Matthew Leveson's father has slammed jurors on the trial of his son's alleged killer as his body is finally found. Video/Seven
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 yesterday, a day after police found 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 Leveson.
"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," Jubelin told reporters yesterday.
"If the jurors on Matthew's trial see this: what the hell were you thinking? Look what you've done to us," Mark Leveson 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," Leveson said.
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 Leveson's possible burial site in the Royal National Park, just south of Sydney, time and time again. Sometimes they packed lunches and conducted independent searches, and other times, they joined police and watched as excavators dug up the earth in search of their son.
An emotional Faye Leveson faces the media following the discovery of bones after nine-and-a-half years of searching for murdered son Matthew. Photo / News Corp
The Levesons may have finally found what they have been looking for all these years but it's hardly a happy ending. Faye Leveson 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 Leveson.
"Please don't use that C word; we're looking for justice for resolution but not closure," he said.
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 Leveson.
Police & the State's top legal officer say it's up to the Coroner to make the next move in the case of murdered Sydney man Matthew Leveson.
A human skeleton believed to be the remains of Matthew Leveson found in the Royal National Park, right where Matthew’s former boyfriend, Michael Atkins, said they’d be.
Story: https://yhoo.it/2rqu9he
#MatthewLeveson #7News
The discovery was made just minutes before the search was to be called off.
Faye and Mark Leveson 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'," Mark Leveson told the Daily Telegraph.
Mark Leveson said they were "stunned, shocked, relieved, all sorts of emotions".
Police confirmed officers found 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," they said.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin said on Wednesday exhuming the remains would take "a number of days".
MIchael Atkins, we have spent the last week watching on as the police dug for the 3rd time looking for Matt and we will...
Yesterday morning, 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 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 was 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 Ave in Waterfall.
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 Leveson.
Investigators were originally led to the remote roadside site by Leveson's former boyfriend, Michael Atkins, who was acquitted of the younger man's murder in 2009.
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 Leveson, who was last seen leaving Darlinghurst's ARQ nightclub with Atkins in 2007, is scheduled to resume in August.
