A barrel similar to the one used to hide the remains of a Melbourne grandmother was on her son's ute a month after she went missing, an inquest has heard.
The clothes Lucia Amenta was seen wearing the day she disappeared from her Fawkner home in January 2008 were also found wet in a wash trough in her backyard the next day, an inquest into her death heard on Monday.
Mrs Amenta's body was found inside a barrel fished out of a lake at a Campbellfield reserve in October 2009. No one has been charged over her death.
The former partner of Mrs Amenta's youngest son, John Amenta, told the court she saw a rusty brown barrel standing upright in his ute, a month after she disappeared.
She was with her mother, who remarked: "I hope they haven't got her in there."
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The witness, who cannot be named, said she brushed her mother off but admitted a similar thought crossed her mind.
Months later, she saw a television report that Mrs Amenta had been found in a similar barrel, but it was a black colour.
The witness also said the day after Mrs Amenta disappeared, she saw a navy blue and white blouse with white flowers and a navy skirt, in a wash trough in Mrs Amenta's backyard.
She said she showed John but he didn't seem concerned.
A neighbour earlier told the Victorian Coroners Court she saw Mrs Amenta waiting outside her home on the day she disappeared wearing a blue skirt and a blouse with flowers.
John Amenta's former partner described him as an "aggressive, controlling, threatening kind of guy" who had twice been violent to her but added she had not seen him show aggression to his mother, who was protective of him and cooked for him every second day.
The witness said she did not believe Mrs Amenta was the victim of a break-in because nothing was taken and there was no sign of struggle in the home.
"I don't want to believe a family member did anything to her," she said, through tears.
Mrs Amenta's older son Paul Amenta, who is estranged from the family, told the inquest he didn't know what happened to his mother but didn't believe family was involved.
"I certainly believe that neither myself, my brother or my father had anything to do with it. I honestly truly believe that," he told the hearing.
Mr Amenta said the type of barrel his mother was found in "every Italian people's" backyard and he had seen one or two at his parent's home.
Forensic pathologist David Ranson said Mrs Amenta had a fracture to her neck consistent with neck compression but was unable to say if the injury was inflicted while she was alive.
No one has been charged over Mrs Amenta's death and police this month posted a $100,000 reward to help solve the case.
The inquest is continuing.
