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 German backpacker Simone Strobel has sensationally only now identified seeing her then boyfriend Perth man Toby Moran on the night she was killed. After five days of hearings in the coronial inquest into the death of Ms Strobel, 25, in Lismore on the NSW north coast, former school cleaner Brett Groth was expected to just recount how he saw an unidentified man on the road approaching a woman that February 11 night. It was just to be confirmation of his 2005 statement made to police about how he had to slow down to stop from 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 allegedly Mr Moran; Mr Moran sitting with his wife Samantha, his father and her parents in the front row of the court’s public gallery looked stunned. Ms Strobel’s siblings also in court equally looked surprised as they looked to each other and 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 told the Lidcombe Coroners Court in Sydney in between sobs via video cam. He said he had been preparing to tell police a few years ago but then NSW Police offered a $1 million reward and he decided not too as it would have looked like that was the only reason for 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 knew he was to give evidence today (Friday) to confirm his 2005 police statement and so chose today 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 and the man in the police sketch Comfit was the man in a photograph he saw later in a local newspaper and 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 fist time he had mentioned this other than to his wife was this morning 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 even though he described him as middle aged and with grey or black hair as opposed to Mr Moran then as a blond 24-year-old and 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 from where she went missing. 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. Through heavy emotions she detailed the detrimental effect her sister’s death had had on the family but also now the lack of answers and the 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 of how and why and the endless spinning of questions she said. The coroner will now prepare a report.