Phillip Robert Bruce will remain in custody on Friday as police look for the remains of 82-year-old Edwin Dobbin, who disappeared a month earlier from southwest Sydney.
The 67-year-old was charged with shooting the elderly man and disposing of his body some time after Mr Dobbin was last seen in late September.
The accused killer, who police said knew the 82-year-old, was arrested at a home in Smithfield on Thursday after allegedly telling authorities conflicting accounts of the elderly man's disappearance.
Following the arrest, police began searching a semi-rural property in the Hawkesbury region, northwest of Sydney, where they believe Mr Dobbin's body is buried.
The search for the remains of Edwin Dobbin will likely take a couple of days, police say. (file) (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Authorities said they would continue the search for his remains on Friday.
"Police spoke with the family yesterday and obviously in these tragic services they're very, very upset," Acting Superintendent Tim Calman told reporters.
The search for Mr Dobbin's body would be "extensive" and likely take a couple of days, he said.
Supt Calman would not be drawn on whether police believed the elderly man was killed on the property.
No motive was yet known for the alleged murder, he said.
As bwell as the murder charge, Bruce has been accused of hindering an investigation into a serious indictable offence and the unlawful disposal of a corpse.
His matter was briefly heard at Fairfield Local Court on Friday, when his barrister Thomas Skinner did not apply for bail.
Bruce's case will next come before Parramatta Local Court in December.
Mr Skinner did not speak to reporters as he left court.
Two missing-person appeals were issued for Mr Dobbin after he was last spotted at Leppington, about 80km from where the search from his body was taking place, early on the morning of September 25.
Police and his family said they held serious concerns for his welfare due to medical conditions that required medication.
He might have been seen at two locations in southwest Sydney on the day of his disappearance, including near a petrol station at Prestons.
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