CRIM333 Topic 8 - Topic notes summary PDF

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CRIM333 Lecture 8 John Bunting Details of the case 

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John Justin Bunting was the leader of, what has been described as, a “gang” of “serial killers” (McGarry 2005: 361-362), consisting of three other members; Robert Joe Wagner, Mark Ray Haydon and James Vlassikis. On 20th May 1999, police entered a disused bank vault in Snow town, a rural farming community 150km north of Adelaide. Inside they found eight decomposing bodies in six acidfilled barrels, along with handcuffs, knives, gloves and other items that had been used to torture, mutilate and kill the victims. Shortly after the discovery of the bodies in the bank vault, two more bodies were found buried in the backyard of a Waterloo property occupied, at times, by Bunting. After further investigation, police also linked Bunting to an additional two bodies; one found in a shallow grave at Lower Light, north of Adelaide in 1994, and one found hanging from a tree in Adelaide in 1997. Bunting, along with his fellow killers, did not distinguish between paedophilia and homosexuals and believed that their removal was necessary to improve society. Despite this, the group took steps to ensure that the victims' families and police suspected that they were still alive. For example, some victims were "forced to record their voices on telephone answering machines to reassure family members who were worried about their disappearance" (Koehler and Moore 2009: 79). Media response

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The media’s response to Snowtown greatly impacted its image with headlines depicting horror, sadism and despair (Hess and Waller 2012: 116) The use of the town’s name to label the murders, placed a “mark of shame” on Snowtown, with some of the headlines in National newspapers being: ‘Town’s image bloodied’; ‘Place of great wickedness’; ‘The day the sky fell in at Snowtown’; ‘Snowtown horror’; and ‘Vault of death’ (Hess and Waller 2012: 116). Now imbued with a sense of horror due to the evils perpetrated here (Rofe 2013: 265-266). (Smith, 2002 talks about idea of snowmen, clean air and fires however that isn’t the case) Rofe (2013: 266) such representations draw on the imagery of the rural idyll - what rural life should look and be like - and turns Snowtown into a rural dystopia. The entire town was cast, within the media, as a place that is distinct from other rural towns - a place where murder can easily happen and be concealed within the community (Rofe 2013: 266). Financial gain was one motive the media tended to favour, despite Bunting disproving it himself stating that the financial gain was simply ‘an added benefit’ and ‘the icing on the cake’ (R v Bunting; Mason 2007: 260; Penhall 2004; Smith 2002). Another area the media focused on was the relationship between Bunting et al. and their victims. The fact that the perpetrators and victims came from the same socio-economic background was singled out for particular attention (Mason 2007: 261). Not only were the perpetrators described as ‘evil’ and ‘sadistic’, but the victims of the crimes were also negatively represented.

Victim Clinton Trezise (aka ‘Happy Pants’) (22)

Details Found in a shallow grave at Lower Light on the 16th August 1994. Trezise and Barry Lane (victim 5) had been in a homosexual relationship. Trezise was killed by blows to the back of the head by a blunt object. Trezise

Ray Davies (26)

Suzanne Allen (47)

Michael Gardiner

(19) Barry Lane (42)

was last seen alive in August 1992. During the trial, the defense argued that the Crown was unable to provide proof that the body was actually Trezise. Expert evidence was brought in from Dr Jane Taylor, who compared a 1989 X-ray of the deceased's skull with the skull of the body found at Lower Light. She expressed the opinion that they were of the same person. Ms Raelene Brown in a statement dated 18 December 2000, said the name Trezise "“constantly came up in the conversations” with Bunting and Haydon. She recalls that they said Trezise was gay, but they were not sure whether he was “into the kids as well”. Bunting had said that Trezise “didn't deserve to live”" (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Davies was a pensioner Allen who lived in a caravan in the backyard of Suzanne. Ray was last seen alive in late 1995. On the 26th May 1999, police found the body of Davies buried in the backyard of the Waterloo property (at times occupied by Bunting). Davies had been accused of molesting the grandchildren of his former partner, Suzanne Allen (victim 3). Allen's grandsons complained to their mother that Davies had made sexual advances (and one case of assault) towards them on Christmas Day 1995 (and on previous occasions). The mother, Ms Annette Cannon told the police, however Davies was not seen again. Over the following two weeks, Cannon saw Bunting, Wagner and Allen cleaning out the caravan where Davies lived and then removing the caravan. Cannon then overheard a conversation between Allen and bunting: “I heard John [Bunting] say to Chris and Mum [Allen] words to the effect of, ‘We took Ray for a drive in the car.’ I know they had a white Torana at the time. John said while he was driving, ‘Robert [Wagner] was pounding him down and trying to keep him down so that no-one could see what was going on in the back seat.’ He made hand movements indicating punching down. It sounded like Ray was on the floor of the car. He said that they ‘dropped him off in the middle of the scrub somewhere and made him walk back towards town.’ They didn't say if he was hurt or bleeding or anything. John was laughing about it. Robert had a big cheesy smile on his face. He didn't say much apart from saying it was really good. They did not say why they were taking Ray for a ‘drive’. I did not tell either of them that Ray had interfered with my children. The only people I told were the police and my mum. My mum looked a bit stunned when Bunting told her this.” (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Davies was repeatedly beaten about his genitals, had his toes crushed with pliers and was strangled using jumper leads. Elizabeth Harvey, Vlassakis’ mother, was present during his torture, and there are some sources which list her as co-strangling Davies along with Wagner (Bunting allegedly watched) (The Age 2003).The cause of death could not be determined by the post-mortem. According to the initial trial, the Crown argued that profit from selling Davies' caravan and welfare fraud were partial motives for the crime (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Suzanne Allen was last seen alive in late November 1996; however, it wasn't until 10 December 1996 that Allen was reported to the police as a missing person. Her dismembered and decomposing body was found on 23 May 1999 in the backyard of the Waterloo property. Allen was in the same hole that Davies was found, and police located her body three days earlier than Davies body. Cause of death unknown. Postmortem revealed her torso had been dismembered and de-fleshed; her breasts and genitals were absent; her head had been severed from her torso and her right shoulder blade had been removed; in addition, most of the skin and some of the tissue under it had been removed (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). "Parts of Allen's body were found in eleven plastic bags " and "remnants of rope were found in two of the bags" (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). There is some debate as to whether Suzanne Allen is a recognised victim after the jury failed to convict Bunting and Wagner of her death. Allen was in a relationship with Davies; and then entered into a relationship with Bunting between late 1995 and mid 1996 at which time Bunting ended the relationship (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Bunting, in an effort to maintain the story that Allen had disappeared, convinced his friend Ms Jodie Elliot to travel to Berri (with Bunting and Wagner) to impersonate Allen and call Missing Persons. Gardiner was last seen alive early September 1997. On 16th September 1997, a friend went to Gardiner's place and found it ransacked. Gardiner's flatmate, Ms Nicole Zorite reported the matter to the police. His body was later found in a barrel, along with Barry Lane in the bank vault. Gardiner was an openly homosexual young man. Cause of death was strangulation by rope. Marks on skin (including scrotum) were suggestive of thermal burns (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). People close to Gardiner received imitation phone calls in an effort to cover up his death. Barry Lane was last seen alive in October 1997. On the 27th October 1997 Lane was reported missing to the

Thomas Trevilyan (18)

Gavin Porter (31)

Troy Youde

Frederick Brooks

(18) Gary O’Dwyer (29)

police. On 30th May 1998 the police phoned a number looking for Lane and spoke to Wagner who told the police that he had seen Lane a few weeks ago. Lane's body was found with Gardiner (victim 4) in a barrel in the bank vault. He was found with a gag in his mouth, tape around his mouth and a rope around his neck. Lane and Wagner (offender) were in a sexual relationship between 1985 and early 1996. Allegations were made that Lane had molested Vlassakis’ stepbrother and Wagner at the age of 13. Lane was tortured and then murdered. According to The Age (2003) "his toes were squeezed before death" and "his body was wrapped in carpet before being placed in a barrel". The Court heard that Barry Lane was killed because he was homosexual and also because he had been involved in helping Bunting create his 'rock spider wall' by giving Bunting information about other 'dirties'. Lane was also apparently aware that Bunting had killed Trezise and that Lane posed a threat to those involved in killing Trezise (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Trevilyan was found hanging from a tree on the 5th November 1997 in a remote locality in the Kersbrook area. Initially the coroner ruled his death a suicide, however the police later linked his death to the other murders (The Age 2003). He lived with Barry Lane (victim 5). He suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and "suffered hallucinations and believed the Grim Reaper was going to kill him" (The Age 2003). Trevilyan also assisted in the murder of Barry Lane and began bragging about it, which according to the media was the reason he was killed. Indeed, on "30 October 1997 Trevilyan confided in his cousin, Lenore Penner. She made an entry in her diary that evening. Trevilyan gave enough details to Penner to support a conclusion that Trevilyan possessed knowledge of the murder of Lane" (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Porter was last seen alive in April 1998. The body was found in a barrel in the vault, and the condition of his body rendered the cause of death to be unknown. Porter lived with Vlassakis and his mother, Elizabeth Harvey, in 1998. Both Vlassakis and Porter were on a methadone program and were good friends. "On the morning of his death, Porter was working on his car and still under the influence of drugs he and Vlassakis had taken the night before. He fell asleep on the back seat of his car and was strangled by Bunting and Wagner" (The Age 2003). Porter's death was described as a “waste” by Bunting and Wagner. An opportunistic killing; killed for his money – Bunting noted that Porter “fell into our laps” (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). After the disappearance of Porter, Bunting again initiated a number of fraudulent activities to access his bank and social security accounts. Youde was last seen alive in August 1998. His dismembered body parts were found in two different barrels in the bank. He was the son of Elizabeth Harvey and stepbrother of Vlassakis. There were claims that Youde sexually assaulted Vlassakis. "While sleeping, he was hit with planks and jack handles by Bunting, Wagner and Vlassakis" (The Age 2003). He was then dragged to the bathroom where he was handcuffed, gagged and had his toes squeezed by pliers. "According to Vlassakis, a rope was put around Youde's neck and a jack handle was inserted into the rope as a twisting mechanism. Vlassakis knew Youde was going to die and he wanted it to happen quickly. He assisted in the twisting, but the rope broke. Wagner retied the rope and completed the strangling" (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). "Before he died, Youde was forced to apologise for sexually abusing Vlassakis, his stepbrother. To ensure he was dead, Wagner stood on Youde's chest" (The Age 2003). Cause of death was strangulation (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Brooks disappeared in September 1998 and was last seen on the 17 September 1998 at Blackham Present in the company of Vlassakis, Bunting and Haydon. Her body was found in a barrel; thumb-cuffed and handcuffed, legs bound with electrical cord, mouth gag and taped (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Brooks was the Intellectually disabled son of Jodie Elliot (who was engaged to Bunting at the time) and nephew of Elizabeth Haydon (victim 11). He lived with Elizabeth Haydon (victim 11) along with his mother. Tortured at length by various means including a light sparkler pushed into his penis, crushed toes, cigarette burns and electric shocks (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Brooks choked to death on his gag. Bunting and Wagner recorded his voice to help cover his disappearance. There were also impersonation attempts to hide the disappearance and to continue stealing money from bank accounts and to continue receiving centrelink benefits. Gary O'Dwyer was last seen alive on the 28 October 1998. His body was found in a barrel; but no cause of death was determined. O'Dwyer was "an invalid pensioner who suffered a brain injury in a car crash" (The Age 2003) who lived near Bunting. Bunting believed O’Dwyer was a homosexual. "Bunting, Wagner and Vlassakis visited O'Dwyer's home for a few drinks and O'Dwyer was grabbed and handcuffed, beaten,

whipped with a belt and given electric shocks" (The Age 2003). Post-mortem found burn marks which were inflicted by an electrical impulse machine (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Vlassakis also told the court that in addition to Bunting believing that O'Dwyer was a homosexual, that O'Dwyer was also a financial target.

Elizabeth Haydon

(37) David Johnson (24)

Wife of Mark Haydon (offender) and aunt of Frederick Brooks (victim 9). The disappearance of Elizabeth Haydon in November 1998 aroused police suspicions. "After she went missing, family and friends were told she had locked herself in the bedroom after Bunting refused her advances. She later went to be with her boyfriend, they were told" (The Age 2003). On the 25th November 1998, Mr Sinclair reported Elizabeth missing. The police were told by Haydon the following day that his marriage to Elizabeth had ended a few days ago and that Elizabeth had left the house and he did not know where she was. On 30th November 1998 the police interviewed Wagner and Bunting about her disappearance . Her body was later found in a barrel, mouth gagged and taped, with a rope around her neck. According to Vlassakis "Bunting regularly spoke of the need for Elizabeth Haydon to die and to “go to the clinic”" (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Johnson was the last victim of the group and he "was lured to the Snowtown bank on the pretense of buying a computer. After being driven to Snowtown by his stepbrother Vlassikis, Johnson was handcuffed and beaten. He was strangled to death with his own belt by Bunting and his body was cut up and put in barrels" (The Age 2003). Bunting saw Johnson as a homosexual, despite being heterosexual (R v Bunting and Others (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Johnson was the only victim to be killed in Snowtown. He was murdered in the 9th May 1999. Johnson's murder was the first time Bunting used a computer to record phrases that Johnson was forced to say.

Investigation and Trial  

John Bunting was arrested on the 21st May 1999 after a lengthy police investigation. On 2 July 1999 the police laid subsequent charges of murder. The investigation involved: 1. Checking buildings in Snowtown: As a part of the investigation police searched the empty buildings in Snowtown and were told by residents that the bank vault was rented to Bunting who was supposedly using it to store kangaroo carcasses (Koehler and Moore 2009: 78). The police found "six large 44-gallon plastic barrels, as well as an array of knives, handcuffs, robes, rubber gloves, and a device for generating electric shocks" (Koehler and Moore 2009: 78). Inside the barrels were body parts and acid. 2. Installing listening devices: By means of a listening device in place at Blackham Crescent on 15 March 1999, there is audio evidence of Bunting, Elliott and Haydon using the sound program that enables the recording and subsequent manipulation of material recorded on the computer" (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). This was in relation to Johnson's murder. 3. Using ground-penetrating radar technology to identify two bodies buried beneath the foundation of a rainwater tank in the backyard of the Waterloo property in Snowtown. 4. Assessing the evidence found in the bank vault. Investigators found fragments from eight different bodies (Koehler and Moore 2009: 78). Despite the effects of being stored in acid, the police and crime scene officers managed to obtain fingerprints from some of the victims, aiding the identification process. DNA was also present, despite the acid, in victims’ bones,

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hair and body tissues. This DNA was used to compare the victims' DNA with those of family members of missing persons. 5. Statements made by Vlassakis (who made an 800-page statement) outline the role of the other offenders in the crimes (Koehler and Moore 2009: 79). A second interview with Vlassakis comprises almost 2,000 pages of transcripts (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). 6. Other DNA evidence. The police found DNA consistent with that of Davies "on a blood stained t-shirt, underpants stained with blood and faeces, a blood stain on an electrical cord and the outer surface of a glove found in a U-Store-It unit rented by Bunting" (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). 7. The 'rock spider wall'. "In Bunting's bedroom at Waterloo Corner Road, Bunting created a form of chart which has been referred to as a “rock spider wall”. The chart comprised various pieces of paper, some of which were connected by pieces of wool. On those pieces of paper Bunting wrote the names of persons that he considered were “dirty” because they were homosexuals and pedophiles. These types of people were also referred to as “rock spiders”" (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). Pieces of this 'rock spider wall' were found in the same U-Store-It unit that the DNA evidence was found. The police argued that the bits of paper used on the wall were written by Bunting. It is only when the names of the three murderers are all linked to the disappearance of one of the victims that a major crime investigation begins ... the South Australian police did not provide sufficient resources for the investigation even when they knew they had three suspects for four murders" (Smith 2006) Criticized when a suspicious neighbor called about Allen’s disappearance. Offenders seen removing her property. Neighbor called police to investigate and were told moving her stuff for a friend. A contact number was giving, and a woman answered saying she wasn’t available. The police spoke with bunting who told them she had fled to Tasmania or Mildura from her brother. Despite this criticism, the large-scale of the investigation was noted at trial.

Evidence against Bunting 

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"Bunting was always talking about killing and torture ... Bunting spoke in detail about pedophiles, homosexuals and torturing and killing people, as well as making people disappear" (R v Bunting (No 3) [2003] SASC 251). James Vlassakis also provided evidence that Bunting admitted to killing Trezise. In his first police interview in ...