Coronial inquest into death of Mark Haines hears from best friend Glenn Mannion

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A warning, this next story contains images of an Indigenous person who has died. The circumstances of Mark Haines' death have been a mystery for 37 years. Now a coronial inquest into his final moments have entered its closing week. Today, his best friend resumed giving evidence and denied he had any involvement in the 17-year-old’s death.

Transcript

00:00Almost four decades after Mark Haines's body was found on train tracks near Tamworth, his

00:07uncle Don Craigie is still searching for answers.

00:11The circumstances around his death just did not add up.

00:18Family members are in Sydney for the final week of coronial hearings into the Gomeroi

00:23teenager's death.

00:25Witnesses initially concluded that Mark had walked onto the tracks himself, but a subsequent

00:29inquiry returned an open finding.

00:32We knew our boy and this was right out of character for him and in saying that, we believed

00:42from that moment then to right now that Mark has met with foul play.

00:48After a six-month break, Mark's close friend Glenn Mannion has now returned to the witness

00:53box.

00:55Two witnesses previously told the inquest Mr Mannion had made admissions about the circumstances

01:00surrounding Mark's death, something Mr Craigie's barrister followed up on today.

01:07The impression Don Craigie has been left with is that you had some involvement with Mark's

01:12death.

01:13Absolutely not, Mr Mannion replied.

01:15Do you think something sinister has happened?

01:18Well, he hasn't gone out there on his own volition.

01:21The court also heard allegations that Mr Mannion had been spotted on the morning of Mark's

01:26death close to where his body was discovered.

01:29Don Craigie had heard that you were seen on the corner of Worrell Road and Green Street

01:34on the morning of the 16th of January vomiting.

01:37Mr Mannion told the court he had no recollection of that occurring.

01:42He's now finished giving his evidence and the inquest is set to run until Friday.

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