Christopher Mark Jordan, the 36-year-old man accused of killing missing Tasmanian teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell, is a farmer who was well-liked by neighbours, it has been reported.
Mr Jordan was publicly identified on Friday, after being arrested and charged with the murder.
Shyanne-Lee, 14, was last seen in Launceston almost three months ago.
A massive police search took a turn on Wednesday when human remains — suspected to be the teenager’s — were discovered on a remote bush track near Nabowla in Tasmania’s northeast.
Mr Jordan was arrested that afternoon.
News of Mr Jordan’s arrest rocked his tight-knit community of Scottsdale, which has a population of 2300.
Locals said they couldn’t believe their neighbour was at the centre of such serious allegations.
One neighbour said he had been on friendly terms with Mr Jordan and had “never had a problem with him”.
The man told the Daily Mail Mr Jordan had a young son he shared with his ex-wife and, after the couple broke up, Mr Jordan had had several relationships.
Police allege Mr Jordan murdered Shyanne-Lee the night she vanished, before dumping her body in bushland 24km away.
The teenager had left a youth home about 8.30pm on April 30 to visit a friend.
She was last seen walking a street in eastern Launceston when CCTV footage caught her disappearing into the night on a quiet road.
Court documents obtained by the Daily Mail show police will allege Mr Jordan came across Shyanne-Lee sometime thereafter.
He then allegedly took the teenager back to his property in Scottsdale, a 64.5km drive northeast from the city, along a poorly lit country road winding through farmland and forest.
Later that night, Mr Jordan allegedly killed Shyanne-Lee at his home before dumping her body along a remote bushland track in Nabowla.
Mr Jordan did not make an application for bail when his matter was mentioned in court on Friday. He was remanded in custody.
According to court documents, he was ordered to reappear on August 16 over video link.
The three-month-long search for Shyanne-Lee was one of the largest co-ordinated searches in North Tasmanian history, drawing assistance from federal and NSW police, SES and volunteers to comb some 50 sqkm of land.
Helicopters, boats, horses, motorcycles, ATV drones and police recruits were all deployed during the search.
A tip-off from the public last week led police to search along Bridport Back Road, where the human remains were found.
Tasmanian Police have said the remains will be forensically tested for confirmation — expected to take a week.
Northern District Commander Kate Chambers has said Shyanne-Lee’s family were informed of the discovery before news broke.
“Our thoughts continue to be with them and Shyanne-Lee’s loved ones during this difficult time,” she said.