An inquest into the death of Mark Haynes has revealed a key witness is “afraid” to come forward

A friend of a teenager whose body was found on railway tracks 36 years ago has told a coroner his then-girlfriend is afraid to share details of what happened the night before he died.

Mark Haynes’ name and photo were used with permission from his family.

The body of Mark Anthony Haynes was found on the railway tracks eight kilometers south of Tamworth on the morning of January 16, 1988.

He suffered a head injury.

The circumstances of how the 17-year-old girl’s body ended up on the tracks have been the subject of intense speculation in the city ever since.

The inquest into his death, which was previously heard in April, resumed in Tamworth on Monday before New South Wales Deputy Coroner Harriet Graeme.

He obtained evidence that Mark may have been picked up by a car hours before his death.

“She knows what happened”

Mark Haynes’ movements on the night of his death have been a source of speculation between police and his family.

Natalie Blanch, a friend of Mark’s girlfriend at the time of his disappearance, Tanya White, told the court on Tuesday that she believed Ms White knew details about the night Mark died.

“I’ve spoken to Tanya a lot and she knows what happened to Mark,” Ms Blanch told the inquest.

“She told me she was afraid to speak and she was afraid for her safety.”

a man in a pink collared shirt holds a black and white photo of his nephew. — Uncle Don Craigie holds a photo of Mark Haynes in his barn in 2022. (ABC New England: Lani Oataway)

Ms Blanch said the two women had not spoken since the funeral in April 2000, after she complained to Ms White that she had failed to tell police potentially important information.

Ms. Blanch said that Ms. White told her that Mark had been picked up by a car that night and that she knew the occupants of the car.

When asked by Don Craigie’s lawyer Jalal Razi, who was in the car, Ms Blanch said she had not been told anything.

Two Aboriginal elders stand on the courthouse steps holding each other and a photo of a deceased family member — An inquest into the death of Mark Haines is being held in Tamworth this week. (ABC New England Northwest: Brigitte Murphy)

Ms White told police that the night before his body was found, she and Mark had become separated while at the town pool and she did not know where he had gone after that.

“He just said goodbye and we broke up,” Tanya White told the inquest in April.

“I didn’t see any cars or headlights where he was going.”

A white Torana was found wrecked next to Mark Haynes’ body, but Ms Blanch did not indicate that the car that allegedly picked him up was the same.

The lawyer representing the retired police officers in the case, Stephen Russell, said Ms Blanch had not mentioned the conversations in her previous statements to police.

Ms. Blanch said she had something to say to the police.

“I should have been more direct then, as you get older, you get more life experience,” she said.

She wept as she addressed the family of Mark Haynes.

“I’m very sorry, I would like to help more,” she said.

The inquest is due to continue in Tamworth until Friday, with other dates to be fixed in the future.