Overview

• Coroner David O'Connell reopened proceedings in Brisbane, with counsel assisting Amelia Hughes tendering more than 1,000 documents and about 200 witness statements.
• Day one evidence included recollections from Alice Springs associates who described Tim Thomson riding in a tan-and-white LandCruiser with a dark‑haired, bearded man earlier in 1978.
• Detective Sergeant Darren Mills told the court he found no provable link between an identified acquaintance and ownership of a white four‑wheel drive despite database mislabelling during the 2019 review.
• The inquest will revisit the reported October 5 Lake Moondarra caravan park sighting before the trio were discovered at Spear Creek with gunshot wounds to the head consistent with a .22‑calibre weapon.
• Lines of inquiry include belongings hidden at the Mount Isa dump, the prior theft of Thomson’s BMW by Bruce John Preston, the 2019 murder charges against him that were dropped in 2023, his agreement to give evidence, and a $250,000 reward that remains on offer.