James Vlassakis, the youngest person convicted over Australia's notorious Snowtown murders, is set to be released after nearly 27 years in prison, following a South Australian Court of Appeal ruling on Tuesday that upheld a Parole Board decision from August 2025. The ruling follows a review requested by the state's Attorney-General Kyam Maher, and marks the end of a lengthy legal process weighing community safety against Vlassakis's eligibility for parole after serving his minimum sentence.

Vlassakis, now 46, pleaded guilty to four of the eleven Snowtown killings committed between 1992 and 1999, including the murder of his half-brother Troy Youde, and served as a key prosecution witness against his stepfather John Bunting and accomplice Robert Wagner, both jailed for life without parole. He was sentenced to life with a 26-year non-parole period, which expired in August last year, and the court noted his good behaviour in custody, including only three positive drug tests out of 29. Once freed, he will spend at least a year at a pre-release facility in Adelaide under strict conditions, including a ban on contacting victims' families or speaking to media, with officials including Maher and the Commissioner for Victims' Rights acknowledging the distress the decision has caused survivors and the Snowtown community.