In accordance with the South Australian Police, Tamika Chesser, 34, stays in police custody after being arrested for homicide. She’s additionally been charged with disposing of human stays and assaulting a police officer after a grisly discovery at Port Lincoln earlier this month.

Authorities responded to a small fireplace on June 19, earlier than they discovered a physique believed to belong to Chesser’s companion, 39-year-old Julian Story. Calling it a “confronting scene” for first responders, police stated his physique had been “dismembered.” Per a police report through ABC in Australia, the stays “have been severely burnt and disfigured.”

“Julian’s head had been eliminated through the dismemberment and, regardless of intensive searches, has not but been positioned,” they introduced in an replace on Friday. To date, no further updates have been issued. Police consider Story was killed “round midnight” on June 17.

Chesser, per the police report, was allegedly sitting in a backyard chair when authorities arrived “in a catatonic and unresponsive state.”

Whereas Chesser is already behind bars, authorities are nonetheless hoping for extra details about her actions and whereabouts within the time main as much as Story’s homicide — “significantly between midnight on Tuesday evening and the report of the fireplace at 3.30 pm on Thursday afternoon.”

To help within the investigation, detectives launched photographs and video displaying what she was carrying from CCTV footage, “within the hope that it’ll jog folks’s recollections.” Within the footage, a lady seems to be strolling two canines, whereas lined head to toe in all black.

“We all know that Tamika didn’t drive a car and recurrently walked across the township of Port Lincoln,” stated Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke in a press release. “We’re interesting to anybody who may help us to determine Tamika’s actions to please contact police.”

“All murders trigger ache and grief for victims’ households and associates. The circumstances of this homicide are significantly harrowing, confronting and distressing,” Fielke added. “Main Crime detectives have spoken with Julian’s household who’re devastated by his loss and in addition by the circumstances surrounding his demise.”

“We’re releasing the small print of this horrific crime as a result of it’s important for Julian’s household to peacefully lay him to relaxation,” he continued. In a press convention, he reportedly added, “Recovering Julian’s head to return it to his household to allow them to have a peaceable end result, have a funeral, and lay him to relaxation, is a extremely vital facet for us.”

The household additionally launched a press release, first thanking authorities for “their compassion and professionalism throughout this devastating time.”

“We’re navigating an unimaginable loss, and your care has introduced consolation amid the chaos,” the household continued. “We’re additionally deeply grateful to our household and associates and this extraordinary neighborhood whose kindness and help have helped carry us by. Your prayers, presence, and quiet power imply greater than phrases can say.”