Snowtown bank in South Australia had been closed for years. Then they found bodies in the vault.

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When police entered a disused bank vault in the tiny South Australian town of Snowtown in May 1999, they had no idea they were about to uncover the country's worst serial killings.

The smell of rotting meat from inside the vault was so pungent they needed breathing gear.

Eight bodies were found mutilated inside six acid-filled barrels, with investigations leading them to four more bodies in Adelaide.

With a total of 12 victims and four people charged, detectives had taken down a group of serial killers.

Last year, one of those killers was released into the community. And now another will soon find out if he will be released on parole.

And as Jeremy Pudney, author of Snowtown: The Bodies in Barrels Murders told Mamamia's True Crime Conversations, South Australians feel "very uncomfortable".

Because for them, the murders "feel like yesterday".

WATCH: The trailer for the 2011 film based on the true story.

The group's ringleader John Bunting picked victims he accused of being paedophiles, homosexuals, transgender or drug users; all of which he despised.

He and his accomplices began their killing spree in 1992, only stopping once caught in 1999.

A court was told some victims were tortured, and some bodies were dismembered.

Nearly all the victims were friends or family of the group.

As the killings increased in frequency in 1997, Bunting's 'motives' became more and more unclear. It appeared he just loved killing.

Robert Wagner was his "muscle" and also relished in the murder and torture of Bunting's selections. Both men were denied a parole date in their sentencing, and will never be released from prison.

Bunting (left) and Wagner (right) on The Advertiser front page in 2000.

But there were two more members of the gang who were given much lesser convictions and therefore the chance of parole.

James Vlassakis — the fourth and youngest member of the group — was set a 26-year-non-parole period, which has now expired.

His mother was dating Bunting and over time he was gradually drawn into helping with the murders. Vlassakis was 19 when he committed the crimes.

After being arrested, he turned on the group and became a star witness for the prosecution, admitting to everything. He was charged with four murders; including those of his stepbrother David Johnson and half-brother Troy Youde, and the court suppressed the use of his image in South Australia to protect him in prison.

In April, he applied to be released on parole. Authorities are reportedly pleased with his behaviour in prison, and he has been transferred to a low-security prison.

Nine News reports a decision on the application is expected on Tuesday, although a delay is possible, with the parole board's meeting set to extend into the evening.

Listen to Mamamia's True Crime Conversations episode on the Snowtown murders. Post continues below.

Should parole be granted, Vlassakis will not be immediately released. The police commissioner, attorney-general and victims' rights commissioner first have a 60-day period to launch a review.

Speaking to Mamamia last year, Pudney wasn't confident Vlassakis would actually be released.

"The question is, can someone who has been found guilty of four murders, four serial killings... should they ever be given parole? I am not sure how soon we'll see James Vlassakis free," he told True Crime Conversations.

"I know 26 years is his non-parole period, but I think it's going to be a lot longer than that before the community has to grapple with that issue."

The Snowtown bank where the six barrels full of bodies were stored. Image: Realestate.com

The other member was Mark Haydon. Haydon was originally charged with two murders, but in the end he was only found guilty of assisting the killers in covering up seven murders.

He helped move the barrels to a number of locations and eventually co-signed the lease on the Snowtown bank vault, but some of the evidence given in court painted a far more sinister picture of his involvement.

His wife Elizabeth was one of those murdered, and prosecutors alleged that he laughed when Bunting opened up one of the barrels to show him her remains.

He was due to be released on May 21, 2024, with no restrictions on his movements. His maximum term was expiring and as far as the South Australian justice system goes, that meant he was completely free.

As Pudney told True Crime Conversations, "Recently the parole board decided it's a good idea to give him parole [earlier], in the context of having some facility with which to monitor him by way of parole conditions before his sentence expires."

As reported by Nine News last April, parole started in the form of day release. A now 65-year-old Haydon was given exclusion zones across Adelaide he was allowed to visit, but he had to return to the Adelaide pre-release facility at night. He was not allowed to enter licensed premises, talk to victims' families or the media.

Further to this, the state government launched a legal bid to have Haydon classed as a 'serious offender' so he could be monitored beyond his maximum prison term.

Mark Haydon with his wife Elizabeth, who was one of the group's victims. Image: Adelaide Advertiser.

As Pudney explained, South Australians felt uncomfortable with "the prospect of him being released at all in any way. But in particular with absolute freedom".

As Renee Davies, the niece of murder victim Ray Davies told AdelaideNow, "It makes me sick, I’m scared that he’ll be released into my suburb".

Haydon was released on parole to live in the community under strict supervision in May 2024.

Then in May this year, the SA Supreme Court approved an application for an extended supervision order for a high-risk offender, placing dozens of conditions on Haydon's freedom that were modelled on his parole order.

However, the new court order did not include several earlier conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, a curfew and a ban on drinking alcohol and entering licensed premises.

Some of his conditions include living at an approved address, reporting to a community corrections officer, abstaining from illegal drugs, not possessing any weapons, not contacting victims or their families and undertaking recommended treatment after a psychological assessment.

SA Commissioner for Victims' Rights Sarah Quick said the extended supervision order confirmation has given the victims an increased sense of safety and reassurance, particularly as Haydon is prohibited from contacting them.

"The extended supervision order supports victims' healing and reinforces their trust in the justice system," she told AAP.

The parole board was quite clear in explaining that he has shown considerable remorse, has an understanding of what he did and has done nothing wrong in prison.

"Their only concern with him is whether he can make a meaningful transition back into society because he doesn't know how to function in it. And frankly he didn't function particularly well in it before he got caught up in all of this," said Pudney.

"Yes, he's remorseful and yes, he has served his time, and yes, he's rehabilitated. It's just a question now as to whether the community and the victims can accept the fact that time has come."

-with AAP

Feature image: The Adelaide Advertiser.