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Coroner Confirms Simone Strobel Was Killed by Unknown Person, Seeks New DNA Tests

The review points to a probable sexual motive, prompting a referral to NSW police’s unsolved-homicide team.

Overview

  • Magistrate Teresa O’Sullivan delivered open findings that rule out an accident and attribute Strobel’s death to one or more unknown persons while not determining a definitive cause.
  • She found it likely the killer had a sexual motive and that Strobel’s clothes were removed for that purpose before her body was concealed near the Lismore caravan park.
  • The coroner urged re-analysis of two unassigned forensic traces—a hair from the scene and male DNA on Strobel’s clothing—by the NSW Homicide Squad’s unsolved-homicide unit.
  • Her conclusions depart from a 2007 inquest that suggested smothering and found no sexual motive for the killing.
  • On the balance of probabilities, O’Sullivan assessed it was unlikely then‑boyfriend Tobias Moran or his sister were involved; charges laid against Moran in 2022 were discontinued in 2023 for lack of evidence.