Several theories have been floating around a northern NSW country town since a local man went missing more than a decade ago.
Darren Royce Willis was allegedly having an affair with a bikie's "missus" and feared for his safety not long before he was last seen on December 10, 2010.
The NSW Supreme Court in Moree on Tuesday was also told that the Bingara man would cross a river into town and might have been swept away.
And the 45-year-old "may have come across the wrong person" due to his lifestyle of heavy drinking in pubs, and violent altercations, the court was earlier told.
His body has never been found.
A long-term Bingara resident Bruce Anthony Coss, 49, is facing a judge-alone trial accused of killing the man with a steel-capped baseball bat as he walked home from the Imperial Hotel at night.
He was arrested in October 2019 following a renewed investigation and an inquest, and has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Senior Constable Steve Harris gave evidence on Tuesday that he was alerted in January 2011 to Mr Willis's disappearance by his sister, prompting an investigation.
Mr Willis had a past history of leading a nomadic lifestyle and would often leave the town for long periods without telling anyone, Sen Const Harris wrote in an earlier statement.
By then he was well known to local police.
"He was a character who regularly drew attention to himself, do you agree?" defence barrister Peter King said.
"Correct," Sen Const Harris replied.
"He was a man who liked to drink alcohol?"
"That's correct."
"He didn't mind a punch up apparently."
"Correct."
The officer took a statement in 2011 from Coss who mentioned having a dispute over payment with Mr Willis after agisting sheep on his property.
But while several people had told him Coss was involved in Mr Willis's disappearance, after speaking with him he felt "he was not involved," Sen Const Harris wrote in a 2011 note.
He agreed that he had not spoken to one of the key crown witnesses when he made that comment.
The Crown relies on this witness and another who say they either watched or heard directly from the accused about the alleged attack.
One of these men told Sen Const Harris at the time that he knew nothing of Mr Willis's disappearance, and his late confession will be the subject of scrutiny during the trial.
Coss is accused of fatally striking Mr Willis with a modified wooden baseball bat as he walked home from the pub late in the evening.
On Tuesday the police officer testified he had heard the "rumour" that Mr Willis was in a relationship with a bikie's girlfriend and was worried they were after him.
"You had no interest in looking for the bikies' missus?" Mr King said.
"I investigated everything I could," Sen Const Harris said.
He agreed Coss "fully and freely" co-operated with his questions and openly spoke about the pair's disagreements.
The trial continues.
