The grandmother of a 17-year-old boy murdered in Belanglo forest, south of Sydney, says her grandson was a good kid whose life has been wasted.
The shallowly buried body of David Auchterlonie was found off a dirt road at Belanglo State Forest by police at 8.30pm (AEDT) on Sunday following a tip-off.
"He was such a good kid, just a life wasted," his grandmother Sandra Auchterlonie, with whom he was living in Bargo, told Channel Ten News.
"I thought I did everything to protect him but obviously I just didn't do enough."
Three male teenagers from the NSW southern highlands were on Monday charged in relation to the death.
One, who is related to serial killer Ivan Milat, has been charged with murder and appeared in court on Monday.
Two others have each been charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.
One of these teens faced Goulburn Local Court in southern NSW on Tuesday charged with being an accessory after the fact and was refused bail.
According to a police statement of facts tendered to the court, David was directed some metres down a track in the forest by one of the teens, who allegedly struck him with an axe.
David, who was one of eight children in his family, had been celebrating his 17th birthday at his grandparents' house and had planned to celebrate with three friends that night.
Police allege the group of four went into the forest some time after 6pm (AEDT) on Sunday and consumed alcohol.
"I loved that kid, and I wish I could have him back but I can't," Mrs Auchterlonie said.
The forest was the killing ground of Milat, who buried seven young victims there in the early 1990s.
