More than three decades after the body of teenager Mark Haines was found on train tracks in rural NSW, a new inquest could finally give his grieving family the answers they've been longing for.
The Gomeroi teenager was found dead eight kilometres south of Tamworth in the state's northwest on January 16, 1988, with a stolen car found crashed nearby.
Police concluded the 17-year-old laid on the tracks either deliberately or in a dazed state, something his family never believed.
A 1989 coronial inquest returned an open finding.
The NSW Crown Solicitor's Office this week wrote to the family's lawyers to confirm a new inquest would be held.
Mr Haines' uncle Don Craigie, who has spent decades campaigning for a new inquiry, said the family was relieved.
"We're hoping after the passage of time, further investigation will unearth the details of exactly what happened," Mr Craigie told AAP on Friday.
"We've been waiting 35 years for answers."
He said Mr Haines' grandmother and his parents died without knowing what happened to him and the family has always suspected he met with foul play.
"If someone out there had anything to do with our boy's death, they have every reason to be shaking in their boots," Mr Craigie said.
The family remembers the teenager as a "lovely young man" who was quietly spoken, athletic and had lots of friends.
Solicitor Karina Hawtrey from the National Justice Project, which is representing Mr Haines' siblings Lorna and Ron, said they were overjoyed about the new inquest.
"It's something they've been pushing for for a long time. They were teenagers when Mark died and still have a lot of unanswered questions," Ms Hawtrey said.
"They are now in their 50s, so it's important for this inquest to occur and it means a lot to them."
On the 35th anniversary of his death in January, Lorna Haines said a new inquest would help other Indigenous families navigate the legal system.
"I am hoping to finally get justice for our brother after the failings of the NSW Police in their attempt to do a half-hearted investigation," Ms Haines said.
NSW Police renewed an appeal for information on Mr Haines' death in 2018, offering a reward of up to $500,000.
Homicide detectives handed a review of the case to the coroner last year, while Tamworth detectives continue to investigate.
"The Oxley Police District are determined to find answers about what happened to Mark and to bring closure for his family," Superintendent Bruce Grassick said.
