A policeman who was the first to a gruesome homicide at a Brisbane flat has revealed the scene was so appalling that he was convinced it was a Halloween prank.
An inquest into the case of Marcus Volke, a Queensland chef who killed his transgender girlfriend, dismembered her and then trying to cover his tracks by cooking her remains in October 2014, is taking place at the Brisbane Coroners Court.
Police had arrived at the flat Volke shared with his Indonesian partner Mayang Prasetyo after the manager of his apartment building reported a foul smell, and neighbours had noticed she was missing.
Volke locked the two officers that arrived out of his Teneriffe apartment, before self-harming and fleeing through another exit - but when they finally broke into the flat, police discovered a grisly murder scene.
Constable Liam McWhinney told the court he "originally thought it was some kind of sick prank, like a Halloween kind of [thing]" - but upon seeing "a substantial blood pool at the base of the fridge", he realised it was something far more sinister.
Volke had escaped out the rear entrance and into an alleyway, where he climbed into an industrial bin and died. His body was discovered by a Queensland Police dog squad.
The inquest heard Volke had visited a doctor two weeks before the murder, where he had expressed that he was struggling with anxiety, depression and a sleep disorder.
Newshub.
