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The Guardian
04-04-2025
- The Guardian
Mark Haines coronial inquiry: police would have ‘turned that train over' if the teen had been non-Indigenous, uncle says
The uncle of a teenager found dead on train tracks 37 years ago believes racism hindered the police investigation and recalls a senior officer saying 'you never know what a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy would do'. Don Craigie, whose nephew Mark Haines was found on the tracks outside Tamworth in regional New South Wales, said police didn't take the family's suspicions about foul play seriously. Haines's body was discovered on the tracks in the early morning of 16 January 1988 after a train passed over it. 'That train would still be there if it was a white boy,' Craigie told an inquest re-examining Haines's death in Sydney on Friday. 'They would have turned that train over.' The initial police investigation ruled Haines lay on the tracks either deliberately or in a dazed state after a car crash. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter A stolen white Holden Torana was found near the rail line with the windscreen smashed on the ground, leading police to believe it had rolled. Haines's family and many friends told the inquest earlier this week that they maintained the teenager would never have driven or been a passenger in a stolen car. They also believed he was not alone when he died and have pursued rumours about Tamworth locals either being involved or knowing more about his death. Craigie told the inquest police didn't pursue all the information he gave them. A senior police officer, Ch Supt Alan Donnelly, openly dismissed him when they saw each other in a Tamworth betting shop, Craigie said. 'He said to me 'Don, you never know what a 17-year-old boy would do, you never know what a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy would do',' he said. Donnelly died in 2023. Matthew Varley, the barrister representing NSW police, asked Craigie whether that sentiment was something the force should denounce. 'It's not for me to form that opinion whether they should denounce it or not, that's for them,' Craigie replied. Varley showed Craigie a series of newspaper articles in which investigators appealed for more information in the years after Haines's death. Police also interviewed several people over the following decade, pursuing leads Craigie gave them, according to statements and affidavits before the NSW coroner's court. But Craigie insisted police did not adequately follow up his investigations and have treated deaths of non-Indigenous people very differently. 'I've seen a few deaths around Tamworth and they've pulled out all the stops,' Craigie said. 'And then there was others they did not pay too much attention to.' He added: 'We want to know how our boy died.' The inquest, which opened in April 2024, was due to conclude on Friday, but further hearings have been scheduled before the deputy state coroner, Harriet Grahame. For information and support in Australia call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for a crisis support line for Indigenous Australians; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- The Guardian
Mark Haines coronial inquiry: best friend tells court he has ‘no idea' what caused teenager's death
The best friend of an Aboriginal teenager whose body was found on the railway outside Tamworth in 1988 has told a court he has 'no idea' what happened to his mate. Glenn Mannion was asked to address relatives of Mark Haines at a coronial inquest in Sydney on Monday into the 17-year-old's death. 'I have no idea what happened to Mark or how he ended up out there,' he said. '100%, absolutely, [I] was not there.' A second inquest began last year, retracing the events surrounding Haines' mysterious death after an ABC investigation unearthed new evidence and led to police reopening the cold case in 2018. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The Gomeroi teenager was found on the train tracks with a makeshift pillow under his head, about one kilometre from a crashed Holden Torana. The initial police investigation found Haines was responsible for his own death, and a subsequent coronial inquest returned an open finding. The court has heard the teenager was partying with friends the night before his body was found, leaving a local nightclub with his girlfriend around 2am and parting ways near her home soon after. No witnesses have given direct evidence about Haines' movements between then and when he was found on the railway at about 6am. The court also heard from Mannion's ex-girlfriend, who alleged he had drunkenly told her he was involved in Haines' death. Questioned about the allegations on Monday, Mannion said he 'had no such conversation'. He told the coroner he said goodbye to Haines at the nightclub before catching a cab home, learning about the death of his 'best friend' later via a phone call. When asked how he felt in that moment, he replied: 'I can't recall. I imagine I would've been pretty upset.' The court heard Mannion applied to join the army about a fortnight after Haines died and left town a few months later. Jalal Razi, the barrister acting for Haines' uncle, Don Craigie, asked whether his decision to leave Tamworth 'might give the impression to the family that you were trying to run away?' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Mannion replied: 'If that's what they believe, that's what they believe.' Razi also questioned Mannion about his lack of communication with Haines' family after the death and accused him of giving 'fairly short' responses to the court. 'Your answers have given the impression that you have not really wanted to volunteer much information. What do you say to that?' asked Razi. 'I've answered the questions as truthfully as I can,' Mannion replied. The witness told the court he suffered PTSD from his time in the army, which affected his memory. The inquest continues. For information and support in Australia call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for a crisis support line for Indigenous Australians; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- The Guardian
Mark Haines coronial inquiry: an uncle's quest for the truth in rural NSW could finally be at its end
For the past 37 years, on the anniversary of his nephew's death, Don Craigie has made a pilgrimage to the Tamworth police station to hold a press conference demanding answers about the grim mystery he has made it his life's mission to solve. This week, he hopes to get some. The body of 17-year-old Mark Haines was found on the railway outside Tamworth in January 1988. The bizarre circumstances of the Gomeroi teenager's death and the initial police investigation have been subjected to intense scrutiny, inspiring a documentary and podcast series in 2018 that helped trigger a fresh coronial inquest, which resumes on Monday. Craigie still recalls the moment he stood at a taxi rank in his then home town of Moree and his life changed for ever. 'It was pissing down rain all over the north-west,' he said. 'My brother pulled up in his car and told me that Mark was killed … mate, I had this bloody feeling of dread.' From the outset, it was a strange crime scene. There was a pillow under the teenager's head; there was only a small amount of blood on the tracks; and despite the muddy ground, his shoes were clean. A crashed white Holden Torana was nearby. Local police concluded the teenager had likely stolen the car, crashed, walked to the tracks and laid down either deliberately or in a daze. The family rejected the theory outright. '[We] believed that he met with foul play and we maintain that today,' Craigie said. An autopsy found Haines died from a traumatic brain injury. An initial coronial inquest in October 1988 heard that police lost or mishandled key evidence, but was unable to draw conclusions about what led to the teenager's death. As rumours swirled and an investigation led by Muruwari journalist Allan Clarke unearthed fresh evidence, NSW police reopened their investigation in 2018 and offered a $1m reward for information. They sent a review of the case to the coroner and a second inquest began last April. To date, the court has heard from the retired police officers in charge of the initial investigation, forensic experts, Haines' friends and others rumoured to have knowledge of the events before his death. It also heard Haines was partying with friends at a local club the night before his body was found. This week the inquest moves from Tamworth to Sydney, where the coroner will hear from a dozen witnesses, including a friend who was with Haines that night and is alleged to have made confessions about his involvement in the teenager's death. He has previously denied the allegations in court. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion This week's hearings will also interrogate the adequacy of the original and subsequent police investigations. Craigie, too, is expected to give evidence, and is making the five-hour drive south to witness the proceedings. 'I need to hear every word and to see everything,' he said. Back in 1988, he made a promise to Haines' parents. 'I said to them, 'This is going to be a long, drawn out process. I'll deal with this. You just get on with your lives.'' Both have since died. Hearings are expected to finish on Friday, a year after the inquest began. Initially set down for two weeks over two sittings, the inquiry was due to finish in October, but was adjourned for six months after possible new evidence emerged. The coroner is expected to deliver her findings in Tamworth later this year. By then, Craigie's unrelenting quest for answers will have spanned nearly four decades. Has the 68-year-old has ever felt like it was all too hard? 'Never,' he said. For information and support in Australia call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for a crisis support line for Indigenous Australians; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
