By Chris Vedelago and Erin Pearson
Police used a drone with special scanning capabilities to find the body of missing woman Maryam Hamka in an isolated bush site on the Mornington Peninsula, nearly 2½ years after she vanished.
Hamka’s former partner, Toby Loughnane, was charged with murdering her in August 2021 and has pleaded not guilty.
The Hamka family on Monday welcomed the discovery of the 36-year-old’s remains, and they said they were “happy to finally be able to lay her to rest” since her disappearance in April 2021.
“Our full focus now is just to get justice for her,” brother Hassan Hamka said.
Hassan said police found his sister’s body using an aerial drone that identified the spot where she had been buried near Cape Schanck.
Police officers recovered the remains during a search of the Cape Schanck area on Monday morning. The remains are yet to be formally identified.
An aerial view of the Cape Schanck site on Monday.Credit: Nine News
Aerial footage of the search zone shows forensic officers placing yellow markers in dirt near the base of a large tree. Nearby lay a red wheelbarrow and plastic buckets filled with soil.
Police conducted searches in the area last month.
“Our heartfelt thoughts are with Maryam’s family and friends. The past two years have been an incredibly difficult time for them, and their grief remains as raw as ever,” Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Frewen said.
“The investigative efforts by the missing persons squad, Crime Command and other members of Victoria Police have been tireless and extraordinary.
“Our members have worked under very difficult and trying conditions to ensure that every avenue of inquiry has been exhausted, so we could provide answers to Maryam’s family.
“We know this has been an incredibly difficult and traumatic time for them. We hope that this will bring the closure they need and Maryam can finally be laid to rest.”
Hamka was last seen leaving a Woolworths store in Albert Street, Brunswick on April 10, 2021.
Toby Loughnane has pleaded not guilty to murder.Credit: YouTube
She had told family she was intending to visit a friend in Brighton and left wearing a black dress. Her family reported her missing on April 15, 2021.
At the time, Hamka’s family said it was “very out of character” for the 36-year-old not to call and check in on her nephew, whom she saw frequently.
No trace of her had been found until Monday, although a significant stain – which police allege to be blood – was found at the bottom of the stairs in Loughnane’s home in Well Street, Brighton, a court previously heard.
No DNA profile could be obtained from the sample, the court was told.
According to court documents, police allege Loughnane murdered Hamka in Brighton on April 11, 2021.
Maryam Hamka was last seen alive in April 2021.Credit: Nine News
It is alleged the body was then moved in the early hours of April 13 the same year.
Loughnane, 43, was charged four months later and during an initial court hearing revealed he had learnt from the television news that he was facing a murder charge.
On July 4, 2022, Loughnane was committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria. He has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Loughnane was due to face court on August 21, but the murder trial was recently vacated.
He is next due to come before the Supreme Court again for a hearing in mid-September.
No new trial date has been rescheduled. Loughnane remains in custody.
Loughnane’s solicitor, Sam Norton, did not respond to a request for comment.
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