Man charged with Allison Bernard murder, Thomas Byrnes, 53, threatened bar manager, court hears

A former manager of the Coen Exchange Hotel has described to a court how bar regular and the man now charged with the murder of 23-year-old Kowanyama mum Allison Bernard, threatened to kill him after a night of drinking.

Allison Bernard went missing from Coen in Far North Queensland in 2013, Thomas Byrnes has now been charged with her murder.

A former manager of the Coen Exchange Hotel has described to a court how bar regular and the man now charged with the murder of 23-year-old Kowanyama mum Allison Bernard, threatened to kill him after a night on the drink.

Coen man Thomas Byrnes has been charged with the murder of the young mother in February 2013.

Mr Byrnes, who was the last person to see Ms Bernard alive, has maintained his innocence and is yet to enter a formal plea.

Ms Bernard’s body has never been found.

Mr Byrnes’ matter is at the committal stage with witnesses being cross-examined by the defence before the matter is passed up to the higher courts.

Dean Lloyd who worked at the Coen Exchange Hotel as a bar manager in 2020 told the court he had been threatened by Mr Byrnes after a night of drinking.

Mr Lloyd and one other man had a few drinks after closing the bar with Mr Byrnes in October or September of 2020 which Mr Lloyd later recounted in a statement to police on the 1st of December 2021.

Thomas Byrnes leaves the Cairns courthouse precinct after day three of an inquest into the disappearance of Kowanyama mother Allison Neridine bernard. Mr Byrnes was the last person to see Ms Bernard alive when she disappeared from the Archer River Quarry in February 2013.

“I remember Thomas Byrnes brought up the disappearance of the girl,” he told the court.

“I was trying not to listen in but they involved me in the conversation.

“I remember Thomas saying to me ‘you would have heard about it’. I tried denying it.

“He then said ‘I took Allison from the pub and we were meant to go home … and you know what happened next.

“That's when I froze and said I don’t know what happened next and he went dead silent.”

“I remember the look in his eye, he looked at me and Michael and said ‘you f***ing say anything, you’ll be put in the ground beside her and never found.”

Mr Byrnes’ defence counsel James Sheridan asked about Mr Byrnes’ level of intoxication and he said he was “swaying, well on his way” and said if they were in the bar he “would have cut him off”.

Thomas Byrnes arrived in Cairns on Wednesday evening January 31 after his arrest following the Alleged murder of Allison Bernard in 2013. Image: Supplied

Mr Lloyd agreed that the topic of Ms Bernard’s disappearance was a common topic of conversation in the pub and in the community and he agreed that he couldn’t be certain about the exact words Mr Byrnes had used during the discussion.

The court also heard from Ms Jacqueline Greenough who told the court Mr Byrnes would make “left of field comments” about Ms Bernard using derogatory language and described him as an alcoholic in her statement to police.

She remembered him calling Ms Bernard, “that black b****” and saying “they are never going to find her”.

She said she had conversations with people from the community about the ongoing search for Ms Bernard.

Ms Greenough said that when she showed interest in purchasing a gold mine site in the area she was told about “the potential that her body could be in the shaft that is on that claim.”

The committal proceeding will continue in July with further witnesses to be called for questions.

Originally published as Man charged with Allison Bernard murder, Thomas Byrnes, 53, threatened bar manager, court hears