Simone Strobel coronial inquest: Ex-school cleaner Brett Groth claims he saw Toby Moran in bombshell evidence

A man giving evidence to the inquest into the 2005 murder of backpacker Simone Strobel has sensationally spoken for the first time about seeing the victim’s then boyfriend - Toby Moran - on the night the German tourist was killed.

Former school cleaner Brett Groth was expected to tell the inquest, on its fifth day of hearings, that he had seen an unidentified man approaching a woman on the February night Ms Strobel, 25, was killed in Lismore, on the NSW north coast.

Mr Groth’s evidence was expected to simply confirm the statement he gave police in 2005 detailing how he was forced to slow down to avoid running over a “fixated” man crossing the road toward a woman, police believed may have been Ms Strobel.

But in a stunning turnaround, Mr Groth instead broke down in tears and said he had lived with a secret for more than 15 years that he now wanted to reveal.

That secret was his firm belief the man he saw that night was Mr Moran. Mr Moran, from Perth, looked stunned as he sat with wife Samantha, his father and her parents in the front row of the court’s public gallery.

Ms Strobel’s siblings also looked surprised by the revelation. They looked to each other and at their translators to confirm they had heard correctly.

“I have been living with this … I felt embarrassed I had not said anything earlier, I have been living with this a long time,” he sobbed, in evidence via video cam in the Lidcombe Coroner’s Court in Sydney.

Mr Groth said he was preparing to tell police a few years ago, but was put off by a $1 million reward. He worried about perceptions around his motivation for suddenly coming forward.

He said nothing after he had spoken to police in 2005 about the unidentified man because he was scared and then later embarrassed.

He chose mid-hearing to drop the bombshell claim about Mr Moran.

In 2005 he had helped police create a composite sketch of the man he saw and described him as possibly 40-50 years of age but now said he was obviously wrong. The man in the police sketch was in fact the man in a photograph he saw later in a local newspaper - identified as Mr Moran.

When asked why he had not said anything in 2005 or 2006 before the 2020 $1 million reward was offered, he sobbed he was too scared.

“I suppose I was scared … I had a young family and people who do these things … I was a bit scared,” Mr Groth said, confirming the first time he had mentioned this other than to his wife was on Friday to the Crown lawyers assisting the coroner.

Mr Moran’s barrister, Tim Game, SC, asked whether he really believed the man he saw was the same man given the disparities in appearance. He had described him as middle aged with grey or black hair, as opposed to Mr Moran who was at the time a blond 24-year-old. He agreed it was a different description.

On Thursday the court heard a man known to police allegedly confessed to a farmer friend about being involved in the murder.

In earlier evidence on Friday the court heard a second man had also allegedly confessed to Ms Strobel’s murder, telling associates “the Nazi bitch deserved what she got”.

Lismore local Jaime Vidler denied ever making the comment and said those who overheard him make such an utterance might have confused him saying he killed Germans on his PlayStation in the Medal of Honour Second World War game.

“I don’t recall at anytime saying words to that effect,” he said in relation to Ms Strobel.

Mr Vidler told the court he had nothing to do with her murder and has only ever spoken to police because he had been living in the same Lismore Tourist Caravan Park, where she was staying.

Two witnesses have given evidence they overheard him make the remark a number of times as well as “they (Germans) should stay in their own country”.

The five-day inquest hearings concluded with Ms Strobel’s sister Christina speaking on behalf of her family.

She detailed the impact of Ms Strobel’s death on the family, made worse by the lack of answers and veil of lies.

She thanked police, branded those that know information but have not been forthcoming as “cowards” and was saddened that an “honest version” of events has never been given.

Naming a culprit would not ease the pain but would end the questions, she said.

The coroner will now prepare a report.