Mark Haydon

Mark Haydon
Background information
Birth name Mark Ray Haydon
Born 4 December 1958 (1958-12-04) (age 53)
Killings
Number of victims: 7
Span of killings 1992–1999
Country Australia
State(s) South Australia

Mark Ray Haydon (born 4 December 1958)[1] is an Australian criminal, currently serving 25 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 18 years for his role of assisting offenders in the Snowtown murders.[2]

Haydon was found guilty of assisting serial killers John Bunting, Robert Wagner, and James Vlassakis in as many as seven murders, either by driving the bodies to new locations or providing storage for them. Haydon, using the alias Mark Lawrence, together with Bunting, would rent the bank premises in Snowtown, South Australia where eight of the victims bodies were discovered. Haydon will be 65 when eligible for parole.

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Early life

Haydon was described as shy and withdrawn throughout his childhood. His mother regularly abused him both mentally and physically. He grew up socially isolated with very few friends.[2] Haydon met Bunting in 1989.

Murder of Elizabeth Haydon

Haydon lived with his wife, Elizabeth, at Smithfield Plains. Elizabeth's sister, Jodie Elliott, lived with the Haydons in a shed at the rear of their house. Haydon's wife would eventually become Bunting and Wagner's second to last murder victim. Fred Brooks, an intellectually disabled son of Elliott's, would be murdered by Bunting and Wagner during September 1998.

Elizabeth was murdered on 20 November 1998 while Haydon and Elliott were away from the house. Elizabeth was reported missing by her brother Garion Sinclair to police at 3:00 p.m. the following day. Haydon would later assist in concealing his wife's murder.[2]

Assisting offenders

Haydon, the last to face trial, was initially charged with ten counts of murder and six counts of assisting offenders. In 2006, he was acquitted of murder but convicted on six counts of assisting an offender.[3]

References