Murdered backpacker mystery:Journalist finds ‘person of interest’ 11,000kms away in South Africa

One random object was the key to tracking down a person of interest in the death of Simone Strobel, whose naked body was found near a caravan park.

A poster on a lone telegraph pole was the key to tracking down a person of interest in the death of Simone Strobel, who had fled Australia to start a new life and identity, in South Africa.

Simone Strobel’s naked body was found near the caravan park where she and boyfriend Tobias Suckfuell had been staying in Lismore in 2005.

It is understood the couple had been exploring Australia along with two other German backpackers, Mr Suckfuell’s sister, Katrin, and their friend Jens Martin.

An initial 2007 inquest into Ms Strobel’s death found there was insufficient evidence to lay charges for her death. However, investigators told the court they believed she had been suffocated.

German tourist Simone Strobel was last seen walking from a caravan park in Dawson St in Lismore in 2004.

While no charges have been laid in respect of Ms Strobel’s death, Deputy State Coroner Paul Macmahon said at the 2007 inquest that there was “a strong suspicion that Tobias Suckfuell... had an involvement in the circumstances that led to Simone’s death.”

Mr Suckfuell has always maintained his innocence

When Mr Suckfuell and his sister, Katrin, refused to attend the inquest to give evidence, journalist Charles Miranda was sent to South Africa to locate Mr Suckfuell to interview him for The Daily Telegraph.

The only problem was no one, including the Australian police, had any indication where Mr Suckfuell was in the giant continent of South Africa.

“I thought, ‘well, OK, we know he liked the beach and he was sort of trying out surfing’,” Miranda said.

So he started at Cape Town and began to make his way up the coast, stopping in at the well-known surfing spots, looking for clues.

“It was when I hit on the township of Wilderness and I was about to give up. I was going for a bite to eat at a local cafe and it was almost like a scene in a movie: I saw a poster on a telegraph pole advertising surf lessons. And in the photo was Tobias Suckfuell.”

But Miranda had to be tactical about his approach. He needed to identify Suckfuell and observe what he was doing, without unnerving Mr Suckfuell.

“I thought, ‘it’s going to be a little bit too obvious if an Australian turns up in this quite obscure little town and happens to check into the same hotel. So I decided to become a non-English speaker backpacker,” Miranda said.

Tobias Suckfuell now known as Toby Moran.

Senior journalist Charles Miranda.

He also hired a local actress to take surfing lessons with Mr Suckfuell, to find out information for the purposes of identifying him.

Miranda discovered Mr Suckfuell was going by the nickname “Toby: and had told locals a completely different backstory about how he came to be living in the town.

Of course, he had brushed over the fact he had been named as a person of interest in his former girlfriend’s death.

“He was telling people he was a soccer star from Germany. He was part of the national football team. He was quite famous, so he’d like to live anonymously and move around anonymously. He also said he grew up in Australia and had been surfing since he was a grommet. None of that is true. He hadn’t been to Australia ever until the (trip) that Simone was found murdered,” Miranda said.

Miranda made his approach to Mr Suckfuell as he was walking up the beach, following a surfing lesson.

“I remember very clearly: we were walking up a little beach track, hedges either side. He had the students in front of him. I was just off his shoulder … so it was quite an awkward walk for all of us together, walking up the hill as I was questioning and peppering with questions saying, ‘You’ve been named as a person of interest in Australia, why won’t you give evidence? Why won’t you appear at the inquest into the murder of your girlfriend? Why? What are you doing in South Africa?’

Police at the campervan which was used by Simone Strobel and Tobias Suckfuell.

“He was clearly rattled, and as soon as he got to the lodge, his students asked him what was all that about. And again, he came out with the story about being a football star, and the media followed him all over the world because he was so famous.

“He then jumped in the car and took off. He never returned to that lodge,” Miranda said.

It was a trip that saw Miranda uncover fascinating details, including that Mr Suckfuell had built a shrine to Ms Strobel in a nearby forest, with associates reporting he went there to drink and sing. He also noted Mr Suckfuell was wearing a necklace identical to one owned by Ms Strobel, and that Mr Suckfuell vowed to never return to Australia.

Despite his claims, Mr Suckfuell is now believed to be living in Perth, and has remarried, assuming his wife’s surname of “Moran”.

An inquest into Ms Strobel’s death was scheduled for 2021, however was postponed due to Covid-19.

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Originally published as Murdered backpacker mystery:Journalist finds ‘person of interest’ 11,000kms away in South Africa