Police say they believe the bones found yesterday belong to missing New South Wales man Matthew Leveson.
Although the “items of interest” will need to be forensically examined before they can be certain – a process that will take a number of days – the police are confident the remains are 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,” Detective chief inspector Gary Jubelin said.
“It has been a long journey for the family in their efforts to find their son and hopefully this will bring them some relief.”
Police were led to the remains in the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south by Leveson’s ex lover, Michael Atkins, after he was given immunity by the prosecution when he was acquitted of the Mr Leveson’s murder.
Earlier: Investigators uncovered the “items of interest” while searching an area of bush in the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south just after 2.30pm on Wednesday.
A police statement explains the skeletal remains will now undergo an examination by a forensic pathologist and an anthropologist, which might be followed by further analysis, including DNA testing.
The discovery prompted Leveson’s parents, Mark and Faye Leveson, to break down and embrace at the scene.
“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.
“Our goal was to bring Matt home and lay him to rest, and hopefully we can do that,” Mr Leveson said.
Ms Leveson added: “It’s been nine years, eight months and eight days — we made a promise and we kept it and now we can lay him to rest if it turns out to be Matt. And our boys won’t have to go through their lives looking for their brother.”
Detectives were led to the roadside location by Leveson’s former boyfriend, Michael Atkins, who was acquitted in 2009 of the man’s murder.
He took detectives to the possible burial site late last year after he was offered immunity from prosecution for perjury and contempt of court.
Matthew, 20, was last seen leaving a Sydney nightclub in the early hours of September 23, 2007. He was accompanied by his then 40-year-old partner.
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.
Matthew was last seen leaving a Sydney nightclub in September 2007. He was accompanied by his then 40-year-old partner.
Matthew’s parents have never given up hope of finding their son’s body and had even 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,” Ms Leveson previously told The Weekly.
“We just want to find him and lay him to rest before we pass on.”
