Brit, 34, found stabbed to death and loaded with stones in an Australian river in 2004, “was murdered by his wife’s jealous lover”, police claim as they arrest him 20 years later in a cold case.

A man has finally been charged with the murder of a British man whose mutilated body was pulled from a river in Australia no less than 20 years ago.

Jason Palmer, who was 34 at the time of his death, was brutally stabbed in the western Sydney suburb of Lakemba before his bleeding corpse was dumped in a nearby river and laden with stones.

His wife Renny, with whom he had settled in Australia, reported him missing in early February 2004 and his body was pulled from the river about three weeks later.

Forensics quickly established that he had died from stab wounds before being thrown into the water, but police had no leads and were unable to locate the killer.

Some 18 years later, the case was reopened when authorities discovered new information, and on Monday officers arrested Gofal Baziad, 52, from Queensland, and charged him with Palmer’s murder after two arduous years of investigation.

Detectives believe Baziad had been dating Palmer’s wife and subsequently murdered the unsuspecting Briton in a fit of rage and jealousy.

The stabbed body of Jason Palmer (pictured) was found loaded with rocks in a river on February 29, 2004, three weeks after he was reported missing.

Gofal Baziad (pictured in green top) has been charged with the brutal unsolved murder of a father that baffled police for more than two decades.

Palmer’s body was wrapped in a sleeping bag and loaded with several stones.

Investigators believe he was thrown from the top of a bridge over the Nepean River in Sydney.

Officers did not know who could have carried out the heinous crime and referred the incident to the New South Wales Unsolved Homicide department.

The incredible breakthrough in the case, which baffled Sydney police for two decades, came after investigators pored through a torrent of communications and re-interviewed witnesses.

They discovered that Baziad and Renny had been seeing each other before Palmer’s death and subsequently moved to Indonesia shortly after the Briton’s body was discovered.

They resided in Indonesia for years before returning to Queensland some time later, although Baziad’s social media pages indicate he lives in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

The couple eventually broke off their relationship, investigators said.

But Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty, who heads the New South Wales Police homicide team, told Australia’s 9News they had uncovered enough evidence to suggest Baziad lashed out and murdered Palmer in a crime of passion.

“We will allege in court that he was very jealous of her and very possessive and obsessed with her and to the extent that we believe, and we will show the facts, this led him to commit what we will say was a very violent crime.” ‘

Palmer’s body was wrapped in a sleeping bag and loaded with several stones. Investigators believe he was thrown from the top of a bridge over the Nepean River in Sydney.

Detective Superintendent Doherty continued: ‘Mr Palmer had been stabbed numerous times.

“We believe it was a pure crime of passion… however, it is a horrendous murder.”

He said it was only the perseverance and focus of the detectives that allowed them to locate the alleged killer.

“It has been 20 years since Mr Palmer, originally from the United Kingdom, was allegedly murdered,” he said.

‘He was a husband and father, and the police had always hoped he would be arrested.

“This arrest demonstrates once again that investigators will not rest until there is a resolution to the unresolved issues and to provide answers to the families.”

Detectives believe there are members of the public who know more details about the case and have urged them to come forward.