A middle-aged man who met a younger woman online held onto her body for two days after murdering her before dumping it in a Sydney park like "refuse", police allege.
Nicole Cartwright's body was wrapped in a bedsheet when it was discovered by a council worker at Buffalo Creek Reserve in Hunters Hill in October 2018.
NSW Police on Wednesday arrested a 51-year-old man and charged him with murdering the 32-year-old on her birthday.
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said Ms Cartwright met the man through dating apps and social media.
Police allege she was murdered on October 1 but not dumped in the park until the morning of October 3.
"It will be alleged this man took her from an address to the reserve and, unfortunately, dumped the body like some piece of unwanted refuse," the homicide squad commander told reporters.
"It's a cold-hearted act. It's a callous and heinous criminal act."
Det Supt Doherty said Ms Cartwright was "brutalised" before she was murdered and her body discarded.
An autopsy into her death was inconclusive but revealed she had suffered head injuries.
Information from the community following appeals had helped the police investigation, Det Supt Doherty revealed on Wednesday.
Forensic evidence allegedly links the man - who was living at Haberfield at the time - to the victim and the crime scene.
Ms Cartwright's brother, Ben, said she was a much loved sister and daughter, and a cherished member of the family.
"It's hard to express in words what our family has been through since Nicole's death," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We grieve daily for Nicole and the life she never got to live, and we are still struggling to comprehend that she will never be coming home."
The man was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday.
Australian Associated Press
