The uncle of an Aboriginal boy found dead in suspicious circumstances in the 1980s says he is willing to offer his own money as a reward to anyone that could help solve the case.
Jack Craigie, the uncle of dead Gomeroi teenager Mark Haines, says the family is so desperate for answers about the cold case that he's willing to stump up his own money as a reward. Haines was found dead on train tracks outside of Tamworth in regional NSW in 1988.
"I couldn't sleep [on the night of the anniversary of Haines' death] and I thought I just have to do something to try and see what happens," Craigie told BuzzFeed News. "Someone has information, I know that, and they're probably just waiting for that reward, so I got $20,000 of my own money."
Craigie says the family was "ripped apart" by Haines' death, and after almost three decades the pain is "as raw as ever". He believes that a reward could help flush out information: "They can have the money just so we can get answers, get some closure. I will give [the money] if the information leads up to an arrest and solves this mystery."
Craigie's plea for help comes after BuzzFeed News revealed on Monday that the NSW State Crime Command's homicide squad will review the Haines case.
The family, and NSW Greens politician David Shoebridge, have been critical of the Oxley local area command's handling of the case.
Shoebridge used a parliamentary speech to lobby for the review at the end of 2016, and wrote a letter to the NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione raising his concerns over inaction and incompetence in the Oxley LAC's handling of new leads in the case.
“Aboriginal lives and Aboriginal deaths matter. It just seems that they matter less in Australia’s criminal justice system,” Shoebridge told BuzzFeed News.
A spokesperson for the NSW Police confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the State Crime Command's review into the investigation had begun, but said there was no deadline to deliver findings: "The review is underway, but will take as long as it takes. We are not in a position to comment further on the details and criteria of the review while it is underway, but will be happy to discuss once detectives have agreed on an outcome."