A gruesome tale of cannibalism, torture and murder began to emerge here on Monday as the trial opened of two outback misfits accused of Australia’s worst serial killing spree.
The men allegedly killed 12 people in the state of South Australia, dismembering at least eight of the bodies then dumping them in an abandoned bank vault on the main street of a rural hamlet called Snowtown.
Evidence in the case is expected to be so harrowing that trial judge Brian Martin warned a jury empanelled on Monday that at times they may not feel they were up to the task.
He had previously cautioned ”it will involve descriptions of torture, the cutting up of bodies and the defleshing of parts of bodies, do not be afraid of it”.
On trial are John Justin Bunting (36) charged with 12 counts of murder, and Robert Joe Wagner (30) charged in eight of the killings. Allegations against the pair include eating flesh from their victims, although Wagner has denied this. The trial is expected to be one of longest in Australian history, with more than 500 witnesses giving evidence.
The star prosecution witness is a former accomplice, James Spyridon Vlassakis (22) who was jailed for life earlier this year after pleading guilty to four murders, including those of his half-brother and stepbrother. Prosecutors at Vlassakis’ trial said he was part of a gang that tortured and murdered their victims to fraudulently claim their welfare benefits, typically averaging less that 200 dollars (115 US) a week for each victim.
The killings began in 1995 and victims included relatives, girlfriends and acquaintances of the accused. The Vlassakis trial heard the gang were all unemployed and drifted around Snowtown. Judge Martin said the current trial would hear evidence of paedophilia and sexual assault.
In several cases victims were forced to repeat phrases into a tape recorder which after their murder were replayed over the telephone to obtain money or reassure concerned friends about their health.
Police finally realised the extent of the murders after they began investigating how people on the missing persons register were still claiming welfare. The court empanelled 15 jurors for the trail, up from the usual 12, because they feared the unusual length of the trial could lead to more drop-outs than normal, resulting in a mistrial.
Another man faces a separate trial next year on three murder charges relating to the Snowtown killing. – Sapa-AFP