Body of Irish journalist, 29, found after she was 'raped, murdered and buried in shallow grave'

• Adrian Ernest Bayley, 41, has been charged with the rape and murder of Irish national Jill Meagher in Melbourne, Australia
• Mrs Meagher, from Drogheda, County Louth, vanished following a night out with colleagues from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last Saturday
• The 29-year-old's body is understood to have been discovered in a shallow grave at Gisborne South, around 30km from where she disappeared

Jill Meagher: The 29-year-old's body is understood to have been discovered in a shallow grave around 30km from where she vanished in Melbourne

A man has been charged with the rape and murder of Irish woman Jill Meagher after a body was discovered in a shallow grave.
Adrian Ernest Bayley was brought before a special court sitting in the early hours of the morning where he was charged over the disappearance of the 29-year-old in Melbourne, Australia.
Mrs Meagher, originally from Drogheda, Co Louth, was last seen leaving a bar in the early hours of Saturday after a night out with colleagues.
It is understood her body was discovered in a shallow grave at Gisborne South, about 30km from where she vanished.
A Victoria Police spokesman said officers continued to conduct forensic analysis of the scene.
Bayley, 41, from the Coburg suburb of the city, was remanded in custody and will reappear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court in the morning.
The suspect was arrested after the last image of Mrs Meagher on a shop's CCTV footage showed her talking to a man wearing a blue hoodie before she vanished.
According to one witness report a car made a U-turn on the street after Mrs Meagher walked past.
Her husband, Thomas, raised the alarm when she failed to make the short walk to her home less than a mile from Bar Etiquette in Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Accused: Adrian Bayley, 41, has been charged over the disappearance of 29-year-old Irish woman Jill Meagher in Melbourne

Charged: Bayley, of Corburg, was remanded in custody after being charged with the rape and murder of Mrs Meagher

Mrs Meagher's uncle Michael McKeon described the 29-year-old as 'a brilliant person', and said her family - including parents George and Edith McKeon - were 'powerless to describe' their loss.
'Jillian was a brilliant person, so happy, great worker, so in love with Tom - all the cliches, that was her,' said Mr McKeon, who had last seen his niece three weeks ago when she was on a trip home to Ireland.
'Tom and Jillian were a lovely couple and they don't deserve this - nobody does.'

Bereft: Jill Meagher's husband Tom pictured leaving Melbourne Magistrates' Court

A statement issued by Mr McKeon on behalf of the journalist's family said: 'We are devastated. We are heartbroken.
'She was the first grandchild my mother had and her aunts, uncles and cousins are powerless to describe their loss.'
'There are no words to describe how we feel at what has happened.'
'Both the McKeon family and Meagher family will have to plan now to grieve for Jillian and this is going to be one of the hardest things given that, only three years ago, we came together for the marriage of this lovely couple.'
The then newlywed couple moved to Australia from Ireland three years ago.
Mr McKeon admitted the family had 'feared the worst' during the agonising six days search for Termonfeckin-born Mrs Meagher, who was last seen on Sydney Road in Brunswick, Melbourne, after a night out with ABC colleagues in Bar Etiquette.
Her handbag was later discovered in a lane off Sydney Road.
Mrs Meagher's husband Tom had combed the streets around the couple's home as her family anxiously awaited a clue to her whereabouts.
The 29-year-old's body was eventually discovered buried in a shallow grave about five metres from Black Hills Road in rural Gisborne South.
The farming area -  also known as Couangalt - is nestled in Macedon Ranges Shire in Victoria.
Adrian Bayley, who has been charged with the rape and murder of the 29-year-old, is due to reappear before magistrates in Melbourne in the morning.
Bayley, 41, who wears a wedding ring and has a barbed wire tattoo, reportedly claims to be a Buddhist.
Police said the 'Find Jillian Meagher' social media campaign sparked by her disappearance had helped their investigation.
Officers studied CCTV footage taken from several shops along the Sydney Road route in Brunswick as part of their inquiries.
ABC colleague Gloria Kalache has said the city of Melbourne had been shaken by the random attack.
‘There is a feeling of shock, it’s a case that not only affected all of us in ABC, but particularly it affected lots of women in the Melbourne area, who walk home by themselves without giving a second thought to it,' she said.

Investigation: Jill Meagher's body is understood to have been discovered buried in a shallow grave in Gisborne South, around 30km from where she vanished

Tragic: A huge social media campaign was launched to find the 29-year-old after she vanished following a night out with colleagues from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last Saturday

Discovery: Jill Meagher's body was discovered buried beside a road in rural Gisborne after she vanished from Sydney Street in Brunswick, Melbourne

Earlier this month, Irish backpacker David Greene died in hospital in Melbourne almost two weeks after a hammer attack.

The 30-year-old and his friend David Byas, both from Cabinteely in Dublin, were injured in an alleged assault in the city on August 26.

Luke James Wentholt, from St Kilda East, has been charged with his murder.

'Heartbroken': Jill Meagher is seen with her brother Michael on her wedding day three years ago

'Devastated': Jill Meagher's father George McKeon pictured on his daughter's wedding day with her cousin Louise McKeon

Grieving: Mrs Meagher's mother Edith. Family members have said they are 'powerless to describe' their loss

Tributes: Bunches of flowers have been placed outside the Duchess Boutique store in Brunswick, Melbourne, the last place Jill Meagher was seen alive