Bodies in barrels killer James Vlassakis granted parole

James Spyridon Vlassakis, who took part in Australia's “bodies in the barrels” serial murders, is to be released on parole after serving more than 27 years in jail.

Parole administrative review commissioner David Lovell upheld the original decision to release Vlassakis on parole after a challenge in the Court of Appeal. In a written decision dated September 14, Lovell said there were no “cogent reasons” to block parole because of the risk Vlassakis posed on release or to community safety.

Vlassakis was the youngest of three men convicted of murder in the case. He admitted to four killings and gave evidence for the prosecution against other offenders. He was sentenced to serve at least 26 years before becoming eligible for parole.

The killings came to light in May 1999, when eight dismembered bodies were found in plastic barrels in the vault of an abandoned bank in Snowtown, north of Adelaide. Investigators eventually found 12 bodies in all, including two in the backyard of an Adelaide home, though a jury was unable to return a verdict over one of the deaths.

In 2003, a jury convicted John Justin Bunting of 11 counts of murder in the case and Robert Joe Wagner of seven counts. The serial killings were later the subject of the 2011 film “Snowtown”.