An air force veteran and former police officer, who vanished over 50 years ago, was likely killed by his wife’s lover.
Vincent Edward Down, 43, was last seen at his home in Bridport, Tasmania, on August 7, 1969.
His wife, Doreen, reported him missing the next morning, sparking a search and investigation.
Police initially questioned Alvin Feuerhammer, the couple’s 25-year-old neighbor, but the case went cold without any leads.
Recent findings by coroner Simon Cooper indicate that Feuerhammer probably shot Down and disposed of his body using his ute.
Feuerhammer, who later killed his own wife and died by suicide in 1994, became a prime suspect due to inconsistencies in his statements and his affair with Doreen Down.
The investigation was re-opened in 2020, leading to a public inquest in February.
The initial police investigation focused on Feuerhammer after learning he might have been the last person to see Down alive.
It was also revealed that Doreen had recently ended her affair with Feuerhammer, which could have motivated his actions.
Feuerhammer’s explanations to police were inconsistent.
He claimed Down visited him on the night he disappeared to repair a TV cabinet with a bullet hole.
Feuerhammer later made incriminating statements, including that he might have washed out the back of his ute the night Down disappeared.
These remarks were not included in his formal police interview.
Witnesses noted Feuerhammer’s usually dirty ute was unusually clean the day after Down vanished.
One witness saw Feuerhammer driving between Scottsdale and Bridport around 9:30 PM on August 7, with the ute's tray cover on, while Feuerhammer claimed he was out buying cigarettes.
Despite the prompt police response in 1969, the case lacked new information or a grave site.
Coroner Cooper's findings bring some closure to the decades-old mystery, pointing to Feuerhammer as the likely perpetrator of Down’s disappearance and presumed death.
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