The person of interest in a coronial inquest into the disappearance of Darlene Avis Geertsema has told of a loud argument on the last night he saw her.
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John Shepherd gave evidence on the third day of the coronial inquest into Ms Geertsema's disappearance on October 23, 1978.
He said Ms Geertsema and two children Kathryn and Ryan were at a unit in Best Street in Devonport when he arrived home from work.
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Counsel for Mr Shepherd, Greg Richardson, led Mr Shepherd through events.
"What was Darlene doing," he asked.
"She had a drink, had tea or dinner and she was offish a little strange," he responded.
He said that she did not respond to physical affection.
He said that because she had been drinking Jim Beam he decided to have a couple of stubbies himself.
"She was unusual, I tried to talk but she did not want to and she said 'oh get off, get out of it," Mr Shepherd said.
He said that about 10pm he told her that it was time to go to bed.
"She said 'I'm not going to bed, I'm going to see Julie [her friend Julie Rowe], she has been sick'," he told the court.
Mr Shepherd said the argument got pretty loud.
"We got a bit loud about it," he said.
"She went out the door, slammed the door and that was it.
"She said she would be home by midnight."
He said Ms Geertsema's red Sunbird was parked out the front of the unit.
Mr Shepherd said he went to bed, but did not have a good night's sleep because he was waiting for her to come home.
He said by daylight she was still not home so he got the kids up and dressed and took them to school.
"I went back to the unit and then went to Julie's to see if she was there," he said.
He told the inquest that he had driven to her place at Parkham [west of Deloraine] and drove past a number of places in Westbury and called at Ms Geertsema's father's place.
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He said he went back to Devonport to the flat and then picked the children up from school.
He said he decided to drive around Devonport and found the car, but not at the Bluff.
He said he went to the police station. "I was getting pretty upset by then," he said.
Mr Shepherd said that Ms Geertsema had left him a number of times over the years and he was was not worried until he had found the car.
He said the car was locked and he had to go to Motors [Holden dealers] to get a key cut so he could drive it.
Ms Geertsema's daughter Kathryn Gray, who was then eight years old, told the inquest on Tuesday that she heard an argument, a loud thump and then silence.
Ms Gray said that after school on October 23 her mother showed her tickets and a present for her two 13-year-old sisters who were in Queensland.
Mr Shepherd said that Ms Geertsema's shoes were on the driver's side and two photos of "kids" in the car.
"Her handbag was under the passenger's seat and there were two dockets from Maloneys store [in Westbury] and a handkerchief," he said.
He said that on Thursday he went to see Ms Geertsema's father Len Styles who was upset and pretty angry.
"He abused me and carried on and told me to piss off," Mr Shepherd said.
The inquest will continue on Wednesday afternoon when Mr Shepherd will be cross- examined by counsel assisting Madeleine Wilson SC.
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