The-then boyfriend of German backpacker Simone Strobel lied to police about an argument they had before her disappearance, “derailing” the investigation into her unresolved death almost 20 years ago, a fresh inquest has heard.
Ms Strobel, 25, was found dead and her naked body discovered under palm fronds in the heart of Lismore, northern NSW in February 2005.
The kindergarten teacher was on a backpacking trip in Australia at the time and had been staying at a nearby caravan park with her then-boyfriend, Tobias Suckfuell, his sister Katrin Suckfuell and their friend Jens Martin.
A coronial inquest in 2007 found that despite the “very strong suspicion that Tobias Suckfuell and maybe Katrin Suckfuell were involved in the circumstances that led to Simone’s death”, the coroner was not satisfied the evidence available at the time met the requirements to refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Lismore caravan park where Simone Strobel had been staying before her disappearance in 2005.
After an appeal for information from police, Mr Suckfuell, now known as Tobias Moran, was arrested in 2022 to face charges of murder, but they were withdrawn last year.
Mr Moran has previously denied any involvement in Ms Strobel’s death and since then no-one has been charged over the matter.
Nearly two decades after her body was first discovered, a second inquest began on Monday after “significant evidence” was provided to the coroner that wasn’t available during the 2007 inquest.
Mr Moran was in court for the first day of the inquest.
Council Assisting Philip Strickland SC told the inquest that evidence included new persons of interest, witnesses, forensic evidence and medical evidence.
Mr Strickland also said that despite a finding in 2007 that there was no evidence Ms Strobel was sexually assaulted, the advanced decomposition of her remains meant the coroner “cannot rule out that there was some sexual motivation for the offence”.
Tobias Suckfuell, now known as Tobias Moran, was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of murder, but the charges were later dropped. (Supplied: NSW Police)
‘Mood is rock bottom’
During his opening statement, Mr Strickland read out excerpts from Ms Strobel’s personal diary, written in the days before her death, which he said “undoubtedly show” a breakdown in what was once described as a “harmonious” relationship.
“She had quote ‘the baddest vibrations’ those last couple of days since they came to Australia,” he said.
Mr Strickland said she described how the tension between the two continued the next day, writing: “Today began just as s**t as yesterday … mood is rock bottom, and I still don’t know what is going to happen in the coming days”.
The inquest was told Ms Strobel and the three other German nationals arrived in Lismore on February 11, 2005, and checked into the Lismore Tourist Caravan Park, where she was last seen alive.
CCTV footage shows the last time Ms Strobel was seen alive. (Supplied: NSW Police)
CCTV footage was played to the inquest of the night of her disappearance, where Ms Strobel and Mr Moran were depicted having a “quarrel” outside a licensed hotel in Lismore after the group were kicked out for being too intoxicated.
The inquest heard they later returned to the caravan park where some neighbours described hearing a “screaming” argument between a man and a woman, before Ms Strobel left the caravan park on foot later in the evening.
Council assisting said a witness heard Mr Moran call Ms Strobel a “silly cow” and used the German word for “slut” in what was described as an argument about trying to enjoy the holiday.
However, Mr Strickland reiterated that there was “insignificant evidence to support that the screaming was Simone”, and Mr Moran denied having a vocal screaming match with her.
Mr Strickland told the coroner Jens Martin and Katrine Suckfuell claimed to search for Ms Strobel, and when she couldn’t be found hours later, Mr Moran and Mr Martin reported her missing to police.
‘Lies had opposite effect’
Mr Strickland said there was no doubt Mr Moran initially “understated” the fight between him and Ms Strobel, and how much alcohol he had consumed on the night.
“[Mr Moran] lied about the fight, the alcohol consumption and the cannabis use. He was worried police wouldn’t take him seriously if they knew those facts,” he said.
Police said the reward they offered did not lead to any progress in the investigation. (Facebook: NSW Police)
Mr Strickland said it will be up to the coroner to determine whether Mr Moran’s “lies” were a mistake or deliberate in hindering the investigation.
“If it was Tobias Moran’s intention to make police treat her disappearance seriously, and in fact assist an investigation by police — his lies had almost completely the opposite effect,” Mr Strickland said.
“His lies assisted in derailing the initial part of the investigation.”
But Mr Strickland told the inquest that evidence given by Mr Martin during the 2007 inquest also raised serious doubt over the suggestion that Mr Moran was solely responsible for Ms Strobel’s death.
“If Tobias killed Simone and did it alone, he had a very narrow window in which to leave the caravan park, find Simone, kill her, take off her clothes, dispose of her body … again assuming Jens Martin is to believed,” he said.
“[Mr Moran] would have had to have done so knowing his friend and his sister were searching in the same area for Simone.
“If Tobias was involved … it seems the most plausible route is both Katrine and Jens Martin were also involved.”
The inquest will hear evidence until the end of the week. (AAP: Jason O’Brien)
Both Mr Martin and Ms Suckfuell have previously denied any involvement in the 26-year-old’s death.
The inquest heard that covert recordings of Mr Moran conducted by police almost a decade after the initial inquest did not uncover any incriminating statements and he does not have a history of violence.
Mr Strickland also noted that unlike the rules in place during the first inquest, the coroner “must not indicate or suggest that an offence was committed by any person”.
Later in the day, Mr Strickland revealed that Ms Strobel’s body was located at a “known criminal hotspot” with “unsavoury” locals known to drink in the area.
He said some of the new persons of interest had allegedly confessed to killing her, including one man who was previously known to police.
Speaking outside court, Ms Strobel’s brother and sister Alexander and Christina, who had travelled from Germany, said they hoped the inquest would provide their family some answers.
Ms Strobel’s siblings travelled from Germany to attend the inquest. (ABC News: Ethan Rix)
Alexander Strobel was he was hopeful that, during the course of the inquest, the truth of his sister’s death would be revealed.
“My sister basically raised me to have a very close bond and she was violently taken from me, she was a lovely person who loved life. She was looking for to her adventure to Australia and is dearly missed by her family and friends,” a teary-eyed Christina added.
The inquest is scheduled to hear evidence until the end of the week.
