Troy Youde

Obviously, the early murders, those of Clinton Trezise, and Rae Davies, and Suzanne Ellen, even though there was never a formal conviction for murder, Michael Gardiner, Barry Lane as well, and Thomas Trevilyan, they all happened in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, so in and around where John Bunting was living because that's really how these people came to his attention and how these people were in the circle, in the realm, if you like.

But then at some point, John Bunting and Elizabeth Harvey, with James Vlassakis and Troy Youde on and off, moved to a town called Murray Bridge to the east of Adelaide, and then that's where some of the murders occurred and some of the victims were living.

And again, this is occurring just in Bunting's realm.

If you were someone who was down on your luck, if you somehow made friends with his stepson, James Vlassakis, if you somehow did something to offend him, you were on his radar in that area, and that put you at risk.

He was 14 when his mother started a relationship with Bunting.

He'd been molested by his older brother, Troy Youde, who became one of the gang's victims, and Vlassakis confessed to his involvement in the crimes during his first interview with police before he was even suspected of taking part.

As of his upcoming release, Vlassakis will have served 27 years in custody.

It's hard to do this story justice in summary, so we're reissuing a conversation from some years ago with journalist and author Jeremy Pudney, who wrote the definitive book on the subject, Snowtown: The Bodies in Barrels Murders.

And that's what happened early on, but I think it wasn't too long after that that James Vlasakis, at least what he says, is that it wasn't too long after that that it became more about fear than having a savior or justice.

He felt-

Well, because they murdered James' brother, right? And James' brother had been abusing James.

Well, they murdered his half-brother, Troy Youde-

Between 1992 and 1999, 12 people were murdered and their bodies hidden in barrels in an abandoned bank vault in Snowtown, South Australia.

Vlassakis was 18 when, in 1998, he took part in the murder of his half-brother, Troy Youde, a crime he committed at the behest of his stepfather and Snowtown ringleader, John Bunting.

Vlassakis later took part in the murders of three other men, including his stepbrother.

Robert Wagner was also involved in the murders, while a fourth man, Mark Haydon, was convicted of helping to dispose of the bodies.