Family members gasp in court as sickening details emerge of how Australian man was encased in concrete after two men accused him of sexually assaulting woman

Relatives of a man buried in concrete have been left gasping in court over the “gruesome and gruesome” details of an attempt to dissolve his body in chemicals.

Two suspects faced separate sentencing hearings in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday over the deaths of two men in a warehouse.

Relatives of the second victim, who has never been found, broke down after pleading for information about the location of his body after both convicted men were convicted of 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 January 17, 2022, at Tan’s transport company in Coopers Plains in Brisbane’s south.

Tan also pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact in the murder of 35-year-old Andrew Christopher Walsh on November 8, 2021.

Mr Walsh’s remains were found in concrete at the Coopers Plains transport company in March 2022 during a police investigation into Mr Griffiths’ body, which has not yet been located.

Judge Frances Williams said Tan had provided significant assistance in a cover-up after Walsh was beaten and stabbed to death by two men who accused him of sexually assaulting a female employee.

“What was done to Mr. Walsh’s body was gruesome and gruesome,” she said.

Judge Williams said Tan helped place Mr Walsh’s body at the bottom of an oil disposal pit and weighed him down with a wooden pallet.

“Cleaning agents and chemicals were used to melt the deceased’s body,” Judge Williams said, leaving Mr Walsh’s relatives gasping.

Tan later bought concrete to pour into the well and covered it with a layer of oil and perfume in an attempt to disguise the smell.

In separate sentences, Judge Williams said Tan and Bornstein did not assault Mr Griffiths, but took part in a plan to lure him from a CBD hotel in Brisbane to the Coopers Plains business with the promise of payment for a drug deal.

Judge Williams said they both had a common unlawful purpose to capture Mr Griffiths so that another man, Filip Grbavac, could cause him serious bodily harm during an ‘interrogation’ that turned fatal in the warehouse meeting room.

Grbavac suspected that a person close to him had committed serious offenses by Mr Griffiths.

‘The violence must have been prolonged and extreme. You knew Mr Griffiths was attacked and in pain. You were aware of this and did nothing,” Judge Williams told Tan and Bornstein.

Tan was sentenced to a total of 15 and a half years in prison for the manslaughter of Mr Griffiths and his complicity in the murder of Mr Walsh.

He will be eligible for parole in September 2031, having already served 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 marked as time already served.

Mr Griffiths’ mother Bernie appealed for 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 little bit of peace,” she said outside the courtroom.

Ms Griffiths said the conviction of Bornstein and Tan was the end of the legal proceedings for the family, but not the end of their grief.

“It’s not closure, nor real justice,” she said.

Mr 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 a victim’s body has not been located and the parole applicant has not fully cooperated.

Judge Williams said any further consequences for Tan and Bornstein would be a matter for the parole board.

Grbavac died of serious head injuries after an alleged fight with another inmate in February 2024.

Two men will stand trial in 2025 for the alleged murder of Mr Walsh.