Missing grandmother Sharon Edwards is pictured with her family (from left) son Zac, husband John and sons Eli and Josh.

THE son of missing Grafton teacher Sharon Edwards asked his father directly if he had anything to do with her disappearance.

Mrs Edwards, 55, was last seen alive a year ago this week and is presumed murdered. Police today confirmed her estranged 58-year-old husband John Edwards — who was the last to see her — was a suspect.

“We are still trying to rule aspects of this investigation in or out. But if you’re asking me, ‘Is he a suspect?’ Yes, Mr Edwards is a suspect,” Det Insp Jameson told reporters in Sydney.

The couple’s son Eli Edwards told news.com.au he and his brothers Zac and Josh asked him if he was involved soon after she went missing.

He told them he wasn’t, and they believed him.

“We know he hasn’t done it ... He has the full support of us.”

Eli Edwards said it was a difficult conversation to have.

“He was rattled, shaken, and hadn’t really slept [in the days after].”

But they had the conversation.

“We asked him and he told us the story. I believe him.”

Coffs/Clarence Crime Manager Detective Inspector Darren Jameson told reporters the couple may have argued when they met at her Grafton home about 10.30pm on March 14.

The nature of that meeting was crucial, as were the movements of both Mr and Mrs Edwards immediately after, Det Insp Jameson said.

“Their engagement on that night is of significant interest. The aspect of if there was a physical or verbal aspect is of interest to us.”

Eli Edwards said his father had told them of the meeting. He was unaware of any argument and had been told his mum was at home when he left.

CCTV vision shows footage of 55-year-old Sharon Edwards at her local pub the night of her disappearance.Source:Supplied

The clothes Sharon Edwards was wearing at the Good Intent Hotel were found at her Grafton home.Source:Supplied

“He was there that night. Dad said he just left and went back at Lawrence and came back the next morning.”

He didn’t know she was missing until the next day when she failed to turn up at Coutts Crossing Public School. John Edwards then called the police.

John Edwards was coping so far with the speculation and had told his sons of seeing media crews waiting outside his property for him

“So it’s a bit like being a prisoner in your own home.”

Mrs Edwards was recorded on CCTV cameras leaving the Good Intent Hotel in Grafton about 10pm. Police have not previously spoken of the meeting between the estranged couple that occurred 30 minutes later.

He said Mr Edwards was a “significant interest” and police were “still trying to rule out aspects in or out”.

However, he added they were keeping an “open mind” about what happened.

Mrs Edwards’ car was parked at her Grafton home but police said they believe she made it to Lawrence, which is about 30km away and where her husband lives, early on March 15.

Police used mobile phone data to track her movements, and are at a loss to explain why she would have been in the Lawrence area. This was her last known location and it was for this reason the case was being treated as a homicide and not a missing person’s case, Det Insp Jameson said.

“There is no reason for her to disappear, she was having a very good time on that night.”

He urged people who were in the Grafton and Lawrence area that night to come forward.

Sharon EdwardsSource:Supplied

John Edwards has been named as a suspect in his wife’s murder.Source:The Daily Telegraph

Police searched her home last year after she disappeared and also the home of Mr Edwards.

At the time, police said her car was parked at her home and there were no signs of forced entry. Her bag and mobile phone have never been found.

Mr Edwards was jailed last year for firearms offences after he confessed to police he had dumped a cache of firearms after his wife vanished.

When he was interviewed by police he told them he was acting like a “guilty man”.

“I’m going crazy here, I’m acting like a guilty man,” Fairfax reported. “I am doing crazy things,” he told investigators.

Sharon and John Edwards.Source:Facebook

Sharon Edwards with her family. (From left) Son Zac Edwards, husband John Edwards, son Eli Edwards and son Josh Edwards.Source:News Corp Australia

Police search Sharon Edwards’ Grafton home.. Photo Frank RedwardSource:Supplied

John Edwards on his way to court. Photographer: Frank RedwardSource:News Corp Australia

He was jailed for a year but released on parole in December.

According to facts tendered in court, Mr Edwards told police he became paranoid after his home was initially searched in relation to his wife’s disappearance, and worried police had bugged the home.

When he thought his house was going to be searched again he dumped the guns off the side of the road, “all over the place”, court documents showed.

“I’ve driven around, just tossed them off the side of the road,” he told police.

“I’ve got no idea ... why I kept them. I’ve never stolen anything in my life or done any violent crime or anything like that. It’s really stupid, stupid, stupid,” Fairfax reported.

He told one of his sons what happened, who encouraged him to go to police.

andrew.koubaridis@news.com.au