Jaidyn Leskie

**Jaidyn Raymond Leskie** (April 30, 1996 - June 15, 1997) was the Australian toddler who was kidnapped and murdered in 1997. Jaidyn is believed to have died of head injuries.

## Background

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 Bilynda and was residing in another state at the time of his son's disappearance.

## Disappearance

On the night of his disappearance, Jaidyn was in the care of Bilynda's boyfriend, Greg Domaszewicz, while Bilynda 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, Bilynda was unable to get into contact with him. Bilynda assumed that Domaszewicz would care for the child throughout the evening and decided to keep her plans with her sister. Around 2.30 am, Domaszewicz left his home to pick up a very intoxicated Bilynda 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 Bilynda 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. 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.

## Investigation

Soon after Jaidyn was reported missing, local and state police launched an intensive, 20 day missing person's search. 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?”. The search was unsuccessful, largely hampered by lack of witnesses, false tips to police, and the extensive geographic area that needed to be searched.

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 Bilynda from Trarlagon, and that Jaidyn was abducted before he returned. However, earlier that evening Domaszewicz had called Ryan's Hotel and told Bilynda that Jaidyn had been taken to hospital for a minor burn. After picking her up, Domaszewicz further told Bilynda 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. Domaszewicz then refused Bilynda's requests to be taken to Jaidyn, telling her she was too drunk and would be refused entry. As such, Bilynda did not know her child was missing until several hours after she had returned home for the night, believing him to be in hospital. Later defending his claims of Jaidyn's hospitalisation as an ill-timed joke, Domaszewicz's comments regarding the child's whereabouts are viewed by police as an attempt to cover-up Jaidyn's death.

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.

## Discovery

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. However, each of these claims has either been refuted via scientific and medical evidence, or is based on unsubstantiated claims made by anonymous witnesses.

## Aftermath

On July 16, 1997, almost exactly one month after Jaidyn disappeared, Greg Domaszewicz was arrested and charged with the murder of Jaidyn Leskie. They claimed that after he killed Jaidyn, possibly by accident, Domaszewicz walked his body into the dam. 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’ household rubbish; however, it was not considered to be a significant amount of blood. Greg Domaszewicz was charged with murder, but was found not guilty in December 18. 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, pushing him aggressively, and locking Jaidyn in dark rooms when he felt annoyed by the child.

Jaidyn's murder remains unsolved.