Mum’s fury at missing son’s killers

The devastated mother of a missing man – who was last seen alive being savagely attacked in a business boardroom – has lashed the men responsible for her son’s killing as they fronted court.

The mother of Lachlan Griffiths, Ms Saxby, laid her heartbreak bare this week as two men faced court for sentencing over the death of her son, Lachlan Griffiths, in 2022.

Mr Griffiths, 35, was last seen alive in the boardroom of a business in Coopers Plains, in Brisbane’s south, on January 17 that same year.

His remains have never been found.

Billy Lee Bornstein and David Lee Tan have both been charged with causing Mr Griffiths’ death and pleaded guilty to his manslaughter.

But their pleas are unlikely to bring comfort or closure to the Griffiths family, who still have lingering questions over where Mr Griffiths’ body is and what happened to him.

Ms Saxby fought back tears twice this week as she faced both Bornstein and Tan in the Supreme Court.

‘No justification’: Mum’s fury at remorseless killer

The court was told Mr Griffiths was taken by car to the Coopers Plains business early in the morning of January 17, 2022 – CCTV of the business capturing his last moments alive.

In the boardroom of the business, Mr Griffiths was effectively “cornered” and viciously assaulted by another man, Filip Grbavac, while Tan and Bornstein were present.

The assault was “retaliatory” for alleged contact Mr Griffiths had with Grbavac’s daughter.

Brisbane Supreme Court was told Bornstein had effectively lured Mr Griffiths to the address under the guise of a drug deal.

Mr Griffiths’ body has never been found – but pictures of it, wrapped in plastic, were recovered from Tan’s phone.

During Bornstein’s sentencing hearing on Monday, Ms Saxby slammed her son’s killer for his cowardice and the pain he inflicted on her son.

“Lachie was my firstborn son. There are so many wonderful memories of him growing up – his smile, his cheeky attitude to life, his loyalty and friendship, his warm huge hugs,” she read from her victim impact statement.

“He never said goodbye without a tight hug, a kiss and an ‘I love you mum’.”

Ms Saxby said the searching and ringing around to his friends before going to the police was the start of the “nightmare rollercoaster” for her family.

She said the family had experienced “agony” at not having a body to bury or even saying goodbye to Mr Griffiths.

“It’s crippling,” Ms Saxby told the court.

“I no longer sleep through the night, wake feeling refreshed.

“I suffer terribly from horrendous nightmares because without knowing (what happened), I imagine the worst.

“And as time has progressed, I’ve had to try to come to terms with the fact the worst is probably our reality.”

Ms Saxby took aim at Bornstein for denying her family any closure, blasting him for not feeling any “regret” or a “shred of remorse”.

“You and your co-accused have destroyed my happiness forever,” she said.

“You had no right to inflict this pain on us … you woke up that day knowing you were going to take part in something that could result in the torture, assault and death of my son.

“There is no justification for what you did. No sentence will ever be enough for the part you played.

“I don’t believe you’ll ever regret your part or feel a shred of remorse. I believe you’re incapable of it.

“If you were, you would have spoken up a long time ago about what happened and, more importantly, where my son is.”

Killer’s ‘apology’

Bornstein and Tan are not alleged to have taken part in the assault against Mr Griffiths, the Crown submitted at both sentencing hearings.

But Bornstein played an integral role in allowing Grbavac to “get” to Mr Griffiths and launch the vicious assault.

Bornstein’s barrister Michael Bonasia told the court that a sentence of eight years’ jail was appropriate in the circumstances, drawing attention to his client’s remorse and his work in pre-sentence custody.

The court was told Bornstein had been working as a cleaner and the prison unit’s baker while also teaching other prisoners about Indigenous art and sign language.

A psychologist had opined that Bornstein had paranoid thinking and issues with alcohol and substance abuse, describing the offending as “misguided loyalty” to a friend.

He was also described as having anti-social personality features and displaying a history of violence against women.

Bornstein is due to be sentenced on a later date.

Tan had also pleaded guilty to Mr Griffiths’ manslaughter – Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday being told he was “present” and supporting Grbavac during the fatal assault and assisted with cleaning up the room.

Both men are due to be sentenced at a later date.

Grbavac was described as the “prime mover” who killed Mr Griffiths and was due to stand trial on the charge of murder.

But any knowledge he had of what happened that fateful night, including whether he had any knowledge of where Mr Griffiths’ remains are located, is a secret he will literally take to his grave.

Grbavac was found dead in his cell at Woodford Correctional Centre earlier this year after allegedly being beaten to death by his cellmate.