Marcus Volke boiled girlfriend's remains in chemicals

A young Victorian chef has been identified as the man who killed his Indonesian girlfriend in their inner-city Brisbane apartment before reportedly dismembering her body and boiling it in chemicals.

Police caught Marcus Volke, from the regional Victorian city of Ballarat, boiling severed parts of the woman's body on his stove when they responded to requests for a welfare check at the Double One 3 apartment complex in the exclusive riverside suburb of Teneriffe on Saturday night, according to reports.

Other parts of the woman's body are believed to have been found in garbage bags in the apartment.

When police arrived Mr Volke, 28, fled the apartment and hid in a wheelie bin in a laneway beside the complex.

While in there, he used a knife to take his own life.

Construction of the Double One 3 apartment complex was completed just two months ago and the couple is believed to have only recently moved into their lower level apartment.

A police spokeswoman said on Monday the woman's next-of-kin were yet to be notified of her death.

The young chef had reportedly been working overseas and had recently returned to settle in Brisbane.

Detective Senior Sergeant Tom Armitt, officer-in-charge of the Fortitude Valley Criminal Investigation Bureau, told reporters on Sunday he could not say how long the woman had been dead.

But residents said on Sunday a "rotting meat" like smell had pervaded the complex in recent days.

Alex Reichart and Courtney Thoresen-Reichart, who moved into the Double One 3 building just six weeks ago, said there had been a smell in the building in recent days, which Ms Thoresen-Reichart described as like "rotting meat".

"I smelled something a few days ago, but we've had sewerage problems through the building over the past few weeks, which building managers have been trying to solve," she said.

"It smelled like off dog food, so I just thought someone had either been feeding their animal or the dog had made a mess."

Mr Reichart said no one suspected what really happened.

"You don't put two and two together and think 'sewerage smell in the car park, it must be a body'," he said.

Detective Senior Sergeant Armitt confirmed managers of the complex raised the welfare alarm on Saturday, reporting Mr Volke and his girlfriend had not been seen for several days.

"About 9pm on Saturday police attended to units at 113 Commercial Road to conduct a welfare check because management were concerned about the welfare of the occupants," he said.

"Upon attendance, we've had cause to commence an investigation in relation to a murder-suicide."

Residents of the exclusive inner-city suburb have been rocked by the grisly incident.

A woman who lives in an adjacent apartment complex told Fairfax Media she and her partner arrived home shortly before midnight and could see a man's body covered by a blanket in the laneway.

He had apparently spilled from the bin onto the street.

"It was awful," she said. "We live in Teneriffe and it's a really lovely neighbourhood, so it was a bit of a shock."

The woman said the apartment building and Dath Street were swarming with police, firefighters and forensic investigators on Saturday night.

Mr Volke's death is being investigated by the Ethical Standards Command, the body reserved for internal police investigations.

A police spokesman said the investigation was a matter of protocol because police were hunting Mr Volke on suspicion of murder at the time of his death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Armitt confirmed RSPCA officers were called to the apartment following the discovery of the body parts to remove some dogs.

Crime scenes are expected to remain in place in both Commercial Road and Dath Street on Monday while police carry out their investigation.

Detective Senior Sergeant Armitt urged anyone with information to contact police.

"It is very early and one thing I will say is any persons at the unit or around the area who noticed anything suspicious to contact police," he said.

Anyone with information is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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