The relatives of a woman missing in far north Queensland have walked away from a week-long inquest without the answers they have been desperate to know for nine years.
But they may be a step closer, with Cairns coroner Nerida Wilson elevating the missing persons case of Ms Bernard to a suspected homicide and ordering a new search of the last place she was seen alive in February 2013.
WARNING: This article contains content that some readers may find offensive, and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers may find distressing.
The coroner will also issue a direction to the Queensland Police Commissioner to review the adequacy of the investigation into the disappearance of Ms Bernard, 23, whose family asked that she only be referred to by her surname.
Ms Bernard's uncle Teddy Bernard said the family wanted "closure".
"To find if she met foul play and to find her, where she is and bringing her home, because in Aboriginal culture someone needs to be laid to rest [on country]," Mr Bernard said outside the Cairns courthouse.
The case
The inquest heard Ms Bernard had been travelling around Cape York in early 2013 when she arrived in Coen township.
CCTV footage and witnesses identified her at a pub on February 10 and leaving late at night with local man Thomas Maxwell Byrnes.
Mr Byrnes told the inquest Ms Bernard asked for a lift to Archer River, but then asked to go to the quarry where he was caretaker for the night.
According to Mr Byrnes, at some stage on the journey to the remote quarry Ms Bernard urinated in her clothes, he made her have a shower and washed her clothes, they engaged in sexual acts, and when he stepped out of the room she disappeared wearing only a towel.
He said he searched the quarry buildings, but then assumed she had gone into the bush.
The court heard three days later, on February 13, Ms Bernard's family in Kowanyama reported her missing.
Police officers who called and visited Mr Byrnes that day gave evidence they immediately deemed him suspicious.
According to one of the officers, one of the first things he said was "I haven't done anything with her, I haven't murdered her or anything else".
Air, land, and water searchers gave evidence they combed the area around the quarry for weeks after, but no trace of Ms Bernard has been found.
Person of interest
Thomas Byrnes was questioned for almost two days at the inquest after Ms Wilson granted him immunity and compelled him to answer questions.
Nothing he said in the inquest can later be used to prosecute him.
Over the course of interviews with police and in the witness box, Mr Byrnes' story varied.
Sometimes he picked Ms Bernard up on the side of the road, other times in the pub.
He forgot Ms Bernard had made a call to her family from the quarry phone until several days after he was questioned.
At one point before Ms Bernard was reported missing he called Policelink to report his car stolen, saying he suspected Ms Bernard, before ringing back shortly after to say he had remembered he had bogged the car days earlier.
Mr Byrnes was questioned about other inconsistencies, like the claim he had washed Ms Bernard's clothes.
Police said a caretaker who moved into the building days after police arrived told them there was no power to the washing machine.
He was also questioned about marks on his arms and chest which police noticed on the day they first spoke to him and the presence of blood, Ms Bernard's DNA, and seminal fluid on a towel in Mr Byrnes' washing machine.
Mr Byrnes said the blood and scratches came from shards of rock he had been breaking to remove his bogged car.
"I dunno how her DNA would have got on that," he said.
When asked about his inconsistencies, Mr Byrnes said his memory was often foggy.
Mr Byrnes also could not recall any words spoken between himself and Ms Bernard during the drive from Archer River, or at the quarry.
Violence and racism
Counsel assisting the coroner, Melia Benn, and barrister for Ms Bernard's family, Andrew Hoare, both quizzed Mr Byrnes on his history of threats, violence, and racism.
It emerged in court that Mr Byrnes was charged in 1995 with assault for attempting to strangle another man, and he was accused of strangling a 15-year-old boy in the months prior.
The inquest heard statements from multiple witnesses who told police Mr Byrnes threatened them saying, "I put things like you in the ground" and "I could bury you next to her and you'll never be found".
He said the individuals were either incorrect or misremembering the context.
"I said to them, I wish I could say something like, 'I'll put them in the ground next to that girl and that might shut 'em up'," Mr Byrnes told the court.
Police body camera footage played to the inquest showed an apparently drunk Mr Byrnes telling an officer he was angry at another local man.
In the video, Mr Byrnes asked the officer if he was recording, before yelling into the camera, "I'm not going to put up with these black c***s around town … yes I am a racist bastard".
Mr Hoare told the court Mr Byrnes' racism was exemplified by his references to Ms Bernard as a "gin" and spoke of her in a "demeaning way in respect of her availability for your sexual gratification".
Ms Benn also recalled Mr Byrnes' statement to police when he was asked if he was worried about Ms Bernard.
He told the inquest, "Aboriginal people, for seemingly no reason at times, go for a walk … two, three days, a week, and then just reappear again".
But he conceded to Ms Benn this was less likely given Ms Bernard was only wearing a towel and she did not know the area.
Ultimate denial
In his final cross-examination, Mr Hoare suggested Mr Byrnes had a history of "irrational rage accompanied by an act of strangulation".
He also suggested the reason Mr Byrnes did not call for help after Ms Bernard disappeared was because he had done something to her.
Mr Byrnes denied he caused any injury to Ms Bernard or caused her to flee.
He said the investigation and inquest had caused him ongoing distress.
"There's nothing I can do about it, it's their opinion … I'm still copping it all the time."
Police investigation scrutinised
Coroner Nerida Wilson will issue a direction to the Queensland Police Commissioner to review the adequacy of the police investigation and any service gaps.
It follows intense scrutiny during the inquest of the investigation led by Detective Senior Constable Byron Worth.
Mr Hoare suggested the investigation was essentially led by Mr Byrnes' testimony, which was not sufficiently questioned.
Before speaking with Mr Byrnes, and despite suspicions raised by Coen and Kowanyama police, Mr Byrnes' criminal record was not searched.
Detective Senior Constable Worth told the court he did not have access to the record while on the road, but he could have asked someone to look it up for him.
"There is not a lot of relevance I would give to his criminal history," he said.
Detective Senior Constable Worth admitted it would have been better to have known, but he denied these and other forensic oversights were because they were deemed "too hard".
No swabs or detailed examination of Mr Byrnes' injuries were undertaken at the time.
Detective Senior Constable Worth said in hindsight the forensic information would have been good to have, but disagreed the decision made at the time was wrong.
His decision to not ask for help or input from more senior officers or homicide teams was also criticised by lawyers, as were multiple decisions on where to search for a potential body.
Mr Byrnes' long-term home near Coen, known as The Bend, was never officially searched, nor the caves or disused mine shafts in the surrounding bushland.
"I still stand by our decision that The Bend was outside of the logical places that he might take her body to," Detective Senior Constable Worth said.
Mr Hoare suggested the detective had no experience to make that evaluation and did not consult any experts on it.
The inquest also revealed he had never led a homicide investigation before Ms Bernard's disappearance.
He insisted he always treated the case as suspicious and a suspected homicide — an assertion questioned by counsel assisting, lawyers for the family, and Ms Wilson herself.
Asked if Ms Bernard's race had any impact on the effort or assumptions made in the case, he hit back.
A sceptical Mr Hoare disputed this, saying inquiries were given up on without being tried.
"What there has been is a tendency to accept the word of a self-stated racist, misogynist predator who has caused the death of Ms Bernard," Mr Hoare said.
Next steps
This stage of the inquest has closed, but it is far from complete.
Ms Wilson has ordered a new search be conducted at The Bend site, nearby caves and mine shafts, as well as the quarry.
She also ordered search and rescue crews be informed to treat the search as a suspected homicide, rather than just a missing person as they were told in the 2013 and 2021 searches.
These are expected to be conducted in the next four months.
As well as a review into the adequacy of the police investigation, the coroner has also requested a report be prepared by the Institute for Collaborative Race Research which will be presented when the inquest resumes later this year.
Family want her home
Through their lawyer, the missing woman's family issued a plea to Mr Byrnes in court.
"Can you assist them in that?"
Mr Byrnes replied: "No I can't".
Outside court, Ms Bernard's uncle Teddy Bernard said they were still looking for answers.
"It's been nine years and we still would like to have some closure. There is a lot of family members that couldn't make it that wished that they could be here," he said.
He welcomed the coroner's directions and new search.
