Murdered backpacker’s boyfriend sues NSW for malicious prosecution

For decades, German backpacker Tobias Moran was suspected of murdering his girlfriend. Now the long-time suspect is suing NSW, claiming malicious prosecution by police.

It was 2005 when he was first questioned in Lismore about fellow German Simone Strobel's disappearance.

“I haven't had an argument with my girlfriend, I have still a nice relation when she left me,” he told police.

Within days Strobel’s body was found, and her boyfriend became the main suspect.

In 2022, Moran, who had started a new life in Perth, was extradited to NSW and charged with murder but the following year the charge was dropped.

He's now claiming it was malicious prosecution.

Moran’s lawyer, Stewart O'Connell SC from O'Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors, said it “had a devastating impact on his life”.

“He's saying that they withdrew the charges because there's no evidence, there was never any evidence and that the police were motivated by a purpose that was not the proper enforcement of the law,” O’Connell said.

Moran issued a statement on Monday.

“This is an important step towards clearing my name and holding the relevant NSW Police officers to account for what I believe was a prosecution driven by improper motives rather than a pursuit of the truth,” he said.

Suspicion had earlier stemmed from lies Moran told detectives after Simone's death. 

“I did make mistakes in the days after,” he said last month on the ABC’s Unravel podcast. 

“I should have been straight away honest.”

Last November the state coroner ruled it was unlikely Moran was involved in Strobel’s death but stopped short of finding it was very unlikely.

The inquest heard police could have given more focus to other persons of interest.

“The police focused almost exclusively on Mr Moran to the exclusion of other possible suspects,” O’Connell said.

The case was referred back to the unsolved homicide squad. 

At the time of her death, Strobel had been touring the east coast of Australia with Moran, his sister Katrin Suckfuell and another German, Jens Martin.

On the night of the disappearance, Strobel’s group drank heavily in a hotel and continued to consume alcohol and smoke cannabis after returning to their campground, the inquest was told.

After two decades, the Strobel family is still hopeful they will one day learn the truth.

NSW Police said the matter was being assessed by the unsolved homicide unit but had no comment on the lawsuit.