One of the four men found guilty of killing South Australians in the barrels murders may soon be released from prison after serving 25 years.
Mark Ray Haydon, who covered up Australia’s worst serial killings at Snowtown, will have completed his term by May.
When the bodies of some of the 11 victims were discovered in barrels in an abandoned bank vault in the state’s mid-north in 1999, Haydon was one of four people taken into custody.
Haydon’s wife was one of the casualties, and those barrels had also been kept at his house in northern Adelaide for a while.
He has twice been denied parole after being found guilty of conspiring to help commit seven murders; nevertheless, in May, his 25-year prison term will come to an end.
In order to determine whether it can employ extraordinary powers to place him under continuous surveillance once he returns to the community, the state administration is currently consulting with legal counsel.
“The killings in Snowtown were horrifying. Premier Peter Marianauskas of the State remarked today, “They were probably one of the most brutal cases we’ve seen in Australian history.”
“As a government, we are reacting to this; naturally, the release won’t happen for a few months. Furthermore, in order to ensure the safety of the South Australian population, the government is actively investigating every legal avenue at its disposal.”
The family will be reminded that the sentence was “never long enough” by the imminent release, according to Victims Rights Commissioner Michael O’Connell.
“It’s appalling from their perspective that he’s going to have a chance to live his life, whereas their loved ones were denied that,” he stated.
Two major killers, John Bunting and Robert Wagner, are incarcerated for life without the possibility of release, and a fourth murderer may be eligible for parole in the upcoming year.
