The three main suspects in the rape and murder of a teenager in Albury in 1973 have all died with charges appearing unlikely in the case.
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A third coronial inquest into Bronwynne Richardson's death in October 1973 started in Albury on Tuesday.
Fresh information since the second inquest in 2011 has led to the new inquest, which was attended by the late 17-year-old's long-suffering surviving family members.
Her second cousin Colin Newey is the prime suspect in the police case.
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Investigators believe he was behind two phone calls to police in 1989 which misled the investigation for years and cast doubt on others police now believe weren't involved.
Newey, who died in 2019, had been overlooked in the earlier years of the investigation.
"He was a career criminal with a history of physical and sexual assault against women," counsel assisting Sally Dowling said.
Paedophile and sex offender Max Martin, who was the victim of a manslaughter after being punched off a balcony, is thought to have been involved with Newey and is said to have confessed.
He is thought to have participated with Newey when Bronwynne was killed.
A third man, Kevin Newman, can't be excluded.
He made various claims stating he was present and later claimed not to have been involved.
The inquest heard two calls made to police on October 10, 1989, believed to have been made by Newey, "wreaked havoc" on others and led to "years of lost investigation time".
As a result of the calls Geoffrey Charles Brown and Ross Eames were suspected of involvement.
Brown had dated the late teenager and there were concerns about his behaviour after she broke up with him.
Investigators now believe Brown was not involved in the crime.
It's also thought Eames, who was only 14 at the time, was not involved.
It had initially been thought that Eames was behind the calls, made from a payphone to police.
Detective Sergeant Steven Morgan said evidence given at the second inquest in 2011 led police to believe Newey was on the other end of the phone and led to a dramatic shift in the case.
"It totally changed the direction of the investigation and the inquest," he said.
A previous inquest found Ms Richardson had died at 7.26pm on October 12 of that year, but the inquest heard it could have been later.
She had been abducted near the church on Smollett Street a short time earlier.
Concerns were raised on Tuesday about methods used to calculate her time of death, which have changed since 1973.
Detective Sergeant Morgan told the inquest there was evidence that showed Newey and Martin were in the area at the time Bronwynne was abducted.
The inquest was shown part of a police interview with Newey in Murray Bridge, South Australia, on July 22, 2012.
"You've got bloody nothing," an agitated Newey shouted at two officers in the filmed interview.
"It's all hearsay."
He urged the officers to "get your evidence and I'll go line a solicitor up".
"You're barking up the wrong bloody tree," he said and urged the police to look at the "three other bloody dickheads".
He was charged with murder in 2014 but the charges were dropped in 2015.
Police believe the person who contacted police in 1989 to talk about Bronwynne Richardson's death must have had personal knowledge of the case.
The inquest heard Colin Newey had bragged about his involvement.
He placed himself near Smollett Street on the day Bronwynne, his second cousin, was abducted.
He was quizzed in a 2012 police interview about his movements on Friday October 12, 1973, the day Bronwynne was last seen alive.
Detective Sergeant Steven Morgan said Newey told police he had made arrangements with the 17-year-old to have a meal when she finished work.
"Colin Newey is again confirming that he was in the area of the abduction and he was there to meet Bronwynne," Detective Steven Morgan told the inquest after going through the answers Newey gave investigators.
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While Newey had said he planned to meet her at 5pm, the detective said this was "not reliable" as Bronwynne was still working.
Newey said he had been at Coles, where Bronwynne worked, with "friends", which the investigator believes was Max Martin.
He said there was a body of evidence to show that Newey was in Albury that evening despite his claims he had left when Bronwynne failed to show.
Newey claimed to have been at an army camp about the time her abduction occurred and that he didn't return until Sunday, despite evidence he was in Albury on Saturday.
Newey told police in multiple interviews he was with Martin in Coles, which had been located near Smollett Street where Bronwynne was abducted.
Detective Sergeant Morgan said there was evidence Newey and Martin were at a Bungalow at the back of a George Street home and left about 7pm.
"It is clear that within 10 minutes of them leaving, Bronwynne was abducted from Smollett Street," he said.
Martin was interviewed in jail in 1990 and denied involvement in the murder.
He was released from jail on the day of her abduction but denied being in Albury, instead stating he was in Wagga.
"It's quite clear he was in Albury on the evening of the 12th of October, 1973," the detective told court, noting there was evidence from multiple people.
"I'm of the belief he was so involved, to the degree of who did what, I can't be certain."
The inquest heard documents and exhibits had been lost over the years but it was hoped to give some answers to the late teen's family about what occurred.
The inquest before coroner Carmel Forbes will resume on Wednesday.
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