The Snowtown murders (also known as the Bodies-in-Barrels murders) were a series of homicides that took place in South Australia between August 1992 and May 1999. The crimes were uncovered on 20 May 1999, when the remains of eight victims were found in barrels of acid in a rented former bank building. Snowtown was the town where the bodies were found. The bodies had been moved there in the final months of the crime spree. Only one of the eleven victims was killed in Snowtown, and neither the victims nor the perpetrators were from the town. The bodies were first held in several locations in South Australia. They were moved to Snowtown in early 1999 after the accused became aware that police were investigating. Eight bodies were found in six plastic barrels in a disused bank vault. Two bodies were found three days later, buried in a backyard in the Adelaide suburb of Salisbury North. By the end of June, nine of the 10 victims had been identified. The discoveries followed a lengthy, covert criminal investigation by South Australian Police. During the investigation, two deaths already known to authorities were determined to have been perpetrated by the same murderers. A 12th charge relating to the death of Suzanne Allen was dropped due to lack of evidence. Four men were arrested and charged. Three were convicted of murder and given life sentences; the fourth was convicted of assisting. The court decided that John Justin Bunting was the ringleader of the conspiracy.
