Theo Hayez inquest finds Belgian backpacker died after night time out in Byron Bay

O’Sullivan instructed the courtroom that theories that Hayez took his personal life or orchestrated his disappearance may now be dominated out, however she couldn’t show or rule out the 2 “comparative hypotheses”. important image” – that he died alone making an attempt to climb Cape Byron, or was killed by another person, or those that had disposed of his physique.

The 18-year-old disappeared after leaving the Cheeky Monkeys nightclub at round 11 p.m. on Might 31, 2019, and CCTV captured him strolling in the wrong way from his motel situated west of Downtown Byron Bay.

The ultimate, cryptic path that Hayez left behind was from his telephone, displaying that {the teenager} had initially regarded up his motel on Google Maps, however went the opposite approach as a substitute.

Police consider Hayez probably met destiny when he tried to climb the cliff, falling into the waters under earlier than being swept out to sea. However his household could not settle for that he would try such a feat at nighttime – and certainly, he would stroll by the bushes alone at nighttime to achieve Tallow Seaside proper from the get-go. head.

After stopping seven minutes at native cricket retailers, he took a darkish and tough path by bushland to achieve Tallow Seaside round midnight, ending at a spot generally known as Heat Corners worship on the north finish of the seashore, slightly below the craggy cliffs on the base of the well-known lighthouse of Byron Bay.

The coroner stated telephone data help the crash speculation: knowledgeable evaluation concluded the gadget moved from the seashore to the headland earlier than disconnecting just a few hours later. The final exercise on the telephone confirmed that Hayez was out of bother in the meanwhile. From midnight to 1 a.m. at Cozy Nook, he watched a comedy clip on YouTube and texted household and pals in a approach that was “inappropriate for him to really feel scared,” O’Sullivan stated.

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However there’s nonetheless a “main problem with accident idea,” says O’Sullivan: contrasting it with the proof of Theo’s character and the truth of what it means for him to need to stroll by the bushes up. the seashore earlier than trying to climb over the headland. in the course of the night time.

“Theo is a accountable and prudent younger man. It is arduous to see any street going up from Cozy Nook at night time, it is very darkish and harmful. It could be utterly out of character for the household to submit it to Theo to do one thing so reckless, particularly alone. “

The idea, she stated, additionally assumes that Hayez, “a vacationer unfamiliar with the realm,” had “walked alone from city alongside a lightless street and thru dense land” to to the seashore within the first place.

She stated the street is tough to search out in the course of the day, and at night time it’s “extraordinarily darkish”. The ultimate a part of Hayez’s journey by the bush, the place his hat was discovered, “did not comply with any pure path and could be very tough to stroll”.

O’Sullivan stated there was “no clear proof” that Hayez was drunk, there was no indication that he was on medicine, and he didn’t seem like out of his thoughts. “It is arduous to just accept that he ended up at Cozy Nook by mistake,” she stated.

Along with calling for a evaluation of lacking particular person investigations, O’Sullivan made a number of suggestions to enhance police entry and use of technical data – comparable to utility knowledge. telephone. She additionally made suggestions to make sure efficient communication between law enforcement officials throughout large-scale searches and for Youth Tourism NSW to develop processes to make sure well timed reporting of vacationers. lacking calendar.

A NSW Police spokesman stated a “complete evaluation of the findings is underway and all suggestions directed to the police can be thought-about”.

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