Person of interest in coronial inquest for Darlene Geertsema claims he had nothing to do with her disappearance

A person of interest in the coronial inquest for missing woman Darlene Avis Geertsema has given evidence, claiming he was “definitely not” involved with her disappearance.

A person of interest in the coronial inquest for missing woman Darlene Avis Geertsema has given evidence, claiming he was “definitely not” involved with her disappearance.

John Shepherd gave evidence on the third day of the coronial inquest into Ms Geertsema’s disappearance before Coroner Simon Cooper on Wednesday.

The mother-of-six went missing on October 23, 1978.

The 31-year-old was last seen driving from her home in Best St, Devonport. Her red Holden Sunbird was later found near Devonport Oval.

Mr Shepherd had been in an on-and-off relationship with Ms Geertsema, and the pair had a son.

The Westbury man, now in his 70s, told the coroner’s court Ms Geertsema left him several times during the relationship, sometimes to live with other men, but he claimed she would always re-initiate contact and return to him.

But counsel assisting Madeleine Wilson alleged Mr Shepherd would search for Ms Geertsema, who would allegedly contact him via phone to keep him in touch with their son while hiding where she was staying.

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“I would suggest that you would try and find her and try and get her to come and live with you,” Ms Wilson said.

Mr Shepherd said this was “definitely not” the case.

The Westbury man told the court he had once backhanded Ms Geertsema, giving her a black eye.

He told the court he had hit a previous partner “about two or three times” once when he had been drinking and suspected infidelity.

Mr Shepherd said he had also shoved his current wife “a couple of times”. His wife corroborated this evidence in court as a witness.

He said that “definitely never happened”.

Mr Shepherd claimed he had stayed at Ms Geertsema’s Devonport home with two of her children every night from October 16-23, 1978.

On October 23 that year – the last night Ms Geertsema was seen alive – Mr Shepherd said she had been drinking and seemed distant.

He claimed about 10pm she was concerned about an ill friend and drove to the woman’s house to see her.

The red Holden Sunbird that belonged to Devonport woman Darlene Geertsema who disappeared in 1978.

Mr Shepherd claimed he said Ms Geertsema should stay, with the argument getting “a bit loud”.

“She just went … out the door, slammed the door and that was it,” he said.

Ms Wilson claimed the man had not been staying with Ms Geertsema but that she invited him to her home on October 23 to say she had bought plane tickets for her and her children and was planning to start afresh in South Australia without him.

Ms Wilson claimed he had hit her that night and killed her.

The man said the claims he had anything to do with her death were “definitely not” true.

Mr Shepherd claimed he left the children to stay with a friend of Ms Geertsema’s over the following days while he tried to search for her, saying their son did not go to school over those days.

But Ms Wilson produced school records saying the boy attended eight out of nine days over that period.

Ms Wilson claimed Mr Shepherd spent the days after her disappearance hiding her body and clearing evidence – a claim Mr Shepherd denied.

Mr Shepherd told the court he was aware police had said in 2015 they suspected he allegedly murdered Ms Geertsema and staged her disappearance.

Coroner Cooper adjourned the matter.

Originally published as Person of interest in coronial inquest for Darlene Geertsema claims he had nothing to do with her disappearance