UNDER ARREST: Robert James Pluis was arrested on Friday for the murder of Wyalong man Darren Greenfield. Pluis is lead into Griffith Courthouse.
AS SOON as people walked outside from Wyalong man Darren Greenfield’s funeral on Friday, whispers spread that police had charged a man with his murder.
Robert James Pluis was refused bail at Griffith Local Court hours later. He will remain behind bars until he next fronts court on March 6.
Police say Pluis was arrested at a service station in Mackay Avenue, Griffith, at 9.20am.
The 43-year-old has no current address but is believed to have been boarding with Mr Greenfield for about six months.
On Friday, a resounding theme throughout Mr Greenfield’s funeral, attended by 400 people, was that he was generous and trusting.
After the funeral, a close friend said that Mr Greenfield, 44, had been trying to help Pluis gain employment while they were living together.
Another friend and work colleague, Marcus Brooks, said it was a “sense of closure” when he heard someone had been charged.
“He was the best bloke ever there (at work),” he said, standing outside St Mary’s Catholic Church.
Mr Greenfield’s body was discovered shortly after 7.30am on January 22 at his George Bland Avenue home.
Police only confirmed the circumstances of Mr Greenfield’s death were suspicious on Thursday.
It was then that they appealed for information about a critical two-hour window on Sunday, January 20.
Griffith’s crime manager Detective Inspector Paul Smith said the help they had received from the public had proved valuable in the investigation.
“In so many cases police appeal to the public for information about significant investigations,” he said.
“This is yet another example of how one piece of information from the public can make such a difference to a grieving family.”
Police have refused to reveal the nature of Mr Greenfield’s injuries or the results of the post-mortem.