Offender Record · OFF-2026-024
John Justin Bunting (photo from the Radford University biography)
John Justin Bunting
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1966
Custody
Incarcerated
States
AU
Distinguishing featuresBorn without a sense of smell; short in height
Custody
Incarcerated at Yatala Labour Prison, E Division
Custody record at the facility
E Division in Yatala Prison, South Australia's Maximum Security Jail in Adelaide. Sentenced to 11 consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of release on parole.
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Summary of the record
John Justin Bunting is an Australian serial killer from Adelaide, South Australia, currently serving eleven consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his role in the murder of 11 victims of the Snowtown murders. The murders were committed between August 1992 and May 1999, in and around Adelaide, South Australia. On 8 September 2003, Bunting was found guilty and convicted on 11 counts of murder.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Aug 1992, Adelaide, South Australia
Murder
South Australia Police · Supreme Court of South Australia · Arrested May 21, 1999 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 11 consecutive life sentences without parole
The series of murders were committed by John Justin Bunting between August 1992 and May 1999, in and around Adelaide, South Australia. The gang tortured most of their victims using various tools, electric shock and blunt force trauma, all the while forcing them to falsely confess to being pedophiles or sexual deviants. Clinton Trezise was bludgeoned to death with a shovel in Bunting's living room in Salisbury, South Australia after being invited inside for a social visit on 31 August 1992.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Bunting, John Justin; Snowtown murders; John Justin Bunting; Two found guilty of Snowtown murders; 'Bodies in barrels' killers jailed
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
11
Victims convicted
0
Victims confessed
1
Victims suspected
Active years
1992–1999
Victim profile
Men, Acquaintances, Family members, Partners or spouses
Stated motive
Thrill, Power or control, Financial gain
Range from home
regional
Accomplice
Yes
Confessed
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
AU
Inala, Queensland, Australia
approx. 1966 – 1974
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
1986 – 1986 · Crematorium worker
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
1988 – 1988 · SA Meat Corporation (slaughterhouse/abattoir)
Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia
approx. Nov 1991 – May 1997 · Lohman Street and Burdekin Avenue
Salisbury North, South Australia, Australia
Dec 14, 1991 – May 1997 · 203 Waterloo Corner Road
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
May 21, 1999
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Sep 08, 2003 – present · Yatala Labour Prison, E Division
Timeline
Sep 04, 1966
John Justin Bunting born 4 September 1966 in Inala, Queensland.
1974
Bunting was beaten and sexually assaulted by friend's older brother at age 8.
Aug 31, 1992
Clinton Trezise was bludgeoned to death with a shovel in Bunting's living room in Salisbury, South Australia after being invited inside for a social visit on 31 August 1992.
May 21, 1999
John Bunting and Robert Wagner were arrested the day after South Australia Police discovered the remains of eight people stored in barrels in the bank vault of Snowtown on 20 May 1999.
Oct 16, 2002
Bunting's trial began.
Sep 08, 2003
John Justin Bunting, 36, has been found guilty of 11 counts of murder.
Oct 29, 2003
Justice Martin sentenced each man to life imprisonment on every count, cumulatively, without a non-parole period.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Bunting, John Justin“John Justin Bunting was convicted of 11 counts of murder. Sentenced to life in prison.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
John Justin Bunting“John Justin Bunting (b. 4 September 1966 in Inala, Queensland) is an Australian serial killer from Adelaide, South Australia, currently serving eleven consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his role in the murder of 11 victims of the Snowtown murders.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Snowtown murders“The Snowtown murders were a series of murders committed by John Justin Bunting, Robert Joe Wagner, and James Spyridon Vlassakis between August 1992 and May 1999, in and around Adelaide, South Australia.”
News report · Crikey ·
Yatala Labor Prison: David Hicks' new home?“Yatala is the home of bodies-in-the-barrel killers John Bunting and Robert Wagner.”
News report · ABC Lateline ·
Snowtown murderers get life“Australia's worst serial killers have been sentenced to life in jail without parole. John Bunting and Robert Wagner were found guilty of South Australia's Snowtown killings, in which a total of 12 people were murdered.”
News report · CNN ·
'Bodies in barrels' killers jailed“A South Australian Supreme Court jury found the two men, John Justin Bunting and Robert Joe Wagner guilty of multiple counts of murder on Monday. Bunting, 37, was convicted of 11 murders while the co-accused Wagner, 31, was found guilty of seven murders.”
News report · ABC News Australia ·
Two found guilty of Snowtown murders“John Justin Bunting, 36, has been found guilty of 11 counts of murder, and Robert Joe Wagner, 31, guilty of seven counts of murder.”
Discussion
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