A coronial inquest reopened after four decades hears that DNA evidence conclusively confirms that bones found in 1977 belonged to a man who went missing from Whyalla the year before.
Mario Della Torre went missing from the South Australian city in October 1976. More than half a year later, a skull, a pelvis and two thighbones were found at False Bay, about 14 kilometres away.
In 1978, the coroner found Mr Della Torre was "presumed to be dead" but he was not satisfied that remains belonged to the Italian immigrant.
Instead, they were labelled UHR 77/01 and were stored by Forensic Science SA.
In her opening submissions to a second coronial inquiry, counsel assisting Sally Giles said a DNA sample was obtained from Mario Della Torre's brother, and a DNA identification report concluded that the results "provided extremely strong scientific support" that the remains were from the missing man.
She said SA Police's Operation Persevere, in conjunction with the Australia Federal Police, had led to the case being re-examined.
Operation Persevere is an SA Police initiative to investigate all unidentified human remains in the state which led to the exhumation of the infamous Somerton Man last year.
Skull found by person walking dog
Mr Della Torre was last seen walking along Playford Avenue in Whyalla on October 20, 1976.
The 54-year-old was living at Yaringa Hostel, which was occupied by single workers from BHP.
An employee of the company reported him missing after it was noticed his room had been unoccupied for some time.
"He was described as a a quiet, unassuming man who kept to himself. His family lived in Adelaide at the time of his disappearance," Ms Giles said in her submissions.
In April, 1977, a person walking their dog discovered a skull at False Bay.
Police searched the immediate area, where left and right femur bones were discovered, along with two pieces of a male pelvis.
Despite several forensic tests conducted on the remains back then, there was insufficient evidence to suggest they belonged to Mr Della Torre.
Photographs of Mr Della Torre alive could not be compared with the skull since he had no teeth at the time of his disappearance and no jawbone was ever found.
DNA evidence proves strong link to brother
Ms Giles tendered an affidavit by Senior Constable Trevor Schneider, who looked into the case against last year.
He said the sample from the bones sent to Canberra for analysis was 1.2 million times more likely to be a match with the missing man's brother's DNA than any other person.
In his report, Senior Constable Schneider said there were several witness statements that indicated Mr Della Torre appeared to becoming increasingly confused and depressed prior to his disappearance.
Ms Giles said in her submissions that no finding had ever been made as to the cause of Mr Della Torre's death.
A final ruling on the matter will be handed down at a later date.
