Name suppression has been lifted for the man accused of murdering Harold Skudder, who disappeared more than three years ago.
Sean Brown, 26, reappeared in the Lower Hutt District Court on Thursday. At an earlier hearing he had been granted temporary name suppression to give his family time to hear the news of his arrest.
A post-mortem has been completed on human remains believed to be those of Mr Skudder but it may be next week before they're returned to his family.
Outside court, inquiry head Detective Inspector Shane Cotter said the cause of death hadn't yet been established, but confirmed there were significant injuries to parts of the body.
Mr Brown is charged with murdering Mr Skudder in 2006 and is also facing a minor charge related to breaking a window earlier this year.
He was remanded in custody to reappear in court on 22 April.
Shane Cotter believes there are still people in the community, who know what happened to Mr Skudder.
He says investigators have travelled to other parts of the country to interview witnesses, but anyone with information who hasn't yet been contacted, should call the Operation Skudder team at Lower Hutt Police Station.
Harold Alamoti Taipa Skudder, 38, was reported missing from Lower Hutt by his mother in February 2008. He had not been seen since December 2006 but police believe his death occurred at the end of January 2007.
Outside court, Mr Skudder's sister Molly Skudder wept, saying no words could express the pain the family is feeling at present.
Ms Skudder says the family is relieved her brother's body has been found and she hopes more people come forward with information about his death.
Meanwhile, police are keen to find a gold, 50cm high statue of a cat missing from a house they searched in Lower Hutt last week.
Detective Inspector Cotter the statue could be in bush or on the side of the road.
