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Bridgetown man Kevin Allan Craig Potter charged with murder after body of missing man Raymond Smith found

Josh KemptonBunbury Herald
Missing Greenbushes man Raymond Smith
Camera IconMissing Greenbushes man Raymond Smith Credit: Supplied/RegionalHUB

The mystery disappearance of Greenbushes man Raymond Smith has reached a tragic conclusion, with his body discovered on the outskirts of the town and a Bridgetown man charged with his murder.

Police have charged 35-year-old Kevin Allan Craig Potter with killing the 68-year-old.

Mr Smith had not been seen or heard from since December 7 and was reported missing on December 18, with the homicide squad taking carriage of the investigation into his disappearance last Tuesday, while revealing it was being treated as suspicious.

Forensic police spent last Monday and Tuesday combing Mr Smith’s home on Blackwood Road - Greenbushes’ main street - before expanding the search area into nearby bushland on Wednesday, where his body was eventually found.

Neighbour Joanne Woods said she knew “something wasn’t right” when his front door was left open for a week.

“(Mr Smith) was always very polite. He’d stop out the front, wave, say hello,” she said.

“We noticed that his door was open and his vehicle was in the garage.

“The door was never closed for the rest of the week, we realised then that something wasn’t right.”

Ms Woods said she would remember Mr Smith as a “nice, kind guy”.

“I only knew Raymond briefly passing here and there. I’d sit on his porch, have a drink with him or have a chat,” she said.

“He wouldn’t really tell you anything much.

“He’d come down, he’d bring me some lemons, he wouldn’t stay, he’d just pop some lemons on the table or call out that some lemons are here or some avocados from the tree.”

Mr Potter appeared in Northbridge Magistrates Court via video link from Bunbury on Sunday.

He was remanded in custody and is expected to appear in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court later this month.

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