The New South Wales coroner has delivered an open finding into the death of Matthew Leveson.
Leveson was 20 when he went missing in 2007. He was last seen in the early hours of 23 September leaving a Sydney nightclub with his boyfriend Michael Atkins.
His body was found in May this year, after Atkins led police to a spot in a national park south of Sydney.
A jury found Atkins not guilty of murder or manslaughter in a 2009 trial, and he was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for leading police to Leveson’s body during the inquest.
Atkins told police he did not kill Leveson, that his boyfriend had died of a drug overdose. He told police that he had disguised the death because he was “concerned that people would think badly of him for not looking after Matt”.
The deputy state coroner Elaine Truscott found that Atkins told a “plethora of lies” during interviews with the police and throughout his sworn evidence before the inquest which “give rise to a considerable degree of suspicion that Mr Atkins had some connection with Matt’s death apart from the fact that he buried Matt’s body”.
“However, it does not follow from that degree of suspicion that I can find that Mr Atkins was involved in any acts which were causative of Matt’s death,” she found.
Truscott pointed out numerous inconsistencies and outright lies in Atkins interviews with police and in his testimony to the inquiry, including his assertion that he had forced Leveson to leave the Sydney nightclub because he was concerned about his welfare.
She also recommended Leveson’s mother and father be given an official police commendation after Mark Leveson wore a wire in 2008 to speak to Atkins at his Cronulla apartment.
During the conversation Atkins admitted that he had lied to police about purchasing a mattock from a Bunnings hardware store. He also denied that Leveson could have died from a drug overdose because he was “careful” with dosages.
She said Atkins’ testimony at the inquest that he’d purchased the mattock to build a vegetable garden for Leveson was “nonsense”.
Truscott was also sceptical about Atkins’ claim that he and Leveson had a “loving, close” relationship. She pointed out that he’d had text exchanges with at least two young men on the afternoon of 23 September “apparently looking for a date”.
She also cited testimony that their relationship had seemed “strained”, that Leveson felt “smothered”, and that Atkins was “possessive” and “controlling”, and that he’d been “physically aggressive” toward Leveson on at least two occasions.
Mark and Faye Leveson had mixed feelings about the findings, saying they did not believe Atkins’ latest version of events. They still allege he’s responsible for their son’s death.
“There’s some relief, there’s some frustration, there’s some anger, so there’s lots of emotions going through us but relief’s one of the ones right now,” Leveson told reporters outside Glebe coroner’s court.
But they say they achieved their main goal from the inquest – to find Matthew and bring him home.
“Our son was the most precious thing to us and to his brothers, why would we worry about Atkins,” Faye Leveson said on Tuesday. “We would have loved both but we were forced in this corner, and Matty comes first every time.”
Truscott was also critical of some of the police investigation, including a search of Atkins’ garage during which he lied about whether any of Leveson’s belongings were inside.
Truscott said video of the search showed Atkins “bend over and look, in my view, consistent with an intention to check that whatever was there was well hidden”.
“This can be seen on video, however none of the police officers executing the warrant, including the video operator, picked this up,” she said.
“Given the police knowledge that Mr Atkins had told lies, his every move should have been closely scrutinised and that very moment – whilst fleeting – was a lost opportunity.”
