Human remains found in Pheobe Bishop search, housemates charged with murder
Police have revealed more details about where they found human remains in the search for Pheobe Bishop. WATCH THE VIDEO
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Human remains have been found during a search for murdered Gin Gin teen Pheobe Bishop on the same day her two accused killers faced court for the first time.
Police said the remains were found by specialist units about 2.30pm near the Good Night Scrub National Park – an area previously searched – after further investigations on Friday.
Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield on Saturday morning confirmed the remains had been identified as human.
Insp Mansfield said the remains had been found approximately nine kilometres from the original search location hidden in “rugged” bushland.
“Yesterday afternoon detectives returned to Good Night Scrub National Park with a bit of an extended search from our original location,” Insp Mansfield said.
“As you can appreciate, that national park is vast, and unforgiving terrain.
“The remains were found in bushland. We do not believe the remains were buried.
“Coupled with snippets of information and telecommunications data, that’s allowed us to find this location.”
Inspector Mansfield said further forensic testing was currently being conducted.
“We have been in contact with Pheobe’s family and advised them of this development, understandably this has caused great distress to them,” he said.
“During the day that additional testing and examination will occur with a view of not only formally identifying those remains but also supporting our brief of evidence and our investigation to date.
“We always wanted to bring Pheobe home and we believe that this is the first step in that process.
“Our forensic capabilities will hopefully be finished there today.
“We do hope that this development coupled with the arrests will bring some level of closure to Pheobe’s family so that they can begin to move forward with their grieving process.
“We are engaging with legal representatives from both of those accused.”
Insp Mansfield said the remains were not buried.
“I don’t want to go into the specifics of what we’ve seen there at the scene just out of respect for Pheobe’s family.
“We will conduct our examinations with a view of course of trying to determine a cause of death whether that is able to be achieved is yet to be determined.”
Asked whether they were confident about the second search location, Inspector Mansfield said: “No, we were not. It was a broad search. We were effectively looking for tracks not too dissimilar to the first one in appearance… and we happened upon a track that did look similar to the original track but in a different location.”
He said Pheobe’s luggage and phone had not been located.
He said forensic searches of the Gin Gin home had not identified anything “significant”.
“However that scene is complex, we are still waiting on a number of forensic results to come back from that examination,” he said
“We are satisfied that we have enough evidence to support our prosecution of these two co-accused.”
Ms Bishop’s family have been notified on the latest developments with her mother Kylie Johnson responding to the major breakthrough on social media.
“I didn’t think my heart could break anymore then it did when you went missing, or when the charges where (sic) laid but this! This is ripping me apart,” she wrote.
Pheobe’s housemates James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, appeared before Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday charged with murdering the teen, who had been living with them.
They have also been charged with two counts each of interfering with a corpse, with police still searching to find the teen.
On Friday, police released footage of Wood’s arrest at a location that appears to be a home in Bundaberg.
“Just listen to me,” an officer says in the video.
“I’m placing you under arrest for the homicide of Pheobe Bishop.”
Pheobe, 17, was living with Bromley and Wood in a derelict Gin Gin house in the lead up to her disappearance three weeks ago.
The pair had told police they dropped the teen around the airport to board a flight on May 15, however investigators said the teen never entered the terminal.
Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield said police would allege that Pheobe was murdered and her body was moved more than once, with one of the locations linked to Good Night Scrub National Park.
“We will allege that Pheobe was moved on more than one occasion,” he said on Friday.
Insp Mansfield said police would allege there was telephone data that led investigators to the national park.
He said the teen did not ever make it to the airport but did make it to Airport Dr.
“We will allege that our evidence will outline that three people arrived near to the airport and three people never exited that vehicle,” Insp Mansfield said.
Insp Mansfield said earlier on Friday investigators believed the teen would be found in the greater Gin Gin area.
He said police would not comment about a motive.
When asked if the pair had co-operated or had given an indication of where Pheobe would be found, Insp Mansfield said Wood and Bromley had “engaged with lawyers”.
After the teen was reported missing, police scoured through the Gin Gin home and a grey Hyundai ix35 which was used to drive Pheobe was seized by police for forensic examination.
Police later searched the national park.
Insp Mansfield said the police focus had always been “to bring Pheobe home”.
Police arrested Wood on Wednesday night before he was released without charge.
He and Bromley were both arrested in the Bundaberg area on Thursday evening.
Bromley’s matter was briefly mentioned in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday morning.
Acting Magistrate Stephen Byrne, who appeared via video link from Rockhampton Magistrates Court, adjourned the matter to August 11 in Bundaberg Magistrates Court.
The court heard Bromley was in the Bundaberg watch house.
She was remanded in custody.
Wood’s matter was also briefly mentioned in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday and adjourned to August 11.
He was also remanded in custody.
Speaking outside court on Friday morning, Pheobe’s sister, who declined to provide her name, said: “I don’t know what to say, if you’ve got any information about Pheobe or the car, just come forward.”
“Three weeks is too long for us as a family,” she said
“We just want her home … she was loved, she’s missed dearly.”
He said more than 100 police had worked on the investigation in the past three weeks.
He thanked the Bundaberg and Gin Gin community, with more than 200 investigation-related calls and tip-offs.
He urged the community to keep contacting police with information.
Floral tributes have been laid outside the Gin Gin property where Pheobe was living before she was allegedly murdered.
A card attached to a bouquet of flowers read: “Pheobe. You grew your wings too early beautiful girl. Now you will no longer feel pain or heartache you can spread your wings and know you will be loved.”
A candlelight vigil was planned on Sunday in Gin Gin at the Kolan Community Park on Musgrave St from 4pm.
People are being asked to wear bright colours and butterflies in Pheobe’s honour.
Bundaberg Mayor Helen Blackburn said the vigil would be an opportunity for the community to come together and remember the teenager.
“I think that it’s a lovely idea to have a vigil for Pheobe because she was a beautiful young woman who had the rest of her life in front of her,” she said.
“I expect that the community will come out and there will be a lot of people there.
“I will be there to remember that there was a young girl called Pheobe Bishop and her life mattered and as a community we need to remember and honour her life.”
The mayor believed the tragedy had resonated with so many because everyone could see a loved one in Pheobe, as a daughter, sister, aunty, cousin and a friend.
“We do see some of our own lives within what’s happening with Pheobe and her family,” she said.
“I would just say to our community just stay kind to one another, stay compassionate, don’t let this get you too down and if it does seek some help because it’s okay to feel sad.”
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