The policeman chasing a German backpacker's killer has vowed not to give up, despite further delays in his 16-year quest for justice.
The naked body of 25-year-old Simone Monika Strobel was discovered concealed under palm fronds on a bocce court in the northern NSW town of Lismore, five days after she was reported missing.
No-one has ever been charged over her death.
Detective Acting Inspector Dave Mackie has been investigating the homicide since day one.
A second coronial inquiry was set down for this February, but has since been postponed.
An inquest in 2007 found the kindergarten teacher had spent the fortnight before her death travelling the east coast of Australia with her then boyfriend Tobias Suckfuell, his sister Katrin Suckfuell, and their friend Jens Martin.
The four German nationals arrived in Lismore on February 11, 2005, and checked into the Lismore Tourist Caravan Park.
That night was the last time Simone Strobel was seen alive.
The delay between her disappearance and the discovery of her body meant dental records had to be flown out from Germany for authorities to confirm the body was indeed that of the missing kindergarten teacher.
The first inquest found that despite the "thoroughness of the police investigation, and despite the very strong suspicion that Tobias Suckfuell, and maybe Katrin Suckfuell, had an involvement in the circumstances that led to Simone's death", the coroner was not satisfied the evidence available at the time met the requirements of Section 19 of the Coroners Act to refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The ABC has attempted to contact Tobias Suckfuell, whose name is now Tobias Moran, for a response.
Both Tobias and Katrin Suckfuell have previously denied any involvement in Ms Strobel's death.
On October 15, 2020 the New South Wales Government and police announced a $1 million reward for information which led to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her homicide.
Acting Inspector Mackie said he hoped the second inquest would shed light on the person or persons responsible.
"Even though it has been a lengthy period of time, we continue to investigate this matter and we're always hopeful that we will resolve it in the end."
The night Simone Strobel disappeared
The first inquest found Simone Strobel and her three German travelling companions were drinking at the Gollan Hotel in Lismore the night she disappeared.
At 11pm, the bar manager, Paul Harris, told the group to leave the hotel because of their state of intoxication.
At 11.10pm they left the pub and were captured on CCTV.
The group returned to the caravan park and continued socialising.
According to the first inquest, the next morning, Tobias and Katrin Suckfuell and Jens Martin packed up the van and tent and checked out of the Lismore caravan park.
At 10.45am, Tobias Suckfuell and Jens Martin went to the Lismore Police Station and told officers Ms Strobel had left the campsite during the night and not returned.
They told police Simone and Tobias were in a loving and stable relationship but that Simone had left the group's campsite after criticising Tobias and his sister for arguing about family matters.
It was a story all three of Ms Strobel's travelling companions maintained in subsequent police interviews in the days and weeks that followed.
Police put out a public appeal for information and carried out an extensive search.
On Thursday, February 17, 2005, Senior Constable Brown of the NSW Police Dog Unit found a decomposing human body, concealed just 90 metres from where Ms Strobel had been staying.
Community 'astounded' by young backpacker's death
The gruesome discovery sparked an outpouring of sympathy and grief from the local community.
About 200 people turned out for a candlelight vigil under a eucalyptus tree near the site where Ms Strobel's body was found.
Former Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell, who was a councillor at the time, led a fundraising campaign to pay for Mr Suckfuell's ticket home.
The community donated more than $6,000.
On February 19, 2005, Russell Eldridge, the then editor of Lismore's local paper The Northern Star, ran a story quoting Mr Suckfuell calling police "kindergarten cops" for their delays in finding his then girlfriend's body.
He wrote that Mr Suckfuell had rung him "distraught, angry and frustrated" and accused police of "not taking him seriously" when he reported his girlfriend missing.
Key witness travels to Australia to give evidence
A coronial inquest was held into Simone Strobel's death in 2007 before the then deputy state coroner Paul MacMahon in Lismore.
Jens Martin was a key witness at the inquiry, and the only one of Ms Strobel's three travelling companions who agreed to return to Australia to give evidence.
Mr Martin told the inquest through an interpreter: "I don't know who killed Simone. It's possible Tobias may have had something to do with it … it's not my job."
At the inquest, Mr Martin said that he initially lied to Lismore police at Mr Suckfuell's request.
He said he agreed to lie because he had been smoking cannabis the night before, which he knew was illegal, and because Mr Suckfuell had told him he didn't want to be a suspect.
He told the inquest that in the days leading up to February 11, 2005, the relationship between Ms Strobel and Mr Suckfuell had become more and more strained and that on the night of her disappearance it was so bad that both Ms Strobel and Katrin Suckfuell were in tears.
He said prior to attending the police station, Mr Suckfuell had told him and Ms Suckfuell what to tell police and repeatedly sought assurances from both that they had maintained the prepared story.
Mr Martin said his concerns grew after Tobias and Katrin Suckfuell visited his home in Germany and asked what he had told German police.
Deputy state coroner Paul McMahon said he was reasonably satisfied Mr Martin was not a person of interest and thanked him for coming to Australia to assist in the inquiry.
He said following Mr Martin's evidence, he personally wrote to the Suckfuell siblings, informing them of the serious allegations that had been made and again inviting them to return to Australia, at no cost, to provide their version of events at the inquest.
Each, through their legal representatives, declined to assist the inquest.
Suggestions homicide was sexually motivated a red herring
In his findings, Mr MacMahon noted that although Ms Strobel's body was naked and concealed under palm fronds, a post-mortem found she had not been sexually assaulted.
He said it appeared Simone had been killed in the vicinity of the caravan park and then taken to the wire fence where her clothing was most likely removed.
Mr MacMahon said it was clear from the evidence that Ms Strobel's death was not the result of any natural cause or accident, and most likely the result of suffocation or smothering asphyxia, at a site other than where her body was found.
He noted the evidence of witnesses who heard "intermittent screams" between midnight and 1am on the Saturday morning, but said there was no way of knowing if they were Ms Strobel's screams as she "resisted her assailant".
Mr MacMahon also noted Mr Martin and Ms Suckfuell were away from the caravan park searching for Ms Strobel in the early morning.
"One piece of forensic material recovered from the area in which Simone's body was found is consistent with the suggestion that Tobias Suckfuell was present in that area," he wrote in his final report.
In his final report, Mr MacMahon referred the matter to the appropriate section of the NSW Police Force for further investigation "as and when additional evidence becomes available or technological advances are such that currently available forensic material might shed further information on the matter".
Acting Inspector Mackie said a second coronial inquest could uncover new leads.
"There have been many instances where long-term homicide investigations have had a successful outcome and we believe there's every chance that this may be one of them."
