WA Police identify body dumped in national park in Perth’s east

A murder investigation was launched, with a team of police academy recruits deployed to the site on Tuesday morning to help search the crime scene.

Police divers also scoured the dam floor for clues as grid searches took place on land.

Homicide detectives believe the murder wasn’t the work of an experienced killer, telling Nine News an analysis of the crime scene suggested the bin first sunk to the dam floor but began to float a short time later.

Major Crime Squad Acting Inspector Sean Wright confirmed the remains of a male person had been found, saying it was “highly unusual” for police to find a body in a bin floating in a dam.

While police told Nine News the age of the man, they are yet to publicly identify the victim as officers work to notify his family.

According to Nine News, the man had been an official missing person for at least a week and had a history with police.

It is unclear at this stage why a public alert was never issued to locate him and it is unknown how long his body had been floating in the water.

“A group of [visitors] noticed an awful smell and spotted the bin … and they actually spotted part of a human limb, either a hand or foot, sticking out the top of the wheelie bin and obviously called police,“ Nine News Perth reporter Jerrie Demasi said.

“[Police are] currently examining the body. There have been injuries caused to it before it ended up [in the dam].“

The people who made the gruesome discovery are receiving counselling.

John Forrest National Park lies far out to Perth’s east, past Midland. Glen Brook Dam can be accessed by a trail leaving from a picnic area near Park Road.

Detectives would like anyone who saw the bin in the dam or has seen any suspicious activity in the Park Road, Hovea, near Glen Brook Dam, to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at crimestopperswa.com.au.