Tobias Moran claims investigation into murdered partner Simone Strobel tainted by ‘deep-seated bias’

The Perth-based former boyfriend of a German backpacker murdered 20 years ago claims the investigation was tainted by a “deep-seated bias” against him after a coroner found it was unlikely he could have killed her alone. Tobias Moran has also declared he should never have been charged with murder over Simone Strobel’s 2005 death and called for the people “truly responsible” to be brought to justice. Mr Moran was charged in 2022 after police descended on his multi-million dollar City Beach home and had him extradited to NSW to face the allegations. Ms Strobel’s naked body was found hidden under palm fronds at a bocce court near a Lismore caravan park six days after she went missing. She was backpacking along Australia’s east coast with Mr Moran, his sister Katrin Suckfuell and a friend, Jens Martin, at the time. The year after Mr Moran — who was allowed to return home to Perth on bail — was charged, the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew the allegations and he was awarded $190,000 in costs. And last week, following an inquest last year, a coroner ruled that she could not go as far as to say that it was “very unlikely” Mr Moran was involved in Ms Strobel’s death. However, she found it was unlikely Mr Moran’s travelling companions were involved, and that it was unlikely he could have acted alone. Following the findings, Mr Moran this week told The West Australian he should “never have been arrested, extradited and charged for Simone’s murder”. “Particularly in circumstances when due to advancements in technology, I had been excluded as a contributor of DNA evidence only weeks prior,” he said. “My arrest after my DNA had been excluded, reflects what I believe to be a deep-seated bias against me which has tainted this case for 20 years.” After an initial inquest in 2007, then NSW deputy State coroner Paul MacMahon found he had “very strong suspicion” that Mr Suckfuell and potentially his sister were involved in Ms Strobel’s murder. Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan rejected finding from that inquest including that Ms Strobel was killed in the caravan park before her body was hidden — and that that there was no sexual motivation involved. She found she was killed in the vicinity of the bocce club and “that it is likely Simone’s killer had a sexual motive”. “I further welcome the substitution of the State Coroner’s findings with those made by Magistrate MacMahon in 2007 including a finding that Simone died in the vicinity of the Bocce Club — not in the campervan,” Mr Moran said. “Unbeknown to us at the time, the area near the bocce club was a location known to police as a ‘hot spot’ for crime, including sexual assaults.” Ms Strobel’s family have said the inquest “brought us no closer to understanding the circumstances of why and how Simone died”. Nor did Mr Moran or his sister gave evidence at either inquest. “The coroner didn’t hear from the most important witnesses, and this was surprising and disappointing,” Ms Strobel’s sister, Christina Strobel, told the ABC. The case has now been referred to NSW Police’s unsolved homicide unit, which Mr Moran said he welcomed. “I have been requesting an independent review of the investigation for many years, so having the case transferred with a recommendation for further DNA testing on previously unmatched DNA samples, gives me a renewed sense of hope that Simone will finally receive the unbiased and professional investigation she deserves. I want nothing more than to see the person or persons truly responsible brought to justice,” he said. A $1 million reward is on offer for information that could solve the case “If you know anything, please come forward—no matter how minor or if you’ve reported it before - your information could now finally make the difference,” Mr Moran said. “Please, help seek justice for Simone after all these years.”