Alleged killer was neighbour
A MAN accused of killing a former Brisbane high school teacher before stashing his body in a freezer and burying it in a backyard has been extradited from Tweed Heads.
Peak Crossing man Bobby Andrew Weaver, 24, faced Tweed Heads Local Court yesterday, after his arrest at Byron Bay on Tuesday.
Weaver was later charged with the murder of David Thornton, 58, who Queensland Police believe was last seen in February.
Weaver is a volunteer firefighter with a young daughter and a fiancé, and was a neighbour of the dead man.
On Monday, police uncovered a freezer buried in the backyard of Mr Thornton’s home at Goodna, Ipswich. Human remains were concealed inside.
Police dug up two freezers in the backyard after a witness reportedly spotted someone burying them last week.
An autopsy confirmed the remains were those of Mr Thornton, who was a popular maths and science teacher at Bremer and Centenary high schools in Brisbane. He was forced into retirement through injury, one neighbour said.
Weaver, wearing a blue check shirt, fronted Tweed court over video link from Tweed Heads Police Station.
He stared straight ahead with clasped hands and showed little emotion as Magistrate Erin Kennedy signed off on his extradition.
He later faced Ipswich Magistrates Court, where he was formally charged with murder and interfering with a corpse, his head hung for almost the entire duration of the hearing. The case was adjourned to April 17.
Divers from Queensland Police searched a creek at the Parker St property yesterday as part of ongoing investigations.
Mr Thornton’s family have been informed of the developments in the missing person case and were devastated, said Queensland Police Detective Inspector David Briese.