Snowtown 'bodies-in-the-barrels' killer to learn fate
Snowtown serial killer Robert Joe Wagner is set to learn if he'll ever be released from jail with the South Australian Supreme Court to rule on his bid to have a non-parole period set on his life sentence.
Wagner represented himself before the court in March as he argued that having a possible release date would assist with his mental wellbeing.
But his application has been opposed by prosecutors and the relatives of his victims.
Prosecutor Carmen Matteo said Wagner's crimes were "of unparalleled seriousness" and urged the court to dismiss his application.
While South Australian victims' rights commissioner Bronwyn Killmier told the court Wagner's request was "a slap in the face" for families affected.
Since 1999, the 47-year-old has been serving 10 life sentences over the infamous "bodies-in-the-barrels" killing spree.
The ringleader in the murders, John Justin Bunting, is similarly serving life without parole.
The serial killings were exposed in 1999 when police found eight dismembered bodies in acid-filled barrels in the vault of a disused bank at Snowtown, north of Adelaide.
Two more bodies were found buried in a backyard at suburban Salisbury North while detectives later linked two further deaths to Bunting and Wagner.
After a trial lasting 170 days, Bunting was found guilty of 11 murders with Wagner jailed over 10 of the deaths.
Two other men, Mark Ray Haydon and James Spyridon Vlassakis, are also behind bars over the killings; Vlassakis after pleading guilty to four murders and Haydon for helping Wagner and Bunting dispose of the bodies.
The court will rule on Wagner's application on Thursday.
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