Twist in the case of Snowtown serial killer James Vlassakis convicted of four acid-barrel murders

A 46-year-old Australian serial killer convicted over 11 murders can be released from prison on parole, an appeals court ruled Tuesday.

James Vlassakis, 46, remains incarcerated in South Australia as the youngest of the convicted murderers, court records show.

The case ranks as one of the country’s most notorious criminal matters, according to official court proceedings.

Three judges of the South Australia Court of Appeal upheld a parole board decision made last month to release the inmate, the court ruled.

The decision rejected a formal bid by the state government to block his release, according to court records.

The victims were killed over a span of seven years, prosecutors said.

Most of the victims were discovered in 1999 inside acid-filled barrels in Snowtown, a small town north of Adelaide, police said. Dismembered remains had been stored inside the containers in a derelict bank building, court documents state.

That discovery led the killings to become known as the “Bodies-in-Barrels” murders, according to investigators.

A yearlong trial ended in 2003 after capturing national attention, according to trial records. The case later inspired books along with the 2011 movie “Snowtown,” records show.

Vlassakis was 18 years old when his involvement in the crimes began in 1998, records show.

The convict pleaded guilty to four murders, according to prosecutors. Those victims included his half-brother and his stepbrother, court records state.

The inmate agreed to cooperate as a star witness for the prosecution, according to trial records.

A judge sentenced him to life in prison with a minimum term of 26 years, court records show.

That non-parole period expired in August of last year, records show.

The prisoner was granted parole in December, officials said. The state government subsequently succeeded in overturning that parole board decision, records show.

South Australia Attorney-General Kyam Maher had unsuccessfully challenged the parole decision, court records show. He argued that the traumatic nature of the crimes justified keeping Vlassakis behind bars, according to officials.

“The gravity and the effect this has had on South Australia (and) the need for community safety were always the primary concerns of the state government,” Maher told reporters.

Parole board chair Frances Nelson argued the prisoner had “always been remorseful and contrite,” according to authorities.

Nelson stated that the inmate had not been diagnosed with any anti-social personality disorder, records show. She added that his conduct in custody had been “excellent,” according to the board.

The parole board “would not have recommended his release on parole if we thought he was a risk,” Nelson told reporters.

“So for the attorney general to say that he presented a risk, I think, caused unnecessary alarm in the community,” Nelson said.

Vlassakis was the stepson of the murders’ ringleader, John Bunting, records show.

Bunting killed individuals he suspected of being gay or pedophiles, according to prosecutors.

The ringleader ordered other victims killed because he disliked overweight people and drug users, court records state. The perpetrators also stole Social Security payments from the victims, according to prosecutors.

Bunting was convicted of 11 murders, according to court documents.

His neighbor, Robert Wagner, was convicted of 10 murders, trial records show. Both men had been active in neo-Nazi groups, police said.

Prosecutors dropped charges relating to a 12th murder because of a lack of evidence, according to court filings.

Judges sentenced both Bunting and Wagner to life in prison without the possibility of parole, records show.

Another accomplice, Mark Haydon, pleaded guilty to helping dispose of two bodies, court records show.

Haydon was released from prison in 2024 after serving a 25-year sentence, corrections records show.

A jury had failed to reach verdicts on two murder charges against Haydon, according to court records.