MELBOURNE: Australian police have found the decomposed bodies of a missing Indian woman and her nine-year-old daughter in Sydney and charged her husband with murdering them.
Jyoti Mehta (38) and her daughter Ujalla Dinesh were reported missing by her husband on May 5. Their bodies were found yesterday at bottom of Echo Point lookout in the Blue Mountains here - a popular tourist spot, police said.
Detective Inspector Gary Hutchen said the bodies were found in the clothes they were wearing when they were last seen at their home in Sydney. "The clothing is consistent with clothing of missing persons we are investigating."
Police went to a home in Blacktown about 10.15 pm last night and arrested the deceased's husband. He was charged today morning with two counts of murder and refused bail to appear at Blacktown Local Court, ABC News reported.
Police said because the spot where the woman's body was discovered was near a popular bush-walking track, there was a possibility it had not been there long.
The accused has been remanded in custody at a Sydney court. Police revealed they have mobile phone records that showed the man was in Katoomba the morning after he reported his wife and stepdaughter missing.
The 41-year-old did not appear at Blacktown Local Court today. He did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until the matter returns to court next month.