasons for her death would befar clearer, and that was
because she was actually thepartner of Mark Hayden, someone
who he evidently felt tired ofbeing with and who he wanted to
get out of his life.
On top of that, it would laterbe alleged that John Bunting had
actually made a pass atElizabeth at one point and that
(20:19):
when she turned him down, hebecame incensed by this and
vowed his revenge.
But while her murder wouldcertainly be an impassioned one
for at least two of the foursome, the final victim, david
Johnson, would be personal forJames Vlasakis, and that was
because David was also hisstepbrother, albeit one who
(20:40):
didn't appear to have anyinvolvement in his prior sexual
assault, albeit one who didn'tappear to have any involvement
in his prior sexual assault.
So with these last few killings, then, it's clear things had
devolved into just murderinganyone the four had a personal
issue with, and, as such, was nolonger about their supposed
moral crusade anymore.
Had they not been caught soonafter this, then it's likely
(21:00):
they would have just continuedtargeting anyone who they ever
felt they had wronged them.
But, even more troubling, atthis point, bunting and Wagner
had also started engaging incannibalism too, as before they
disposed of David Johnson's body, they would cook and eat a
piece of his flesh.
Thankfully, though, thingswould not go any further,
(21:21):
because, with the bodies hiddenin Snowtown being discovered at
this point and the four beingcaught soon thereafter, they
would be now held in custodywhile they awaited their trial,
and, given the brutal nature oftheir crimes, it didn't take
long for a jury to find all fourmen guilty, with three of them
being responsible for themurders and Mark Hayden being
(21:43):
deemed guilt of helping to dumpthe bodies.
So what would happen to them allafter that?
Well, given the fact that theywere not only responsible for
the deaths of 11 people, butthat they'd also amassed around
$95,000 in social security fraudfrom their victims after the
fact, the decision was made tothrow the book at them, and that
(22:06):
was why, in the case of theringleader John Bunting, he'd be
given 11 life sentences withoutthe possibility of parole,
meaning he'd spend the rest ofhis life behind bars.
As for Robert Wagner, he'd beconvicted on 10 counts of murder
and would get 10 life sentenceshimself.
And when it came to JamesVlasakis, he'd be convicted on
ten counts of murder and wouldget ten life sentences himself.
And when it came to JamesVlasakis, he'd be found guilty
(22:28):
and convicted on four counts ofmurder, though, given his young
age and his willingness tocooperate with the police, after
he was caught a suppressionorder would be granted, allowing
him to keep his image out ofthe media.
Then, finally, in the trial ofMark Hayden, while he hadn't
actually murdered anyone himself, his involvement was enough to
warrant him a 25-year prisonsentence, which he is still
(22:52):
serving out to this day.
But this, sadly, wouldn't markthe end of the story for
Snowtown, because, with theirname now being synonymous with
death, this once sleepy littletown would become a popular
tourist spot.
As a result of this, then, manyof the people living there have
since suggested changing thetown's name, so that they will
no longer have to deal with thedark stain left on their past
(23:14):
anymore.
Of course, as of now.
This has yet to happen and itremains a sad fact that, until
it does, whether they like it ornot, snowtown will always be
synonymous with the terribleactions of four men and their
quest to rid the world of whatthey believe to be all its evils
.
It's just ironic they thenended up becoming this evil
(23:36):
themselves.
Thank you for joining us on thisjourney through the shadows of
humanity.
On the End of Reason podcast.
As we conclude today's episode,remember that the pursuit of
truth never truly ends.
Until next time.
Stay vigilant, stay curious andnever let go of reason.
(23:59):
You, you, you, you, you, you.
(26:17):
Thank you for joining us onthis journey through the shadows
of humanity.
On the End of Reason podcast.
As we conclude today's episode,remember that the pursuit of
truth never truly ends.
Until next time.
Stay vigilant, stay curious andnever let go of reason.
Before we begin today's episode, we want to
provide a subject matter warning.
This podcast delves intoreal-life crimes and their often
graphic and disturbing details.
Today's episode containsdiscussions of violence, murder
and other sensitive topics thatmay not be suitable for all
listeners.
We understand that this contentcan be triggering or upsetting
(00:22):
for some, and we urge you toconsider your own well-being as
you listen.
With that said, let's proceedwith today's case.
On May 20th 1999, southAustralian police discovered six
(00:53):
plastic barrels containing theremains of eight unidentified
bodies at an abandoned bank inthe small town of Snowtown.
Needless to say, then, thisrevelation immediately sent
shockwaves throughout the localcommunity, as both those who
lived there and the authoritiesthemselves desperately began
searching for answers.
Unfortunately for the citizensof Snowtown, though, what would
(01:14):
later come to light during oneof the longest and most
published trials in Australianlegal history would forever make
this place infamous.
Welcome to the End of Reasonpodcast.
Today, we're going to be lookingat the case of the Snowtown
Murders.
Snowtown was a pretty quietplace prior to the turn of the
millennium, but with apopulation of only around 400
(01:35):
people living there at the time,this was only to be expected.
It was the kind of place whereeveryone knew their neighbours
and people would come togetheras a community to help each
other out if necessary.
And if you weren't happy withthat and wanted some more of the
big city style of living, you'dhave to travel around 90 miles
north towards Adelaide instead.
(01:55):
Still, for those that did livethere, this quiet life was
exactly what they were lookingfor.
So when their worlds wererocked upon the discovery that a
series of murders had beentaking place in their vicinity,
it changed everything andbrought a dark cloud down upon
the town forever.
But let's rewind a moment,because before we can get into
(02:16):
the full grisly details of thecase, we first have to go back
to what would retroactively bedeemed the initial murder which
sparked it all, and that was thedeath of Clinton Trezis.
It would be back in August of1992 that 22-year-old Clinton
had gone missing, with hisfamily quickly growing worried
at this point and reporting itto the police.
(02:38):
Sadly for everyone involved,though, it would take a full two
years before his fate would berevealed.
When his body was found buriedin the town of Lower Light, and
upon inspection of his remainshere, it was determined he died
as a result of blunt forcetrauma to the head.
At the time, however, the deathwas deemed to be a stand-alone
(02:59):
incident, and while police didtry to find the killer, they
would ultimately be unable to doso.
But that wasn't the only bodylater attributed to the Snowtown
Killer which would bediscovered prior to 1999, as on
November 5th 1997, three yearsafter Clinton Trezis' body had
been discovered, thomasTrevillian, an 18-year-old boy,
(03:22):
would be seen hanging from atree in nearby Kirsbrook.
That said, given the evidencethey had to work with at the
time, local police would deemthis one to be the result of a
suicide, with there being nofurther need to investigate the
situation after that.
No, it wouldn't be until a thirdperson, 37-year-old Elizabeth
Hayden, went missing in Novemberof 1998 that things would
(03:45):
finally begin to fall into place.
And that's because, afterspending the following six
months searching for any sign ofher, the local authorities
would be led to the small townof Snowtown.
Of course, as we now know, itwould be there that, after
suspicions raised by a number oflocals led to them deciding to
search an abandoned former bankvault, they would find the six
(04:08):
acid-filled barrels which setthe whole case in motion.
So, of course, at this pointthe problem became not only
identifying these bodies, butalso finding out what exactly
had happened to them and whoexactly was responsible.
Luckily for police, then, theywere still in good enough
condition that they were able tobe identified, and so soon
(04:33):
enough a list of victims wouldbe revealed, with these being
19-year-old Michelle Gardner,42-year-old Vanessa Lane,
31-year-old Gavin Porter,21-year-old Troy Youde,
18-year-old Frederick Brooks,21-year-old Troy Youde,
18-year-old Frederick Brooks,29-year-old Gary O'Dwyer,
37-year-old Elizabeth Hayden and24-year-old David Johnson.
(04:55):
But, as you can see, theredidn't appear to be any clear
modus operandi when it came tothe age or the gender the killer
was targeting, making it, onthe face of things at least
harder to pin down who it mighthave been.
And we say on the face ofthings because, in another
stroke of luck for theauthorities, it would quickly
become clear that a number ofnewcomers had been travelling in
(05:18):
and out of the town quiteregularly in the preceding
months, with this beingsomething which had been
reported as suspicious by thelocals and which would lead
police to the door of a mannamed John Bunting soon
thereafter, of course, whileinitially they had only gone to
his house in nearby Salisbury toquestion him about what he may
or may not have been doingdriving strange vehicles into
(05:41):
Snowtown.
Once they arrived on the scene,it became clear he knew more
than he was letting on, and thesame could be said for his three
friends who were with him atthe time Robert Wagner, mark
Hayden and James Vlasakis.
So, with them having enoughsuspicion to warrant carrying
out a search at this point, theywould go through Bunting's
(06:01):
property with a fine tooth comb,eventually discovering such
deadly items as knives, saws,shotguns, rope, tarp and a
metallurgy tool used forelectrocution.
After that, upon doing afurther search of the property,
the cops would find the body of26-year-old Ray Davies buried in
the garden, something which ledto all four men being formally
(06:24):
arrested and charged with thecrimes.
But why had they done it?
Well, that was now the questionpolice were going to have to
try and get an answer to, andwhile they set about questioning
the four alleged culprits, thenews would leak out the media
and turn it into the biggeststory South Australia had seen
in years.
In the case of Snowtown,however, the fact that most of
(06:47):
the bodies had been found intheir town meant much of this
attention, unwanted as it was,fell down upon them.
But even if their citizens wereuncomfortable with suddenly
having the whole countrywatching their every move.
They were at least happy thekillers had seemingly been
caught and that they could nowbe brought to justice.
So at this point, then, let's gointo a little more detail about
(07:09):
each of these killers.
First off, we have theringleader, john Justin Bunting.
John was born on September 4th1966 in Inala, queensland, and
it was while growing up therethat he would be subject to a
series of assaults at the handsof a friend's older brother,
with these being both physicaland sexual.
(07:30):
This, then, was why, as he gotolder, john would develop a
particularly strong disdain fornot only pedophiles but
homosexuals too, as he equatedthem with being the same thing
the people who had ruined hischildhood.
But hatred enough isn't enoughto lead someone to commit a
series of murders.
No, you have to have the skillswith which to carry it out as
(07:51):
well, and in the case of thiskiller, he would develop such
skills while still a young man,in fact by the time he was 22,.
After having spent much of histeenage years being fascinated
by weaponry, photography andanatomy, he would get a job at a
local abattoir, where hereportedly bragged to his
colleagues on a regular basisabout how much he enjoyed
(08:13):
slaughtering the animals there.
Why was this?
Well, according to him, he'dbeen doing so ever since he was
a kid, and, as is the case withmany killers, then he would
eventually graduate towardshurting humans too, though this
wouldn't come about until 1991,at which point he his wife and
his stepchildren bought a housein Salisbury North and there
(08:36):
befriended a number of thelocals.
And is where we come to ournext culprit, as one of the
locals John would grow close tohere would be Robert Joe Wagner.
Of course, as it happened,robert would have, just as one
of the locals John would growclose to here would be Robert
Joe Wagner.
Of course, as it happened,robert would have just as much
of a hatred for paedophiles asJohn did, with him later stating
at his trial paedophiles weredoing terrible things to
children.
(08:56):
The authorities didn't doanything about it.
I decided to take action.
I took that action, but, aswe'll get to in a moment, many
of the accusations made by Johnand Robert would be largely
unsubstantiated, with theminstead relying on rumour rather
than the kind of cold facts thepolice might employ.
Still, as far as they saw it,their campaign to wage war on
(09:19):
all child molesters in the areawas a righteous one, and so it
didn't matter if they had hardevidence or not.
They knew the people they weregoing after were guilty, as
would the third killer of thegroup, james Spiridon Vlasakis,
someone who had also beensexually abused as a child.
Of course, being only 23 whenthe killings began, he would be
(09:43):
far more impressionistic,something which made it easier
for his two older cohorts to gethim involved in what they were
planning.
But that wasn't the only reasonhe got involved, because,
believe it or not, he wasactually the stepson of John
Bunting and was living with himat the time.
Still, that doesn't take awayfrom the fact that he was still
a willing participant, as wasthe fourth and final culprit,
mark Ray Hayden.
That said, what separated Markfrom the other three in this
(10:06):
case is that, unlike them, hedoesn't appear to have taken
part in any of the murdersdirectly.
No, he would instead help themdispose of the bodies after the
fact, something he appeared todo with glee.
So now that we've introduced themain players in the story, we
have to look at how thingsreally got started.
And it all began when JohnBunting and Robert Wagner first
(10:31):
met in 1991, as then they wouldquickly realise they shared a
common interest in ridding theworld of anyone they deemed to
be a danger to children.
But with both agreeing, theauthorities weren't doing enough
to combat the problem, they'dmake a pact to take care of
things themselves Soon afterthat, and Bunting had begun
(10:52):
developing what he called a rockspider wall inside of his house
.
Of course, rock spider is aslang Australian term for
pedophilia, and so, with that inmind, it's pretty clear who he
was trying to document with this.
The only problem was that, aswe've already alluded to, many
of Bunting and Wagner's methodsfor identifying offenders were
(11:13):
faulty at best, and that wasbecause, trusting their emotions
more than what they could proveit would lead to them accusing
a number of people falsely, andthat's where we come to the
first killing, because once thetwo had built up enough nerve,
they'd go after Clinton Treziseat this point.
Why him?
Well, john had come to believehe was a paedophile and, as such
(11:37):
, a danger to children in thearea.
Of course, there is no hardevidence to suggest this was the
case, but it didn't stop himcaving his head in with a hammer
and burying him in the nearbytown of Lower Light in 1992.
And when the body was finallydiscovered a couple of years
later, it would only emboldenJohn to continue on this path,
(11:57):
as at the time it seemed likehe'd gotten away with it
scot-free.
Yes, after seeing a report onthe news about the murder,
bunting would reportedly brag tohis nephew about his handiwork,
and it seems like it was atthis point that Vlasakis also
admitted to his stepfather thathe had been abused as a child
(12:17):
too and that he wanted to helpin future.
So now, with three people onboard, the group would take
things to the next level, as,not long following this, they'd
go after their next victim, thistime all doing so together, and
this victim would be Ray Davies, a young man who lived in a
caravan on property owned by anelderly pensioner named Susanna
(12:40):
Allen and who had beenpreviously accused of sexually
abusing her grandchildren.
Of course it's important tonote that Davies was never
charged or convicted with any ofthese crimes.
But that didn't matter to ourtrifecta of killers, because as
far as they were concerned, inthe court of public opinion… he
was guilty.
So they would go to his homeone night in December of 1995
(13:04):
and strangle him to death, then,at this point, decide to bury
the body in John Bunting'sbackyard, as they felt it would
be less likely to be discoveredthere.
And it should also be notedhere that, while Bunting was
certainly the ringleader of thegroup and the one who took the
lead in this murder too, robertWagner was very much involved
this time around, with himpersonally helping to strangle
(13:27):
the victim.
Of course, that wouldn't be theend of their murder spree,
though.
No, far from it, in fact,because after that they would go
after their next target,michelle Gardner, and what
separated her from the priorvictims was that there was no
suggestion she was a paedophileat all.
No, her crime was being openlygay and transvestite.
(13:47):
That's right.
Michelle's birth name wasMichael, and though she had not
undergone a full sex change, shedid identify as a woman.
So it's obvious why this wouldhave incensed John Bunting then,
giving his pre-existing hatredof the gay community, that is.
But what makes this one moreinteresting is that he was able
to get his neighbours and hisstepson in on this one to, as up
(14:11):
until then they'd shown nodesire to harm anyone of the
LGBTQ community.
In fact, wagner himselfappeared to be gay or at very
least bisexual, as in the pasthe'd had a relationship with a
man named Barry Lane.
That said, this relationshipand his feelings towards other
men appeared to be something hewas having difficulty processing
(14:34):
, and that's possibly what ledto him agreeing to add gay
people to their list of targets.
So, after Michelle Gardner hadbeen killed in the same way as
Ray Davies before her, wagnerwould suggest that their next
target be none other than BarryLane himself.
By then, though, barry wasliving as a woman too, one who
(14:55):
was going by the name of Vanessa, and with this only seeming to
anger the trio of killers thatmuch more, they'd target her one
month later, in October, withBunting and Wagner eventually
killing her by means ofstrangulation, but with there
being little room left to buryher or some of the prior victims
(15:16):
, on John Bunting's property.
At this point, the threeculprits would take to stuffing
their bodies in plastic barrelsand hiding them away as best
they could in his house instead.
Of course, that wasn't along-term solution either, but,
thankfully for them, they wouldfind one soon enough.
Before this happened, though,another potential victim of the
(15:37):
group would be killed,47-year-old Susanna Allen yes,
we haven't mentioned this oneyet, as Susanna's body was not
one of those discovered later on, and no direct link has even
been made between her untimelyend and our murderers.
That said, she was anex-girlfriend of John Bunting
(15:57):
and while she didn't fit themodus operandi of being a
paedophile or being gay, givenwhat Bunting and co were doing
at the time, many still believethey had some involvement in her
death.
But while this was never proven, there would be no doubts as to
who was responsible for thedeath which came after this.
And that's because it would beThomas Trevelyan, the last known
(16:18):
partner of Vanessa Lane.
And, as should be obvious then,trevelyan's crime was being
homosexual too.
But while we mentioned earlierthat his death was originally
ruled to be a suicide, as he wasfound hanging from a tree,
based on what would later bediscovered, the Snowtown killers
would be deemed responsible forthis by means of torturing and
(16:40):
hounding him into doing it.
Of course, with none of thesekillings had taken place in
Snowtown at this point, thequestion is still to be answered
how did these small place cometo be the final resting place of
so many of the victims?
Well, that was because Mark RayHayton, another friend of John
Bunting, and Raymond Wagnerwould get involved here too, but
(17:02):
he would not have any directinvolvement in the murders
themselves.
No, his role would be to findthe others a place where they
could hide the bodies, with thatplace being an abandoned state
bank building in Snowtown whichhe was able to rent out at a low
cost.
So with this now in place, thefoursome could begin
transporting the bodies they hadin barrels over to the new
(17:23):
location, all while they madepreparations to go after their
next victim while they were atit.
Who was this next victim?
Well, that would be GavinPorter, a former co-worker of
James Vlasakis, as it happened.
Because, with him now feelingmore emboldened by the fact that
they were all getting away withwhat they were doing, he would
(17:44):
start suggesting some targetshimself.
Of course, it's unclear why theothers chose to go after Porter
, as there was no suggestion hewas either homosexual or a
pedophile.
Still, the likelihood is that,with James clearly having some
kind of vendetta against him, hewas able to convince the others
that he was, and that was why,in April of 1998, he'd be
(18:06):
strangled in his car by Buntingand Wagner.
But that wouldn't be the end ofVlasakis' targets, because once
this was done and the body ofGavin Porter was hidden away in
Snowtown, the crew would next goafter Troy Ewed.
Why Troy Ewed?
Well, he was the half-brotherof James Vlasakis and, according
to him, the one who hadsexually assaulted him as a
(18:29):
youth.
So given how personal this wasfor the youngest of the culprits
, then it's no surprise that itwould mark the first time he
directly got involved in one ofthe murders, as in August of
that year he, bunting and Wagerwould all beat Ewed with planks,
then torture him before killinghim outright.
After that, with the trioseemingly being on a high, the
(18:51):
final victims would come thickand fast, as between September
of 1998 and May of 1999, thelast four killings would take
place, and the first of thesewould be Frederick Brooke, the
son of a woman who John Buntinghad at one time been engaged to
and who he had come to believewas abusing children.
But this one would beparticularly gruesome as it
(19:13):
would also feature the tortureof the victim before the final
act was carried out, with thistorture seeming to be something
which Robert Wagner inparticular enjoyed.
And he also appeared to enjoytorturing and killing Gary
O'Dwyer not long after this, akilling they carried out after
managing to get inside his homeunder the pretense of having a
(19:34):
few drinks with him.
That said, by this point, itappeared, even the killers were
starting to lose sight of theiroriginal goal, as, when it came
to O'Dwyer, his crime would notbe that he was what they deemed
to be a sexual deviant.
No, it was that, as he hadsuffered brain damage in a car
crash prior to this, he wassimply too weak to live.
(19:57):
As for the penultimate victim,however, elizabeth Hayden, the
reasons for her death would befar clearer, and that was
because she was actually thepartner of Mark Hayden, someone
who he evidently felt tired ofbeing with and who he wanted to
get out of his life.
On top of that, it would laterbe alleged that John Bunting had
actually made a pass atElizabeth at one point and that
(20:19):
when she turned him down, hebecame incensed by this and
vowed his revenge.
But while her murder wouldcertainly be an impassioned one
for at least two of the foursome, the final victim, david
Johnson, would be personal forJames Vlasakis, and that was
because David was also hisstepbrother, albeit one who
(20:40):
didn't appear to have anyinvolvement in his prior sexual
assault, albeit one who didn'tappear to have any involvement
in his prior sexual assault.
So with these last few killings, then, it's clear things had
devolved into just murderinganyone the four had a personal
issue with, and, as such, was nolonger about their supposed
moral crusade anymore.
Had they not been caught soonafter this, then it's likely
(21:00):
they would have just continuedtargeting anyone who they ever
felt they had wronged them.
But, even more troubling, atthis point, bunting and Wagner
had also started engaging incannibalism too, as before they
disposed of David Johnson's body, they would cook and eat a
piece of his flesh.
Thankfully, though, thingswould not go any further,
(21:21):
because, with the bodies hiddenin Snowtown being discovered at
this point and the four beingcaught soon thereafter, they
would be now held in custodywhile they awaited their trial,
and, given the brutal nature oftheir crimes, it didn't take
long for a jury to find all fourmen guilty, with three of them
being responsible for themurders and Mark Hayden being
(21:43):
deemed guilt of helping to dumpthe bodies.
So what would happen to them allafter that?
Well, given the fact that theywere not only responsible for
the deaths of 11 people, butthat they'd also amassed around
$95,000 in social security fraudfrom their victims after the
fact, the decision was made tothrow the book at them, and that
(22:06):
was why, in the case of theringleader John Bunting, he'd be
given 11 life sentences withoutthe possibility of parole,
meaning he'd spend the rest ofhis life behind bars.
As for Robert Wagner, he'd beconvicted on 10 counts of murder
and would get 10 life sentenceshimself.
And when it came to JamesVlasakis, he'd be convicted on
ten counts of murder and wouldget ten life sentences himself.
And when it came to JamesVlasakis, he'd be found guilty
(22:28):
and convicted on four counts ofmurder, though, given his young
age and his willingness tocooperate with the police, after
he was caught a suppressionorder would be granted, allowing
him to keep his image out ofthe media.
Then, finally, in the trial ofMark Hayden, while he hadn't
actually murdered anyone himself, his involvement was enough to
warrant him a 25-year prisonsentence, which he is still
(22:52):
serving out to this day.
But this, sadly, wouldn't markthe end of the story for
Snowtown, because, with theirname now being synonymous with
death, this once sleepy littletown would become a popular
tourist spot.
As a result of this, then, manyof the people living there have
since suggested changing thetown's name, so that they will
no longer have to deal with thedark stain left on their past
(23:14):
anymore.
Of course, as of now.
This has yet to happen and itremains a sad fact that, until
it does, whether they like it ornot, snowtown will always be
synonymous with the terribleactions of four men and their
quest to rid the world of whatthey believe to be all its evils
.
It's just ironic they thenended up becoming this evil
(23:36):
themselves.
Thank you for joining us on thisjourney through the shadows of
humanity.
On the End of Reason podcast.
As we conclude today's episode,remember that the pursuit of
truth never truly ends.
Until next time.
Stay vigilant, stay curious andnever let go of reason.
(23:59):
You, you, you, you, you, you.
(26:17):
Thank you for joining us onthis journey through the shadows
of humanity.
On the End of Reason podcast.
As we conclude today's episode,remember that the pursuit of
truth never truly ends.
Until next time.
Stay vigilant, stay curious andnever let go of reason.
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