Police will allege that a man's hands and teeth were removed and a bushfire set in a state forest in an attempt to cover up his Christmas Day murder.
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A NSW Rural Fire Service crew found the remains of Queensland man Tyron Beauchamp on the morning of December 27 last year after responding to a small fire in the Yarratt State Forest, north of Taree.
A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Beauchamp had been seriously assaulted before his body was taken to the forest and set on fire.
Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Scott Cook told reporters on Wednesday that Mr Beauchamp was at a Christmas Day gathering with three other men, when an argument broke out.
"It will be alleged he was at a social gathering with three other men in Taree. It will be alleged that an argument ensued in regards to some property and that two of the men beat Tyron, one with a steel bar, that resulted in severe head injuries and ultimately his death," Superintendent Cook said.
Mr Beauchamp was a known associate of the men who police believe killed him.
Investigators do not know what the property in dispute was, but believe it was "trivial".
"To murder someone over a small amount of property is a disgrace," Superintendent Cook said.
DNA allowed police to identify the victim, despite the alleged removal of his hands and teeth.
"Tyron was found burnt as a result of the fire [that] the Rural Fire people were putting out. His hands had been severed, and his hands had been removed. He suffered serious head injuries. We will allege that was an attempt to disguise his body," he said.
Police believe that Mr Beauchamp's hands and teeth were removed after his death, which Superintendent Cook described as "gruesome".
Detectives arrested four men, aged between 19 and 24, at separate homes in Taree on Wednesday morning over their alleged roles.
Detectives also arrested a 42-year-old man who went to Taree police station on Wednesday morning about an unrelated matter.
The five men were taken from Taree to Forster police station where they remain in custody.
Police expect to charge two with murder over Mr Beauchamp's death, two with accessory after the fact of murder and one with concealing a serious offence.
Mr Beauchamp had moved to the Taree area in mid-2018 and was said to have been a private man with few close friends in the area, said Manning-Great Lakes police district crime manager Detective Chief Inspector Rod Blackman.
It was "likely those who disposed of Mr Beauchamp's body would have local knowledge", Chief Inspector Blackman said.
Four days before Mr Beauchamp's remains were found, a Facebook user had made a death threat on one of his posts.
