Alleged killer's verdict could remain sealed forever
The only person who can say definitively whether Leisl Smith was murdered has been sworn to secrecy by Australian law.
Ms Smith, 23, was last seen alive on CCTV getting into a white ute at Tuggerah railway station on the NSW Central Coast in August 2012.
The vehicle belonged to her accused killer, James Church, who died by suicide on the eve of a verdict being delivered in the Supreme Court in July 2022.
Legal proceedings must be terminated if the accused person dies, according to laws of abatement.
The legislation means Ms Smith's family still do not know if she was murdered, almost 13 years after she went missing.
The lead detective in her case on Wednesday used the woman's inquest to call for law reform.
Her family deserved to know Justice Elizabeth Fullerton's sealed verdict, Detective Sergeant Michael Jones told the court.
"I believe in our investigation, I know in my heart what the result was going to be in trial," he told the NSW Coroner's Court.
"That decision would have helped (Ms Smith's family) to reconcile and move forward."
Det Sgt Jones said an exception should be made to the laws of abatement once a verdict has been reached and needs only to be delivered.
Church died during the judge-alone trial but after Justice Fullerton had settled on her verdict and finalised her written reasons.
Questioned by the coroner, Det Sgt Jones said he had considered the inability of a dead person to exercise their right to appeal.
He suggested the verdict and its reasons could be revealed in the Coroners Court as part of the inquest, rather than as a criminal court finding.
The detective has worked on Ms Smith's case since she disappeared
Her body has never been found and he believes it lies close to his area of work.
"It's something that I think about all the time," he said, before addressing Ms Smith's mother Sandi Harvey in the courtroom.
"I'm sorry I couldn't give you the ultimate answers that you really wanted ... you deserve them.
"I've done my best and I'm sorry."
Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame praised the quality of his investigation and said hope remained something could be found.
"It is very clear to me that you went above and beyond," she said.
The inquest continues.
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