MUCH evidence relating to the disappearance of Sydney toddler Rahma El-Dennaoui points to a "cover-up" rather than a genuine abduction, a Sydney coroner has been told.
In closing submissions to the inquest at Glebe Coroners Court on Thursday, Robert Bromwich SC urged Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund to make an open finding into the 2005 disappearance of the little girl, saying, "there is little by way of concrete certainties".
But Mr Bromwich, counsel assisting the coroner, said much of the evidence was "troubling", particularly the testimony of her parents, Hosayn and Alyaa El-Dennaoui.
Rahma disappeared from her home in Lurnea in Sydney's southwest in the early hours of November 10, 2005.
The 20-month-old had been sleeping alongside her sisters in the front of the house, and police found cuts to a flyscreen window above their bed that were big enough for a toddler to be lifted through.
The evidence in relation to what happened to Rahma, "lies between on the one hand, there was an abduction, and on the other hand, that there was a cover-up, something made to look like an abduction", Mr Bromwich said.
He said that over time, much of Ms El-Dennaoui's evidence had "homogenised" to become more like her husband's.
"There may be a multitude of reasons for this with the nature of their relationship, but it remains troubling," Mr Bromwich said.
He pointed to a number of aspects of the case where the couple's evidence had changed or differed, including their accounts of where Rahma was sleeping in the lounge room and how she was put to bed.
"(If) the two parents got their story straight ... then there's room for the conclusion that that account of the evening from 9pm on is not accurate or truthful," Mr Bromwich said.
"It's consistent with a cover-up."
Mr Bromwich said the El-Dennaouis gave different accounts about a cable drum that was found underneath Rahma's bedroom window after her disappearance.
Ms El-Dennaoui maintained it was moved there weeks before Rahma went missing, while Mr El-Dennaoui said it was placed there the day before.
"(These are) two very different accounts in relation to the location of this important item ultimately necessary for the abduction to remain a credible reason for Rahma's disappearance," Mr Bromwich said.
He described the triple-zero call made by Mr El-Dennaoui as "remarkable ... for its lack of distress and lack of emotion".
He also pointed to evidence Mr El-Dennaoui approached witnesses before they gave evidence at the inquest and the family's habit of talking in code on the telephone.
Mr Bromwich put forward some theories as to what may have happened to Rahma, including that her parents could have accidentally given her an overdose of paracetamol or struck her because she was ill and crying.
But he noted they had been "warm and open" with police and appeared to be loving parents.
He questioned why they would take such complicated measures in the middle of the night if Rahma's abduction was not genuine, including cutting the flyscreen and putting the cable drum in place.
"They could have just opened the door," he said.
"Why go to such an elaborate story?"
Ultimately, Mr Bromwich said there was "certainly" evidence that pointed to an abduction.
"But there is a body of material that points the other way," he said.
Mr El-Dennaoui's lawyer, David Evenden, is expected to make submissions on Friday.
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