A man who is controlling, calculating and determined. That's how Fiona Lu described her former partner John Beckenridge, who she is convinced brainwashed her son Mike and staged a murder-suicide to escape the country.

John Beckenridge and his 11-year-old step-son disappeared in March 2015, and later his car was found at the bottom of cliff in the Catlins, but no bodies were found.

The coroner's hearing to establish whether the pair are dead or missing heard its final evidence today.

Anna Sargent was in court.