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A human skull found in scrubland by a person pursuing a wandering dog is believed to be the missing head of alleged murder victim Julian Story.
Authorities had been searching for the head of Story, 39, since his dismembered body was discovered in the South Australian town of Port Lincoln on 19 June.
On Thursday, a resident told police they had found a skull in scrub, Det Supt Darren Fielke said.
“Preliminary investigations and phone calls to the forensic science centre have provided information that the remains are most likely human and I believe they are the remains of Julian Story,” the major crime officer-in-charge said.
Former Beauty and the Geek reality TV contestant Tamika Sueann Rose Chesser, 34, has been charged with Story’s murder. She was arrested on 19 June after Story’s body was found at the couple’s home at Port Lincoln, on the Eyre peninsula.
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On 27 June, Fielke issued a plea for public help “because tragically, we have not recovered the head of Julian Story”.
He said major crime officers had been redeployed to Port Lincoln after the discovery of the skull on Thursday.
“My understanding is that the person who contacted us today was walking their dog in that area,” he said.
“The dog ran off into the scrub. The dog didn’t come back when called. The person has gone in to see what’s going on and that’s how those remains were discovered.”
Story’s family had been told of the discovery and “hopefully we can give them some comfort that we have found all the remains of Julian”, Fielke said.
“They are still planning for a funeral, which I believe will be towards the end of next week,” he said.
The skull would be sent to Adelaide for forensic and scientific testing.
“If it’s not Julian Story, then clearly we’ve got some other work to do, but I believe that it is,” Fielke said.
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The alleged murder scene was “suburbs away” from where the skull was found, in an area known as “slipway scrub”.
Fielke thanked the community for their help and said they had been through “quite a process” with the focus on their town. A police guard had been placed on the site with more searches planned.
Chesser appeared in Port Lincoln magistrates court on Thursday via video link from James Nash House, a psychiatric facility in Adelaide. She is also accused of assaulting a police officer the day after her arrest and faces unrelated charges of assault and disorderly behaviour.
The matters were adjourned and Chesser will reappear in court on 18 December.
In June, police released still images and video of a woman they allege was Chesser walking on Port Lincoln streets that were recorded after the killing, which investigators allege occurred about midnight on 17 June.
The images show a woman wearing a black headscarf and black full-body coverings, carrying a bag.
