Relatives of a man discovered buried in concrete gasped in court at the “horrific and appalling” details of an attempt to dissolve his body in chemicals.
Two defendants faced separate sentencing hearings in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday over the deaths of two men at a warehouse.
Relatives of the second victim, who has never been found, broke down after pleading for information about the location of her body after both convicts were jailed for manslaughter.
David Lee Tan, 42, and Billy Lee Bornstein, 30, previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Lachlan James Griffiths, 35, in the early hours of Jan. 17, 2022, at Tan’s transportation company. in Coopers Plains, south of Brisbane.
Tan also pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the murder of Andrew Christopher Walsh, 35, on November 8, 2021.
Walsh’s remains were found in March 2022 encased in concrete at the Coopers Plains Transportation Company during a police search for Griffiths’ body, which has not been located.
Judge Frances Williams said Tan had provided significant assistance in the cover-up after Walsh was beaten and stabbed to death by two men who accused him of sexually assaulting an associate.
“What they did to Mr. Walsh’s body was horrible and atrocious,” he said.
The remains of Andrew Christopher Walsh (right) were found in a concrete pit in South Brisbane in March 2022. The body of Lachlan James Griffiths (left) has never been located.
Griffiths’ mother Bernie is seen hugging members of her family outside the Queensland Supreme Court on Monday. He said his family has not received closure or justice.
Judge Williams said Tan helped place Walsh’s body at the bottom of an oil drainage well and carried him with a wooden pallet.
“Cleaning products and chemicals were used to try to melt the deceased’s body,” Judge Williams said, causing Mr Walsh’s relatives to gasp.
Tan later bought concrete to pour into the well and covered it with a layer of oil and perfume in an attempt to mask the smell.
In separate rulings, Judge Williams said Tan and Bornstein did not inflict violence on Griffiths but had participated in a scheme to lure him from a Brisbane CBD hotel to the Coopers Plains business with the promise of payment for a drug deal. .
Judge Williams said the pair were involved in a common unlawful purpose to get Mr Griffiths so that another man, Filip Grbavac, could inflict serious physical harm on him during an “interrogation” that turned fatal in the warehouse meeting room.
Grbavac suspected that someone close to him had suffered serious crimes at the hands of Mr Griffiths.
‘The violence must have been prolonged and extreme. He knew Mr Griffiths was being assaulted and was in pain. “You were aware of this and you did nothing,” Judge Williams told Tan and Bornstein.
Mr Griffiths is pictured second from right with his mother Bernie and other family members. He has not been seen since he was lured to a warehouse in early 2022.
Tan was sentenced to a total of 15 and a half years in prison for the manslaughter of Mr Griffiths and for being an accessory to the murder of Mr Walsh.
He will be eligible for parole in September 2031 after serving 971 days in custody.
Bornstein was sentenced to nine years in prison.
He will be eligible to apply for parole in November 2028 with 721 days declared as time already served.
Mr Griffiths’ mother, Bernie, asked anyone with information about her son’s whereabouts to come forward so he could be buried at their local church.
“We beg anyone who knows where he is to come forward and give us this small measure of peace,” he said outside the court.
Mrs Griffiths (pictured right being comforted by a friend) asked anyone with information about her son’s whereabouts to come forward so he could be buried at their local church.
Griffiths said Bornstein and Tan’s sentencing was the end of the court process for the family, but not the end of their pain.
“It’s not closure or true justice,” he said.
Griffiths has not been seen since his abduction, but police later obtained a photograph of his body wrapped in plastic.
Prisoners in Queensland can be denied parole if the victim’s body has not been located and the parole applicant is found not to have fully co-operated.
Judge Williams said any further consequences for Tan and Bornstein would be a matter for the parole board.
Grbavac died of critical head injuries after an alleged fight with another prisoner in February 2024.
Two men will stand trial in 2025 for Walsh’s alleged murder.