Theo Hayez inquest: Godfather and cousins to give evidence
A coronial inquest into the disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez has heard of the steps two of his cousins took to uncover potentially vital information in the early days after he vanished.
Byron Shire
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A coronial inquest into the disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez has heard of the steps two of his cousins took to uncover potentially vital information in the early days after he vanished.
Theo, aged 18 at the time, was last seen leaving Cheeky Monkey‘s bar on Jonson Street in Byron Bay just after 11pm on May 31, 2019.
Lisa Hayez and Michael Dorkhom, both cousins of Theo, appeared as witnesses before the coronial inquest in Byron Bay.
Ms Hayez recalled visiting the Milne Track which, according to Google account data, Theo travelled along before going off-track and eventually reaching Tallow Beach.
This included walking the trail at night in an attempt to understand the situation Theo faced.
“It was scary,” she said.
“I was never alone, we were in a team doing it with torches and stuff.”
She said after seeing it for herself, she was confident there was “no way” Theo would have done the walk alone at night.
Ms Hayez and Mr Dorkhom made efforts to access Theo‘s email and social media to help police investigations in the early days.
Ms Hayez provided Byron Bay police with Theo‘s Facebook login details over the phone, the inquest heard.
“Everything was really critical at the time,” she said.
“I thought everything I found out, I would share with them.”
She said Theo had numerous unread messages which she and Mr Dorkhom left untouched in case those details were helpful for police.
They also hit the ground in Byron Bay to assess where helpful CCTV may have been located.
Google location data including “pins” of Theo‘s movements on the night he disappeared was critical in piecing together his movements but left the family with many unanswered questions, the inquest heard.
Counsel assisting the Coroner, Kirsten Edwards, asked whether they had an expectation accessing Theo‘s other accounts would “be a matter of hours or days, not weeks or months” for police.
Mr Dorkhom replied: “we did”.
“We didn't really think about it too much, we just assumed it would be something that is ready for them to use in case of an emergency like this one,” he said.
Theo described as safe, organised and sensible
Lisa Hayez told the inquest into his disappearance he was not a risk-taker.
Ms Hayez was the first witness to be called before the inquest in Byron Bay on Tuesday.
Ms Hayez has told the inquest Theo was a competent navigator, adverse to heavy drinking or drug taking and did not exhibit other risk-taking behaviour.
Ms Hayez said Theo was “really careful” with his alcohol consumption.
She said when they undertook farm work in the Shepparton area, others were drinking “quite a lot” of alcohol, mostly casks of “goon”.
“He didn’t like it, I didn’t like it,” she said.
“We used to mix it with orange juice; it makes it a little better, not much better.”
She said even outside of that environment Theo was not a big drinker and had not expressed an interest in drugs.
She recalled him turning down offers of MDMA on multiple occasions.
The inquest heard Theo would always be keenly aware of his whereabouts.
He was usually the navigator when they spent about a month together in Melbourne, Ms Hayez said.
“We constantly used Google Maps to go everywhere,” she said.
“Melbourne is a big city.
“We would use Google Maps for everything.”
Counsel assisting the Coroner, Kirsten Edwards, asked whether Ms Hayez had ever seen Theo “do anything risky or dangerous”.
She replied: “never”.
When asked whether Theo had shown an interest in high-adrenaline sports, Ms Hayez said he did not.
She said he did “really enjoy” surfing but that was the extent of his thrill seeking.
The inquest into the circumstances of Theo’s disappearance was in its second day in Byron Bay on Tuesday.
Other relatives to be called
His godfather Jean-Philippe Pector and another cousin, Michael Dorkhom, are also expected to be called as witnesses later in the day.
Theo spent time with those loved ones in Melbourne and Brisbane before he travelled to Byron Bay in May, 2019.
Counsel assisting the Coroner Kirsten Edwards explained in her opening address Google location data linked to Theo’s phone showed Theo walked to the cricket nets on Tennyson Street, then travelled uphill to the Milne Track which traverses bushland through to Tallow Beach.
The last reliable location of his phone was at 12.55am on June 1 at the northern part of that beach known as Cosy Corner.
The only possession of Theo’s that was ever found in that vicinity was his hat, found in bushland off the Milne Track.
Belgian investigators able to access “geofencing”
While Australian investigators have been able to piece together some of Theo’s journey on the night he vanished, Ms Edwards has told the inquest she’s hopeful Belgian authorities can shed more light on what they uncovered in their own investigations.
“Theo’s disappearance was investigated in Europe as well as Australia,” Ms Edwards said.
She said unlike the Australian authorities – bound by different rules – Belgian investigators were able to access “geofencing” information which sheds light on other phones which were located near Theo’s device.
“They didn’t identify any phones in the close vicinity of Theo’s route when he was near the cricket nets,” Ms Edwards said.
This was significant because he stopped there for seven minutes and it remains unclear how Theo found the Milne track if he was alone.
“We hope to have a statement or, better still, live evidence from a Belgian investigator (regarding) what they did how they did it, how many points they searched for,” Ms Edwards said.
She said they also wanted to clarify whether that process would have captured all kinds of phones or only those with an active Google account.
Ms Edwards said Google, Facebook, Telstra and phone manufacturer Oppo were all “extremely helpful” but there was a limit to how much they could assist.
“Google will not provide the data relating to other users voluntarily and your honour has no power to require it,” Ms Edwards said.
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