Five men have been formally refused bail over their alleged role in the murder of Tyron Beauchamp, whose body was located in bushland north of Taree last December.
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Darcy Dufty, 24, and Andrew Tisdell, 22, have been charged with murder.
Austin Parrish, 19, Tyson McKenzie 23, and Michael Bennett, 42, and are all charged with being an accessory after the fact.
In Forster Local Court on Thursday, May 16, magistrate R Hudson adjourned the matter to July 16. Tyson McKenzie was the only one to apply for bail, which was refused.
A crew from NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), located the remains of a man at 6.10am on Thursday, December 27, 2018, on Yarratt Road, Upper Landsdowne, after they had extinguished a small fire in the Yarratt State Forest.
A post mortem examination revealed the man had been seriously assaulted before his body was taken to the forest and set on fire.
The man was formally identified as 41-year-old, Tyron Beauchamp. Mr Beauchamp was originally from Queensland and had moved to the Taree area in mid-2018.
Detectives from the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad and Manning-Great Lakes Police District established Strike Force Gretna to investigate Mr Beauchamp's suspected murder.
Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives, assisted by specialist tactical officers, arrested five men - 19, 22, 23, 24, and 42 - in Taree earlier on May 8.
All five men were then taken to Forster Police Station, where the 24-year-old man and 22-year-old men were charged with murder. The 23-year-old, 19-year-old and 42-year-old men were charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Police allege that the victim's hands and teeth were removed and a bushfire set in a state forest in an attempt to cover up his Christmas Day murder.
Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Scott Cook told reporters on Wednesday that Mr Beauchamp was at a Christmas Day gathering with three other men, when an argument broke out.
"It will be alleged he was at a social gathering with three other men in Taree. It will be alleged that an argument ensued in regards to some property and that two of the men beat Tyron, one with a steel bar, that resulted in severe head injuries and ultimately his death," Superintendent Cook said.
Mr Beauchamp was a known associate of the men who police believe killed him.
Investigators do not know what the property in dispute was, but believe it was "trivial".
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