Murder in NSW bush cabin mystery

A 38 year-old man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend after calling police to an isolated hiker’s cabin, saying she had died from injuries incurred in a car accident.

‘A true and wonderful soulmate’: Dee Annear.

A 38-year-old man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend after calling police to a secluded hikers’ cabin on the NSW mid-north coast on Saturday, alleging she died from injuries incurred in a car accident.

Rohen Hanson was denied bail on Wednesday after he was arrested at a property at Wingham and taken to Taree Police Station, where he was charged with the alleged murder of his partner, Dee Annear.

Ms Annear, 34, was found dead in a log cabin in the remote hills of Bulga Forest on Saturday after she and Mr Hanson had ­reportedly spent the night there together.

Police and emergency ser­vices were called to the scene about 11.30am after Mr Hanson said there had been a car accident the night before. Miss Annear’s body was discovered in the cabin soon after authorities arrived. It is understood she had suffered major head injuries.

A short time later, authorities went to the site of the reported car accident – about 3km west of the cabin, off Blue Knob Road – where a secondary crime scene was established, involving a silver Holden Rodeo.

The silver Holden Rodeo.

At the time, officers from the Manning-Great Lakes Police District said Mr Hanson was “spoken to at the scene” and was assisting them with inquiries but it remained unclear whether he was responsible for Miss Annear’s death.

A day later, he was charged with breaching an apprehended violence order and driving a vehicle while disqualified.

After further inquiries, he was arrested and charged with Ms Annear’s murder on Tuesday afternoon.

Situated in a dense landscape of rainforest and gullies, the off-the-grid cabin where Ms Annear’s body was found is on a bushy plateau less than 5km from Blue Knob Lookout and more than 60km from Taree.

The couple was staying off Pole Dump Forest Rd, a 7km stretch of unsealed dirt track that crosses the Ellenborough River and spans the eastern escarpment of Bulga Forest. It is unclear why the two were in such a remote location.

Following news of Miss Annear’s death, grieving family and friends offered warm tributes and messages of condolence on social media, describing her as “a beautiful friend”, “extremely caring” and a “true and wonderful soulmate”.

Her cousin wrote “God bless my beautiful cousin. My heart is truly broken”. Friend Kristyn Abrahams said: “You were my other half … the person who ­always made sure my family was taken care of in the worst ­situations.”

It is understood Ms Annear did not have children but was a loving stepmother to Mr Hanson’s children.

According to his social media account, Mr Hanson is a resident of Forster who works as a fibreglass laminator and had been in a relationship with Miss Annear since 2017.

On Wednesday, the matter was briefly heard at the Forster Local Court, where magistrate Allison Hawkins denied bail and instructed service orders to be lodged at Mr Hanson’s next court appearance, which is due to take place in late November.