Victoria Bitter: The Jaidyn Leskie Story

A Memorial for Jaidyn

Not long after his body was recovered from Blue Rock Dam, a small plaque was erected near the spot. It said simply:

Jaidyn Raymond Leskie (Murphy)

This plaque is to commemorate the life of a wonderful little boy whose body was removed from this site on 1. 1. 1998 following his disappearance on 14.6.1997

It has been more than five years since the little boy's body was found, and more than four since the jury acquitted Domaszewicz of the murder. Life has gone on. Grishka and Bilynda have since ended their relationship, and both have returned to a version of the lives they were accustomed to leading, though a dark cloud of suspicion still follows Domaszewicz wherever he goes, and a quiet contempt seems to follow Murphy. The members of the Pig's Head Crew have also, for the most part, returned to what passes for life in the harder sections of Moe. In the months immediately following the verdict in the Domaszewicz case several of the police officers involved in the investigation were transferred or in some cases demoted and, in the ensuing years, the police have shown little interest in revisiting the case.

Not everyone has given up hope of finding the killer. Bowles, who says she is firmly convinced that Domaszewicz was innocent of the crime, has continued to push for a new inquest into the case. It would be, she said, the only really fitting memorial to the slain boy. Domaszewicz too has insisted time and again that a new investigation should be launched.

And there seems to be growing sentiment among some high-ranking officials in Victoria that a new probe, a coroner's inquest, may be needed. Says Lovitt, "I suspect that there will be a new inquest, as the attorney general and the coroner are both in favor of one. As to when, that will depend on the policedoing a bit of police work. They hardly covered themselves in glory at the trial."

But for the moment, the case of Jaidyn Leskie is in limbo.