Reality TV star Tamika Chesser murdered, decapitated beau: Cops

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A former reality TV star accused of butchering her boyfriend, then decapitating him, hasn’t told detectives where the victim’s head is.

Friends say Beauty and the Geek star Tamika Chesser had been acting bizarrely in the weeks preceding the macabre murder that has shocked Australia.

According to cops, on June 17, at victim Julian Story’s home in Port Lincoln, South Australia, the couple had a bitter argument. The spat took a violent turn, and Chesser allegedly murdered and then dismembered the 39-year-old Story on his bathroom floor.

She then allegedly attempted to incinerate his body before scurrying off with his head in a bag, then disposing of it at what is now an unknown location. Chesser was arrested at the scene of the crime and charged with murder two days later.

Authorities are still searching the cliffs and waters of the Eyre Peninsula in hopes of finding the missing cranium.

“While I won’t provide any further detail about that at this time, I can tragically say that we have not recovered the head of Julian Story,” Det. Supt. Darren Fielke told reporters. “I can only imagine, and I want you to imagine, the grief this news is causing Julian’s family.”

The detective added: “Recovering Julian’s head to return it to his family so they can have a peaceful outcome, have a funeral and lay him to rest is a really important aspect for us.”

Local sources say that Chesser’s behaviour in the weeks prior to the tragedy was noticeable. A series of weird videos was posted online.

In one, she’s seen screaming at a hotel in Port Lincoln. Footage captured by CCTV and shocked locals tells the tale. She had already shaved her head bald and doffed her lustrous locks. In the video, she is wearing a long, dark wig and hat before tossing them to the side and screaming.

She had been in Port Lincoln for the past two months.

The Daily Mail Australia reports that in a second video, Chesser is seen performing something of a gymnastics routine outside a local cafe. In a third video, the reality star is seen wearing a wedding veil and posing topless at the town’s war memorial.

Cops are now appealing to local residents to review their CCTV or dash cam footage to assist the probe.

Earlier, detectives revealed that they found Chesser at the crime scene sitting in the garden at Story’s property “in a catatonic and unresponsive state” before her arrest.

In addition to the murder charge, Chesser was charged with disposing of human remains to pervert the course of justice and assaulting a police officer.

A motive remains elusive, with police admitting there are “a lot of unanswered questions.” The crime scene was described as “complex.”

Chesser appeared in court over the weekend via video link. She was denied bail is being kept under a mental health detention order. A committal hearing is now slated for December.

Her sister told the Mail that the family is in shock and is devastated by the grisly details of the slaying.

“Please report how my sister is in a mental psychosis … This is not her … She would never do these things,” said her sister, who requested that The Toronto Sun not identify her, told the Mail, adding that the suspect had endured “a life of trauma and abuse, and now this – it has fried her brain”.

The victim’s family thanked emergency personnel and the community for bringing “comfort amid the chaos.”

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun