Katrina Bohnenkamp: Darren Denning appears at teen’s coronial inquest
The mystery man pictured kissing Katrina Bohnenkamp shortly before the teen went missing back in 2012 has sensationally made an appearance at the coronial inquest into her disappearance.
Inner West
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After seven years of mystery the man pictured kissing runaway teen Katrina Bohnenkamp in a Facebook photo has sensationally appeared at the coronial inquest into the troubled youngster’s disappearance.
Darren Denning has given evidence after an appeal at last year’s sitting of the inquiry which saw the focus shift to the man who had eluded authorities since 2012.
Mr Denning was believed to be a key piece in the puzzle to unlocking what happened to Katrina.
Coroner Carmel Forbes was told last year Katrina informed authorities after absconding for a period of time she had been staying with her new boyfriend and his mother in either “Kempsey or Campsie”.
That led police to search for the mystery man, with the coroner releasing the image of Mr Denning and Katrina kissing.
“There was a photo published of me with Katrina … it was a bit distressing really because I met her once, maybe twice if that and my family had seen it,” he told the inquest holding back tears.
“I was at work that day and I get a call from me cousin and she’s like ‘what’s going on bro is this you’ and I’m like ‘what you talking about’.
“I opened up the article on the messenger on Facebook and I was blown away.”
Mr Denning told the inquest he only met Katrina “once or twice” before she disappeared.
Facebook messages tendered to the inquest from Mr Denning’s account detailed how he had been asking after Katrina, messaging another woman with the same name: “Hey lol you’re so cute ay lol but do you live in Bankstown in da refuge?”
In another message to the woman, he said: “ah true just thought she’s my girl lol and her phone has been off for a couple of days just getting worried about her all good lol”.
Mr Denning told the inquest he wanted to give the family closure and only realised she had disappeared after seeing reports of her inquest last year.
“I was a bit of a player back in the day, I thought I was a bit of good looker and I was a bit of a loner as well,” he said of how he came to meet Katrina through Facebook.
“I suffered depression and anxiety I just wanted to meet new people and get out and socialise a bit.”
Mr Denning denied the pair were in a relationship at the time, and was unable to recall where they met.
The inquest has previously heard Katrina was surrounded by drug users and sex offenders prior to her disappearance from her father’s Strathfield home.
A boarder at the house who was on the child sex offenders’ register, Peter McCully, denied claims Katrina was in his room late at night with the door closed.
“Yeah I’m a criminal is it a crime to be a criminal,” he told the court in his evidence.
Associates of Katrina’s father Maiko Bohnenkamp, Barry Fitzgerald Christina Moore, repeatedly told the inquest they could not remember key aspects of their interactions with the teen before she vanished.
The inquest before Coroner Forbes continues.
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