Snowtown Murders - Bodies In The Barrels

The Snowtown murders (also known as the bodies in barrels murders) were a series of murders committed by John Bunting, Robert Wagner and James Vlassakis between August 1992 and May 1999, in and around Adelaide, South Australia. A fourth person, Mark Haydon, was convicted for helping to dispose of the bodies.

Most of the bodies were found in barrels in a bank vault in Snowtown, hence the names given in the press for the murders. Only one of the victims was killed in Snowtown itself, which is approximately 140 kilometres (87 miles) north of Adelaide, and neither the eleven victims nor the three perpetrators were from the town. Although motivation for the murders is unclear, the killers were led by Bunting to believe that the victims were paedophiles, homosexuals, or "weak". In the case of some victims, the murders were preceded by torture, and efforts were made to appropriate victims' identities.

Although initially the notoriety of the murders led to a short-term economic boost from tourists visiting Snowtown, it created a lasting stigma, with authorities considering a change of the town's name and identity.

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