HIS life was snatched away without dignity; shot dead in a dimly lit car park, body bundled into a car boot.
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And 39 years after the murder that changed Griffith forever, Don Mackay has still not been afforded the dignity he and his long-suffering family deserve.
James Bazely, the dark-hearted assassin who killed Mr Mackay, has been on death’s door for years.
But according to crime writer John Silvester, who is as plugged-in as anyone to the Melbourne underworld, Bazely might be finally at the end of the road.
Hogtied to the ridiculous criminal code of “never tell”, there are fears Bazely will take the secret of Mr Mackay’s final resting place with him to the grave.
This would rob Mr Mackay’s children, one who still resides in Griffith, of a belated but dignified burial for their father.
Police have appealed to Bazely’s sense of humanity.
It failed.
Police have begged Bazely’s wife to convince the ageing crim to confess.
It failed.
Police have even offered Bazely a vast sum of money.
It, too, failed.
The closure the Mackay family – and Griffith residents – deserve may now seem more improbable than ever.
But despite the pleas to Bazely coming up empty, the unbreakable determination of investigators should send a clear message to those living with the secret of where Mr Mackay was buried.
Where such persistence exists, so too does hope.
There may still be Mafia figures alive today in Griffith who know Mr Mackay’s final resting place.
It may not happen next week or even next decade, but ultimately, someone with information will have their conscience – or their greed – pricked.
The Mackay family has lived in the shadow of an unsolved murder for too long and Mr Mackay’s widow, Barbara, died with the indignity of not knowing who killed her husband.
At Griffith Cemetery, a small plaque alongside Mr’s Mackay’s grave is all that acknowledges the life of an extraordinary man.
If justice exists in the human spirit, his remains will one day be laid to rest there – and Griffith will finally be able to move on.