Snowtown serial killer James Vlassakis will remain behind bars after his parole was overturned.
The youngest of the four “bodies in the barrels” killers, Vlassakis, now 45, was granted parole in August this year, having served 26 years of his life sentence.
In October, South Australian Attorney-General Kyam Maher requested a review of the Parole Board’s decision, arguing they had made a mistake.
Maher stated that the board “erred in granting the prisoner’s release on parole” and they “failed to give proper weight” to the public’s safety given the enormity of the crimes.
On December 15, Parole Administrative Review Commissioner Michael David KC agreed the board had underestimated the gravity of Vlassakis’ actions.
“These offences were very premeditated by everyone, they were violent, gross and committed over a substantial period of time,” he said.
“There were certain aspects of these crimes that could be described as disgustingly unusual.”
He continued: “I find that because of the gravity of the offending as described above, with the fact that this is the first occasion on which parole is available, to release Mr Vlassakis at this relatively early stage would be a risk to the community.”
From 1992 to 1999, Vlassakis, along with John Bunting, Robert Wagner and Mark Haydon, were linked to the deaths of 12 people in South Australia.
Eleven of the deaths were ruled murders, with Vlassakis pleading guilty to four of the murders.
In 1999, the remains of eight victims were uncovered in sealed barrels filled with acid in a disused bank vault in the South Australian town of Snowtown.
The four men had targeted people deemed “undesirable” during their killing spree, including alleged paedophiles, homosexuals, the disabled and mentally ill.
Among them were Vlassakis’ half-brother, Troy Youde.
Vlassakis gave evidence against Bunting and Wagner in exchange for a reduced non-parole period, and his image was and remains suppressed.
Bunting and Wagner were convicted of murder and sentenced to 11 and 10 life sentences without parole, respectively.
Haydon was found guilty of helping dispose of the bodies and was sentenced to 25 years with a non-parole period of 18 years. He was released in 2024.
