Ex-partner of missing mum charged with murder after body found by pig hunters

A former partner of a missing mother has been charged with murder after a body believed to be hers was discovered by pig hunters west of Brisbane on Saturday night, following days of desperate searching.

Toowoomba woman Jana Armstrong, 30, was declared missing on Tuesday, with her four-month-old son discovered at her home in the suburb of Newtown. He is now with family members.

Her car was found unlocked on Wednesday morning, “basically parked in the middle of the road”, according to Acting Detective Inspector Brian Collins.

On Saturday morning, Armstrong’s sister Faith Isaacs took to social media to ask members of the public to assist with a search near Preston Road, in a rural area south of Toowoomba.

Remains believed to be Armstrong’s were found just after 10:30pm on Saturday near Esk Hampton Road, north-east of the city.

Collins said the remains were discovered by members of the public hunting wild boars in an area that had not been of interest to police so far during the search.

“It’s fairly rough terrain, and fairly steep terrain,” he said.

Police subsequently searched a home in Harristown, an adjacent suburb of Newtown, where they took a 48-year-old man into custody and charged him with domestic violence murder.

Footage of the arrest shows police entering the home and waking the man up.

The room is sparse, with just a single bed and a dining chair for a side table where the man had a glass of water and a toothbrush.

After police discovered Armstrong’s dumped car on Wednesday morning, Collins said this man was found in her home with the four-month-old baby.

He was brought to the station for questioning at the time, but released without charge.

Investigators have asked anyone with dashcam footage or CCTV that might show Armstrong’s white Hyundai Kona – registration 273ZHQ – to get in touch.

“Police are calling for anyone who may have been in the area between Toowoomba and Esk, specifically on the New England highway and the Esk Hampton Road between 10.30pm on the 7th of July and 1.30am on the eighth of July,” Collins said.

He said police believed the man had moved Armstrong’s body in her car.

The man is expected to appear in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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