A woman told an Australian coroner that she tracked down two men previously accused over a 15-year-old's 1989 killing and got them talking, an account both men rejected in court.

The woman told an inquest into 15-year-old Annette Mason’s 1989 murder she risked her life by starting the relationship to take the case “into my own hands”.

The 29-year-old mother was fatally stabbed in her Bowen home nearly three decades ago, with detectives now eyeing a major breakthrough in the investigation.