ADELAIDE — In a landmark and highly controversial decision, the Parole Administrative Review Commissioner has today ruled that James Vlassakis, one of the key figures in the notorious “Snowtown” serial killings, is to be released on conditional parole.
The ruling by Commissioner David Cameron Lovell marks the culmination of a protracted legal battle between the Parole Board of South Australia and Attorney-General Kyam Maher. In his determination, Commissioner Lovell dismissed the Attorney-General’s application to block the release, affirming the original decision made by the Parole Board in August 2025.
“I am satisfied that it was reasonably open to the Board to reach the conclusion it did,” Lovell wrote in his official determination. “I dismiss the Attorney-General’s application and affirm the decision of the Parole Board… to release Mr. James Spyridon Vlassakis on parole.”
Vlassakis, now in his mid-40s, was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2002 with a non-parole period of 26 years after pleading guilty to four of the 11 murders committed during the infamous crime spree between 1992 and 1999. The “bodies in the barrels” case remains one of the darkest chapters in Australian criminal history, involving the discovery of eight dismembered victims inside a disused bank vault in the small South Australian town of Snowtown.
Vlassakis was only 18 years old when he became involved in the killings. During the subsequent high-profile trials, he served as a key prosecution witness against ringleaders John Bunting and Robert Wagner, who were ultimately convicted of 11 and 10 murders, respectively.
The road to today’s decision has been fraught with legal scrutiny. While the Parole Board of South Australia initially approved Vlassakis for release in August 2025—coinciding with the expiry of his 26-year non-parole period—Attorney-General Kyam Maher moved to block the release. A previous review by then-Commissioner Michael David KC had overturned the Board’s decision in December 2025, but that ruling was subsequently challenged, leading to the appointment of Commissioner Lovell in January 2026 to conduct a final review.
The release will be subject to strict, court-mandated conditions. This follows the 2024 release of Mark Haydon, another accomplice in the crimes, who is currently living in the community under intense oversight.
The decision is expected to reignite intense public debate regarding the rehabilitation of offenders involved in extreme acts of violence and the rights of victims’ families. The Attorney-General’s office has been contacted for comment, as the community now braces for the transition of one of the nation’s most infamous offenders back into society.
Further details regarding the specific terms and timing of Vlassakis’s release are expected to be made public in the coming days.
More to come.
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