Man long-suspected in 2005 backpacker murder claims innocence, accuses police of tunnel vision

Tobias Moran, who was the chief suspect for nearly two decades in the 2005 murder of his German backpacker girlfriend Simone Strobel, gave his first media interview since the case opened, insisting he did not kill her. Speaking on one outlet Unravel podcast, Moran said his earlier lies to police were intended to make authorities take the disappearance seriously, not to conceal guilt. The 2024 inquest led by Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan rejected earlier findings of “very high suspicion” and suggested the investigation had been overly focused on Moran, recommending a transfer to the NSW Unsolved Homicide Unit and a forensic review.

Charges of murder and perverting justice filed in 2022 were withdrawn in 2023 after a local court ruled they lacked reasonable grounds. Police have declined to comment in detail, stating the case remains under review. Strobel’s parents continue to doubt Moran’s explanations and seek the full truth about their daughter’s death.