The heartbroken parents of a young man whose body was found a month after he went messing have vowed to seek justice following his alleged murder.
Joshua Bishop was last seen by his housemates on May 27 at their home in Sunbury, and was reported missing two days later by his mother.
Despite searching for weeks for their son, Travis and Kristie Bishop received the tragic news on Saturday that human remains had been discovered inside a home and an arrest had been made.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Travis Bishop pledged to seek justice for their beloved boy, saying the alleged murder made no sense.
“We’re in Australia … this is the lucky country and we’ve had our son taken from us, (allegedly) murdered and left to rot,” he said.
“It’s not fair. I’m so angry. I want justice for our son, our baby boy.”
Brandon Watts, 28, briefly appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday after being charged with the murder of Joshua Bishop.
A charge sheet alleges the Sunbury man murdered the 23-year-old at some point between May 27 and 28, shortly after he went missing.
He was last seen by his housemate on Lalor Crescent in Sunbury, in the city’s northwest, about 9.30pm on May 27.
He was reported missing after he failed to access his phone or bank accounts.
After previous extensive searches, police raided a home in the quiet suburb of Westmeadows on Saturday where they made the grim discovery.
The Erinbank Crescent townhouse is near where his phone last pinged around Broadmeadows Valley Park.
The remains are yet to be formally identified but a close friend who organised a fundraiser on behalf of the family acknowledged they belonged to Joshua.
His parents described their son as a “beautiful kid”.
“He had his whole future ahead of him. Never had a cruel bone in his body,” Travis Bishop said.
“He’s always the boy who wanted to help everybody and he put everyone else before himself.”
Missing persons detectives earlier declared the 23-year-old had no criminal links and his connection to the accused was not revealed in court.
Watts did not apply for bail and is expected to next face court on September 22.
