In Australia, doubts raised over theory in Simone Strobel murder case
In the Australian city of Lismore, the long-standing investigative theory that German tourist Simone Strobel may have been killed by someone close to her at a campsite has been cast into significant doubt. As ABC News Australia reports, this occurred because of information that, according to the outlet, police already possessed.
The tourist's disappearance
Strobel was travelling around Australia with her boyfriend Tobias Suckfuell, his sister Katrin Suckfuell, and their friend Jens Martin. On 11 February 2005, they arrived in Lismore, New South Wales. That evening, Simone disappeared from the Lismore Tourist Caravan Park campsite.
Six days later, her naked body was found beneath palm fronds approximately 100 metres from the campsite. Due to the delay in finding the body and the wet weather, pathologists were unable to establish the exact cause of death or determine whether Strobel had been sexually assaulted.
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Discrepancies in testimony
During his first interview, Suckfuell told police that members of the group had each drunk four light beers, that nobody was intoxicated, and that no one had used drugs. He also stated that he had not argued with Simone before her disappearance. At the same time, according to ABC News Australia, both of their diaries contained entries about tensions in their relationship before arriving in Lismore.
In June 2005, in Germany, Suckfuell admitted that he had given Australian police false information about the amount of alcohol consumed and marijuana use after returning from a hotel to the campsite. He told German law enforcement officers that Strobel had been intoxicated and that the couple had argued during the 48 hours before her disappearance. He also said that he had asked Katrin and Jens to support his version of events.
Detectives' theory
During a coronial inquest in 2007, detectives from the New South Wales Police stated that, in their view, Suckfuell may have killed Strobel in a van between 01:00 and 05:00 on 12 February. They suggested that she may have died from strangulation or airway obstruction, after which the body may have been taken across the road and hidden beneath palm fronds. Suckfuell denied involvement in the murder.
