The man who police believe is responsible for the disappearance of a young pregnant woman has been excused from testifying in a Victorian investigation because it may incriminate him.
Senior detective Brett Thexton has told a Victorian coroner he believes Fraser, who had an intellectual disability, spoke to Peter “PJ” Jenkinson that night before he came across a dirty game.
Krystal Fraser, 23, was just days away from giving birth when she disappeared from Pyramid Hill, in the north of the state, on the night of June 20, 2009. (New)
Jenkinson is one of three men listed in the investigation as the possible father of Fraser’s unborn child.
Jenkinson was called Monday to testify in the investigation, but asked to be excused because his evidence could incriminate him.
Lawyer assisting forensic scientist Fiona Batten did not oppose the request, noting that Jenkinson was the prime suspect in Fraser’s disappearance and that a homicide investigation was ongoing, his evidence could be detrimental. in future court proceedings.
Forensic scientist Katherine Lorenz accepted and granted Jenkinson the request, noting that the seriousness of the alleged offense justified an excuse.
Earlier Monday, senior detective Thexton said forensic phone records showed Fraser and Jenkinson were regularly contacted in 2008 and 2009.
But Jenkinson stopped calling Fraser from his cell phone and landline after a nine-minute phone call between the couple on May 13, 2009, the detective said.
It was from that date that Fraser began receiving calls from a telephone booth in Leitchville, a town 28 km north of Pyramid Hill.
Telephone records showed that Fraser received a 40-second call from that public telephone booth at 11:59 p.m. the night he disappeared.
The man who police believe is responsible for the disappearance of a young pregnant woman has been excused from testifying in a Victorian investigation because it may incriminate him. (new)
Thexton told the coroner that he believed Jenkinson was the person who was calling Fraser from the phone booth, a claim that Jenkinson has denied to police.
The detective alleged that Jenkinson told Fraser to stop contacting him during the May 13 call, possibly threatening her or giving him an incentive not to contact him.
Victorian Coroners Court was told the 23-year-old called Jenkinson’s landline number from a Bendigo hospital on June 16 and 17, although the calls lasted less than a minute. .
Call logs also showed that Fraser called Jenkinson’s landline number from his cell phone on June 18 and 19, but those calls also lasted about 20 seconds.
Krystal Fraser, 23, has been missing since 2009. (New)
Thexton told the coroner that he believed Fraser “found himself in foul play” on June 20, 2009.
He said the timing of the calls from the Leitchville mailbox was “very suspicious.”
“If the person who made the calls had nothing to do with his disappearance, then why has that person never spoken out?” Thexton told the coroner.
“I think the phone box had everything to do with it.”
The investigation will continue Wednesday morning.