Danielle Easey murdered by friends, police allege

Justin Kent Dilosa was excused from appearing via audio visual link from the Newcastle courthouse cells when his matter was briefly mentioned in Belmont local court on Friday morning.

Mr Dilosa, 33, did not apply for bail and it was formally refused by Magistrate Peter Barnett.

The matter was adjourned to Gosford local court on November 15, where Mr Dilosa is expected to appear via audio visual link.

A handful of and family of Danielle Easey were in court for the mention of Mr Dilosa's matter, which lasted only a few minutes.

Meanwhile, Carol Marie McHenry, who is accused of accessory after the fact to murder and defrauding Ms Easey's mother, applied for bail in Toronto Local Court, her solicitor claiming she would abide by any condition to overcome what the prosecution said was an "unacceptable risk".

But Magistrate Michael Morahan said the matter was far too serious and refused her bail.

Ms McHenry, who appeared on the audio visual link from the Newcastle courthouse cells, sobbed throughout the bail application.

EARLIER REPORT:

DANIELLE Easey was stabbed and seriously assaulted by friends at a home at Narara on the Central Coast before her body was wrapped in plastic and dumped in Cockle Creek, Homicide Squad detectives allege.

Justin Kent Dilosa, 33, and Carol Marie McHenry, 32, who police said were associates of Ms Easey, were arrested during dramatic raids at an old chicken processing plant at Cardiff and a home at Holmesville on Thursday, a breakthrough in a mystery that started nearly three weeks ago with the gruesome discovery of Ms Easey's body.

Strike Force Furzer investigators also seized a Mitsubishi Delica at Cardiff, which they allege was used to transport Ms Easey's body from Narara to Killingworth, where her body was dumped in murky Cockle Creek.

Mr Dilosa and Ms McHenry were late on Thursday night charged over their alleged involvement in Ms Easey's murder.

Detectives have charged Mr Dilosa with murder, while Ms McHenry was charged with accessory after the fact to murder and dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.

Police allege Ms McHenry assisted Mr Dilosa by impersonating Ms Easey on one of her social media accounts after her death in an attempt to gain access to money.

"All three were associates of each other and known to each other for some time," Homicide Squad Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Dickinson said on Thursday.

Investigations into Ms Easey's death are continuing, however police believe they have those responsible and have confirmed it is unlikely there will be further arrests.

Ms Easey - a mother-of-two - was found wrapped in plastic and floating in Cockle Creek, near Wakefield Road, about 10.30am on August 31.

An autopsy would later reveal she had been seriously assaulted and stabbed.

But detectives have revealed they believe Ms Easey had been killed around August 17, two weeks before her body was found.

Following extensive inquiries into Ms Easey's associates and her movements during the final days before her death, investigators swooped on Thursday.

About 10am police went to an industrial premises at Cardiff where they arrested Mr Dilosa and seized a Mitsubishi Delica, before taking him to Belmont police station.

He had been living in a caretaker's cottage at the site, which was a disused chicken factory.

About an hour later, a swarm of heavily-armed police charged into a home at Holmesville and arrested Ms McHenry.

She was taken to Toronto police station.

As of Thursday night police were still speaking to the pair and executing extensive search warrants at the properties at Cardiff and Holmesville, a residential property at Narara where Ms Easey is alleged to have been murdered and forensically examining the Mitsubishi Delica.

Detective Acting Superintendent Dickinson confirmed items had been seized, adding that he anticipated investigators would "be there for quite some time and may very well be there into the evening."

The mother-of-two was known to police and had become involved in "drug-related activities over the last few weeks", police have previously said.

Ms Easey lived in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Booragul with family but had been staying more recently at multiple locations around the area.

Ms Easey was colloquially known as "the quaker" baby after she was born on a mattress on the lawn outside Newcastle's Western Suburbs Hospital in December 1989.

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