The last time Matthew Leveson’s distraught family saw him was September 2007.
The call centre worker’s mysterious disappearance baffled police, the Leveson family and the public for a decade. This week, the case has made headlines once again after police uncovered what could be the 20-year-old’s remains in Sydney’s Royal National Park.
“I can’t say that with 100 per cent confidence until we get the forensic examinations carried out, but the circumstances in which we’ve found these remains lead us to believe they are Matthew Leveson’s,” Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin told the media.
In 2009, the missing person case drew to a standstill when Leveson’s significantly older lover, Michael Atkins, was acquitted of his murder — a decision Leveson’s father condemned this week.
“If any of the jurors on Matthew’s trial see this, what the hell were you thinking?” he told reporters.
“Look what you’ve done to us. This, you could have solved many years ago yourselves. And lastly, Michael Atkins, to you, you are no longer of any use to our family alive.”
At a coronial inquest, Atkins suggested his former partner had escaped to Thailand and started afresh. Late last year, he led police to where he said the man’s body had been buried – information he exchanged for legal immunity from the courts.
The agreement, which hinged on Leveson’s body being found, was signed off with consent from Leveson’s parents. However, nothing was found at the time.
In recent months, details of Atkins’ sordid private life have been brought to light — and they paint a clearer picture of the world Matthew Leveson was privy to before he vanished without a trace.