Bombshell development in the disappearance of Aussie teenager Pheobe Bishop - as her flatmates are charged with murder

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

The housemates of missing Australian teenager Pheobe Bishop have been charged with murder three weeks after the 17-year-old vanished.
Police arrested James Wood, 34, and his partner Tanika Bromley, 33, on Thursday night in Bundaberg, Queensland.
The couple had taken the teenager into their home in the weeks before her disappearance on May 15.
They are thought to have been the last people to see Pheobe and had been due to drop her off at Bundaberg airport that morning.
The pair have since been charged with one count each of murder and two counts each of interfering with a corpse.
They will remain in custody and are due to appear in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday.
Despite the breakthrough in the case, the young woman's body is yet to be found.
'The remains of Pheobe Bishop have not been located to date,' police admitted in a statement. 'Detectives continue to investigate this matter, and physical searches will continue as needed as information is provided.'
The charges were brought against Wood and Bromley hours after Pheobe's friends reported odd occurrences on her Facebook account on Thursday.
The teen's Facebook Messenger account appeared to be online at various times over a 14 hour period between midnight and 2pm.
One person reported that a green dot on her profile picture - showing when someone is logged in and available for instant chat - appeared at 12.18am.
Another Facebook friend shared a screenshot taken around 2pm that appeared to show Pheobe's account had been online just eight minutes before the image had been taken.
Both friends said they had reported the strange occurrences, with one even posting it to the social media of Pheobe's mum Kylie Johnson.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Queensland Police at 3pm Thursday to comment on the situation.
'For investigative reasons, we cannot provide that level of detail,' a spokesperson said.
Pheobe's mum Kylie Johnson shared a heartbreaking post shortly after she received the update from police on Thursday night.
'Our world has just been shattered into the most horrific place I've ever been,' she wrote.
'I need my baby home to put her to rest! I'm absolutely begging anyone that knows anything to come forward.
'We need to put her to rest, we need to put her to peace.'
Shortly before she received the news, Ms Johnson took to Facebook to mark three weeks since her 'Phee Phee' disappeared.
'My heart is holding onto every little memory and hope that you come home to us Phee Phee, the little internal family jokes, the little digs at your siblings and the love that you all unconditionally shared,' she began.
'The fierceness of that was beyond beautiful and unique.. I remember someone commenting once that you were all so co dependent that you finished each other sentences.'
'This statement made me the happiest mum alive! Your sibling bond is deep, meaningful and makes my heart so happy.. The emotional connection, love and friendship has always been unmatched and unquestioned..
'21 days without a txt, a call, or any contact.. I know our daughter and this isn't her behavior.
'Someone knows something! Someone has the answers to bring our Phee Phee home!
'Someone knows something! Someone has the answers to bring our Phee Phee, our Nanny McPhee, our Auntie Nanny our Nanny, our Flea Flea and our family member home!'
Pheobe was last seen on May 15 leaving the Gin Gin home, near Bundaberg, where she was living with Wood and his partner Bromley.
The couple drove Pheobe to Bundaberg Airport for an 8.30am flight to Brisbane and then on to Perth, where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend.
Pheobe failed to board and neither she nor her luggage have been seen since, with police revealing her neither her phone or bank accounts have been accessed.
The development comes after Wood was initially arrested on Wednesday and then released without charge.
Police provided an update earlier on Thursday.
'Detectives are continuing to run through several lines of enquiry as investigations continue, and will conduct physical searches when required,' a spokesperson said.
'Police are continuing to appeal for any information about Pheobe's whereabouts.'
The search for Pheobe was scaled back on Wednesday after police had spent weeks combing several areas of interest.
They included the property in Gin Gin where Pheobe had lived with Wood and Bromley and a grey Hyundai ix35, thought to have been used to take Pheobe to the airport.
The police search initially focused on Good Night Scrub National Park with homicide detectives, cadaver dogs and divers called in.
Some items believed to be linked to the investigation were seized for forensic examination.
The search revealed evidence might have been moved from the national park before police arrived.