Images of Snowtown killer James Vlassakis can be published for the first time after a court lifted a suppression order made 25 years ago.
On Tuesday, the South Australian Court of Appeal revoked the order that strictly banned publication of Vlassakis' image and description.
The decision followed an application by media outlets, who submitted the order was no longer valid.
It was imposed to protect Vlassakis’ identity after he gave crucial evidence against the two other convicted Snowtown killers, John Bunting and Robert Wagner.
The court’s ruling came as it considered arguments over whether Vlassakis, 46, who pleaded guilty to four of the 11 murders between 1992 and 1999, should be released on parole.
Last August, the Parole Board agreed to Vlassakis’s release but Attorney-General Kyam Maher requested a review of the decision.
The Court of Appeal reserved its decision on whether the decision to overturn parole should stand.
Parole Administrative Review Commissioner Michael David KC found the board underestimated the effect of the gravity of Vlassakis's criminal behaviour.
“I find that because of the gravity of the offending as described above, with the fact that this is the first occasion on which parole is available, to release Mr Vlassakis at this relatively early stage would be a risk to the community,” Mr David wrote.
The Parole Board subsequently sought a judicial review of Mr David’s decision, which is being considered by the Court of Appeal.
Vlassakis appeared in court on Tuesday via video link, and watched on as Dick Whitington KC, for the Parole Board, said Mr David had given “no cogent reasons” for overturning his release.
He was represented by his long-time lawyer Lindy Powell, who said her client supported the board's position.
Vlassakis was 18 when he became involved in the killings in 1998 and was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 26 years, which expired in August 2025.
Parole Board chief Frances Nelson previously said Vlassakis did not represent a risk to the community and would be sent to the Adelaide pre-release centre for up to 12 months to undergo a resocialisation process.
Vlassakis was a key prosecution witness against Bunting and Wagner, who were found guilty of 11 and 10 murders respectively.
The bodies of eight of their victims were found dismembered in barrels inside a disused bank vault in Snowtown, north of Adelaide, in 1999.
Accomplice Mark Ray Haydon, 66, was released on parole in May 2024 to live in the community under strict supervision.
