Snowtown serial killer walks out of prison after almost three decades behind bars
The youngest Snowtown murderer, James Vlassakis, has been spotted leaving the Adelaide Pre-release Centre a month after his parol was granted.
It is the first time the 46-year-old has been seen since moving out of prison into the centre, where he is expected to remain for the next year.
Vlassakis was the youngest of the three men jailed over the shocking Snowtown murders, which were carried out in the 1990s. 9News
The convicted murderer was moved out of prison on September 23 after his parole was upheld following an attempt by the South Australian government to block it.
Vlassakis spent more than 26 years behind bars after pleading guilty to four of the 12 “bodies in the barrels” Snowtown murders in 1999.
At 19 years old, he was the youngest of the three men jailed over the shocking murders, with a review claiming that he came under the influence of killer John Bunting, who Vlassakis looked up to as a “father figure”.
Fellow serial killer Robert Joe Wagner was sentenced to 10 life sentences over the infamous killing spree, while Bunting is serving life under maximum security.
This is the first time Vlassakis has been seen since he was moved out of prison and into the pre-release centre. 9News
Police discovered eight dismembered bodies in barrels in an abandoned bank vault in 1999.
Another two bodies uncovered in the backyard of fellow convicted killer Bunting’s former home in Salisbury North, in Adelaide’s northern outskirts.
Remains discovered in Lower Light, north of Adelaide, were also linked to the case.
Bunting and Wagner will never be eligible for freedom.
Residents of Snowtown discussed changing the name of the town in 2024, due to concerns that it still suffers from the stigma of the bodies in the barrels murders.
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