Man charged with failing to report a death after bones found at Terowie in South Australia's Mid North
AN investigation into human bones found in a Terowie home has been declared a murder as police continue to search for a "substantial amount" of remains still missing.
AN investigation into human bones found in a Terowie home has been declared a major crime as police continue to search for a "substantial amount" of the remains that are still missing.
A 25-year-old man who is not cooperating with police has been arrested over the find and charged with failing to report the death to authorities.
Major Crime Branch officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray says the man, who is known to police, was the subject to a firearms search when police discovered a plastic tub in the front room of the house containing human bones.
"We're satisfied that the victim was murdered and met a violent death," Det Sup Int Bray said
"It wasn't a full skeleton and part of the body is missing. I'm not prepared to say what parts of the skeleton we've recovered and what is still outstanding."
The bones have been sent to Adelaide for examination but preliminary reports suggest that the bones were not Aboriginal nor early settler.
Police say it is too early to tell who may be responsible for the murder but once the age and sex of the victim were established it may be able to rule out the 25-year-old man charged over failing to report.
"We're hoping that the examination will identify the age, sex of the person which will put us in a better position to identify who the victim might be," Det Supt Bray said.
"It may have nothing to do with the homeowners or the person we've taken into custody - once we know the age of the bones we'll be in a much better position."
Missing persons reports are currently being looked through by police but no other sites around the small country town are being investigated.
Police will remain at the property throughout the day continuing toe search for more bones as police say they have been dug up from somewhere, then stored in the property's shed before ending up in the front room of the Packer St home where they were discovered.
Residents in the street suspected the bones may be quite older.
"They could be from years ago - who knows?" one woman said.
"It's a pretty quiet place - I've lived here for years and not heard anything like this."
Terowie, about 20km south of Peterborough, has a population of about 150 people.