Man charged with killing mother, dumping body in wheelie bin

A New Zealander has been charged in Australia with murdering his mother and dumping her in a wheelie bin.

Police said the woman, 51, was found on Friday in a wheelie bin near her home on the northern New South Wales coast at Yamba, the Northern Star newspaper at Lismore reported.

Joshua Francis Green, 30, was taken to the Yamba police station where he was charged with murder. He appeared before the Grafton Bail Court on Saturday and was remanded in custody.

Police told the court the man was unemployed and a schizophrenic on prescribed medication and that he had been living with his mother in a two-bedroom ground floor unit.

Police rushed to the unit on Friday after being told there was concern for the woman's safety. Ambulance officers were called and pronounced the woman dead at 8.48pm.

Police said the woman's body was taken to Newcastle for examination by forensic pathologists.

- NZPA