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Parents to face son's alleged killer

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"Betrayed and sick": Mark and Faye Leveson.
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Michael Atkins (left) and Matthew Leveson.
The parents of a Sydney gay man will face his alleged murderer for the first time in court next month.

Michael Peter Atkins, 45, has been charged with the murder of his lover, 20-year-old Matthew Leveson, who went missing after leaving Sydney’s ARQ nightclub on September 23 last year.

Atkins will face a bail hearing next month, at which Leveson’s parents, Faye and Mark, will confront their son’s alleged killer for the first time.

Although Matthew’s body has not been found, neither parent believes their son is still alive.

They said they felt “betrayed and sick” when they heard Atkins, Matthew’s lover for “about a year”, had been charged.

The big question now, they said, is ‘Why?’.

“I want the complete picture,” Mark said. “Before justice, I want Matt found so we can put him to rest. I want the right person to be found guilty and charged with an appropriate sentence, no plea-bargaining, and to serve their time. And to have questions answered: why, how, when.

“Right now it seems like a TV show, it doesn’t seem real. It’s like we’re just along for the ride and there’s just nothing you can do about it.”

When asked if she believed in capital punishment, Faye Leveson said she was not sure.

“I don’t know. I did – do – believe in it in some instances, where there’s absolutely no doubt, [in] a horrendous, horrible crime to children. So... at this stage, I don’t know.

“I just want him to be laid to rest respectfully and with dignity. I want to know where my son is.”

The couple said they accepted their son’s sexuality and do not believe involvement in the gay scene contributed to his death.

“People in today’s society are too quick to label people,” Faye said. “We shouldn’t be labelled gay, straight, lesbian, bi, we should be just one community. It shouldn’t matter. It doesn’t change the person who you are.”

“The world’s not a bad place,” Mark said. “Because this whole thing has happened to our family doesn’t make the world a bad place. It’s a case of the wrong person at the wrong time.”

Atkins declined to be brought up from the cells at a brief hearing last week. He was denied bail and will appear in Central Court in Sydney on September 17, almost a year since Matthew’s disappearance.

The Levesons hope information made public on that occasion will help bring their boy back home.

“Mike’s going to appear in court on the seventeenth for a bail hearing,” Mark said. “When that occurs, the police have to tender their facts sheet to the court, which will give more information to the public. That may jog a memory here or there and help with a few clues."

If you have any information relating to Matthew Leveson’s disappearance, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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