Two teenagers arrested over suspected Grindr murder
Police are investigating whether the death of a man whose body was found dumped in bushland on the South Coast was a gay hate crime.
A dog walker found 56-year-old Peter Keeley's bound body in bushland in Broulee earlier this month with injuries to his face and head.
A post mortem was "inconclusive", police said in a statement.
Early on Thursday morning, police arrested two 17-year-old boys in connection with the death.
The boys were at Batemans Bay police station awaiting legal representation, but were expected to be charged with murder, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters on Thursday.
One of the teenagers is arrested at home on Thursday morningCredit:NSW Police
Their arrest came as Mr Keeley's family released a statement on Thursday, saying they were "deeply affected" by his death.
"Our family is devastated and still coming to terms with the fact we have lost Peter," it said.
"All that can be said is we have been deeply affected by this tragedy and we are still grieving.
"We are grateful for the overwhelming support from family and friends.
The other teenage boy arrives at Batemans Bay Police StationCredit:NSW Police
"Thank you to the NSW Police Force and ACT Police detectives who have supported our family during this terrible time."
Police believe Mr Keeley, a divorced Canberra father-of-three, may have been communicating with one of the 17-year-olds via gay dating app Grindr, Detective Superintendent Doherty said.
"There's a number of dating apps that were used, and one of those dating apps was Grindr," he said.
He refused to comment on whether it will be alleged the 17-year-old was on Grindr as himself or if he was catfishing Mr Keeley.
Police are now working to establish if the alleged murder may have been a gay hate crime.
"There’s a number of motives that I can't talk about... we have to look at other considerations, such as whether it's drug-related, robbery-related or whether it's some type of hate crime."
The teenagers, one of whom is a high school student, were not known to police before they were arrested on suspicion of murder.
Detective Superintendent Doherty would not comment on whether the pair were known to be drug users.
More to come