Jayden Penno Tompsett inquest reopens after Queensland remains identified
The Coroner's Court of Queensland will recommence the inquest into jayden penno tompsett after human remains found near Charters Towers were identified as his this year. The court said on Wednesday it is awaiting a Queensland Police Service report on the circumstances surrounding where the remains were located.
Mr Penno-Tompsett was 22 when he went missing on New Year's Eve 2017 near Charters Towers, during a road trip from the Hunter to Cairns. He had left his car and companion Lucas Tattersall on a dirt road.
Queensland Court Reopens Inquiry
The remains were discovered in October last year at a rural property in Breddan near Charters Towers, and the case now returns to the coroner after years without resolution. The court said, “The court is currently awaiting a report from the Queensland Police Service in relation to the circumstances surrounding the location of Mr Penno-Tompsett's remains.” It added: “No further information will be provided at this time.”
The reopened inquest puts fresh focus on what happened after Mr Penno-Tompsett disappeared in 2017. A 2021 inquest had already heard police believed he perished in the harsh conditions outside Charters Towers.
Jayden Penno-Tompsett Evidence
Police have previously alleged he was travelling with more than $10,000 worth of drugs to meet friends at Cairns, and that he smoked half of them on the road trip to Charters Towers before losing the other half. Detective Sergeant Peter Edwards headed the investigation and said Mr Tattersall cooperated with police and drew a “mud map” of where he said he left Jayden, though he was unable to identify the location.
Edwards also said Jayden had a history of going off alone after arguments. Rachel Penno has said she believes her son was murdered, and she said it took 10 months to interview the man who sold Jayden the drugs.
Breddan Remains Report
The police report now due to the coroner is the immediate next step in the reopened inquiry. For Penno's family, it means the inquiry moves from a long-standing missing-person question to a formal review of what the newly identified remains can show about how he died.
