A body was found during a search on a rural property of a beloved horse breeder who was allegedly murdered in a case police are struggling to explain.
Edwin Dobbin, 82, of Leppington, was reported missing by family members in September.
An investigation to find him was launched without success.
Phillip Robert Bruce, a man known to Dobbin, allegedly gave police conflicting information about the incident several times.
Bruce, 67, was arrested at a house in the Sydney suburb of Smithfield about 2.45pm on Thursday following extensive investigations.
He was taken to the Fairfield police station. A crime scene warrant was executed at a property in Upper Colo, in the Hawkesbury region, northwest of Sydney.
Police confirmed that a body was found buried on the Upper Colo property on Friday.
Although the body has not yet been formally identified, police believe it is Mr Dobbin.
Leppington man Edwin Dobbin (pictured), 82, was reported missing by family members in September.
Phillip Robert Bruce, a man known to Dobbin, allegedly gave police conflicting information about the incident several times. Bruce, 67, was arrested at a house in the Sydney suburb of Smithfield about 2.45pm on Thursday following extensive investigations.
He was taken to the Fairfield police station. A crime scene warrant was executed at a property in Upper Colo, northwest of Sydney, where officers discovered a body, believed to be Mr Dobbin, on Friday.
Bruce has been charged with murder, hampering the investigation of an indictable felony of illegal body disposal.
He allegedly shot Mr. Dobbin on September 25, the same day he was reported missing, before allegedly disposing of his body on the rural property, court documents read.
Two missing person appeals were issued for Dobbin after he was last seen in Leppington, in Sydney’s southwest, earlier that day.
Police and his family said they had serious concerns for his well-being due to medical conditions that required medication.
Police allege the two men knew each other.
Interim Superintendent Tim Calman told reporters Friday that the family is “very, very upset” following the latest search update.
“Police spoke to the family yesterday and obviously because of these tragic circumstances, they are very, very upset, and Camden Police continue to work with the family to help them,” Superintendent Calman said.
Mr Dobbin (pictured) was a prominent Sydney miniature horse breeder and manufacturer of sulkies, which are light carts used for harness racing.
Bruce has been charged with murder, hampering the investigation of an indictable felony of illegal body disposal.
He allegedly shot Mr. Dobbin on Sept. 25, the same day he was reported missing, before disposing of his body on the rural property, court documents read.
He said there is no information about the motive.
“The exact ownership details of that property are still under investigation at this time,” Superintendent Calman said.
Mr Dobbin was last seen in Leppington at around 6.45am on September 25 wearing a brown and white striped shirt, black padded jacket, black shorts, white socks and brown shoes.
He was a prominent breeder of miniature horses in Sydney and a manufacturer of sulkies, which are light carts used for harness racing.
Bruce has also been charged with providing a false statement to hinder the investigation and illegally disposing of a dead body.
His matter was briefly mentioned at Fairfield Local Court on Friday, when his lawyer Thomas Skinner did not apply for bail.
The case is scheduled to return to Parramatta Local Court in December.
