Port Lincoln locals react to shock discovery of human skull in Tamika Chesser case

News.com.au

3 days ago

Port Lincoln locals Katie and her friend were walking up Slipway Rd on Thursday afternoon.
Just moments earlier, police had announced they had discovered a human skull in the walking trails and scrubland between Slipway Rd and Hindmarsh Rd on the eastern edge of the popular fishing town.
The discovery marked another grisly twist in the Tamika Chesser case, which has sent shockwaves through the small and close-knit Eyre Peninsula community.
'I'm relieved for the family, it's a bit of closure for them,' Katie said.
'But I feel devastated for the person that found it.'
Tyson McCallum was also walking in the area when his dog Benji the Beaglier found what police believe is a human head.
'I just went in a bit closer and kind of made the connection pretty quickly as to what I thought it was,' he told 9News.
'(It was) pretty surreal to be honest,' he added.
'I was kind of like 'No way, it's not what I think it is, surely not'. But it was too coincidental.'
Ms Chesser, a former Beauty and the Geek contestant, is accused of murdering her boyfriend Julian Story at the pair's Port Lincoln unit around midnight on June 17.
Police allege she also dismembered Mr Story's body, removing his head.
Ms Chesser was then allegedly captured on CCTV in the hours afterwards walking with a bag, dogs and dressed in heavy clothing.
She was arrested on June 19 and charged with murder and destroy human remains.
South Australian Police and SES volunteers fanned out across the town to search for Mr Story's missing remains in the days and weeks following the alleged murder, but the search was suspended last week.
But in a shock development, police announced on Thursday afternoon they believed they had found Mr Story's head.
A resident walking their dog found the skull and reported it to the authorities, police said.
'Preliminary investigations and phone calls to forensic science centre (indicate) the remains are most likely human, and I believe they are the remains of Julian Story,' Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said.
'To confirm this, those remains will be subject to further testing over the coming days.
Mr Story's family have been contacted and updated on next steps, the Superintendent said.
Katie's friend, who did not wish to be named, said she was no longer worried she would 'stumble across it'.
Katie said the discovery would likely reignite interest among locals in the case, which has gripped the town over the past few weeks.
'It's going to go mental,' Katie said.
Ms Chesser's case has generated widespread interest because of her glamorous former life and the brutal nature of the alleged killing.
Greg, who has lived in Port Lincoln since the 1970s, said locals discussed the case regularly.
'It was a gruesome bloody incident,' he said, speaking before Thursday's discovery.
'This town, we've never had anything like that before.'
Harley Hozer, who lives across the road from the unit complex where Ms Chesser and Mr Story lived, said the allegations had 'shook the town'.
'It shook the town a little bit,' she told NewsWire.
'We've dealt with some crime before but nothing like this.
'It shocked me, that's for sure.'
Police cars and cops patrolled the entry points to the scrubland across Thursday, with police line closing off the area.
Detectives could be seen walking into the trails.
That same day, Ms Chesser appeared at Port Lincoln Magistrates Court at 9.30am on three separate matters.
Police allege she behaved in a disorderly manner at a tobacco store on Port Lincoln's Liverpool St and at the Port Lincoln Police station, both on February 14, 2025,
It is further alleged she assaulted a woman on November 1 last year.
It is listed as a summary offence, meaning it is considered a low level of offending.
She is also alleged to have assaulted a police officer on June 20 this year, one day after she was arrested for the alleged killing of Mr Story.
The 34-year-old woman appeared via AVL from James Nash House, a psychiatric facility, where she greeted the magistrate and answered questions for the first time in court.
She sported a shaved head and wore a blue sweater and greeted Magistrate Patrick Hill with a 'hello'.
Justin Slater, a solicitor with the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, represented her in court.
He told Mr Hill he had ordered 'reports' into the charges.
'We are doing our own reports in relation to these matters,' he said.
He asked Mr Hill to adjourn matters until a charge determination had been made for Ms Chesser's more serious allegations and Mr Hill agreed to the request, setting December 18 at Port Lincoln for the next hearing.
When asked if she understood her hearing would be adjourned, Ms Chesser replied: 'Yep'.
Mr Slater declined to comment on the charges or Ms Chesser's condition after the hearing.
Thursday's hearing marked the second time Ms Chesser had fronted court following her first appearance at Adelaide Magistrates Court last month on the murder and destroy human remains charges.
Those matters are listed to be heard in Adelaide on December 12.
Mr Story was a Port Lincoln local, while Ms Chesser had only recently moved to the area from Queensland.
She starred in the second series of the hit reality TV show Beauty and the Geek in 2010, finishing in second place.
She has also worked as a model for a range of brands including Target and appeared in men's magazines including Ralph and FHM, a profile for her on Star Now states.
Her Instagram and Facebook social media profiles are filled with racy and glamorous images.
A funeral service for Mr Story is expected next week.