Convicted child killer Bevan Spencer von Einem has died taking secrets about his deprived crimes to the grave.
The 79-year-old was serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of Adelaide teenager Richard Kelvin in July 1983.
He was taken to a prison hospital last week suffering lung cancer.
Richard was last seen near his Adelaide Hills home about five weeks before his body was found.
It was reported the teen was held captive in the weeks after he disappeared, with an autopsy revealing he had been sexually abused, injured and drugged.
He was the son of Nine News host Rob Kelvin.
von Einem pleaded not guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 24 years, but was later increased to 36 years following an appeal.
Police believed von Einem and associates were involved in other unsolved murders of five children and young men in South Australia in the 1970s and 80s, that were referred to as the ‘Family Murders’.
He stood trial for the murders of Alan Barnes and Mark Langley, but the charges were dropped. He had pleaded not guilty.
The five murders, including that of Richard Kelvin, were understood to be sexually motivated.
But sadly, the victim’s families were denied the truth over as von Einem refused to co-operate with police and reveal the truth.
Premier Peter Malinauskas confirmed Mr von Einem’s death which marked the end of a life defined by calculated brutality.
“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,” he said.
“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.
The Premier said most unforgivably, von Einem refused to co-operate with South Australia Police.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Mr Malinauskas said von Einem’s death did nothing to erase the murder and torture he inflicted on innocent lives, nor did 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,” he said.
“Today, my thoughts are with the families of his victims. Their strength in the face of unimaginable suffering deserves our deepest respect and support.”
More to come.
