Royal National Park: Breakthrough in search for Matthew Leveson
MATTHEW Leveson’s parents have slammed his ex a day after bones were found at Royal National Park, south of Sydney.
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THE parents of Matthew Leveson have slammed his ex and the jury that acquitted him after human remains believed to be their son’s were discovered in the Royal National Park, NSW.
Faye and Mark Leveson fronted the media this afternoon, a day after police located human remains under a cabbage palm tree in the Royal National Park, near Waterfall, south of Sydney.
Detective chief inspector Gary Jubelin said police were certain the remains are that of Mr Leveson’s.
“I can’t say that with 100 per cent confidence until we have the forensic examination carried out, but the circumstances in which we have found these remains leads us to believe that they are Matthew Leveson’s,” Mr Jubelin told reporters on Thursday.
“It has been a long journey for the family in their efforts to find their son and hopefully this will bring them some relief”
“We hope the Levesons will soon be able to properly — and respectfully — say goodbye to Matthew.”
A clearly emotional Mark delivered a message to the jury that acquitted Michael Atkins of murder in 2009.
“If the jurors on Matthew’s trial see this: what the hell were you thinking? Look what you’ve done to us,” Mark said.
After his acquittal, Atkins struck a deal with NSW’s attorney-general for immunity from perjury and contempt of court in return for leading police to the burial site.
“To Michael Atkins: you are no use to any of our family alive,” Mark said today.
The Levesons painstakingly scoured bushland for almost a decade in a bid to find their son’s remains.
The parents — who never gave up hope of finding their son’s body after he went missing a decade ago — returned to Mr Leveson’s potential burial site in the Royal National Park, time and time again. Sometimes they packed lunches and conducted independent searches, and other times, they joined police and watched on as excavators dug up the earth in search of their son.
The Levesons may have finally found what they have been looking for all these years but it’s hardly a happy ending. Faye burst into tears as she addressed media about the family’s ordeal. The anguish she and her family have endured was plain to see.
“We’ve had to fight for nine-and-a-half years to get to this day, to bring our son home so our other two surviving sons didn’t have to go through the rest of their life if we passed and we hadn’t found Matty,” she said.
“That person, Atkins, he could have finished this nine-and-a-half years ago but he didn’t,
“He chose to hide, to hide in Queensland and let our family suffer. He never came down, he never had to watch us dig, to watch (us dig) every single day … that scoop of dirt, (wondering) if Matty was going to be under that”.
But there’s no closure for the family regardless of the latest developments, according to Mark.
“Please don’t use that C word, we’re looking for justice for resolution but not closure,” he said today.
.@CMMortlock says forensic DNA testing will confirm whether the human remains found are Matthew Leveson’s. MORE https://t.co/4LRZqBFwmU pic.twitter.com/6dlxInBaHQ
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) June 1, 2017
On Wednesday, the excavators were shut off on the site possibly for the last time, as search teams unearthed human remains suspected to be those of Mr Leveson.
The discovery was made just minutes before the search was set to be called off.
Faye and Mark were seen hugging and also embraced detectives on site. Sobs were heard as Mark comforted his wife, according to The Daily Telegraph.
“They said, ‘We think we’ve found Matt. We are not certain but we think that we may have found him’,” Mr Leveson told the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Leveson said they were “stunned, shocked, relieved, all sorts of emotions”.
A police statement confirmed officers located human remains about 3pm Wednesday at the Royal National Park at Waterfall.
“The human remains will be subject for an examination by a forensic pathologist and an anthropologist, which might be followed by further analysis, including DNA testing,” it said.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin said on Wednesday he anticipated exhuming the remains would take “a number of days”.
On Thursday morning, Mr Leveson’s parents returned to the site, which has been concealed with tarps and canvas, and placed flowers while police and forensic services continued their work.
Officers from Strike Force Bowditch — established in 2007 to investigate the disappearance of Mr Leveson — had been searching the area when the discovery was made.
A NSW Police spokesman told news.com.au that forensic specialists were called to the area which has later taped off and declared a crime scene.
The Levesons were taken by NSW Police to an area of bushland behind two trees just off McKell Avenue in Waterfall.
Search teams believe they have found the body of Matthew Leveson in the Royal National Park. Report on 7 News at 4pm & 6pm. #7News pic.twitter.com/yv1pmEz3z4
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) May 31, 2017
The search was the third in the past six months after police combed the site in November and January but failed to find any trace of Mr Leveson.
Investigators were originally led to the remote roadside site by Mr Leveson’s former boyfriend, Michael Atkins, who was acquitted of the younger man’s murder in 2009.
On Sunday, Faye vowed to never give up until she found her son, in a post on her Facebook page.
“The police are not giving up and either are we,” she wrote.
“I am heart broken and devastated, but my love for my beautiful Matty keeps me going and if need be I will search for Matty till the day I die.
“I promised Matty I will find him and I have every intention of keeping that promise. Love you Matty, now, always and forever, Mum.”
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin has requested forensic officers to assist, a NSW State Crime Commander supervisor told reporters.
“They have found items of interest,” she said.
Wednesday is the eighth day in the latest search to find the 20-year-old’s remains at the site.
Atkins took detectives to the potential burial site after he was offered immunity from prosecution for perjury and contempt of court. He had admitted to lying at an inquest into the suspected murder.
The ongoing inquest into the death of Mr Leveson, who was last seen leaving Darlinghurst’s ARQ nightclub with Mr Atkins in 2007, is scheduled to resume in August.
— With AAP
More to come
Originally published as Royal National Park: Breakthrough in search for Matthew Leveson
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