Police have been asked to re-investigate the 2015 disappearance of a man on Flinders Island, after a coroner heard his friend threatened to kill him weeks before he went missing.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The inquest into the suspected death of Robert Charles Mansell began this week, only to be put on hold after witnesses described the “toxic” and “violent” relationship between him and the man who was with him when he vanished.
It was believed the 42-year-old slipped at Salmon Rocks and fell into the water while fishing with Joshua Kennedy. His body was never found.
RELATED: Police release name of missing man
Mr Kennedy reported him missing, but the court this week heard he was a “person of interest”.
During the first day of the inquest before Coroner Olivia McTaggart on Tuesday, witnesses detailed a physical altercation between the two men three weeks before the tragedy on August 8, 2015.
The court heard during the fight Mr Kennedy threatened Mr Mansell.
The inquest was due to continue in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning, but halted when counsel assisting the coroner Jane Ansell requested it be adjourned indefinitely.
Ms Ansell said given the evidence heard on the first day of the proceedings, the matter should go back to police.
Ms McTaggart agreed and told Mr Mansell’s family, who were seated in the back of the court, that she would urge senior police to “prioritise” the investigation.
Mr Mansell’s brother, Anthony Haines, said it had been a “hard” two and a half years.
“We haven’t had a body to put to rest,” he said.