STATE Coroner Mary Jerram on Monday night retraced the steps taken eight years ago by the missing Bathurst woman Janine Vaughan in Bathurst.
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Ms Jerram walked with police from the former Metro Tavern across George Street to Keppel Street during a re-enactment with two of three witnesses who last saw Ms Vaughan, 31, alive in the early hours of the morning of December 7, 2001.
Counsel assisting Ms Jerram in the inquest into the disappearance and possible murder of Ms Vaughan, Chris Ronalds, SC, together with police from Strike Force Mountbatten, Detective Superintendent Peter Houlahan and Inspector Guy Flaherty stage managed the re-enactment.
Two of the last people to see Ms Vaughan alive, now a married couple Jordan and Wonita Morris, led Ms Jerram on the walkthrough. Members of Ms Vaughan’s family, her mother and father Ian and Jenny Vaughan accompanied them.
Yesterday Mr and Mrs Morris both gave evidence relating how Ms Vaughan had told them in conversations about former Bathurst detective Sergeant Bradley Hosemans, who is no longer a person of interest.
Giving separate evidence, Mr Morris said Ms Vaughan related a “phone call or something” from Mr Hosemans. Mrs Morris said Ms Vaughan spoke only once about Mr Hosemans “using my words she [Janine] said he was stalking her.”
Mr and Mrs Morris spoke to Ms Jerram outside the former Metro Tavern, now known as The Waratah on Monday evening, explaining to her the direction Ms Vaughan took walking diagonally ahead of them across George Street to the point they saw a small red car do a U-turn in Keppel Street and Ms Vaughan get into the car.
While the police on Monday night called in a small red car to drive in Keppel Street for Ms Jerram to observe about 7pm, the Mr and Mrs Morris both related seeing Ms Vaughan get into the car about 3.47am on a rainy summer morning in December eight years ago.
Police conducting the walk through for Ms Jerram had a small red car, as well as a maroon car driven in the area where the red car picked up Ms Vaughan. Ms Jerram also inspected an upstairs room in The Park Hotel on the George and Keppel Street intersection, where another witness Ian “Strop” Bryant, another friend of Ms Vaughan was visiting his friend Ashley Tucker’s room.
Mr Bryant heard voices and went to the window of the first floor flat above George Street and watched what was occurring, Ms Ronalds said.
Mr Bryant had observed a small red car travel down Keppel Street away from William Street do a U-turn at the corner of George Street, then travel a short distance up Keppel Street where the car stopped and Ms Vaughan got it.
Ms Vaughan got into the car voluntarily at 3.47am, counsel said. By then Jordan and Wonita Morris were at least 30 metres behind her and still at the corner. They hurried forward as she got into the car and called to her, sue did not answer.
Ms Jerram stood at the spot the red car pulled over to pick Ms Vaughan up, before she went into the Park Hotel standing at the windows where Mr Bryant related what he had seen.
On Monday, Ms Ronalds said in her opening remarks, Ms Vaughan’s friends “hurried forward as she got into the car and called to her. She did not answer.”
“Her family and friends report that she would only have got into a car if she knew the driver,” Ms Ronalds said. “It had to be someone she was familiar with, although not necessarily someone with whom she was particularly close.”