A NSW coroner has made an open finding as to the cause and manner of Matthew Leveson‘s death at the age of 20, eight years after his boyfriend Michael Atkins was acquitted of murder.
Deputy state coroner Elaine Truscott delivered her findings at Glebe Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, saying that for reasons unknown to her, Atkins had not taken the opportunity to provide answers about Levenson’s death during his protected evidence at the inquest.
“I do not accept Mr Atkins as a witness of truth,” she said. “The lies he has told do not allow me to make a finding that any act performed by him caused Matt’s death.”
Leveson was last seen in the early hours of September 23, 2007, when he and Atkins left an inner city nightclub last year.
Atkins was acquitted in 2009 of Leveson’s murder and manslaughter following a trial in the Supreme Court.
Until as recently as last year he claimed that Leveson could be alive and living in Thailand. Then in May 2017, after negotiating immunity from prosecution, he led police to Leveson’s skeletal remains in an unmarked grave in the Royal National Park.
He told police that Leveson died of a drug overdose, and panicking, decided to conceal his death.
In her findings, Truscott recommended that Faye and Mark Leveson receive an official commendation for their assistance to the police investigation into the death of their son.
His family, friends and supporters broke down into tears when she delivered the finding.
