An inquest into the death of Queensland teen Annette Mason has heard a man who allegedly confessed to killing her was with her hours before.

November 21, 2018

A Queensland man alleged to have repeatedly confessed to bashing Annette Mason was with the teenager the night she died in 1989, an inquest has heard.

A second inquest into the 15-year-old’s death has heard mounting evidence this week that person-of-interest Allan McQueen told those close to him he was behind her death.

An acquaintance of McQueen, who can’t be named for legal reasons, on Wednesday told Brisbane Coroners Court he had tried to get Annette into Rumours nightclub in Toowoomba the night she died.

However, because she was underage McQueen wasn’t able to get her past the bouncers.

The witness told the inquest McQueen and his friends went inside and partied the night away without Ms Mason and that she was seen later by one of their friends walking in the street at the end of the night, about 3.30pm.

Annette’s bloodied body was later discovered in her bed.

At least five witnesses including police have already told the inquest McQueen subsequently made a series of admissions regarding Annette’s abuse and her death.  

However, the acquaintance said on Wednesday that while the local community had been shocked by Ms Mason’s death, McQueen had barely discussed her after the nightclub outing.

“I never had reason to question Alan about any of it … If I suspected anything I would have seen a change in him,” the witness said.

The witness rejected Counsel assisting Adrian Braithwaite’s assertion Ms Mason’s death would have prompted more discussion.

“Look there is no way I would ever lie for anyone, I had a younger sister too,” the witness said.

“We all felt for the poor family. It was horrible. It’s the worst thing I can remember in Toowoomba in the time I was there.”

A previous inquest into Annette’s death found insufficient evidence to pin down her killer.