Mark Lamborn, one of four men publicly named in March as someone who may be able to assist with the investigation, told the inquest on Thursday that he owed money to “small time” drug dealer Robert Pashkuss at the time of his death.

Mr Pashkuss, 51, and his 41-year-old partner Stacey McMaugh were bludgeoned to death inside their Macquarie Grove home sometime between 10.10pm on January 5, 2008 and 11am the following day.

The inquest previously heard Mr Pashkuss’ murder is more than likely to have been related to his drug dealing activities, while his partner, a lauded community volunteer, was a “completely innocent bystander”, who may have been murdered because she could identify the killers.  

Mr Lamborn, a drug customer of Mr Pashkuss’ for many years, told the inquiry the debt was around “$700 or $800”.

But counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer reminded Mr Lamborn he had told police during an interview in 2008 that it was about $1300. 

“Are you aware that a lot of people have told police that you owed Rob significantly more than $1300,” Ms Dwyer said.

“Is that possible?”

“No,” Mr Lamborn replied. “I know what I owed and so did he.”

“What about a $3000 drug debt?” Ms Dwyer said. “Does that sound more like it?”

Mr Lamborn disagreed. He also rejected claims that Mr Pashkuss had stopped dealing with him because of the debt and that the pair had ever had a falling out. 

Mr Lamborn told the inquest he stayed at home on the night of the murders and found out about what had happened the following day.

But Ms Dwyer produced phone records, which showed Mr Lamborn’s partner, Christina Wells, had called his mobile phone and home phone a number of times around 11pm on June 5, 2008. 

“It suggests she is looking for you at sometime around 11pm on the 5th of January and you're not home together,” Ms Dwyer said. 

Mr Lamborn said the pair could have been looking for his phone inside the house. 

“You must be wrong, mustn’t you, about being home with Christina all night, if you are attempting to call each other around 11pm?” Ms Dwyer asked.

“No,” Mr Lamborn said.

“I know where I was, I was at home and she was there too.

“Surely the phone towers would tell you where we were. 

“She could have been in the spa and I could have been inside.

During her evidence, Ms Wells also told the inquest she could have been in the spa at Mr Lamborn’s mother’s house and could have been trying to call him inside the home.  

Ms Dwyer asked Mr Lamborn if he had any suspicion that Owen Keeley, one of the four men named in March, may have been involved in the murders. 

“No,” Mr Lamborn said.

“He doesn't have the brains to be able do something like that and not leave evidence.

“The four people that you named in the paper, I think none of us have the intelligence to do something like that without leaving evidence.” 

Ms Dwyer publicly named four men who may be able to assist with the investigation on the first day of the inquest in March.

The matter was then adjourned until July in the hope more information would come to light. 

Andrew Lovett, Matthew Crawford, Mr Lamborn and Mr Keeley have not been named as suspects in the murder, but were subpoenaed to give evidence at the three-day inquest, Ms Dwyer said.  

Mr Lamborn did admit to taking a trip away on January 6, 2008 – the day he found out about the murders – but said it was to “get away from it all and clear my head." 

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Lovett had told the inquest he stayed in on the night of January 5, 2008, but went out about 4am the following morning to “obtain drugs” from “The Zoo”, an area of housing commission flats in Windale. 

He said he stayed until 8am and it was around that time that someone told him “something had happened up there and it wasn’t good and maybe Rob was deceased”. 

Ms Dwyer pointed out that Mr Pashkuss and Ms McMaugh weren’t found dead until 11am on that date.

“This is an important question, who was there when you received that information?” Ms Dwyer said. 

“Because you see Mr Lovatt, Rob and Stacey’s bodies weren’t found until 11am on Sunday, January 6.

“So someone in that house, if they knew about Rob’s murder, knows the person who was involved.”

But Mr Lovett couldn’t remember anything about who had told him or if anyone at the house that morning seemed “freaked out” about the revelation. 

He rejected claims that he returned to the house in Windale a few days later to ask a woman for an alibi for the night of the murders. 

Mr Lovett said there were rumours he was involved in the murders and said he “wanted to clear my name”. 

He also told the inquest he went and saw Mr Pashkuss the day he got out of jail on December 19, 2007. 

Mr Lovett told the inquiry Mr Pashkuss said “shop’s shut” because he was under “federal surveillance”.

“He said to me that he got pulled up down the beach and searched and they said he was burying ice or something, which he wasn’t,” Mr Lovett said. 

Mr Lamborne also told the inquest Mr Pashkuss was becoming increasingly “cautious” about police and that he thought there were several vehicles staking out his home. 

“Rob scaled back his operation three months before he was killed,” Mr Lamborne said.

“He told me he was worried about the police, he thought they were watching him.” 

The Herald, Newcastle