What the coroner discovered about Jaidyn Leskie’s death

LITTLE Jaidyn Leskie would have turned 18 on April 30, had his life not been cruelly cut short in 1997 by somebody who literally got away with murder.

Jaidyn Leskie.

LITTLE Jaidyn Leskie would have turned 18 on April 30 - had his life not been cruelly cut short in 1997 by somebody who literally got away with murder.

The mystery of what happened to the 14-month-old - characterised by theories, rumour, innuendo, urban myths and bizarre happenings - has captivated Victorians for the 17 years since his death.

PART TWO IN TOMORROW’S SUNDAY HERALD SUN - What Bilynda thinks about Greg: ‘I hope Jaidyn comes back to haunt you...’

Throughout, Jaidyn’s brave mother, Bilynda Williams, has fought long and hard for justice for her son.

But that fight has still not brought an answer, and Victorians may never know the truth about what happened to the tragic toddler.

Bilynda’s words to the Herald Sun in 2003 ring as true now as they did then.

BIG READ: JAIDYN’S MURDER EXPOSED DARK SECRETS

“Jaidyn didn’t break then bandage his own arm,” she told the paper.

“Jaidyn didn’t bang his head and take his own life.

“Nor did he fill his body with the drug benzhexol, tie himself to a crowbar and throw himself into Blue Rock Dam,” she said.

“Someone else did that, and it’s hard to sleep at night knowing that person walks in our community each and every day.”

Bilynda’s then boyfriend, Greg Domaszewicz, who was babysitting Jaidyn the night he disappeared, has broken a decade-long silence to speak to the Herald Sun.

He says his “stupidity” in leaving Jaidyn home alone caused his death, but has again defiantly proclaimed his innocence.

Domaszewicz was charged with murdering Jaidyn months before the Moe toddler’s body was fished out of the dam.

His 1998 Supreme Court trial exposed the underbelly of life for some in Moe.

There were tales of rampant drug use and revenge attacks over sexual relationships gone wrong. It was a life where cutting off a pig’s head and trying to hurl it through a window at the home of a sister’s ex-boyfriend - as happened at Domaszewicz’s house the night Jaidyn disappeared - hardly raised an eyebrow.

But in December 1998, at the end of that two-month trial of claims, counterclaims and unseemly revelations about drugs, sex and child abuse, Domaszewicz was found not guilty and walked free from court. His acquittal could have seen publicity about Jaidyn’s murder die down to nothing - and probably would have, had it not been for the tenacity of Bilynda.

She vowed not to rest until she got justice for Jaidyn.

Her very vocal campaign in the Herald Sun eventually persuaded then State Coroner Graeme Johnstone to hold an inquest.

Mr Johnstone found in 2006 that Domaszewicz disposed of Jaidyn’s body.

In his final submission to the inquest, former Attorney-General Jim Kennan, who was counsel assisting the coroner, said there was enough evidence to find Domaszewicz killed Jaidyn.

He ruled out all other suspects.

Mr Kennan cast doubt on Domaszewicz’s account of the 12 hours during which Jaidyn disappeared, pointing out there were no witnesses to corroborate his claims.

Friend Clinton McCarthy gave evidence that he arranged to pick up Domaszewicz from his home about 7.30pm on June 14, 1997, to go to another friend’s house. After ringing Domaszewicz three or four times and not getting an answer, Mr McCarthy said he drove to his house but didn’t stop because Domaszewicz’s car was not there. That contradicted Domaszewicz’s claim his car was parked outside at 7.30pm and that he was home.

Bilynda gave evidence that she rang Domaszewicz’s home about 15 to 20 times in the late afternoon, but there was no answer.

Mr Kennan’s submission to the coroner also highlighted that Domaszewicz gave a variety of accounts of Jaidyn’s whereabouts and well-being in conversations with Bilynda.

In one phone conversation just after 11pm he told her “s---’s happened’’ and went on to explain Jaidyn had burnt himself on the bottom and he had taken him to Moe Hospital. Domaszewicz then claimed the hospital only put some cream on so he had taken Jaidyn to another hospital for better treatment.

Bilynda wanted to come home immediately, but her sister spoke to Domaszewicz again and he claimed he had just been joking.

Bilynda rang Domaszewicz again and he told her Jaidyn wasn’t burnt but had a red mark on his bottom after standing too close to the heater. When Domaszewicz picked her up from the pub between 2am and 3am he then told her Jaidyn was in Maryvale Hospital. When she asked to be taken there he refused, saying she was too drunk.

Mr Kennan said Domaszewicz did not alert Bilynda about the absence of Jaidyn when they returned to his house.

Nor did Domaszewicz mention Jaidyn was missing when police stopped him as he was driving alone at 3.30am after dropping Bilynda at her house.

“In our submission, given this evidence, it is open to the State Coroner to find that the deceased died at Mr Domaszewicz’s house (while in Mr Domaszewicz’s care) during the late hours of June 14, 1997 or the early hours of June 15, 1997,’’ Mr Kennan said.

“It is open to the State Coroner to find that Mr Domaszewicz was involved in the disposal of the deceased’s body at the Blue Rock Dam.’’

Domaszewicz could have driven to the dam between 10pm and 2am or during the later two-hour period between dropping Bilynda at her home and returning to tell her Jaidyn was missing, Mr Kennan said.

The unexplained wetness of both the wallet found in his car and notes found under a mattress in his house were also significant, he said.

His submission to the coroner argued Jaidyn was almost certainly bashed to death with a blunt instrument soon after his arm was broken.

Claims by Domaszewicz’s lawyers that Jaidyn was alive for weeks after disappearing were discounted as the evidence was consistent with Jaidyn dying the day he vanished, he said.

And while claims by three prisoners that Domaszewicz confessed to killing Jaidyn were of limited value, the evidence of one - Prisoner R - had not been undermined in cross-examination and had been corroborated in several respects, he said.

Prisoner R claimed Domaszewicz told him his car fell off the jack and landed on Jaidyn’s arm and that Jaidyn was screaming so he slipped him something to calm him down (drugs were found in Jaidyn’s body). Prisoner R also claimed Domaszewicz told him he couldn’t shut Jaidyn up so he put a pillow over his head and hit it with a crowbar (Jaidyn’s body was weighed down with a crowbar).

Mr Johnstone handed down his finding in the Leskie inquest on October 4, 2006.

“It was during Mr Domaszewicz’s period of caring for Jaidyn that he died,” Mr Johnstone said.

“The cause of death is most probably from head injuries. Precisely how he died remains a matter of contention and conjecture - whether the circumstances leading to the death occurred by accident, by omission or otherwise ...

“As a helpless 14-month-old infant, requiring total support, care and protection by an adult, ultimately it was Mr Domaszewicz who failed to provide that adequate and very necessary level of protective supervision, care and support to look after the infant - otherwise he would not have received the injuries from which he died.’’

Despite the coroner’s findings, the mystery remains unsolved.

While changes to the double jeopardy laws since then mean Domaszewicz could be charged again, Victoria Police has told the Herald Sun that is unlikely to happen as there is no compelling new evidence.

For the sake of Bilynda and the memory of little Jaidyn, hopefully one day this enduring and heartbreaking mystery will be solved.

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