Snowtown 'bodies-in-barrel' killer Robert Wagner denied non-parole period

Snowtown serial killer Robert Joe Wagner has been denied a non-parole period.

Serial killer Robert Joe Wagner (in handcuffs) has been denied a non-parole period. (AAP)

Snowtown serial killer Robert Joe Wagner has been denied a non-parole period, after a judge ruled he is a "hardened killer" who has shown no remorse for his crimes.

Wagner represented himself before the South Australian Supreme Court in March as he argued that having a possible release date would assist with his mental wellbeing.

Justice Greg Parker on Thursday dismissed the application in a hearing lasting about 10 seconds.

In his ruling, Justice Parker said the bodies-in-the-barrels murders were "the worst crimes ever to be detected in South Australia".

The former bank building where Robert Joe Wagner stored dismembered bodies in barrels. Source: DIG

"The 10 murders, when considered in combination, amount to the worst possible type of offending."

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.

Wagner is escorted handcuffed by court officers outside the disused bank vault (pictured in background) in Snowtown. Source: DIG

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.