The End Of Reason

Echoes of Evil: The Snowtown Killers

August 28, 2024 • C.R Night • Season 1 • Episode 4

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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.

Speaker 1:

Before we begin today's episode, we want to provide a subject matter warning. This podcast delves into real-life crimes and their often graphic and disturbing details. Today's episode contains discussions of violence, murder and other sensitive topics that may not be suitable for all listeners. We understand that this content can be triggering or upsetting for some, and we urge you to consider your own well-being as you listen. With that said, let's proceed with today's case. On May 20th 1999, south Australian police discovered six plastic barrels containing the remains of eight unidentified bodies at an abandoned bank in the small town of Snowtown. Needless to say, then, this revelation immediately sent shockwaves throughout the local community, as both those who lived there and the authorities themselves desperately began searching for answers. Unfortunately for the citizens of Snowtown, though, what would later come to light during one of the longest and most published trials in Australian legal history would forever make this place infamous. Welcome to the End of Reason podcast.

Speaker 1:

Today, we're going to be looking at the case of the Snowtown Murders. Snowtown was a pretty quiet place prior to the turn of the millennium, but with a population of only around 400 people living there at the time, this was only to be expected. It was the kind of place where everyone knew their neighbours and people would come together as a community to help each other out if necessary. And if you weren't happy with that and wanted some more of the big city style of living, you'd have to travel around 90 miles north towards Adelaide instead. Still, for those that did live there, this quiet life was exactly what they were looking for. So when their worlds were rocked upon the discovery that a series of murders had been taking place in their vicinity, it changed everything and brought a dark cloud down upon the town forever. But let's rewind a moment, because before we can get into the full grisly details of the case, we first have to go back to what would retroactively be deemed the initial murder which sparked it all, and that was the death of Clinton Trezis.

Speaker 1:

It would be back in August of 1992 that 22-year-old Clinton had gone missing, with his family quickly growing worried at this point and reporting it to the police. Sadly for everyone involved, though, it would take a full two years before his fate would be revealed. When his body was found buried in the town of Lower Light, and upon inspection of his remains here, it was determined he died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. At the time, however, the death was deemed to be a stand-alone incident, and while police did try to find the killer, they would ultimately be unable to do so. But that wasn't the only body later attributed to the Snowtown Killer which would be discovered prior to 1999, as on November 5th 1997, three years after Clinton Trezis' body had been discovered, thomas Trevillian, an 18-year-old boy, would be seen hanging from a tree in nearby Kirsbrook. That said, given the evidence they had to work with at the time, local police would deem this one to be the result of a suicide, with there being no further need to investigate the situation after that.

Speaker 1:

No, it wouldn't be until a third person, 37-year-old Elizabeth Hayden, went missing in November of 1998 that things would finally begin to fall into place. And that's because, after spending the following six months searching for any sign of her, the local authorities would be led to the small town of Snowtown. Of course, as we now know, it would be there that, after suspicions raised by a number of locals led to them deciding to search an abandoned former bank vault, they would find the six acid-filled barrels which set the whole case in motion. So, of course, at this point the problem became not only identifying these bodies, but also finding out what exactly had happened to them and who exactly was responsible. Luckily for police, then, they were still in good enough condition that they were able to be identified, and so soon enough a list of victims would be 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 and 24-year-old David Johnson.

Speaker 1:

But, as you can see, there didn't appear to be any clear modus operandi when it came to the age or the gender the killer was targeting, making it, on the face of things at least harder to pin down who it might have been. And we say on the face of things because, in another stroke of luck for the authorities, it would quickly become clear that a number of newcomers had been travelling in and out of the town quite regularly in the preceding months, with this being something which had been reported as suspicious by the locals and which would lead police to the door of a man named John Bunting soon thereafter, of course, while initially they had only gone to his house in nearby Salisbury to question him about what he may or may not have been doing driving strange vehicles into Snowtown. Once they arrived on the scene, it became clear he knew more than he was letting on, and the same could be said for his three friends who were with him at the time Robert Wagner, mark Hayden and James Vlasakis. So, with them having enough suspicion to warrant carrying out a search at this point, they would go through Bunting's property with a fine tooth comb, eventually discovering such deadly items as knives, saws, shotguns, rope, tarp and a metallurgy tool used for electrocution. After that, upon doing a further search of the property, the cops would find the body of 26-year-old Ray Davies buried in the garden, something which led to all four men being formally arrested and charged with the crimes. But why had they done it? Well, that was now the question police were going to have to try and get an answer to, and while they set about questioning the four alleged culprits, the news would leak out the media and turn it into the biggest story South Australia had seen in years. In the case of Snowtown, however, the fact that most of the bodies had been found in their town meant much of this attention, unwanted as it was, fell down upon them. But even if their citizens were uncomfortable with suddenly having the whole country watching their every move. They were at least happy the killers had seemingly been caught and that they could now be brought to justice.

Speaker 1:

So at this point, then, let's go into a little more detail about each of these killers. First off, we have the ringleader, john Justin Bunting. John was born on September 4th 1966 in Inala, queensland, and it was while growing up there that he would be subject to a series of assaults at the hands of a friend's older brother, with these being both physical and sexual. This, then, was why, as he got older, john would develop a particularly strong disdain for not only pedophiles but homosexuals too, as he equated them with being the same thing the people who had ruined his childhood. But hatred enough isn't enough to lead someone to commit a series of murders. No, you have to have the skills with which to carry it out as well, and in the case of this killer, he would develop such skills while still a young man, in fact by the time he was 22,.

Speaker 1:

After having spent much of his teenage years being fascinated by weaponry, photography and anatomy, he would get a job at a local abattoir, where he reportedly bragged to his colleagues on a regular basis about how much he enjoyed slaughtering the animals there. Why was this? Well, according to him, he'd been doing so ever since he was a kid, and, as is the case with many killers, then he would eventually graduate towards hurting humans too, though this wouldn't come about until 1991, at which point he his wife and his stepchildren bought a house in Salisbury North and there befriended a number of the locals. And is where we come to our next culprit, as one of the locals John would grow close to here would be Robert Joe Wagner. Of course, as it happened, robert would have, just as one of the locals John would grow close to here would be Robert Joe Wagner. Of course, as it happened, robert would have just as much of a hatred for paedophiles as John did, with him later stating at his trial paedophiles were doing terrible things to children.

Speaker 1:

The authorities didn't do anything about it. I decided to take action. I took that action, but, as we'll get to in a moment, many of the accusations made by John and Robert would be largely unsubstantiated, with them instead relying on rumour rather than the kind of cold facts the police might employ. Still, as far as they saw it, their campaign to wage war on all child molesters in the area was a righteous one, and so it didn't matter if they had hard evidence or not. They knew the people they were going after were guilty, as would the third killer of the group, james Spiridon Vlasakis, someone who had also been sexually abused as a child. Of course, being only 23 when the killings began, he would be far more impressionistic, something which made it easier for his two older cohorts to get him involved in what they were planning. But that wasn't the only reason he got involved, because, believe it or not, he was actually the stepson of John Bunting and was living with him at the time. Still, that doesn't take away from the fact that he was still a willing participant, as was the fourth and final culprit, mark Ray Hayden. That said, what separated Mark from the other three in this case is that, unlike them, he doesn't appear to have taken part in any of the murders directly. No, he would instead help them dispose of the bodies after the fact, something he appeared to do with glee.

Speaker 1:

So now that we've introduced the main players in the story, we have to look at how things really got started. And it all began when John Bunting and Robert Wagner first met in 1991, as then they would quickly realise they shared a common interest in ridding the world of anyone they deemed to be a danger to children. But with both agreeing, the authorities weren't doing enough to combat the problem, they'd make a pact to take care of things themselves Soon after that, and Bunting had begun developing what he called a rock spider wall inside of his house. Of course, rock spider is a slang Australian term for pedophilia, and so, with that in mind, it's pretty clear who he was trying to document with this.

Speaker 1:

The only problem was that, as we've already alluded to, many of Bunting and Wagner's methods for identifying offenders were faulty at best, and that was because, trusting their emotions more than what they could prove it would lead to them accusing a number of people falsely, and that's where we come to the first killing, because once the two had built up enough nerve, they'd go after Clinton Trezise at this point. Why him? Well, john had come to believe he was a paedophile and, as such, a danger to children in the area. Of course, there is no hard evidence to suggest this was the case, but it didn't stop him caving his head in with a hammer and burying him in the nearby town of Lower Light in 1992. And when the body was finally discovered a couple of years later, it would only embolden John to continue on this path, as at the time it seemed like he'd gotten away with it scot-free. Yes, after seeing a report on the news about the murder, bunting would reportedly brag to his nephew about his handiwork, and it seems like it was at this point that Vlasakis also admitted to his stepfather that he had been abused as a child too and that he wanted to help in future.

Speaker 1:

So now, with three people on board, the group would take things to the next level, as, not long following this, they'd go after their next victim, this time all doing so together, and this victim would be Ray Davies, a young man who lived in a caravan on property owned by an elderly pensioner named Susanna Allen and who had been previously accused of sexually abusing her grandchildren. Of course it's important to note that Davies was never charged or convicted with any of these crimes. But that didn't matter to our trifecta of killers, because as far as they were concerned, in the court of public opinion… he was guilty. So they would go to his home one night in December of 1995 and strangle him to death, then, at this point, decide to bury the body in John Bunting's backyard, as they felt it would be less likely to be discovered there. And it should also be noted here that, while Bunting was certainly the ringleader of the group and the one who took the lead in this murder too, robert Wagner was very much involved this time around, with him personally helping to strangle the victim.

Speaker 1:

Of course, that wouldn't be the end 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 prior victims was that there was no suggestion she was a paedophile at all. No, her crime was being openly gay and transvestite. That's right. Michelle's birth name was Michael, and though she had not undergone a full sex change, she did identify as a woman. So it's obvious why this would have incensed John Bunting then, giving his pre-existing hatred of the gay community, that is. But what makes this one more interesting is that he was able to get his neighbours and his stepson in on this one to, as up until then they'd shown no desire to harm anyone of the LGBTQ community. In fact, wagner himself appeared to be gay or at very least bisexual, as in the past he'd had a relationship with a man named Barry Lane. That said, this relationship and his feelings towards other men appeared to be something he was having difficulty processing, and that's possibly what led to him agreeing to add gay people to their list of targets.

Speaker 1:

So, after Michelle Gardner had been killed in the same way as Ray Davies before her, wagner would suggest that their next target be none other than Barry Lane himself. By then, though, barry was living as a woman too, one who was going by the name of Vanessa, and with this only seeming to anger the trio of killers that much more, they'd target her one month later, in October, with Bunting and Wagner eventually killing her by means of strangulation, but with there being little room left to bury her or some of the prior victims, on John Bunting's property. At this point, the three culprits would take to stuffing their bodies in plastic barrels and hiding them away as best they could in his house instead. Of course, that wasn't a long-term solution either, but, thankfully for them, they would find one soon enough. Before this happened, though, another potential victim of the group would be killed, 47-year-old Susanna Allen yes, we haven't mentioned this one yet, as Susanna's body was not one of those discovered later on, and no direct link has even been made between her untimely end and our murderers. That said, she was an ex-girlfriend of John Bunting and while she didn't fit the modus operandi of being a paedophile or being gay, given what Bunting and co were doing at the time, many still believe they had some involvement in her death. But while this was never proven, there would be no doubts as to who was responsible for the death which came after this. And that's because it would be Thomas Trevelyan, the last known partner of Vanessa Lane. And, as should be obvious then, trevelyan's crime was being homosexual too. But while we mentioned earlier that his death was originally ruled to be a suicide, as he was found hanging from a tree, based on what would later be discovered, the Snowtown killers would be deemed responsible for this by means of torturing and hounding him into doing it.

Speaker 1:

Of course, with none of these killings had taken place in Snowtown at this point, the question is still to be answered how did these small place come to be the final resting place of so many of the victims? Well, that was because Mark Ray Hayton, another friend of John Bunting, and Raymond Wagner would get involved here too, but he would not have any direct involvement in the murders themselves. No, his role would be to find the others a place where they could hide the bodies, with that place being an abandoned state bank building in Snowtown which he was able to rent out at a low cost. So with this now in place, the foursome could begin transporting the bodies they had in barrels over to the new location, all while they made preparations to go after their next victim while they were at it. Who was this next victim? Well, that would be Gavin Porter, a former co-worker of James Vlasakis, as it happened. Because, with him now feeling more emboldened by the fact that they were all getting away with what they were doing, he would start suggesting some targets himself. Of course, it's unclear why the others chose to go after Porter, as there was no suggestion he was either homosexual or a pedophile. Still, the likelihood is that, with James clearly having some kind of vendetta against him, he was able to convince the others that he was, and that was why, in April of 1998, he'd be strangled in his car by Bunting and Wagner.

Speaker 1:

But that wouldn't be the end of Vlasakis' targets, because once this was done and the body of Gavin Porter was hidden away in Snowtown, the crew would next go after Troy Ewed. Why Troy Ewed? Well, he was the half-brother of James Vlasakis and, according to him, the one who had sexually assaulted him as a youth. So given how personal this was for the youngest of the culprits, then it's no surprise that it would mark the first time he directly got involved in one of the murders, as in August of that year he, bunting and Wager would all beat Ewed with planks, then torture him before killing him outright.

Speaker 1:

After that, with the trio seemingly being on a high, the final victims would come thick and fast, as between September of 1998 and May of 1999, the last four killings would take place, and the first of these would be Frederick Brooke, the son of a woman who John Bunting had at one time been engaged to and who he had come to believe was abusing children. But this one would be particularly gruesome as it would also feature the torture of the victim before the final act was carried out, with this torture seeming to be something which Robert Wagner in particular enjoyed. And he also appeared to enjoy torturing and killing Gary O'Dwyer not long after this, a killing they carried out after managing to get inside his home under the pretense of having a few drinks with him. That said, by this point, it appeared, even the killers were starting to lose sight of their original goal, as, when it came to O'Dwyer, his crime would not be that he was what they deemed to be a sexual deviant. No, it was that, as he had suffered brain damage in a car crash prior to this, he was simply too weak to live.

Speaker 1:

As for the penultimate victim, however, elizabeth Hayden, the reasons for her death would be far clearer, and that was because she was actually the partner of Mark Hayden, someone who he evidently felt tired of being with and who he wanted to get out of his life. On top of that, it would later be alleged that John Bunting had actually made a pass at Elizabeth at one point and that when she turned him down, he became incensed by this and vowed his revenge. But while her murder would certainly be an impassioned one for at least two of the foursome, the final victim, david Johnson, would be personal for James Vlasakis, and that was because David was also his stepbrother, albeit one who didn't appear to have any involvement in his prior sexual assault, albeit one who didn't appear to have any involvement in his prior sexual assault. So with these last few killings, then, it's clear things had devolved into just murdering anyone the four had a personal issue with, and, as such, was no longer about their supposed moral crusade anymore. Had they not been caught soon after this, then it's likely they would have just continued targeting anyone who they ever felt they had wronged them. But, even more troubling, at this point, bunting and Wagner had also started engaging in cannibalism too, as before they disposed of David Johnson's body, they would cook and eat a piece of his flesh. Thankfully, though, things would not go any further, because, with the bodies hidden in Snowtown being discovered at this point and the four being caught soon thereafter, they would be now held in custody while they awaited their trial, and, given the brutal nature of their crimes, it didn't take long for a jury to find all four men guilty, with three of them being responsible for the murders and Mark Hayden being deemed guilt of helping to dump the bodies.

Speaker 1:

So what would happen to them all after that? Well, given the fact that they were not only responsible for the deaths of 11 people, but that they'd also amassed around $95,000 in social security fraud from their victims after the fact, the decision was made to throw the book at them, and that was why, in the case of the ringleader John Bunting, he'd be given 11 life sentences without the possibility of parole, meaning he'd spend the rest of his life behind bars. As for Robert Wagner, he'd be convicted on 10 counts of murder and would get 10 life sentences himself. And when it came to James Vlasakis, he'd be convicted on ten counts of murder and would get ten life sentences himself. And when it came to James Vlasakis, he'd be found guilty and convicted on four counts of murder, though, given his young age and his willingness to cooperate with the police, after he was caught a suppression order would be granted, allowing him to keep his image out of the media. Then, finally, in the trial of Mark Hayden, while he hadn't actually murdered anyone himself, his involvement was enough to warrant him a 25-year prison sentence, which he is still serving out to this day.

Speaker 1:

But this, sadly, wouldn't mark the end of the story for Snowtown, because, with their name now being synonymous with death, this once sleepy little town would become a popular tourist spot. As a result of this, then, many of the people living there have since suggested changing the town's name, so that they will no longer have to deal with the dark stain left on their past anymore. Of course, as of now. This has yet to happen and it remains a sad fact that, until it does, whether they like it or not, snowtown will always be synonymous with the terrible actions of four men and their quest to rid the world of what they believe to be all its evils. It's just ironic they then ended up becoming this evil themselves.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for joining us on this 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 and never let go of reason. You, you, you, you, you, you. Thank you for joining us on this 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 and never let go of reason.