The last man to see a shark fisherman who disappeared at sea a decade ago has stood by his story that after the pair drank two bottles of rum his friend must have "fallen over board".
Gregory Norman was speaking at the Coronial inquest into what happened to Michael Small, 42, aboard the shark fishing vessel the Mandy J II on August 1, 2001.
It was the last night Ms Small was seen.
Norman said the pair had drank a bottle of rum each and several beers, with Mr Small also smoking some marijuana.
He said the pair had been talking about fishing and then he went to bed leaving Mr Small on deck by himself.
After he awoke to go to the toilet minutes later, Norman told the Coroner's Court, he discovered Mr Small was missing and alerted the skipper.
By 4am a "mayday, man overboard" alert had lodged with maritime authorities.
Despite extensive land and sea searches, which included gutting the boat's catch for signs of Mr Small, his remained a missing person's case.
Norman has since been convicted of an unrelated murder and his girlfriend at the time of Mr Small's disappearance has alleged he confessed to killing "Mick" after the boat returned to shore.
Lisa McDonald who has since changed her surname told the inquest she dated Norman for about a month before Mr Small's disappearance.
She said fear of Norman hurting her family kept her silent until 2005 when she was reinterviewed by police after he had been arrested on suspicion of murder.
She said Mr Small had been verbally abusive towards her and the pair often faught, prompting a physical fight between Norman and Mr Small at the Pier Hotel in Port Hedland shortly before the fateful fishing trip.
After the disappearance she said she become "scared" of Norman and wanted him out of her house.
"He was always happy - dark black eyes - smiling," Ms McDonald told the Coroner's Court of Norman's behavior after Mr Small went missing.
"Greg started laughing and said Mick didn't fall off – 'I killed him you stupid bitch'."
Appearing from prison where he is serving a life sentence for the murder of another girlfriend, Norman told a different story about his conversations with Ms McDonald.
"Just that Mick had fallen overboard," he said. "There was nothing else to tell - he fell overboard."
He said Mr Small's taunts towards Ms McDonald didnt "really bother" him because "she could look after herself".
He said Mr Small had been a "hard man" but the pair had formed a friendship living and working together on the boat over five months.
The inquest continues.