
Fresh appeals for witnesses to deaths of man and woman during Troubles
The appeals into the deaths of Teresa Carson and William Marchant will involve distributing posters and organised leaflet drops in the areas relating to both investigations.
Ms Carson (47), was found dead at the side of the Glen Road in the early hours of Sunday November 24th, 1974.
It is understood she had witnessed a robbery St John's GAC Social Club on Whiterock Road hours before. She was last seen in the grounds of the club at 12.15am getting into a white coloured car.
Mr Marchant (39), who was also known as Billy or Frenchie, was shot outside the Progressive Unionist Party offices on Shankill Road at approximately 3pm on April 28th, 1987, and later died in hospital.
A brown coloured Datsun Bluebird car, registration number YOI 2557, was used in the attack. It had been hijacked earlier in the day after a family was held at gunpoint overnight at Tullymore Gardens in west Belfast.
William Marchant: shot on the Shankill Road in April 1987. Photograph: Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery/PA Wire
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery has issued appeals for witnesses to come forward in relation to investigations into both deaths following requests from the victims' families.
Assistant commissioner Amanda Logan said their families asked the commission to help them find out what happened to their loved ones.
'We have always underlined the commission's unwavering commitment to helping families find the unvarnished truth and this is at the centre of our witness appeals,' she said.
'The relatives of Teresa Carson and William Marchant believe that someone may hold vital information that could prove key to the investigations.
'These families have waited many years for answers and we at the commission are committed to doing everything we can to support them. If members of the public have any information about either of these cases, please come forward.'
She added: 'No matter how unimportant your information may seem, what you share could be vital to finding the truth for the families. All information we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence.' - PA
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Chilling position missing girl's body was found in as new details on heartbreaking final days with 'killer' dad revealed Killer squad 19 Robert Joe Wagner, John Justin Bunting and Mark Ray Haydon were all suspects in the killing spree which found between six and 12 bodies in acid vats Credit: Getty 19 The exterior of the bank in Snowtown where police discovered the bodies in vats stored in the vault Credit: News Pictures 19 Gordon Drage, a Former Forensic Officer, originally thought the smelly barrels contained fertilised water for cannabis plants Credit: Crime+Investigation John Bunting had had a trouble childhood, wasn't academic and had a fixation with killing animals and dropping insects into acid. One of his first jobs was as an In the 90s he lived in the marginalised, working-class suburbs of Adelaide, Australia, where he recruited a faithful flock of acolytes. They fancied themselves as righteous In fact, most of their victims were not paedophiles, but loners and outcasts. 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I think there is a charisma that you might see in a lot of cults people within a cult, do things because there's a greater motive, and they have a sense of belonging and allegiance Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst The police officers gingerly opened a barrel. Gordon Drage says: 'Only then did the smell come out. This was not hydroponics. That smelled very much like dead bodies.' In the first barrel, a human foot was found at the top, so they drove all six to the forensics lab in Adelaide. Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says some of the bodies were whole, others had been dismembered and all of them gave clues as to how they had reached their grisly end. 'There were handcuffs and thumb cuffs. There were plastic bags, rubber gloves they'd been using when they were dismembering the bodies. Several of the bodies had ropes around their necks, others had gags in their mouths.' Hand-picked victims 19 The murders took place in a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions Credit: Getty 19 The victims had their benefit payments withdrawn and properties sold Credit: Getty 19 Richard Furst, a Forensic Psychiatrist, doesn't believe the defrauding of the victims was a reason for killing them Credit: Crime+Investigation As police looked into the bodies from the bank vault, a full picture of Bunting's depravity began to emerge. On the wall of his home, the cold-blooded killer had a spider chart of potential victims. Some of the information had been provided by paedophile Barry Lane who had abused his accomplice Robert Wagner. Soon Lane was deemed surplus to requirements and was also tortured, beaten and murdered by Bunting, Wagner and a new accomplice Thomas Trevilyan, with his body taped up and left lying on the floor. When Trevilyan found it difficult to cope with what he had done and started speaking out, he too was murdered - with his death staged to look like suicide. But as well as sick brutality, there was also greed behind the killings. The killers would sell the Richard Furst adds: 'It was a poor neighbourhood and people were largely unemployed or on pensions, but I don't think the defrauding of the victims was a reason for "But I think it was certainly a factor in selection. I think it was the issue of a double reward. So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account.' So you kill someone, but you also get money, regular income from that, and they kept on going to withdraw money from the account Forensic psychiatrist, Richard Furst Jeremy Pudney adds: 'One of the reasons this was able to go undetected for so long is some of these victims were really isolated from their families for whatever reason, didn't have many friends. And sadly, people didn't really notice when they went missing, so this is a story of how Another victim was a woman called Suzanne Allen who had had relationships with both Ray Davies and Bunting himself. When that affair ended she became a target. Despite Bunting and Wagner never being convicted of Suzanne Allen's murder, her body was found 19 Suzanne Allen and Ray Davies were buried in a shallow grave in Bunting's garden Credit: 19 Frederick Brookes was just 18 Credit: Supplied 19 Roger Byard, a Forensic Pathologist, said some of the bodies were whole while others had been dismembered Credit: Crime+Investigation The barrels in Snowtown bank Killing was easy for Wagner and Bunting, but disposing of the bodies was another matter. And this is when they recruited Mark Haydon. He had become friends with Bunting and between them they cooked up the plan to store the By 1997, police had begun investigating the disappearance of Bunting's first victim Clinton Tresize. And the group of fairly inept murderers brought together by Bunting were soon on the police radar. 19 Karen Davies, the sister of Ray Davies who was killed by Bunting, Harvey and Wagner Credit: Crime+Investigation 19 The film crew interviewed John McCready, a shop owner in the Snowtown area Credit: Crime+Investigation Cops soon discovered that missing Barry Lane's benefits were still being withdrawn. So they set up a security camera at the cashpoint and spotted Robert Wagner making the withdrawals. At first police thought they were dealing with a few missing people who had possibly had their benefits plundered. But they still had no idea there was a Incredibly, in the 16 months after the case became a missing persons and potentially a murder investigation, eight more people were killed by the gang. And the murders became more frequent and more sadistic. At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra Forensic pathologist Roger Byard Forensic pathologist Roger Byard says: 'At least one of them had a firework sparkler put into his penis, in the urethra. There was there were stories of having the scrotum injected with bleach, of being electrocuted, of having their toes squashed with pliers.' Soon Bunting brought his stepson James Vlassakis into the murder team - encouraging him to help in the killing of his own half brother Troy. He was beaten, dragged from his bed and handcuffed before having his toes crushed with pliers. He was then strangled. Frederick Brookes, who was just 18 and the son of accomplice Jodie Elliott, was handcuffed and tortured for hours, and his genitals electrocuted, before choking on a gag. The next victim was disabled local Gary O'Dwyer, tortured for hours and recorded, pleading for his life. Bunting and Wagner then murdered Elizabeth Haydon, the wife of their accomplice Mark Haydon, attacking her in her own home before gagging and strangling her. It was her disappearance that made police realise this was a much more 19 Court sheriffs lead accused murderer, Robert Wagner, from the old bank Credit: Getty But incredibly the watch wasn't 24/7, and it was during one of the blank spots that the pair murdered another of Vlassakis' step-siblings, David Johnson. Lured to the bank in Snowtown by his stepbrother, Johnson was murdered in May 1999, before Bunting and Wagner cooked and ate a piece of his flesh. This was to be the last murder the killers committed. Days later, the investigators finally stumbled on the horrific scene in Snowtown and arrested Bunting, Wagner and Haydon in dawn raids. James Vlassakis later handed himself into police, consumed with guilt about what he had done. His interviews brought police to further victims, and revealed a whole new depravity to Bunting and Wagner's crimes. Wagner was convicted of ten murders. Bunting, the ringleader was convicted of 11. They were both given a mandatory life sentence meaning they will never be released. Read more on the Irish Sun James Vlassakis confessed to four murders and was jailed for life. Mark Haydon was convicted for his role in disposing of the bodies, but was released from prison last year under a supervision order after serving almost 25 years behind bars. Bodies in the Barrels premiers on Crime+Investigation and Crime+Investigation Play from Sunday 3 August at 9pm. 19 Detectives, scientists and reporters who were first on the scene are tell their stories as part of a new Crime+Investigation documentary, Bodies in the Barrels Credit: Crime+Investigation