'Step closer' to answers in 2005 killing after court hearing

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The boyfriend of slain German backpacker Simone Strobel will apply for bail next week from jail after he was extradited from Western Australia to face a murder charge in Sydney.

Tobias Friedrich Moran did not appear via AVL in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday when his case was mentioned.

His lawyer Vivian Evans asked the magistrate to keep the bail application in Sydney due to "relevant parties flying from Perth" and the logistical issues with hearing the matter in Lismore – where it will end up.

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German backpacker Simone Strobel was found dead in Lismore in 2005.

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Superintendent Scott Tanner from NSW Police also revealed detectives have been in contact with German authorities about two further arrest warrants for persons of interest in Germany.

Police intend to charge the pair with being an accessory after the fact to murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Evans said she was still working with the public prosecutor on what Moran's bail conditions might look like if granted.

Strobel's father, Gustav Strobel, said the family hoped for "certainty".

"Actually, one has been waiting for news like this for 17 years and then one has to chew on it again," Mr Strobel said.

"What robs us of sleep is the question of what really happened to our daughter and who is responsible for it.

"We sincerely hope that it will come to an end now."

Moran was formally refused bail until his release application can be heard on August 3.

The case will then be transferred to Lismore with the next court date set down for September 28.

Tobias Moran Simone Strobel

The now 42-year-old had been travelling around Australia with Strobel when her body was found near a Lismore caravan park in 2005.

The 25-year-old schoolteacher had allegedly been suffocated with a pillow or plastic bag.

Strobel's killing has remained unsolved despite the establishment of a police strike force and the NSW government offering a $1 million reward in 2020.

On Tuesday, it emerged Moran had been arrested in connection with the case after a NSW warrant was issued.

He has since been charged with murder and acting with intent to pervert the course of justice.

Tobias Moran Simone Strobel

Representing him in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday, lawyer Tony Elliott said Moran had no previous known convictions.

Police told an inquest in 2007 they believed Strobel was murdered by Moran, who refused to return to Australia to give evidence at the inquest.

NSW coroner Paul McMahon found there was insufficient evidence to recommend charges but said he had a "very strong suspicion" Moran, then known as Suckfuell, was involved in the killing.

Strobel had been on a night out with Moran and friends when she was last seen at Lismore Tourist Caravan Park on February 11, 2005.

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Toby Moran and Simone Strobel.

Her body was found six days later, concealed under palm fronds at a sports ground, less than 100 metres from the caravan park.

Authorities in Germany also offered a reward in 2014 of 10,000 euros to German and Australian residents with any information about Strobel's death.

Speaking in Lismore on Thursday, NSW Police Minister Paul Toole said the arrest marked "a significant milestone and breakthrough" in the case.

"This murder shocked this community and has been something that the community has been … wanting answers to for a number of years," he said.

"We are a step closer to having answers for the community, the family and friends of Simone Strobel."

Source: 9News