A shell-adorned pair of clogs, a blue diary and a paging device are some of the few traces left of Revelle Balmain, found in the streets of Sydney after the 22-year-old disappeared one November evening 30 years ago.
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Ms Balmain's family filed into the Lidcombe Coroners Court on Monday to hear a timeline of the day of her disappearance and believed death.
She was working as a model and escort when she was last seen in the Kingsford area on November 5, 1994.
She had attended a booking with client Gavin Samers before he dropped her at a hotel nearby about 7pm.
It was meant to be one of her last jobs as an escort before flying to Japan to work as a dancer.
Multiple messages to her pager after Ms Balmain was dropped off went unanswered and she was reported missing the next day after she didn't show at a pre-arranged meeting with her mother.
A previous inquest in 1999 found Revelle had died at the hands of a person or persons unknown and the matter was referred to the Unsolved Homicide Unit.
A fresh investigation between 2007 and 2009 followed by a formal review in 2020 failed to produce any compelling evidence in the case.
Numerous calls to Crimestoppers offering fresh leads for police followed an increased reward of $1 million for any information, Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Bell told the coroner.
"One of the theories of investigators is that the person or persons responsible had to know that she was at Gavin Samers' residence," Det Chief Insp Bell said, linking this knowledge to Ms Balmain's workplace, Select Companions, and those who operated it.
In the days following her disappearance, personal belongings were found strewn across several streets in Kingsford, including Ms Balmain's diary, bank card, keys and high-heeled clogs decorated with shells.
The theory that her belongings were discarded intentionally near Mr Samer's home - leading to years of him being regarded as a primary suspect in the case before being cleared by police - was noted as a red herring by the detective.
"I find it interesting that Revelle Balmain's body has never been found ... if you dispose of a body so that it's not found, why would you dispose of the property at the same location?" Det Chief Insp Bell told the court on Monday.
A dark-coloured Holden Commodore was reported seen by a resident on the Saturday evening, with a loud skid and the sound of a woman's scream heard before the car carrying multiple people sped past the resident's home.
Ms Balmain was in debt to the escort agency at the time of her death as well as engaging clients outside of the agency's knowledge, known as moonlighting.
The owners and operators of the escort agency, Jane King and Zoran Stenojevic, are scheduled to give evidence later in the inquest before Coroner Joan Baptie.
Australian Associated Press
