Notorious child murderer Bevan Spencer von Einem has died aged 79
The death of one of Australia’s most notorious murderers has brought widespread relief, but the victim’s loved ones say the search for truth is far from over.
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The death of one of Australia’s most notorious murderers has sparked mostly relief, but those closest to his victim say the hunt for truth is nowhere near finished.
Bevan Spencer von Einem , 79, was found dead in the early hours of Saturday morning following a routine check at Yatala Labour Prison
The Advertiser understands the man convicted of the 1983 murder of 15-year-old Adelaide teenager Richard Kelvin had lung cancer and was rushed to prison infirmary via ambulance last month.
For Richard’s best friend, Karl Brooks, who was one of the last people to see the teenager alive, the news brought only relief.
“Man, am I happy,” he said, holding a celebratory glass of Jack Daniels.
“He’s gone, and good riddance. He didn’t deserve to be breathing the same air that we are anyway.”
Mr Brooks said he never expected von Einem to offer a final confession.
“I’ve never expected him to talk... the guy is just pure evil,” he said, adding that the killer “goes beyond psychopath”.
But he insisted von Einem’s death does not extinguish the hope of finding answers, and believes the renewed spotlight could finally draw people out of the shadows to speak.
“Everything I’m doing now is to get these people to justice,” he said.
“We all know what’s going on behind closed doors. Let’s open that door and let’s, let’s get the truth out there.”
“For today though I say raise a glass, have a drink. That evil bastard’s gone.”
The 79-year-old was long linked to the group known as “The Family”, suspected of four unsolved murders, but was only ever convicted of killing 15-year-old Richard Kelvin.
While serving his life sentence, von Einem was charged with the murders of Alan Barnes and Mark Langley, though those charges were later withdrawn.
In the wake of his death, Alan Barnes’s sister Robyn has joined renewed calls to lift suppressions on key suspects in the notorious Family Murders.
She hopes releasing names and images may trigger memories and uncover new evidence.
“This is the last thing that we could possibly do for these boys, there is nowhere else for us to go,” she told 7News.
Premier Peter Malinauskas told the media von Einem’s offending had left behind a legacy of “violence and criminality”.
“We also know von Einem was potentially associated with other heinous crimes of this nature,” he said.
“The Family murders in South Australia resulted in the loss of five young men — five innocent young men that were lost to outrageously violent acts by dastardly criminals who quite frankly don’t deserve to walk on the face of the earth.
“The fact that von Einem has passed, in some respects, is a good thing. This is not someone that we want to see in the state of South Australia.”
Mr Malinauskas said the killer’s choice to take his secrets to his grave and continued refusal to co-operate with police was “a great shame”.
Earlier, Mr Malinauskas confirmed the inmate’s death.
“His death marks the end of a life defined by calculated brutality,” he said in a statement.
“His crimes stand among the most horrific ever committed in South Australia, acts of deliberate cruelty that destroyed lives and inflicted trauma that will echo for generations.
“Convicted of murdering teenager Richard Kelvin and long suspected of further horrific murders, he leaves behind a legacy of devastation for victims’ families that can never be undone.”
von Einem, who was too ill to apply for voluntary euthanasia, made no death bed confessions.
“He had every opportunity to assist investigators, to confirm what so many long believed, that he was responsible for the murder of other young men and to help bring other perpetrators to justice,” Mr Malinauskas.
“Instead, he chose silence, callous, deliberate silence, denying victims’ families even the faintest chance of closure. His decision to take critical information to the grave is an act of cruelty in its own right.
“His death does nothing to erase the murder and torture he inflicted on innocent lives, nor does it ease the anger and grief carried by the families of his victims whose lives were shattered by his actions.
“The greatest tragedy is that they may never know the full truth because of his deliberate and selfish silence. Today, my thoughts are with the families of his victims. Their strength in the face of unimaginable suffering deserves our deepest respect and support.”
The Department for Correctional Services advised Mr Malinauskas of the inmate’s death, he had been held at Port Augusta Prison since 2007.
Rick Sarre, a professor of law and criminal justice at UniSA, said the absence of a bedside confession is deeply “regrettable,” but in reality “commonplace” for offenders who refuse to make concessions before dying.
He said the long-held idea that killers suddenly find a conscience on their deathbed is almost entirely fiction.
“The only time I’ve ever seen it is in the movies,” he said, adding that von Einem maintained his silence throughout his life and “wasn’t going to make any change to that upon his death”.
But his silence has chilling implications. Professor Sarre said there is “little doubt that he had accomplices”, pointing to tasks experts deemed “impossible without two people”.
By dying without speaking, he said von Einem “shielded his accomplices to his death,” leaving those individuals likely to “go to their graves without being named” unless there is a major breakthrough in the case.
For victims’ families who have waited decades, the outcome is devastating.
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Originally published as Notorious child murderer Bevan Spencer von Einem has died aged 79
