UPDATE, 11.25am: Confronting details of a Ballarat woman’s final moments have been aired in court as it was revealed her body was badly burnt before being discovered by police.
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Altona man Shaye Kotaiu, 22, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with the murder of Tamara Farrell, 31, at her home on Sunday.
Mr Kotiau's 19-year-old girl sister, who has been charged with being an accessory to murder, is due to face Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court.
The court heard her charred remains were found 300 kilometres away near Sale and wrapped in a partially burnt sheet that detectives believe had been taken from her home.
They applied to the court to obtain a saliva sample from Mr Kotaiu and a physical examination to check for marks or injuries to his body.
The court heard they’d both previously been refused or unable to be obtained.
Detective Senior Constable Dustin Sheppard said ‘‘matter’’ had been discovered on a seized tarpauline and car that police needed to test.
Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg granted both applications for both the saliva sample and the physical examination and warned Mr Kotaiu that both could forcibly take place if he refused.
Mr Kotaiu's lawyer Lauren Cassimatis asked that her client be seen by a nurse for a second time with concerns over his mental health and vulnerability in custody.
He is due to reappear in court in June.
A friend of Ms Farrell told The Courier: "She will be missed. A shining light to those who knew her. Will miss her sense of humour and joy for life".
- with The Age
UPDATE, Wednesday, 7.30am: Shaye Kotiau, 22, was charged on Tuesday night with the murder of 31 year-old woman Tamara Farrell after police spent the day searching a property at Altona, in Melbourne's west and at Canadian.
A 19-year-old Altona woman has also been charged with one count of accessory to murder and will appear at the Latrobe Magistrates’ Court today.
Kotiau did not appear during a brief hearing just after 7.30pm at Melbourne Magistrates Court, with his lawyer telling the court that she had advised he not be brought up due to welfare issues.
"He's very mentally unwell your honour ... there are custody management issues," she said.
"I should say, he suggested he not be brought in because he does appear to be so unwell."
She requested he see a forensic nurse as "a matter of urgency".
"It's his first time in custody and he is vulnerable due to his youth," she said.
He was charged with murdering Ms Farrell on February 17 in Canadian.
Ms Farrell was an employee of Ballarat Coachlines, who released a statement on Facebook late on Tuesday night.
Ms Farrell also shared posts about domestic violence, toxic masculinity and self-defence techniques for women on her own Facebook page.
Earlier this month, Ms Farrell reflected on the four Australian women who were killed by men so far this year.
"Already there's been four women killed," she wrote on Facebook. "And we're only a month into the new year."
Ms Farrell also posted about the death of 21-year-old international student Aiia Maasarwe who was killed last month on her way home from a comedy show.
Kotiau will face court on Wednesday at 10am for a filing hearing.
EARLIER, Tuesday, 7pm: Homicide Squad detectives have charged a 22-year-old man following the suspicious disappearance of a woman earlier this week.
The 31-year-old, from Canadian was last seen about 6.30am on 17 February at her home.
Investigators have located human remains in Nambrok (near Sale) early this morning however they are yet to be identified.
An Altona man has been charged with one count of murder and will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this evening.
A 19-year-old woman remains in custody and is currently assisting police with their inquiries
The investigation remains ongoing.
EARLIER: The woman who disappeared from her Ballarat home and is now at the centre of a homicide investigation is believed to have only lived at the property for a matter of weeks before she went missing.
Human remains were uncovered by police early on Tuesday morning in Nambrok, near Sale, more than 300 kilometres from Ballarat, after two people were arrested in Melbourne's west over the suspicious disappearance.
The remains are yet to be identified, but police believe they belong to the missing 31-year-old woman.
The Homicide squad and forensic team is investigating the Horwood Drive house, in Canadian, which is believed to be connected to the crime. A white Holden Astra remains in the driveway.
The Courier has spoken to a number of Horwood Drive residents, none of which said they knew who lived in the house.
The area in Nambrok where police are searching is surrounded by bush and farmland.
The woman was last seen about 6.30am on Sunday at her home in Canadian in Ballarat.
One neighbour near the scene believed the property was a rental home, and told The Courier she believed the woman living there had only been in the house a number of weeks.
Listen to the neigbour speak here.
“It's such a quiet, family street so it was quite disturbing if something bad has happened,” said the neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous.
“All the children along here play up and down in the street so it's quite concerning that something like this has happened in this street.
“It has changed the street a little bit to think something possibly sinister has happened.”
Another resident said she had only just purchased a house on Horwood Drive.
She said she had chosen the house as she believed it to be a safer suburb.
“Considering I just bought a house in the street, I literally just drove by to take a look and have been confronted with this,” she said.
Listen to her speak here.
Other residents of the quiet, suburban street were seemingly unaware of the unfolding investigation on Tuesday morning, with parents seen walking children to school nearby.
On Monday night, police arrested a 22-year-old man at a suburban property at Phair Court in Altona. A 19-year-old woman was also arrested.
Forensic crews spent most of Tuesday sifting through the Altona home, seizing a a jerry can from the boot of a dark coloured Holden Commodore before towing the vehicle away.
A man, believed to be aged in his 20s, who arrived on scene around 1.20pm on Tuesday, was driven from the quiet street in the back of a homicide squad car.
He appeared to leave willingly.
Throughout late Tuesday afternoon much of the forensic probe appeared to focus on the side of the weatherboard home with what appeared to be a rag and clothing taken away for further examination.
Neighbours say a family has lived at the Phair Court home for many years.
The homicide squad is appealing for witnesses.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 3333 000 or to submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
- with The Age
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