'Very cold': Couple charged after man's dismembered body found
Police had to access counselling services after the discovery of man's dismembered and decomposed body in a unit in Sydney's south-west on Saturday, which they described as a "difficult crime scene".
A couple has been charged over the death following a police investigation.
Police were called to a unit on Eureka Crescent in Sadleir about 3.20pm by a concerned neighbour, and found the body of an unidentified man inside. Police now believe the man is a 40-year-old from Minto, but he is yet to be formally identified.
Superintendent Adam Whyte said the man's body was found in "an advanced state of decomposition".
"This was a very difficult crime scene for the police who attended and the investigators, and it’s one where we’ve had to utilise our welfare services," he said.
Superintendent Whyte said police could not confirm the man's cause of death until after the autopsy had been conducted on Wednesday.
However, he said the manner in which the man was killed was "very cold".
Strike Force Higherdale, comprising homicide squad detectives and officers from the Liverpool City Police Area Command, was formed to investigate the man's death. A crime scene was established at the home and a number of items were seized for forensic examination.
Just before 2am on Sunday, police arrested a 38-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman at the woman's unit on the Hume Highway in Warwick Farm.
Police believe the couple had recently become acquainted with the 40-year-old man, and they will allege the man's body was found in the 38-year-old man's home.
"It looks at this stage that the victim may well have attended the premises. They may have a loose relationship, but at this stage it's probably too early to speculate," he said.
Early on Monday morning, officers charged the Sadleir man with murder. The Warwick Farm woman was charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
The couple was refused bail and will appear at Liverpool Local Court on Monday.
Strike force inquiries into the incident are continuing, but initial inquiries suggest the man's death is drug-related.