The discovery of human remains in a burnt-out tree trunk has led to a murder charge over a missing man who spent two decades in prison.
Police on Saturday arrested and charged a 33-year-old man at Maroubra police station over the murder of David Collisson.
Collisson, 53, was reported missing on 15 October after he was last seen at a property in Menah, north-west of Mudgee in NSW.
His suspicious disappearance followed his release from prison more than two decades after he was convicted of the “cold blooded, callous and cruel shooting” of 17-year-old Shahab Kargarian.
Shahab and his girlfriend, Shabnam Faiz, 17, were eating takeaway in a park on Sydney’s north shore in 2000 when Collisson, accompanied by another man, demanded the teen’s wallet.
He then shot the victim four to five times in a robbery gone wrong.
Collisson pleaded not guilty to the murder and maintained his innocence throughout the trial and sentencing.
The 33-year-old man arrested on Saturday was remanded in custody and will face Parramatta local court on Sunday, charged with murder and a number of weapons charges.
The arrest follows searches of the property where Collission was last seen. A number of bones, believed to be human, were found in a burnt-out tree trunk.
Police will allege in court the man fatally shot Collisson at the property over a dispute.