Bevan Spencer von Einem: Notorious child murderer dies while serving life sentence in Adelaide prison

One of South Australia’s most infamous child murderers, Bevan Spencer von Einem, has died in prison.

Von Einem was sentenced to life behind bars after he was convicted of murdering 15-year-old Adelaide teenager Richard Kelvin, the son of local television and radio personality, Rob Kelvin.

He was also long suspected of involvement in several other killings, though he was never formally charged over those cases.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas confirmed von Einem’s death on Saturday morning.

“The Department for Correctional Services has advised me of the death of Bevan Spencer Von Einem,” Mr Malinauskas wrote on X.

“His death marks 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.

“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.”

On November 25, von Einem was transferred to the infirmary at Yatala Labour Prison in Adelaide’s North. It is understood he died from lung cancer.

Mr Malinauskas said von Einem did not make any final confessions, a decision he described as an “act of cruelty in its own right”.

“Most unforgivably, he refused to co-operate with South Australia Police,” the Premier said.

“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. 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. His death does nothing to erase the murder and torture he inflicted on innocent lives, nor does 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. Today, my thoughts are with the families of his victims. Their strength in the face of unimaginable suffering deserves our deepest respect and support.”

Von Einem had been held at Port Augusta Prison since 2007. His crimes are considered some of the most horrific ever committed in the southern state.

After abducting the 15-year-old teenager from a bus stop, he kept him captive for weeks, drugging, torturing and sexually assaulting him before dumping his body in the Adelaide Hills.

Richard was one of five youths or young men brutally murdered in and around Adelaide during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

At the time, it was widely suggested the killings were the work of a group known as The Family, which was thought to involve people with high societal standing.

Von Einem remains the only person to have been convicted over any of the deaths.

He was charged with two more murders, but both charges were dropped because of a lack of admissible evidence.

Von Einem was also ordered to serve an extra three-month jail term in 2009 for possessing child abuse material while in prison.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028.

- With AAP