He had a gunshot wound to his head, a shortened rifle in his lap, and a goodbye text message had been sent to his wife Vicki not long before his body was found.

But as detectives moved through the outback workshed where Mr Dillon was located on March 15, 2015, they became troubled by what confronted them.

Mr Dillon’s arms were hanging by his sides, even though the rifle was positioned neatly in his lap.

There was no gunshot residue on his hands. And the text message sent to his wife included the phrase “such is life”, which no one had ever heard him use before.

While an inquest into his death has effectively ruled out murder, the Deputy State Coroner last week concluded Mr Dillon may have taken his life with the help of someone living in this outback community, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Fewer than 200 people live in White Cliffs, a tiny opal-mining town 255km northeast of Broken Hill, and authorities believe someone knows more about Mr Dillon’s final moments.

“There is a possibility that Rod did not act alone and that a friend or associate offered some assistance on the night,” said Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame.

“I remain troubled by the possibility that someone else may have been involved.”

In a town known for its drifters and loners, a place where the stifling heat has forced residents to carve their homes into the hillsides, Mr Dillon made a name for himself as a tinkerer, the kind of bloke who would fix cars or machinery for his friends in exchange for a slab of beer.

There were numerous reasons why he might have wanted to self-harm, the inquest heard.

At 52, his life had been burdened by medical conditions. He was born with a cleft palate and a harelip.

One of his legs was slightly shorter than the other, an affliction that resulted in chronic back pain and a childhood full of corrective surgery.

His wife described the “black moods” that haunted him through their marriage, and his sister Maria spoke of his “exit plans”, which he’d mentioned numerous times.

A friend, Rex Duncombe, claimed Mr Dillon once told him he would “do himself” if the pain ever became too much to handle.

But, on the night he died, there was nothing about Mr Dillon’s demeanour that suggested he was planning to take his own life.

He had gone to the White Cliffs Hotel with close friend Mal Burns.

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A visiting nun from Silverton strummed a guitar on the patio as they drank and discussed an upcoming fishing trip. By his sixth beer, Mr Dillon’s wife called him to say dinner was ready.

“He put the phone down and he
said: ‘Well f … her, I will come home when I am good and bloody ready’,”
said Enid Black, a local who overheard the conversation.

It was 6.50pm when the call came through. About ten minutes later Mr Burns drove his friend home and watched him walk into a shed next to his property before driving away.

At 8.23pm a text message was transmitted from Mr Dillon’s phone. “Such is life goodbye Vick,” it said, words that would later become a focal point at the inquest.

Mr Dillon had never used the phrase “such is life” before, according to his close friends and family. He also normally used the words “see ya” instead of the more formal “goodbye”.

The positioning of his phone when it was found would also emerge as an unusual aspect of the crime scene.

Friends said Mr Dillon rarely sent text messages and he also never removed the phone from its case.

Yet it was found on the floor near his body and the case was found on a shelf nearby.

While many people were interviewed by police, a man named Wayne Pascoe, an automotive engineer and White Cliffs local who had become acquainted with Mr Dillon, remains one of the key persons of interest.

Mr Pascoe’s fingerprints were found on the rifle located in Mr Dillon’s lap on the night he died, although he explained this away by saying he had handled
the weapon in Mr Dillon’s shed some weeks earlier.

He denied any involvement in Mr Dillon’s death.

Detective Sergeant Ryan Jeffcoat, leading the case, was also intrigued by Mr Pascoe’s knowledge of the case.

Mr Pascoe has since moved back to Broken Hill and refused to comment when approached by The Sunday Telegraph last week.

Despite the findings of the inquest, those closest to Mr Dillon, including
his wife, believe he most likely took his own life.

The Deputy State Coroner, too, was cautious about making firm conclusions.

She cited evidence from a biomechanics expert, who said it wasn’t impossible for the rifle to have ended up in Mr Dillon’s lap after he shot himself, and a senior forensic chemist, who said the absence of gunshot residue on his hands didn’t necessarily mean another person fired the bullet.

Mr Burns, who found his friend’s body, tends to agree it was suicide — but he’s also circumspect.

“I believe he did it himself but then stories get around,” Mr Burns said.

“It’s very hard to say.”

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