Snowtown Murders - Perpetrators

Perpetrators

• John Justin Bunting (b. 1966 in Inala, Queensland) was convicted of murdering all listed victims except Suzanne Allen. He was found to be the leader of the perpetrators. Forensic psychiatrist Professor Kevin Howells, who worked at Broadmoor Hospital in the United Kingdom suggested that Bunting's behavior lacks emotion and the capacity to empathize with his victims. Howells observed that Bunting fits the profile of a psychopathic killer who derives satisfaction from controlling his victims. When he was young, his favorite pastime was burning insects in acid. During his teenage years, he was a Neo-Nazi. In adulthood, Bunting developed a deep hatred of paedophiles and homosexuals. According to records, Bunting was sexually assaulted by a friend's older brother at the age of 8, and therefore targeted those who reminded him of this abuse. Bunting began his serial series at 25, and his partners in crime were mentally disabled people or relatives of those working with him (Heckle, Drum & Gravitt, n.d).
• Robert Joe Wagner was befriended by Bunting in 1991. Bunting encouraged him to assist him in the various murders, and Wagner complied.
• Mark Ray Haydon was not convicted of any of the murders, but pleaded guilty to helping the serial killers dispose of the bodies.
• James Spyridon Vlassakis, along with his mother and half-brother, lived with Bunting, and was gradually drawn into helping with the murders and torture. Vlassakis initially declined to co-operate as his mother was implicated, but he became the Crown's star witness following her death.
• Elizabeth Harvey, Vlassakis' mother, knew about the murders, and assisted in one of them with Bunting's encouragement. She died of cancer after the arrests of Bunting, Wagner, Vlassakis, and Haydon.
• Thomas Trevilyan assisted in the murder of Barry Lane in 1997, but was murdered by the other gang members before police involvement.
• Jodie Elliott, sister of Elizabeth Haydon and wife of Mark Ray Haydon, had become besotted with Bunting. She impersonated a deceased former acquaintance of Bunting, Suzanne Allen, to collect Allen's social security payments. The gang later murdered Elliott’s son, Frederick Brooks.