Notorious Snowtown serial killer James Vlassakis released from prison after nearly 30 years behind bars

Snowtown murderer James Vlassakis has been granted a major step towards freedom, with South Australia’s parole watchdog approving his release after almost three decades in prison.

The 45‑year‑old — the youngest of the men behind the notorious Bodies in the Barrels killings — pleaded guilty to four murders and became the key prosecution witness against ringleader John Bunting and accomplice Robert Wagner.

His 26‑year non‑parole period expired in August 2025. On Tuesday, in a historic first, the Parole Administrative Review Commissioner signed off on releasing him, following more than a year of legal battles , victim anguish and the lifting of long‑standing suppression orders.

The Parole Administrative Review Commissioner has found the Attorney-General failed to establish that reasons exist to overturn the decision of the Parole Board.

Born in 1979, Vlassakis was just 14 when he met Bunting, who pitched his crimes as vigilante action against alleged pedophiles while secretly siphoning victims’ welfare payments.

By 18, Vlassakis had been groomed into the group’s violence. Between 1992 and 1999, Bunting, Wagner, Vlassakis and associate Mark Haydon murdered multiple victims, storing several bodies inside barrels hidden in a disused Snowtown bank vault.

Vlassakis pleaded guilty to four killings: Troy Youde, 21 — his half‑brother, whom he alleged had sexually assaulted him as a child. Frederick Brooks, Gary O’Dwyer and David Johnson.

As the only member of the group to plead guilty, he received a life sentence with a minimum 26‑year term.

The other Snowtown killers are John Bunting, who was convicted of 11 murders; sentenced to life without parole, Robert Wagner, convicted of 10 murders; also sentenced to life without parole. Mark Haydon — convicted of assisting an offender; jailed for a minimum 25 years and later released on parole under strict extended supervision orders.

The commissioner’s decision marks the first time an SA serial killer has been approved for release. It follows months of hearings and intense scrutiny from victims’ families, who have long feared Vlassakis’ return to the community.

His parole conditions — expected to be extensive — have not yet been publicly detailed.