Theo Hayez’ Father Reportedly Stormed Out Of Inquest During Evidence From Bar Security Guards

theo hayez father

Laurent Hayez, the father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez, was reportedly seen storming out of a coronial inquest on Thursday afternoon, which heard evidence from the security guards at Cheeky Monkeys, where Theo was last seen.

During the inquest, Cheeky Monkeys security guard Shannon Mackie was reportedly shown CCTV footage from 11pm on May 31, 2019, the night Theo went missing, and gave evidence regarding whether or not Theo was in fact intoxicated.

The inquest into Theo’s disappearance is currently investigating the police theory that the 18-year-old may have attempted to climb a cliff near a Cape Byron lighthouse, which led to him slipping and falling into the ocean. Puzzling Google data from Theo’s phone, which was recently released, shows him searching for a way back to his hostel, but quickly moving in the opposite direction.

Per the ABC, Shannon Mackie claimed that Theo was “approaching intoxication” when he was kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys, but upon witnessing the CCTV footage, admitted that he did not appear drunk.

Mackie also reportedly said he was unsure why Theo was only marked down for ‘intoxication’ on his incident report, with nothing else being recorded on whether or not he smelled of alcohol, was slurring his words or appearing unbalanced.

On top of this, Mackie also reportedly confirmed that the proper process at Cheeky Monkeys was to escort someone outside if they appeared overly intoxicated, to better gauge whether or not their speech was slurring. However, Mackie could not answer why this was not done in the case of Theo Hayez.

“If they’re really intoxicated, we would sit them down, get some water for them… and make sure they’re OK,” he told the Byron Bay court.

It is at this point that Theo’s father reportedly stood up, nodded his head and left the court.

These court statements come only a few days after a witness from Cheeky Monkeys, who apparently had a conversation with Theo, claimed he did not appear intoxicated at all.

“It would have been quite a short conversation… but I can remember we talked about politics, European politics and Belgian politics,” said fellow backpacker Alexander Stadegaard.

“He explained to me how Belgian politics worked and we talked about the European Union.”

The inquest into Theo Hayez’ disappearance will continue for the next two weeks.

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