Jaidyn Leskie

The murder of Jaidyn Leskie occurred in 1997, believed to have been caused by head injuries. Leskie's body was found at the Blue Rock Dam, near Moe, Victoria, Australia, on 1 January 1998, six months after his disappearance from a Newborough home. A child of Bilynda Murphy (now Williams) and Brett Leskie, Leskie's murder remains unsolved, despite intense public interest, several leads, and the arrest and 1998 trial of a prime suspect, Greg Domaszewicz , Murphy's boyfriend, who was acquitted of murder, following a trial by jury.

A decision was made in 2002 not to hold an inquest into the toddler's death and the case remained in the news for several more years. An inquest was later held in 2006, implicating Domaszewicz, who at the time of the kidnapping was babysitting the child. 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 child's fate; and the body not being discovered until six months after his disappearance.

Disappearance At the time of his disappearance, Jaidyn Raymond Leskie (30 April 1996 – 15 June 1997) was aged 13 months and two weeks old and lived in the town of Moe with his mother Bilynda Murphy and his older sister. Leskie's father, Brett, was separated from Murphy and was residing in another state at the time of his son's disappearance.

Investigation On the night of his disappearance, Leskie was in the care of Greg Domaszewicz, while Murphy went out with her sister. Domaszewicz had been minding Leskie during the day, at his Newborough home, and was originally meant to drop the child home to his regular babysitter at 4pm; however, Domaszewicz never arrived and, despite several attempts, Murphy was unable to get into contact with him. 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 Newborough to pick up an intoxicated Murphy from Ryan's Hotel in the neighbouring town of Traralgon (approximately 20-minutes drive each way). After returning to Moe at around 3am, Domaszewicz dropped Murphy at her home, later returning at approximately 5am to inform her of Leskie's disappearance and taking her to Moe Police Station to file a police report. Later defending his claims of Leskie's hospitalisation as an ill-timed joke, Dubbed 'the pig's head team' by Domaszewicz's defence lawyer, Colin Lovett , police determined the vandalism was an unrelated act of revenge against Domaszewicz. 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. The 'Pig's Head Team' became potential witnesses for Leskie'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. and continued to be referenced in media coverage as symbolic for the confusing and strange circumstances around Leskie's disappearance.

Regardless of quickly being ruled out as suspects, the Pig's Head Team attracted intense attention from media and true crime writers, with some alleging the police should have investigated more thoroughly. Domaszewicz claimed that Penfold and the Pig's Head Team kidnapped Leskie as revenge for their failed relationship, panicked after the police became involved, and killed the child. Leskie's body was floating on the surface of the reservoir. Several claims were made that Leskie'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.

Criminal matters Arrest of Domaszewicz On 16 July 1997 Domaszewicz was arrested and charged with the murder of Leskie. 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.

Trial Domaszewicz was charged with Leskie's murder and was tried for the murder or manslaughter of Leskie in the Supreme Court of Victoria. A jury found Domaszewicz not guilty on 4 December 1998. pushing him aggressively, and locking Leskie in dark rooms when he felt annoyed by the child.

Coronial inquiries In December 1998, following the acquittal of Domaszewicz, the State Coroner, Graeme Johnstone, was petitioned to open an inquest into Leskie's death. After commencing an investigation, in January 2002 the Deputy State Coroner advised that he would not hold an inquest, under his discretionary powers. However, he did release a record of his investigations into Leskie's death. Following further petitions in June 2002, Coroner Johnstone reopened the matter and, on 26 September 2003, set aside the findings by his Deputy, and ordered an inquest, that commenced on 17 November 2023. Domaszewicz's lawyer made an application to the Supreme Court for the inquest to be stayed; and it was partially granted on procedural grounds. A new inquest commenced on 11 July 2005. Domaszewicz was not required to testify and the evidence heard at the earlier inquest was adopted for the fresh inquest. On 31 July 2006, Coroner Johnstone found that Domaszewicz had contributed to the toddler's death and had likely disposed of the child's body. However, Johnstone stopped short of finding Domaszewicz solely responsible for Leskie's death, citing lack of evidence.

Aftermath 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 calling for reform of these laws. While changes to double jeopardy laws have driven some pressure to reassess Domaszewicz's involvement in Leskie'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.'

Despite media speculation twenty years after Leskie's murder, and debunked hints of 'missing evidence' by a former Victorian police sergeant, there were no new suspects and no plans for a new trial.

One key recommendation from the 2006 coronial inquest was to increase education for parents on how to choose a responsible babysitter. The Babysitter's Kit appeared 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." 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 Leskie's death. The media placed particular focus on the relationships and personalities of Leskie's family and the town of Moe which, combined with the sensational trial and acquittal of Domaszewicz, caused the case to attain national significance. In one of the earlier media articles on the case a journalist 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.' Further coverage continued this characterisation of the case, and was suggested that the town of Moe underwent a trial by media which unfairly demonised Leskie's family and people of Moe as uncivilised, uneducated 'bogans'. Moe's community also questioned the lack of sympathy or compassion shown by metropolitan media, and struggled to counteract frequent suggestions from the media that Moe was "...a ghetto of the abandoned, of young people without work or prospects." and Australian True Crime Podcast. In 2021, Channel 9 aired Jaidyn Leskie: Little Boy Lost, that featured Domaszewicz's first television interview in twenty years. The documentary also featured a 'round table' discussion on the case with former homicide detective Rowland Legg, who led the police investigation into Leskie's death; Dr. Elise Rosser, who has researched and written on the Leskie case; investigative journalist Keith Moor, a journalist who covered the case; and former NSW Supreme Court judge, The Honourable Anthony Whealy .