A German backpacker once suspected of murdering his girlfriend in 2005 is suing the NSW Police for malicious prosecution.
Simone Strobel was a German backpacker whose body was found in a Lismore caravan park in February 2005.
Her remains were found where she was staying with her German boyfriend Tobias Moran, formerly known as Tobias Suckfuell.
She had been staying with Mr Moran, his sister Katrin and their friend Jens Martin.
The 22-year-old was reported missing after she failed to return home from a walk.
Her body was discovered six days later under a palm tree about 100m from the caravan park.
Mr Moran was named a primary suspect and charged in July 2022.
Living in Perth at the time of the charges, Mr Moran was extradited to NSW, spending 10 days in custody and 10 months adhering to strict bail conditions.
The charges were withdrawn by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2023.
The court then ordered the state of NSW to pay Mr Moran’s legal costs, which totalled $190,000.
In November 2025, State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan ruled that Mr Moran was unlikely to have been involved in Ms Strobel’s murder.
The findings determined her murder was still unsolved, with the case returned to the NSW homicide squad and unsolved homicide team.
Mr Moran is now suing NSW Police, claiming malicious prosecution.
He claims police were “driven by improper motives rather than a pursuit of the truth”.
He is being represented by O’Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors special counsel Stewart O’Connell.
“Mr Moran has consistently maintained his innocence of this horrific crime,” Mr O’Connell said in a statement obtained by NewsWire.
“There has never been any convincing evidence of his involvement. He has had to endure both the shock and pain of Simone’s death and the devastation and distress of being blamed, arrested and detained for it.”
Mr O’Connell said the legal proceedings would “examine the investigation and prosecution of Mr Moran and, if found to be improperly motivated, will ensure that Mr Moran receives some justice”.
“That is the outcome we will be fighting for,” he said.
Mr Moran said taking legal action against NSW Police was an “important step towards clearing my name”.
“I also hope this action brings renewed focus on the investigation into Simone’s death,” he said.
“She was a very special person who deserved better, and her family deserves better. Everyone impacted by Simone’s death and the aftermath deserves some answers and closure.”
A NSW Police spokesman told NewsWire they were aware of the civil action and would not comment further.