Fourteen years after a young apprentice craftsman was found dead on the side of the road after a night out at a popular seaside resort, two chilling theories have emerged.
A $1 million reward has been offered for information helping capture Joshua Warneke’s killer.
The body of 21-year-old Warneke was found on Old Broome Road in Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia on February 26, 2010, shortly after he left a nightclub.
He had a black spot on his arm.
As an investigation into his final moments began this week, taxi driver Philip Nordfelt denied hitting the cabbie with his car in a McDonald’s parking lot 30 minutes before Mr Warneke was found dead.
The second theory is that the young craftsman was murdered with a sharp weapon.
The investigation also revealed on Tuesday that the crime scene may have been unintentionally contaminated, The Western Australian reported.
Mr Nordfelt, one of the last people to see Mr Warneke alive, said he ‘certainly did not touch him’.
It’s been 14 years since Josh Warneke was found dead on the side of the road after a night out
The young craftsman was captured on CCTV footage in a McDonald’s parking lot 30 minutes before he was found dead
He also said he could not remember a passenger in his taxi ever saying, “Please don’t hit him.”
“I know for a fact that I did not do that,” Mr Nordfelt told reporters outside the coroner’s court after his testimony ended. ABC reported.
“I know my vehicle came within a foot of him, but I never touched him.”
The black spot on Mr Warneke’s arm has led to the theory that he was hit by a car earlier that night.
Linley Cilia, the first paramedic on the scene, said during the investigation that she found no evidence of a collision.
Ms Cilia told the inquiry that she had attended hundreds of accidents where people had been hit by a car, but that in this case she had not seen the tell-tale tyre marks from hard braking, or ‘shrapnel or anything like that’.
An investigation into the death of Josh Warneke has been launched in Broome this week
Police later gave her permission to place a white sheet over Mr Warneke’s body to preserve his dignity after his death.
His mother, Ingrid Bishop, responded: ‘I hope there has been no contamination of the forensic evidence at the crime scene, which is obviously very important.’
Ms Cilia was questioned about whether there had been any disruption at the event.
“No, we were told it was being treated as a crime scene and we should try to keep it as intact as possible,” she told the inquest.
She also remembers seeing a taxi driver and passengers who were “very shocked” by the scene.
The hearing also heard evidence from friends and other witnesses who were present at the Bungalow Bar in Broome on the night of Mr Warneke’s death.
Witnesses said he was in a good mood that evening and did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol.
The inquiry will continue in Broome on Wednesday before resuming in Perth next week