Australian serial killer James Vlassakis will remain behind bars after an appeal overturned a decision to grant him parole, more than 26 years into a life sentence for his role in the notorious “bodies-in-the-barrels” murders.
Vlassakis, the youngest of the four men responsible for the killings in Snowtown that horrified Australia in the 1990s, had been approved for conditional release earlier this year, prompting a challenge from the South Australian Government.
Attorney-General Kyam Maher sought a review, arguing the Parole Board failed to adequately prioritise public safety and misjudged the seriousness of the crimes.
In a ruling released on Monday, Parole Administrative Review Commissioner Michael David KC agreed, finding the board had underestimated the gravity of offences he described as highly premeditated, violent and unusually disturbing, and concluding that the scale and nature of Vlassakis’ criminal conduct had not been properly weighed.
Vlassakis was the youngest of the four perpetrators in the series of killings linked to 12 deaths between 1992 and 1999, 11 of which were later ruled murders. He was 18 when he took part in the killing of his half-brother, Troy Youde, under the direction of ringleader, his stepfather John Bunting, and later pleaded guilty to murdering three other victims whose remains were found at Snowtown.
Sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002 with a non-parole period of 26 years from his arrest in June 1999, Vlassakis gave evidence against his co-accused, leading to long-standing suppression of his image for his protection.
Image credit: Engin Akyurt
