Heartbreaking update for family of Shyanne-Lee Tatnell after man was charged with murdering the 14-year-old girl
The remains that were found during the search for a missing teenager in Tasmania have now been officially identified as belonging to Shyanne-Lee Tatnell.
DNA testing confirmed they belonged to the 14-year-old who was last seen alive in Launceston in April this year.
Police acting on a tip-off found human remains 52km away at Nabowla, in the state’s north-east, on Wednesday before swiftly taping off and scouring Jordan’s nearby Scottsdale property, sending in cadaver dogs and specialist divers to search a dam.
Christopher Jordan, 36, was arrested on Thursday over her death. He was a complete stranger to her family.
Police will allege Jordan came across Shyanne-Lee on the night she vanished before taking her to his place where he murdered her, before later dumping her body 24km away in remote bushland.
The shocking allegations have rocked the small, tight-knit communities in the state’s north – including Shyanne-Lee’s hometown, Burnie – as both the teenager’s family and residents nervously spent the past few months hoping she would safely return home.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia outside the family’s Burnie home on Saturday, Shyanne-Lee’s stepfather Nathan Spurr confirmed the alleged attack appeared to be random.
He told Daily Mail Australia neither he, Shyanne-Lee’s mother Bobbi-Lee Ketchell, nor the rest of the family knew of Jordan before his arrest.
Police are yet to reveal whether they believe Shyanne-Lee had any prior interactions with Jordan before they allegedly crossed paths in the moments after she was last seen on CCTV footage walking east along Henry Street about 8.30pm on April 30.
The devastating outcome is just another in a series of tragedies the family has faced in recent years, with Ms Ketchell having lost Shyanne-Lee’s younger brother, Xavier, who suffered from a rare genetic disorder, in late 2012.
Daily Mail Australia can also reveal Shyanne-Lee’s father Nathan Tatnell is currently incarcerated at Risdon Prison Complex, a maximum-security facility near Hobart.
