More than 13 years after a young woman vanished without a trace, a coroner is set to finally shed some light on the long-held mystery.

Leisl Smith, 23, was last seen alive on CCTV getting into a white ute at Tuggerah railway station on the NSW Central Coast in August 2012.

The vehicle belonged to her accused killer, James Church, who died by suicide 10 years later on the eve of a verdict being delivered in the NSW Supreme Court in July 2022.

Justice Elizabeth Fullerton, who presided over his judge-alone trial, had settled on her verdict and finalised her written reasons but had not yet handed them down.

When Church died, the verdict was sealed and the legal proceedings were terminated in accordance with the laws of abatement.

During an inquest into Ms Smith's disappearance in June, th

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