June 25, 2019 ▸ True Crime

Episode 397: Snowtown Murders: Bodies in Barrels

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we do a little True Crime and talk about Australia’s Snowtown Murders. They are also called the Bodies in Barrels Murders for reasons that will become obvious. These killings all took place in the 1990s, and unlike your typical serial killer, this was a group of serial killers. The number was 3, 4, or 5 depending on who you consider a killer (and if you subtract the one that the rest of them killed…).

So, why did this group of people start to murder folks? Well, they said in interviews after their arrest that they hated homosexuals and pedophiles, but in truth, they were mostly just out to get their kicks, torture folks, and cash in on their welfare checks. The leader of this group was named John Bunting. His partners in crime were Robert Wagner, Jamie Vlassakis, and Mark Hadon. Bunting was the one who ticked all the serial killer boxes, and it seemed he found some roommates who were easy to manipulate, so they all did it together.

The team killed people they knew, which is sort of a serial killer no-no. People who lived nearby, ex-lovers, current wives, relatives, they were all on the table. Ironically, since they killed homosexuals, they also killed Robert Wagner’s homosexual lover but never targeted Wagner himself. Figure that one out. The typical mode of killing in the Snowtown Murders was bludgeoning to death or strangulation, but only after torture. They shocked testicles, crushed toes with pliers, and even stuck a metal sparkler up a man’s penis hole. Twice.

They descended to worse and worse killings until they were eventually even trying to eat parts of the victims’ flesh. Somehow, they killed all these people they knew and kept getting away with it, until they finally killed Mark Hadon’s wife, Elizabeth Hadon. When she died, her brother started asking questions that lead the police to the trail and ended the Snowtown Murders.

Where did the trail end up? An abandoned bank that Hadon rented in Snowtown. What did their trail yield? Barrels full of chopped up bodies. Why did one of the killers get away with no murder charges? What sentence did their ring leader get in the Snowtown Murders? Who was the killer in their group that they killed, and why did they kill him? How many people did they murder? Listen, laugh, learn.

Youtube Video (Australian Jack Black) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeHL0bQVIfU

An article about what one of the killer’s children saw: https://www.mamamia.com.au/robert-wagner-snowtown/