Police say human remains believed to be those of missing Beenleigh man Chad Bishop may have lain buried in a Bethania backyard for more than four years before new information led Logan detectives to the property.
Detective Inspector Ian Galpin said police moved a cubby house to reach part of the cluttered Old Trafford Road yard, where officers found a box buried in what he described as a “shallow grave”.
Mr Bishop was 46 when he disappeared from Beenleigh in March 2022.
Courtenay Williams, 52, of Bethania, and Carlie Rochelle Mordue, 45, of Windaroo, have each been charged with murder and interfering with a corpse.
Court documents reportedly allege Mr Bishop was murdered at a Beenleigh townhouse on or about 2 March 2022 and that his body was subsequently moved.
The remains found at Bethania have not been formally identified and police have not publicly established a cause of death.
An autopsy and further forensic examinations are expected in the coming days.
Det Insp Galpin said the discovery followed a breakthrough in the investigation.
“Recently, police received information which led them to an address,” he said.
Police obtained a crime-scene warrant and searched the backyard on Monday.
“As a result, police located a box in what I will call a shallow grave,” Det Insp Galpin said.
“Within that box police located human remains.”
He declined to reveal who provided the information or how it was obtained.
“I wouldn’t be able to go into that,” he said.
Det Insp Galpin described the backyard as “a bit of a mess”, with a swimming pool and cubby house among the structures and items police encountered.
“Police moved that cubby house in order to access [a] particular part of the yard,” he said.
Det Insp Galpin confirmed there was a connection between the Bethania property and a person involved in the investigation, but would not provide further details while the case was before the courts.
He also said police believed Mr Bishop knew the two people now charged.
“Our investigation would suggest that, if the person whose remains we have located is who we believe it to be, they are known to the persons that we have charged,” he said.
He would not disclose the nature of those relationships or a suspected motive.
Two other people were at the Bethania property when police executed the warrant.
“We don’t believe those persons have any involvement, but our investigations are continuing,” Det Insp Galpin said.
Police also searched addresses connected with both accused and seized electronic devices.
“We executed a search warrant on both of their addresses,” Det Insp Galpin said.
“We located electronic devices.”
Forensic examinations of the devices and the Bethania scene are continuing.
“This has been a lengthy and complex investigation which has spanned in excess of four years,” Det Insp Galpin said.
“Detectives have remained committed to establishing the exact circumstances of this man’s disappearance.”
Police have updated Mr Bishop’s family but warned formal identification was still required.
“The family understand that formal identification is yet to happen, but they’re very grateful for the ongoing investigation,” Det Insp Galpin said.
“We continue to keep them updated. We’ll continue to do that, and we continue to support the family in any way that we can.”
Det Insp Galpin would not comment on any preliminary indication of how the man died.
“I wouldn’t choose to comment on that at this point in time, until I get a cause of death,” he said.
He appealed for anyone who may still hold information about Mr Bishop’s disappearance or alleged death to contact police.
“I really hope that, as a result of this development, other people will provide us with additional information,” he said.
Mr Williams and Ms Mordue did not enter pleas or apply for bail when their matters were mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Both were remanded in custody and are expected to appear by videolink when their cases return to court on 7 September.
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