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Murder of Jaidyn Leskie

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Jaidyn Leskie
Born
Jaidyn Raymond Leskie

(1996-04-30)30 April 1996
Newborough, Victoria, Australia
Died15 June 1997(1997-06-15) (aged 1)
Newborough
NationalityAustralian
Known forChild abuse
Parents
  • Brett Leskie (father)
  • Bilynda Williams (mother)

Jaidyn Raymond Leskie (30 April 1996 – 15 June 1997) was the Australian child of Bilynda Murphy (now Williams) and Brett Leskie, murdered in 1997.[1] Leskie is believed to have died of head injuries.[2] Despite intense public interest, several leads, and the arrest and trial of a prime suspect, Leskie's murder remains unsolved. Although the decision was made in 2002 not to hold an inquest into the toddler's death, the case remained in the news for several more years. An inquest was later held in 2006, implicating the mother's boyfriend, Greg Domaszewicz (/doʊməˈsɛvɪtʃ/), who at the time of the kidnapping was babysitting the boy at his house at Newborough. The exact circumstances of Leskie's disappearance and death were never clear, and were complicated by vandalism at the house on the evening of the toddler's disappearance; several false tips and pranks about the boy's fate; and the body not being discovered until six months later.[3]

Disappearance

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Investigation

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At the time of his disappearance, Jaidyn Leskie lived in the Victorian town of Moe with his mother Bilynda Murphy and his older sister. Jaidyn's father, Brett Leskie, was separated from Murphy and was residing in another state at the time of his son's disappearance. On the night of his disappearance, Jaidyn was in the care of Murphy's boyfriend, Greg Domaszewicz, while Murphy went out with her sister. Domaszewicz had been minding Jaidyn during the day, and was originally meant to drop the child home to his regular babysitter at 4pm; however, they never arrived and, despite several attempts, Murphy was unable to get into contact with him.[4][5][6] Murphy assumed that Domaszewicz would care for the child throughout the evening and decided to keep her plans with her sister. Around 2:30am, Domaszewicz left his home to pick up a very intoxicated Murphy[7] from Ryan's Hotel in the neighbouring town of Traralgon (an approximately 20-minute drive each way). After returning to Moe at around 3am, Domaszewicz dropped Murphy at home, later returning at approximately 5am to inform her of Jaidyn's disappearance and taking her to Moe Police Station to file a police report.[5] Domaszewicz claims Jaidyn was abducted from his home after he left for Traralgon, stating that he left the child on the couch to avoid waking him;[8] however, police contend that Jaidyn had likely died several hours earlier and while under Domaszewicz's care.[5]

Soon after Jaidyn was reported missing, local and state police launched an intensive, 20-day missing person's search.[5] The search for Jaidyn is believed to have been the largest since the disappearance of Prime Minister Harold Holt in 1967, leading national headlines to proclaim "Where is Jaidyn?".[3] The search was unsuccessful, largely hampered by lack of witnesses, false tips to police, and the extensive geographic area that needed to be searched.[3][6]

Behaviour of Greg Domaszewicz

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Greg Domaszewicz's allegedly strange behaviour the night of Jaidyn's disappearance, during the trial and afterwards, has been the focus of media and investigators. He alleges that he left Jaidyn home alone when picking up Murphy from Traralgon, and that Jaidyn was abducted before he returned. However, earlier that evening Domaszewicz had called Ryan's Hotel and told Murphy that Jaidyn had been taken to hospital for a minor burn.[3] After picking her up, Domaszewicz further told Murphy that he had moved Jaidyn from Moe Hospital due to their substandard care, and that her son was now at Maryvale hospital—near the town of Morwell. Maryvale hospital was under construction at that time, and there was no possibility it would receive patients.[4][5][6] Domaszewicz then refused Murphy's requests to be taken to Jaidyn, telling her she was too drunk and would be refused entry.[4][5] As such, Murphy did not know her child was missing until several hours after she had returned home for the night, believing him to be in hospital.[9] Later defending his claims of Jaidyn's hospitalisation as an ill-timed joke,[9] Domaszewicz's comments regarding the child's whereabouts are viewed by police as an attempt to cover-up Jaidyn's death.[5][6]

Little is known regarding Domaszewicz's movements between arriving home from Traralgon (around 3am) and reporting Jaidyn missing (around 5am)—he claims that he was searching for Jaidyn by himself around Moe, stating he believed the child had been kidnapped as a prank. Around 4am, Domaszewicz was pulled over by police and subject to a random breath test. Although he knew Jaidyn was missing at this time, Domaszewicz did not use this opportunity to inform police.[5]

House vandalism

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From the outset, Jaidyn's disappearance proved a difficult investigation with no forthcoming witnesses and limited information. Further complicating the investigation was the state of the crime scene—while Domaszewicz was picking up Murphy his home had been vandalised: a severed pig’s head was left on the front lawn and several windows were smashed. Police quickly ruled out any relationship between Jaidyn's disappearance, the vandalism and vandals.[10] Dubbed 'the pig’s head team' by Domaszewicz's defence lawyer, Colin Lovett, QC, police determined the vandalism was an unrelated act of revenge against Domaszewicz. The police quickly uncovered that this event was orchestrated by the brother of Domaszewicz's ex-girlfriend Yvonne Penfold, allegedly in retaliation for Domaszewicz's violent treatment of Penfold.[4][11][12] The 'Pig’s Head Team' became potential witnesses for Jaidyn's whereabouts after 2:30am, and stated in police and media interviews that they did not hear any sounds of a child crying during their vandalism of Domaszewicz's home.[5] The presence of the severed pig's head at the site of a child's disappearance also fuelled early, yet baseless, public speculation about satanic cults[3][13] and continues to be referenced in media coverage as symbolic for the confusing and strange circumstances around Jaidyn's disappearance.[6][14]

Regardless of quickly being ruled out as suspects, the Pig's Head Team have attracted intense attention from media and true crime writers, with some alleging the police should have investigated more thoroughly.[12] There have been claims that the Pig's Head Team accidentally injured Jaidyn during their assault on the home, then kidnapped him to cover up their involvement and caused his death.[15] Domaszewicz himself has claimed that Penfold and the Pig's Head Team kidnapped Jaidyn as revenge for their failed relationship, panicked after the police became involved, and killed the child.[3] However, there is no verifiable evidence to support such kidnapping theories, and several of these commentators have misrepresented forensic evidence or only offer unnamed witnesses to support their claims.[6] Police maintain that Domaszewicz's home was merely vandalised with no evidence of break and enter, though they have received criticism for not fingerprinting the home's interior.[4][5][6] Claims of possible intruders have been repeatedly refuted by the crime scene examiners, who testified that the glass on the windows was clearly undisturbed and the broken section was too small for an intruder to gain access.[4][5]

Media response

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Immediately after Jaidyn's disappearance had been reported to police, nearby reporters learned of his abduction via a police scanner.[3] Media interest in the case began the same morning he disappeared, while Domaszewicz and Murphy were still being questioned by police, with the focus of early coverage on a tale of abduction—characterised by a severed pig's head and rumours of satanic cultism.[3][13] The disappearance and death of Jaidyn Leskie received national media attention and soon developed into one of the most well-known child murders in recent Australian history,[3][6] prompting veteran crime journalist Kerry O'Brien to comment that: 'In an awful way, the whole scenario was the perfect media story'.[16] The media placed particular focus on the relationships and personalities of Jaidyn's family and the town of Moe which, combined with the sensational trial and acquittal of Greg Domaszewicz, caused the case to attain national significance.[3]

The media response is often characterised as having overshadowed Jaidyn's death, with metropolitan journalists focusing on Moe's 'bizarre' relationships while representing the case as a symptom of rural economic decline, local deviance and 'bad' parenting.[6][17] In one of the earlier media articles on the case, journalist Andrew Rule wrote that, 'It is not only the story of a battered baby, but of where he came from ... from a place of broken families and broken hearts, shattered trust and stunted dreams.'[18] Further coverage continued this characterisation of the case, and it has been suggested that the town of Moe underwent a trial by media which unfairly demonised Jaidyn's family and people of Moe as uncivillised, uneducated 'bogans'.[6][14][17] Moe's community vocally resisted these negative representations,[6] claiming that the metropolitan media '...had turned Jaidyn Leskie's disappearance into a circus and had been rightly rebuked by residents.'[19] Moe's community also questioned the lack of sympathy or compassion shown by metropolitan media,[20] and struggled to counteract frequent suggestions from the media that Moe was "...a ghetto of the abandoned, of young people without work or prospects."[3]

Discovery

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On 1 January 1998, more than 6 months after he disappeared, Jaidyn's body was discovered by picnickers at Blue Rock Dam, 18 km (11 mi) north of Moe.[21] His body had been wrapped in a sleeping bag and weighed down by a crowbar, and was preserved by the cold waters of the lake through winter.[5] Approximately 200 metres from where Jaidyn's body was discovered, police recovered the following items: a two-metre crowbar, baby's boots, a bottle, bib and sleeping bag. Forensic testing on Jaidyn's body revealed a poorly bandaged broken arm, severe head trauma and the presence of the drug Benzhexol.[5] The clothing he was wearing was subject to a DNA test in an effort to solve the crime; however, cross-contamination at the laboratory caused further confusion in the case, leading the Leskie case to becoming an internationally discussed example of the fallibility of DNA testing in criminological research.[22][23][24][25][26] Several claims have been made that Jaidyn's body exhibited signs of being older than when he disappeared, fuelling speculation that he was abducted and kept alive for several months after his kidnapping.[15] However, each of these claims has either been refuted via scientific and medical evidence, or is based on unsubstantiated claims made by anonymous witnesses. For example, there was suggestion from a diagnostic radiographer that Jaidyn's broken arm showed minute signs of healing, which would require him to have been alive after his disappearance. However, decomposition can cause changes which appear very similar to minute healing and further examination found no evidence to support the initial claims.[5] Jaidyn's teeth, hair and size have also been claimed to be slightly more developed than when he disappeared: each of these observations can also be explained by normal aspects of the decomposition process.[5] Much of this speculation originated during interviews with Domaszewicz's mother, in defence of her son's innocence.[27]

Arrest of Greg Domaszewicz

[edit]

On 16 July 1997, almost exactly one month after Jaidyn disappeared, Greg Domaszewicz was arrested and charged with the murder of Jaidyn Leskie.[5] As Jaidyn's body would not be discovered for another five months, the case against Domaszewicz was mainly circumstantial.[6] Police alleged that Jaidyn died sometime during a six-hour period of non-contact, from the time he entered Domaszewicz's house and before Murphy left the hotel. They claimed that after he killed Jaidyn, possibly by accident, Domaszewicz walked his body into the dam.[5] This theory was supported by police searches of Domaszewicz's home, which uncovered his wet wallet, as well as wet money hidden under a mattress—police alleged these items to be consistent with being submerged in water. Several tissues stained with Jaidyn's blood were also discovered in Domaszewicz's household rubbish; however, it was not considered to be a significant amount of blood.[5] Domaszewicz immediately rejected that he killed Jaidyn, instead claiming police were engaging in harassment and had falsely accused him of murder, referring to his accusers as 'dogs' in the media.[28] These claims of police harassment were later repeated by Domaszewicz's defence lawyer, alongside allegations of illegal interview recordings, contradictory witness statements, and a lack of tangible evidence presented by police.[29]

Trial and aftermath

[edit]

Greg Domaszewicz was charged with Jaidyn's murder, but was found not guilty on 18 December.[2] During Domaszewicz's murder trial, several witnesses testified that he had engaged in prior acts of aggression and violence toward Jaidyn, such as hitting across the face,[30] pushing him aggressively,[31] and locking Jaidyn in dark rooms when he felt annoyed by the child.[4][5][6][32]

A controversial[33] 2006 inquest,[5] which Domaszewicz's lawyer claimed to have been media driven,[34] found that he had contributed to the toddler's death and had likely disposed of the boy's body.[35] However, the coroner stopped short of finding Domaszewicz solely responsible for Jaidyn's death, citing lack of evidence.[5] The coroner's findings are thus far the closest the case has come to a resolution.[6] The inability to move forward with what some believe to be new evidence due to the double jeopardy laws in place in Victoria led Leskie's mother to join a coalition asking for reform of these laws.[36] While recent changes to double jeopardy laws have driven some pressure to reassess Domaszewicz's involvement in Jaidyn's death, currently the closest he has come to any admission of guilt is stating to journalists that: 'It's upsetting, still, because ultimately there's a kid that died because of my stupidity.'[8] Despite ongoing media speculation[37] and debunked hints of 'missing evidence' by a former Victorian police sergeant, there are no new suspects and no current plans for a new trial for Jaidyn's murder.[38]

One key recommendation from the 2006 coronial inquest was to increase education for parents on how to choose a responsible babysitter.[5] Almost ten years after Leskie's death, the Victorian State Government fulfilled this recommendation by distributing a 'Babysitters Kit', which consisted of a single-page document aiming to provide 'common sense' information and advise parents on choosing 'the right' babysitter.[39] This brief Babysitter's Kit appears to be aimed at uneducated parents, with the opening of the document stating that: "Victorian law does not say how old a babysitter must be; you must think about the maturity of the person and if they have the skills to keep your child safe and well—check they have experience in looking after a child of similar age to yours—this is particularly important for babies."[40] In the absence of a convicted perpetrator, continued speculation and irresolution, the Victorian State Government instead addressed the notion of 'poor parenting' as the actionable cause for Jaidyn's death.[6]

In the media

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The disappearance and death of Jaidyn Leskie has featured in several television programs, podcasts and scholarly articles.

The case has been the focus of episodes of podcasts Unresolved[41] and Australian True Crime Podcast.[42]

In 2021, Channel 9 aired Jaidyn Leskie: Little Boy Lost.[43] Notably, this program featured Greg Domaszewicz's first television interview in 20 years. This documentary also featured a 'round table' discussion on the case with former homicide detective Rowland Legg, who led the police investigation into Jaidyn's death; Dr. Elise Rosser, who has researched and written on the Leskie case; investigative journalist Keith Moor, a main journalist on the case; and former NSW Supreme Court judge, The Honorable Anthony Whealy, QC.

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Jaidyn's murder exposed dark secrets". www.heraldsun.com.au. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b Gary Tippet (13 June 2002). "Jaidyn Leskie, the Final, Tragic Chapter". The Age. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pierce, Peter (1999). The Country of Lost Children: An Australian Anxiety. Australia. pp. 188–189. ISBN 9780521594998.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Gleeson, Michael (1999). The Jaidyn Leskie Murder. NSW: HarperCollins. pp. 174–175. ISBN 9780732267704.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Graeme Johnstone [VIC State Coroner]. (2006). Inquest into the death of Jaidyn Raymond Leskie, Coroners case number 007/98. Available online: http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~mueller/pdf/leskie_decision.pdf Archived 7 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rosser, Elise (2018). From Rural Idyll to Dystopian Nightmare: Narratives of Child Death in 'Country' Australia (Doctoral Thesis). p. 410 – via Charles Sturt University.
  7. ^ Tippet, G. and Hewitt, S. (22 June 1997). ‘I wasn’t a little drunk, I was very, very...’, Sun Herald, available from Factiva.
  8. ^ a b Moor, Keith (11 April 2014). "Babysitter Greg Domaszewicz still denies guilt, but says Jaidyn Leskie would be 18 now had he not left him at home alone'". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b Towers, K. 15 October 1998. ‘I was slack but I didn't kill Jaidyn, mother tells court’, The Australian, available from Factiva (accessed 12 April 2014).
  10. ^ J. Koutsoukis, ‘Police step up search for boy’, The Age, 17 June 1997, p. 1, available from Factiva (accessed 15 June 2014).
  11. ^ ‘Jaidyn Accused Violent: Ex-lover’, Illawarra Mercury, 26 March 1998, available from Factiva, (accessed 12 April 2014).
  12. ^ a b Hadfield, Shelley (11 April 2014). "Kenny Penfold, the man who threw a pig's head at Greg Domaszewicz's Moe house, says: 'I was an idiot'". Herald Sun.
  13. ^ a b Mendez, T. and Anthony, S. (16 June 1996) ‘Fears held for abducted boy’, The West Australian, available from Factiva.
  14. ^ a b Campbell, Melissa (2002). "Little Bogan Lost: Examining media treatment of the Jaidyn Leskie case". Media International Australia Incorporating Culture and Policy. 104: 121. doi:10.1177/1329878X0210400113. S2CID 147035302.
  15. ^ a b Bowles, R. (2001). Justice Denied: An Investigation into the Death of Jaidyn Leskie, Scoresby, VIC, The Five Mile Press.
  16. ^ O’Brien, K. (September 2004). ‘The Nation: Little Boy Lost’, Eureka Street, p. 30.
  17. ^ a b Hess, Kristy; Waller, Lisa (2012). "The Snowtown we know and love': Small newspapers and heinous crimes" (PDF). Rural Society. 21 (2): 116–125. doi:10.5172/rsj.2012.21.2.116. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30043216. S2CID 145345182. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  18. ^ Rule, Andrew (11 January 1998). "Childhood's End: Looking for Love in a Town Called Moe". Sunday Age.
  19. ^ Koutsoukis, J. (23 June 1997). ‘Media Reports Under Attack’, The Age, available from Factiva.
  20. ^ Duncan, J. (14 April 2006). ‘How small towns live with major tragedies’, AAP General News Wire, available from ProQuest.
  21. ^ Stuart Rintoul (5 October 2006). "Riddle of a Sad Little Death". The Australian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  22. ^ Stephen Cauchi (22 November 2003). "Leskie Bib Puts Science in the Dock". The Age. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  23. ^ W. C. Thompson. (2013). ‘Forensic DNA Evidence: The myth of infallibility’, in S. Krimsky and J. Gruber (eds.), Genetic Explanations: sense and nonsense, Harvard University Press, pp. 227-347.
  24. ^ Thompson, William C. (2008). "The Potential for Error in Forensic DNA Testing (and How That Complicates the Use of DNA Databases for Criminal Identification)". Forensic DNA Databases and Race: Issues, Abuses and Actions. Conference Paper. Council for Responsible Genetics (CRG): 25. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.506.9605.
  25. ^ Thompson, William C. (2006). "Tarnish on the "Gold Standard": Understanding Recent Problems in Forensic DNA Testing". The Champion. January/February: 14.
  26. ^ Pallaras, Stephen (2011). "New technology: opportunities and challenges for prosecutors". Crime, Law and Social Change. 56: 71–89. doi:10.1007/s10611-011-9300-y. S2CID 145256415.
  27. ^ "PM with David Lipson". ABC listen. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  28. ^ M. Butler, ‘Domaszewicz calls his accusers dogs’, Herald Sun, 17 March 1999, available from Factiva.
  29. ^ B. Hocking and L. Manville, ‘What of the Right to Silence: Still Supporting the Presumption of Innocence, or a Growing Legal Fiction?’, Macquarie Law Journal, vol. 1, no.1, 2001, p. 65.
  30. ^ Dolan, S. (25 March 1993). ‘Babysit boyfriend hit Jaidyn, says mother’, Herald Sun, p. 3.
  31. ^ ‘Babysitter laughed at “neglected” Jaidyn’ (27 March 1998). The Courier Mail, available from Factiva.
  32. ^ Leigh, M. ‘Boyfriend shut Jaidyn in dark hallway, court told’, The Courier Mail, 26 March 1998, available from Factiva.
  33. ^ Gleeson, Michael (2007). The Jaidyn Leskie Murder. Australia: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7322-8087-1.
  34. ^ "Leskie Inquest Media Driven, Says Lawyer". The Age. 6 September 2005. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  35. ^ "Jaidyn Dumped in Dam: Coroner". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 October 2006. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  36. ^ Liam Houlihan (16 March 2008). "Jaidyn Leskie's Mother Calls for Law Reform". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  37. ^ "Jaidyn Leskie death will haunt us all until a killer is convicted". Sunday Herald Sun. 28 May 2017.
  38. ^ Moor, Keith (27 May 2017). "Jaidyn Leskie: Lost evidence twist in one of Victoria's most disturbing murder mysteries". Herald Sun. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  39. ^ "Leskie case prompts babysitter kit". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  40. ^ Victorian State Government, ‘Other People Looking After Your Child – Babysitters’, Child Safety Tip Sheet, online: https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/assets/resources/tipsheet-others-looking-after-child-babysitters.pdf , (accessed 12 November 2015).
  41. ^ "Jaidyn Leskie". Unresolved. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  42. ^ "Jaidyn Leskie Archives". Australian True Crime Podcast. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  43. ^ Under Investigation 2021 Ep 4 Jaidyn Leskie – Little Boy Lost, Watch TV Online, retrieved 3 April 2021
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