An inquest found German backpacker Simone Strobe died by homicide in northern New South Wales, but could not say who killed her. It recommended police conduct further analysis of two inconclusive DNA samples obtained in the original investigation.
The NSW State Coroner, Teresa O’Sullivan, gave her findings on Thursday into the 2005 death in Lismore’s northern rivers.
O’Sullivan dismissed the finding in 2007 that a “very strong suspicion” that members of Strebel’s traveling group were involved in his death.
Amendments to the Cononers legislature came into force in 2009 which meant O’Sullivan could not be found guilty of “an offense committed by any person”.
“I accept that such a finding is now prohibited and, aware of the conclusions I have reached elsewhere in these findings, I also express my disagreement with respect to the finding,” O’Sullivan said.
Last year, the Court heard that the lies Broebel told Tobias Moran in the initial investigation were given considerable weight by the police.
“I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities [the lies] because of a sense of guilt related to Simone’s homicide,” said O’Sullivan.
The 3-year-old teacher’s naked body was found hidden under a palm tree in a sports field, less than 100m from a Lismore Caravan Park where she was last seen six days earlier on 11 February 2005.
O’Sullivan told the court, as well as Christina’s sister Christina who accompanied the video from Germany, that the backpacker traveled the East Coast for Australia for six months with Moran.
Sign up: AU Breaking News Email
Moran, who now lives in Western Australia and attended Thursday’s hearing via video link with his lawyer in 2022, but the charges were later dropped. He has always maintained his innocence and paid $190,000 in legal fees.
The court heard that on the night of her disappearance, the group, who had been in Lisorore for the day, had been drinking at a nearby hotel before returning to their campsite.
O’Sullivan said they returned around 11.20pm, where there was an argument and Srebel left the group “alone and sad”. The state Cononer said it is difficult to know what happened next.
Strobebel was last seen by two witnesses at around 11.55PM walking across a roundabout in the area. “This was the last time Simone was seen alive when she died,” said O’Sullivan, adding that many Witnesses disappeared into the strobels.
Strobebel was reported missing by Moran the next morning, and was not found until five days later after a multi-agency search. A police dog handler found his body hidden in a Bockce court in a hotel neighboring the bell, after entering the hole in the wire cance.
A 2007 inquest into his death held in Lismore found insufficient evidence to recommend charges, but ended up with a pillow or plastic bag.
O’Sullivan disagreed with this finding, finding no Australian or German pathologists were able to determine the cause of death.
After the newsletter promotion
“I don’t know the cause of Simone’s death,” he said, but added that Srebel had a result of the homicide of a person or persons unknown “.
O’Sullivan agreed with the 2007 inquiry that Srobel died on February 12, but disagreed with other findings that the person who killed the possibilities that the person who sexually killed Srobel and Strokebel was probably killed before he was killed before he was killed before he was killed before he was killed.
He also knew Strobel was more than likely not killed outside the Caravan park.
O’Sullivan recommended that the unsolved homicide team of the Police Police conduct further testing of the two negative DNA samples – to identify a black Strobel top – to identify a black Strobel top – to identify “any matches that may be found in the future”.
Strobel’s murder remains unsolved, despite the establishment of a police strike force and the NSW government offering a $1m reward for information by 2020.
The fresh inquiry was launched in 2019 after requests from the NSW Police and Strobel’s family, but stopped ahead of hearings due to take place in 2022, after charges against Moran were laid. It continued for five days of hearing in November last year.
On Thursday, O’Sullivan acknowledged that going through the two inquests was “a difficult process for Simonone’s family”.
“The trauma of losing a loved one and in these circumstances in a foreign country is unimaginable.
“I express my heartfelt gratitude and hope that the Strobel family will one day learn the truth about what happened to Simone.”