The mother of a young man who disappeared in mysterious circumstances while on a boys' trip has told a coronial inquest she believes her son was murdered.
Jayden Penno-Tompsett was 22 when he disappeared on December 31, 2017, while on a road trip with friend Lucas Tattersall from Newcastle to Cairns, where they had planned to spend New Year's Eve.
The pair arrived in the small town of Charters Towers, about 130 kilometres west of Townsville in North Queensland, where Mr Penno-Tompsett got out of the car he was a passenger in and walked into bushland.
He was never seen again.
A three-day coronial inquest in Cairns is examining the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, including where and how he died.
Mr Penno-Tompsett's mother Rachel Penno was the first of 11 people due to give evidence in court this morning, as eight other family members looked on.
Ms Penno told the court her son had a "beautiful, generous nature" but was also troubled, had used the drug ice and gone missing in the past, around three months before her son and his friend travelled north.
She said the last she had heard from her son was when she sent him a text message asking if he was OK on Friday, December 30, 2017.
He replied the next day — the same day he disappeared — with a message simply saying "yeah".
Counsel assisting the coroner Joseph Crawfoot asked Ms Penno what she thought had happened to her son.
"He was murdered."
Ms Penno raised concerns about the Queensland police investigation into her son's disappearance in court, citing a conversation she had with a senior detective working on the case.
She told the court the officer had told her that her son had "probably run off with a Swedish backpacker" and then laughed.
"They were under the impression he had just run off," Ms Penno said.
No traces of blood in car
Detective Sergeant Peter Edwards led the investigation and also gave evidence in court.
He said police drove around several properties in the Charters Towers area with the missing man's friend and driver of the car that night, Mr Tattersall, several days after Mr Penno-Tompsett disappeared.
Detective Sergeant Edwards said Mr Tattersall eventually led them to the place where he said he last saw his friend get out of the vehicle and walk into bushland.
The court also heard an examination of Mr Tattersall's car, which the two men had travelled in, had not had any traces of blood.
The inquest continues.
