Krystal Fraser coronial inquest: What we know about Pyramid Hill woman’s disappearance

An inquest has heard a Pyramid Hill woman was murdered by her unborn son’s father as a timeline shows what happened before she disappeared.

Family members and police have told an inquest they believe a Pyramid Hill soon-to-be mum was murdered by her unborn son’s father.

Krystal was last seen at the age of 23 after checking herself out of a medihotel at the Bendigo Base Hospital, saying she wanted to attend a birthday party.

Registered nurse David Reid said he had advised her against leaving because she was just days away from giving birth, but Krystal was “fairly intent on going”.

“She mentioned being around friends. We were looking for some assurance that someone would be around to get her assistance if there was an issue with her pregnancy,” he said.

“She was more excited about the party than thinking about her heavily pregnant state.”

Krystal Fraser was last seen at the Albert Street home of Robert Glennie where she made a number of phone calls. Picture: Australian Federal Police

Krystal was given the green light to go, arriving in her small hometown of Pyramid Hill at about 8.40pm on June 20, 2009.

She spoke to a number of witnesses along the way, who said she seemed to be in “good spirits”.

She was last seen at the Albert Street home of Robert Glennie between 9pm and 9.25pm, where she made a number of phone calls before leaving.

She told Mr Glennie she was going to the home of Alan Summers to “get some stuff”. Mr Summers, now deceased, told police he did not see her that night.

Call records revealed Krystal received a phone call from a payphone outside the Leitchville Post Office at 11.59pm – hours after the last confirmed sighting of her.

Between May 14 and the night of her disappearance she had received 19 calls from that payphone, however to date no one has confirmed they made the call.

Her phone remained connected to the Pyramid Hill tower until 1.45am on June 21, before it connected to the Leitchville phone box at 2.49am – 27km away.

The phone box at Leitchville where the last call to Krystal Fraser was made on the night of her who disappearance.

Because of the distance and her heavily pregnant status, it’s believed she was driven to Leitchville however no one has admitted this to investigators.

Over the coming days, the inquest will seek to document her movements around Pyramid Hill and make a finding as to what likely happened to her.

In the 13 years, police have identified and investigated a number of suspects, however no charges have been laid.

Investigators believe Ms Fraser was murdered, and have identified their primary suspect to be Peter “PJ” Jenkinson – one of three men Krystal told her parents may be her unborn baby’s father.

Mr Jenkinson is due to appear before the inquest on July 18.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Fiona Batten, said police had concluded Krystal did not attend a party on the night of her disappearance.

Eight of the 23 witnesses expected to front the inquest have shared their last moments with Krystal, describing her as “extremely excited” to have her baby who she had already named Ryan James.

Much of the questions put to witnesses over the past two days has revolved around the suspected identity of Krystal’s baby’s father.

The inquest heard Krystal was friendly and well-known in the small community, but was “extremely naive” and had been taken advantage of by people she considered friends.

She was born with a developmental disability, which manifested as poor short-term memory, compulsive behaviours, compulsive lying and an overly-trusting nature.

Krystal’s sister, Chantel Fraser, said her sister had begun to settle down after finding out she was pregnant.

“Krystal had her good weeks and her bad weeks. Those bad weeks stopped when she was pregnant,” she said.

“She was heaps happier … she wanted to stay at home more.”

She said she suspected the father was Peter Jenkinson because he was “always in the picture” in the year before her disappearance.

Chantel told the inquest, homicide squad Detective Wayne Walsh, who ran the investigation for about eight years had told her Mr Jenkinson had admitted to calling Krystal on dates that “only” lined up with calls from the payphone.

“I don‘t know what happened to Krystal, I’ve got lots of suspicions,” she said.

“PJ is the one bloke she’s come back to pyramid for if he asked. I know he’s got something to do with it.”

Pyramid Hill station where Krystal Fraser arrived from Bendigo the night she disappeared.

Nicholas Dingfelder, who spoke to Krystal at the Pyramid Hill Railway Station said she was her “usual self” and told him she said she was scheduled to induce labour in Bendigo the following day.

He said she ended the conversation when she noticed a man nearby, saying “I better get going otherwise he’s going to be angry”.

Mr Dingfelder said he’d never seen the smartly dressed man before, but had been called back to the police station this year to pick out a photo of who he thought it was.

The inquest, before Coroner Katherine Lorenz, continues.