In the nine years since his disappearance, Matthew Leveson’s family have been experiencing a “living hell.”
Matthew, 20, was last seen leaving a Sydney nightclub in the early hours of September 23, 2007. He was accompanied by his partner, then 40-year-old Michael Atkins.
Ten hours later, Atkins was captured on CCTV buying a garden mattock and gaffer tape from Bunnings Warehouse. But when questioned by police he denied being there.
Later that week Matthew’s car was found at Waratah Oval in Sutherland. Inside, police found a Bunnings receipt for a garden mattock and gaffer tape, Atkins’ fingerprints were all over it.
Even without Matthew’s body, the circumstantial evidence was compelling. Atkins was charged with murder. But during the 2009 Supreme Court trial Atkins exercised his right to silence and he was acquitted – but that silence is about to be broken.
Last week the NSW Coroner’s Court ruled that Atkins will take the stand at Matthew’s inquest. Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott told the SMH that her findings would be unsatisfied if Atkins did not give evidence.
She said that Atkins had not given a full account of what he knows and was likely to be able to give “Important evidence about the manner and cause of Matthew’s death.”
The ground-breaking decision means that Atkins will endure five days of questioning under oath, effectively ending the silence that he has maintained since Matthew’s disappearance.
For Matthew’s family the lack of a criminal conviction has always been hard to swallow. But beyond the injustice of the situation, what they want most is to bring their son home and have the chance to say goodbye.
Speaking to aww.com.au, Matthew’s mother Faye Leveson said that despite the long passage of time they haven’t given up. In fact, since the police exhausted their investigation, the family have taken the search for Matthew’s body into their own hands.
“We go out into the national park ourselves and go to different places to see if we can find him,” explains Faye.
“We just want to find him and lay him to rest before we pass on.”
Faye says that whenever human remains are found within their search area they feel a surge of optimism. “Your heart just stops and you hold your breath and pray and hope.”
“There was one a couple of years ago that we thought could have been Matt. It was ticking all the boxes. But this person had had extensive dental work and Matt didn’t even have a filling – so it wasn’t him,” Faye recalls.
“But for that short time we thought it could be him.”
Living with the mystery of Matthew’s death is a daily challenge for the family.
“Every day you’ll hear a song or smell a smell and it reminds you of Matt and you think ‘where are you mate?’,” says Faye.
While the Levesons are grieving, they can’t say goodbye to their son until his body is found.
“We can’t have a funeral or say our goodbyes. That’s the hardest thing, we want to bring him home,” says Faye.
This is particularly difficult when the Levesons attend a funeral. “I find myself thinking ‘I wish it was Matt, I wish we could we could say goodbye to Matt.”
The news Atkins will be forced to speak is good news, but it does come with conditions. In accordance with s61 of the Coroner’s act, Atkins may provide his evidence under the protection of immunity, meaning that it can’t be used in any future criminal trial.
Speaking outside the courtroom Matthew’s father Mark told the media that the “system” had forced them to make a choice between getting a criminal conviction or finding Matthew’s remains.
“We’ve always said from the start that we want to bring Matt home,” he said.
“The main objective is to bring Matt home,” added Faye. “To say our goodbyes and to lay him to rest.”
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