Bevan Spencer von Einem

Bevan Spencer von Einem (29 May 1946 – 5 December 2025 ) was an Australian convicted child murderer and suspected serial killer from Adelaide, South Australia. An accountant by profession, he was convicted in 1984 for the murder of 15-year-old Adelaide teenager Richard Kelvin, the son of local television and radio personality Rob Kelvin. Von Einem served life imprisonment. He was in G Block of Yatala Prison for decades, but was transferred to Port Augusta Prison in the north of the state in 2007.

Von Einem was a suspect in several other murders, but he was never charged in those cases. He died of natural causes in prison at the age of 79.

Early years Bevan Spencer von Einem first came to public attention in May 1972 when he came to the aid of Roger James, a gay man who had been thrown into the River Torrens during the murder of George Duncan. A group of police officers were suspected of these crimes, but nobody was charged or convicted.

The area was a popular beat where gay men would meet covertly, as homosexual acts were illegal in South Australia at that time. Duncan, a British law lecturer who had arrived in Australia only seven weeks before, died of drowning because he was unable to swim. Roger James was also thrown into the river and suffered a broken leg. James managed to crawl to the roadside, where von Einem saw him and rendered assistance by driving him to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. James recovered from his injuries.

Criminal history Murder of Richard Kelvin

Richard Dallas Kelvin (1 December 1967 – c. 10 July 1983) was the son of Rob Kelvin, a long-time television news presenter for Adelaide station NWS 9. Kelvin was murdered by von Einem on or around 10 July 1983 in Adelaide, South Australia after having been abducted, held captive, sexually abused, drugged and tortured for five weeks. He was 15 years old at the time of his death.

At approximately 6:15 p.m. on 5 June 1983, von Einem (likely along with other unknown persons) abducted Kelvin near the intersection of Margaret Street & Peppertree Lane, North Adelaide, just from Kelvin's home around the corner in Ward Street. He had just seen off a friend at a nearby bus stop on the corner of O'Connell and Marian Streets, North Adelaide, after they had earlier that afternoon played football in a nearby park. He was expected to return home immediately for dinner. A witness, a security guard living in Margaret Street, had heard cries for help, car doors slamming, and a car with a noisy exhaust speeding away. Kelvin had a dog collar around his neck, which may have attracted von Einem's attention.

Police made a wide-ranging search, and the case earned extensive media coverage that included a full-page missing person poster in The Advertiser on 28 June (that unfortunately had contained a false lead given by the public to police). There was a $5,000 reward offered by the State Government two days after his disappearance (quickly raised to $15,000 a week later), which led to numerous tips and possible sightings provided by the public in the weeks after.

The autopsy revealed that Kelvin had most likely died from massive blood loss from an anal injury, probably caused by the insertion of a blunt object with a tapered neck, such as a beer bottle, and that he had suffered bruising and injuries from blows to his head, to the left side of his back and also to his right buttock as well as a fractured front tooth which occurred either just before or just after death. Analysis of his bloodstream revealed traces of alcohol and five hypnotic drugs, known under the trade names of Mandrax, Noctec, Amytal, Valium and Rohypnol.

Four days after Richard Kelvin's body was discovered, von Einem was questioned by the police about the murder. He initially claimed that he had not seen Kelvin and had no knowledge of his whereabouts, stating that on the night of abduction he had been in bed with the flu and was off work for the next week. Police also searched his home in the northern Adelaide suburb of Paradise, where he lived with his mother, who was an invalid, and seized a bottle of the sedative drug Mandrax. Von Einem admitted that the drugs were his and said that he used them to help him sleep. He denied having any other drugs in his possession, but police also seized a bottle of Noctec, another sedative drug which was concealed on a ledge behind his wardrobe.

Despite the intricate details of von Einem's alibi and his version of events, his story contradicted his initial statement of his whereabouts on 5 June 1983, when he said he had been in bed with the flu. Von Einem was found guilty of the murder of Richard Kelvin and was sentenced to life at Yatala Labour Prison with a 24-year non-parole period. Mr. Justice White stated "The horrendous nature of this crime has added a new dimension to murder committed in this state. I have no doubt Von Einem was party to a cruel, bizarre and long-standing imprisonment by sexual deviants."

The Attorney-General of South Australia immediately appealed the leniency of the non-parole period, and on 29 March 1985 the Court of Criminal Appeal in South Australia increased the non-parole period to 36 years, a record at the time in that state. The earliest von Einem could be released on parole was therefore on 31 October 2007 (after allowing for the fact that a third of the non-parole period could be taken off for good behaviour in prison). Then-Chief Justice Len King refused to refrain from fixing a non-parole period but said the "enormity and depravity of the crime" required an increased period in prison.

Von Einem's defence team (now consisting of barrister David Peek with assistance from Helena Jasinski) appealed the conviction to the Court of Criminal Appeal in South Australia and requested that a new trial be set. The basis for this appeal was the evidence given about Kelvin's heterosexuality, the references to von Einem's own homosexuality through the trial and the negative impact that might have had on the jury, and also how Mr. Justice White in his summation did not include reference to the testimony given by von Einem's relative about his attendance at the birthday party on the day Kelvin's body was dumped. The Court of Criminal of Appeal rejected the appeal, saying that the trial was conducted fairly and justly throughout; they did concede that Mr. Justice White should have included the evidence relating to the birthday party.

Additional murder charges

Von Einem was the leading suspect in the unsolved murders of four other young men between 1979 and 1982, and police continued to pursue leads on those cases in the years after his murder conviction. The four murdered were Alan Barnes in June 1979, Neil Muir in August 1979, Peter Stogneff in August 1981 and Mark Langley in February 1982. All four of these victims had similar anal injuries as those found on Richard Kelvin. The reward for any information leading to an arrest for the murders was set to $250,000 in 1988, and later increased to $500,000 in September 1989.

Police focused on building a case against Von Einem for the murders of Alan Barnes and Mark Langley, since these two, at least, had been drugged before their deaths and could convincingly be tied to the already-prosecuted murder of Richard Kelvin. as well as the disappearance of two girls at the Adelaide Oval in 1973. and the murders of Alan Barnes, Neil Muir, Peter Stogneff, and Mark Langley remain unresolved.

Later events 2006 On 29 January 2006, the ABC reported that von Einem was currently being investigated for allegedly raping an inmate several times at Yatala Labour Prison.

On 29 October 2006, The Australian reported that von Einem had been selling hand-painted greeting cards to prison officers for $20 each.

2007 On 4 February 2007, the ABC reported that von Einem had been charged over commercial dealings during his incarceration, including selling hand-painted greeting cards.

On 14 June 2007, the ABC reported that von Einem had been charged with producing and possessing child pornography, with police alleging that he had handwritten three fictitious stories describing sexual acts between a child and a man. His lawyer believed a handwriting analysis would clear von Einem.

On 27 July 2007, it was announced that von Einem had been transferred from the maximum security B-Division of Yatala Labour Prison to Port Augusta Prison.

On 11 August 2007, The Australian reported that detectives were calling for information to establish the identity of a young man seen in the Seven Network's news archive, showing police searching a storm water drain in the days after the Beaumont Children's disappearance. The man bore a striking resemblance to a youthful von Einem. On 13 August 2007, the Seven Network followed this with a story that the man standing next to the Einem lookalike in their archived film matched the police sketch of the suspect seen with the Beaumonts at the beach on the day of their disappearance.

On 1 November 2007, the ABC reported that after 24 years behind bars, von Einem was now eligible to apply for parole. However, South Australian Premier Mike Rann had vowed to enforce new legislation to ensure von Einem would never leave prison alive.

2008 On 28 March 2008, the ABC reported that the child pornography found in von Einem's cell had been determined not to have been written by him and that fingerprints did not match. Defence lawyer Sam Abbott said he expected the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop the most serious charge of producing the material and, if not, he would argue there was no case to answer. It was also announced that von Einem had been excused from attending his court hearings so that he could avoid an "unpleasant" three-hour drive with other inmates.

On 2 April 2008, the Sunday Mail reported that detectives launched a new investigation into the Family Murders including interviewing and DNA-testing associates of von Einem.

2009 On 24 June 2009, the ABC reported that von Einem had been sentenced to an extra three months in jail for having child pornography in his cell. However, the Supreme Court judge later declined to extend Von Einem's non-parole term.

2019 On 14 September 2019, The Advertiser reported that crime author Debi Marshall had interviewed von Einem at Port Augusta prison. Despite being incarcerated for decades, von Einem reportedly still denied being a killer; however, he admitted to picking up hitchhikers, but never harming them.

2021 On 2 September 2021, News.com.au reported that investigative journalist Debi Marshall once again interviewed von Einem at Port Augusta prison. Upon questioning von Einem about Richard Kelvin's murder, she reported that "a psychopath came out".

2025 On 25 November 2025, the ABC reported that von Einem had been rushed from Port Augusta to the Yatala Labour Prison infirmary, where he remained in a serious condition, and only had a short time to live. Shortly afterwards, South Australian major crime detectives reportedly visited Yatala Labour Prison to speak with von Einem on his deathbed.

Von Einem's death at the age of 79 was announced on 6 December 2025.