It was a bitter-sweet moment for Jason Lawrence yesterday as a Wollongong coroner found that on the balance of probabilities his missing mother was dead.

Almost 15 years have passed since his mother Pauline Sowry disappeared without trace from Warrawong.

Fighting back tears, the retail manager said Coroner Ian Guy's findings represented the final chapter in years of sadness and half expectation that she may still be alive.

He said for a long time he thought his mum would turn up and highlighted her case in the media as part of Missing Persons Week.

"I would almost die every time I got a call from the police," Mr Lawrence said.

But as the years went by he began to lose hope.

"I've known in my heart for some time she's now in a better place, but it's just the unknown and the waiting for that unexpected phone call from her that really hurt," he said.

"I will now go home and tell my sons Jye (12) and Ayden (9), who my mother has never seen, about today's outcome and then move on and get on with our lives," he said.

Mrs Sowry's father Bill, who was also in court, said the family had gone through a roller-coaster ride of emotion since his daughter's disappearance in 1993.

"Nothing will change the circumstances, but we can now have some closure," Mr Sowry said.

After listening to police evidence of a widespread search and ongoing efforts by the Missing Persons Unit to locate her, Coroner Guy said he believed Pauline Sowry was dead.

He found that she met her death sometime after she was last seen in 1993.

"As to the precise date, place, manner and cause of her death I am unable to be more precise," Mr Guy said.

 

Missing Wollongong mother Pauline Sowry murdered 32 years ago after 'coming into money'

• By Romy Gilbert

• ABC Illawarra

A court has heard a mother who has been missing for 32 years was allegedly murdered and dumped in bushland after "coming into money".

There was a breakthrough in the cold case of missing Wollongong woman Pauline Sowry on Thursday when a 64-year-old man was arrested in relation to her disappearance in June 1994.

The 49-year-old, also known by her married name Pauline Lawrence, was last seen by her family in the northern suburbs of Wollongong around Christmas of 1993.

On Thursday, Illawarra man Leon Boeyen was charged with being an accessory after the fact to her murder and helping to conceal the offence.

He faced Wollongong Local Court on Friday where he applied for bail.

Magistrate Leslie William Mabbutt said the accused had been secretly recorded by police inside his home, making admissions to his involvement with Ms Sowry's death.

"He speaks about where the murderers are now, in South Australia."

Ms Sowry's body has never been found.

Magistrate Mabbutt told the court the accused knows the identity of the killers but declined to reveal them as he was "concerned about his safety".

"The accused assisted the murderers after the event to avoid them being identified and brought to justice," he said.

Why was she allegedly abducted?

Magistrate Mabbutt told the court Ms Sowry had "come into money" in June 1994 and an argument about it took place before Ms Sowry was taken from a Gray Street unit at Woonona to bushland on O'Briens Road, Figtree, and murdered.

"She was taken and murdered, and the accused has known since," Magistrate Mabbutt said.

The court heard two months later the accused contacted Ms Sowry's son Jason Lawrence asking him to collect her belongings.

"[Sowry said] she had left, and he didn't know where she had gone," Magistrate Mabutt said.

It is alleged an unknown male handed over Ms Sowry's handbag to her son at the accused's home.

At the time of her disappearance Ms Sowry had recently separated from her husband, the father of her son.

He was ruled out as a person of interest.

The court heard Mr Boeyen had a 28-page criminal history, with the last offence committed in 2017.

Bail refused

Defence lawyer Matt Ward applied for bail on Friday claiming his client was vulnerable due to his schizophrenia diagnosis, age, and the amount of time he would await potential trial.

Mr Ward acknowledged his client's criminal history but said he had never breached bail and always came to court for his appearances.

"In the last eight years, this person has been at liberty in this community with all the people who live in it and has committed no offence during that time," Mr Ward said.

Crown Prosecutor Catherine Gray told the court she held concerns over the accused's bail application due to his track record of interfering with police investigations.

"In relation to the primary interference with prosecution witnesses we don't have to wonder what the accused will do — he's already approached prosecution witnesses, and police have evidence of that," Ms Gray said.

"We can expect more of the same of that and the court cannot trust the accused," she said.

Mr Boeyen was refused bail and the case was adjourned for further mention on July 30 at Wollongong Local Court.