SA girl's abduction created lasting fear

The abduction of Adelaide schoolgirl Louise Bell more than 30 years ago struck a fear into her family that still remains today, the girl's cousin says.

Louise was taken on the night of January 4, 1983, from the front bedroom of a yellow brick house in Hackham West.

Her second cousin Joel, who only wanted to give his first name because of the nature of the case, was six years old when Louise disappeared.

"What it did to the family - the fear," Joel said in Adelaide on Tuesday.

"Stranger danger was big in my house."

As a father of a young son and teenage daughter, Joel says he's carried this caution with him.

He said he doesn't let his son out of his sight in public and ensures his home is always secure.

"I'm still probably a little bit over protective of my daughter and my son," he said.

"There's always been something in the back of my head that says someone can get away with murder."

Dieter Pfennig, 67, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the girl but prosecutors allege he made admissions to fellow prisoners while in jail for other crimes.

Pfennig was not originally a person of interest but was charged in 2013 after a comprehensive review of the case was conducted and DNA samples were tested in Australia and the Netherlands.

"It's been 32 years," Joel said.

"She deserves some justice - she deserves to be brought home."

Prosecutors say while Louise's body has never been found, it's not possible she is still alive.