Bradley and Daniel on their birthday
A woman has told the committal hearing for Brett Peter Cowan that she saw a man sitting in the back of an early model blue sedan and "punching down" into the back seat.
Mr Cowan is accused of abducting and murdering Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe who will be laid to rest on Friday - nine years to the date after he went missing.
The 13-year-old was last seen attempting, unsuccessfully, to hail a bus under an overpass on the Nambour Connection Road, while wearing a red t-shirt.
In court today, Belinda Russell said she was travelling on the Nambour Connection Road from Gympie on December 7, 2003 - the day Daniel went missing.
She noticed the vehicle because it was "violently jumping" from side to side and up and down.
She said the driver of the vehicle did not turn around or show any concern about what was happening in the back seat.
Mrs Russell said she did not see what or who the man in the back seat was punching.
"He was leaning down, to the right and he was punching down," she said.
"[It was a] closed fist and quite a lot of violent movement.
"We saw arms and a shoe come up in a defensive action, trying to kick away the person who was punching down."
Mrs Russell said she and her husband were very concerned by what they had seen but had left their mobile phone at home.
She said she imprinted the car's registration number on her shopping list with a pen that did not work, but threw the paper away at the end of the day.
Mrs Russell did not make a statement to police about what she had seen until April 2007.
Her evidence was by far the most shocking. Gasps could be heard from the public gallery.
The committal hearing, which had been set down for every day this week, has been moving faster than anticipated.
Just two more witnesses are expected to give evidence this week.
The Morcombes, after sitting in the hearing for every day, have left Brisbane for their Sunshine Coast home in order to finalise preparations for Daniel's funeral on Friday.
Nine years to the day he went missing, the 13-year-old is finally going home.
In court earlier today, Mr Cowan opened the seventh day of his committal hearing with a request.
Through his defence counsel, Mr Cowan asked to be excused from appearing on Thursday, the last set day of the committal, because of the limited number of witnesses due to appear.
Mr Cowan has sat through the evidence and cross examination of each of the witnesses, in a dock which places him on the other side of the room to the Morcombes.
Through Tim Meehan, Mr Cowan asked to appear by video link instead of being transported to the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Chief magistrate Brendan Butler denied the request.
The seventh day is set to hear from more of what are referred to as identification witnesses, as opposed to the forensic witnesses which took up much of the first four days.
These witnesses reported to police having seen a boy they believed to be Daniel Morcombe in the days, weeks, months and even years following his December 7, 2003 disappearance from the Sunshine Coast.
Bernard Rumbel, who lives in Port Macquarie and appeared by video link, said he saw a young boy in September 2004 who asked him for help.
Mr Rumbel said he was at a Port Macquarie shopping centre with his son when a boy approached him and said "can you help me?" before a man walked towards them and spoke harshly to the boy "something like, 'I told you not to go anywhere'".
"He was looking at me like 'what was I talking to this little fella for?'," Mr Rumbel said.
"He gave me a stern look and I looked into his eyes and he was looking daggers at me.
"I felt intimidated."
Mr Rumbel said as the boy and the man left the boy said "my name is Daniel Morcombe" but he (Mr Rumble) "didn't know who Daniel Morcombe was".
Later, he saw an Eagle Boys pizza box which had information about Daniel Morcombe and a photo of the missing 13-year-old so the man went to the police.
The next two witnesses, Gregory Smith and Kerryn Smith, told the court of seeing a young boy, wearing a red t-shirt, standing under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass while a man stood behind him.
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