The brother and sister of a young Aboriginal man found dead in suspicious circumstances in regional New South Wales in the 1980s have broken their silence in the hope it will lead to a breakthrough in the 28-year-old cold case.
Ron Haines, 44, and Lorna Haines, 45, have never before spoken publicly about their grief over the unsolved death of their older brother Mark in 1988.
The siblings agreed to speak with BuzzFeed News after learning police were investigating the case again following new leads from the public.
"It’s good that people are re-looking at the case – something needs to be done and I just hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else's family," Ron said.
"I’m hoping we get some justice about what happened. Let us find out and then I can get on with my life, all our family can move on with their lives."
Mark was found dead on railway tracks outside of the regional NSW city of Tamworth on 16 January 1988.
The initial police investigation was lax. Mark had suffered from massive head trauma, but there was only a very small amount of blood at the scene and a towel had been placed under his head. The towel was lost by police and never taken into evidence.
A stolen Torana was found nearby, but police never fingerprinted it. Several objects from the car were scattered around Mark's body, but most of them were never taken into evidence.
Subsequent investigations by the Oxley local area command in Tamworth failed to find Mark's killer, and the teen's family say they've been "left out of the loop" by police.
Ron and Lorna say the last time a police officer spoke to them was on the day they were told their brother had died.
"The police came around home, they knocked on the door and mum answered and they told us. We both just started crying. Since then nothing, we've heard nothing," Lorna told BuzzFeed News as tears flowed down her cheek.
"If it was a white person it would have been different. They would have had it solved a long time ago."
The NSW Greens’ Aboriginal justice spokesperson David Shoebridge agrees with the family. He's been highly critical of the police investigation into Mark's death over the past two decades.
“Aboriginal lives and Aboriginal deaths matter,” Shoebridge said. "It just seems that they matter less in Australia’s criminal justice system."
Earlier this year, a mother and her daughter phoned Crime Stoppers after reading a BuzzFeed News article about the case.
Faye Souter and Colleen Souter-Calder said their son and brother, the now-dead Terry Souter, drove the car that carried Mark's body to the spot where it was found.
That information saw the case reopened by the Oxley LAC; however, Shoebridge wants the case transferred to the homicide squad in Sydney, citing "incompetence" and a "lack of trust" in local detectives by the family.
"There are reasons to believe that there is outstanding evidence relating to this matter that has not been accorded proper consideration," Shoebridge wrote.
"There is a strong argument that the homicide squad is the most appropriate unit for undertaking the investigation, particularly having regard to its greater independence and resourcing."
BuzzFeed News requested comment from NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione about Shoebridge's request and was told by a spokesperson: "Investigations by Oxley local area command into his death are continuing under Strike Force Puno.
"Police can confirm they are continuing to review information received in April 2016 and, as with all open investigations, when information is received, it is reviewed and followed up by detectives."
Ron and Lorna say the reignited discussion over Mark has buoyed their hopes of finding out what happened to him on that night.
They also hope it gives comfort to other Aboriginal families struggling with the murder of a loved one.
"I feel the police just hoped it would go away, that people would forget about it," Lorna said.
"There are so many Aboriginal people who’ve had this happen to them as well. I [hope] it gives them hope knowing that Aboriginal victims matter and there are people out there trying to get some justice."