Billy Lee Bornstein: Family of Lachlan Griffiths beg for his body location after killer jailed

The family of Lachlan Griffiths who was abducted and killed have pleaded for somebody to come forward with the location of his body after a man was jailed for manslaughter.

Billy Lee Bornstein, 30, faced Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Griffiths.

He was last seen alive in the Brisbane CBD on January 16, 2022, before his mother, Bernie, reported the 35-year-old missing 10 days later.

Justice Frances Williams said Bornstein had not committed violence against Mr Griffiths but had taken part in a common unlawful purpose to lure him to a warehouse south of Brisbane so another man could assault him during an “interrogation”.

“The plan was to cause Lachlan Griffiths serious physical harm in order to extract information from him,” Justice Williams said.

Bornstein was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment. He will be eligible to apply for parole in November 2028 with 721 days declared as time already served.

Mr Griffiths’ family issued a statement outside court calling for information on his whereabouts so he could be buried at their local church.

“We beg anyone who may know where he is to come forward and give us this small measure of peace,” the family said.

Mr Griffiths has not been seen since his abduction but police later obtained a photo 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 is found to have not co-operated fully with finding the body,

Justice Williams said any consequences for Bornstein due to Mr Griffiths’ body still being missing would be a matter for the parole board.

She said Filip Grbavac had fatally assaulted Mr Griffiths in the early hours of January 17, 2022, after Bornstein and another co-offender David Lee Tan, 42, had helped bring the victim to the southern Brisbane suburb of Coopers Plains with promises of payment for a drug deal.

“The violence must have been prolonged and extreme. You knew Mr Griffiths was being assaulted and in pain. You were aware of this and did nothing,” Justice Williams told Bornstein.

She said it was particularly disturbing that Bornstein had helped abduct Mr Griffiths due to someone close to Grbavac accusing the victim of having committed serious offences against them.

“You and others decided to take matters into your own hands ... it was a carefully crafted and calculated plan to adopt a form of vigilante justice that circumvented proper investigation of the complaint and resulted in the loss of a life,” Justice Williams said.

Grbavac died of critical head injuries after an alleged fight with another prisoner in February 2024.

Tan is also due to be sentenced for Mr Griffith’s manslaughter on Monday as well as an accessory after the fact to the murder of Andrew Christopher Walsh.

Mr Walsh’s remains were found buried in concrete during a police search of the warehouse where Mr Griffiths was killed.