For five years Scott Hammond's mother Josie waited for the news that her son's killer had been caught.

But Mrs Hammond died just one month before police would arrest and charge Kenneth Christopher Washbrook with Scott's murder.

"She would be relieved," Scott's niece, Rachael Taylor, said.

"Even though they lived in different states they were still close and they spoke every day.

"Unfortunately my nanna isn't here to find out the good news, but the rest of us are very relieved that [someone] has been arrested."

Ms Taylor said Mr Hammond's death had deeply affected her grandmother, "but we got on with life as much as we could, still waiting for that day when we got that phone call and today was that day."

Scott Hammond had been found dead in his Tahmoor home, about 100 kilometres south-west of Sydney, on July 1, 2013.

The 48-year-old's head had been bashed viciously and repeatedly, his pit bull was also injured and remained in the house.

Mr Hammond's demise came as no surprise to his neighbours, who at the time described him as "not very nice at all" and a known drug dealer.

At the time, police said they had a long list of suspects in the town of about 5,000 people.

Police made a grim discovery when they arrived at Scott Hammond's house on July 1, 2013. ( ABC News )

Mr Washbrook, 47, was charged with one count of murder following his arrest during raids at Heckenberg, in western Sydney this morning.

He did not apply for bail at Campbelltown Local Court this afternoon, and it was formally refused.

The matter will next be heard at Picton Court on July 10 when Mr Washbrook will be required to appear by video link.

Hammond 'would set dogs onto my kids': resident

The year before his death, Mr Hammond was fined for setting his pit bull on several locals.

"Scott used to have dogs sitting up the front and my kids would ride their bikes past and he would actually skitch the dogs onto my kids," said one resident who did not want to be named.

"My kids were too afraid to ride past his house, they would ride around the long way around the block just to avoid Scott's house."

He had lived in the town for decades and had a bad reputation.

Neighbours said Mr Hammond's house was often targeted by people, who broke his windows and threw Molotov cocktails at it.

"It [his death] took longer than what we thought," one Tahmoor resident said in 2013.

"We thought it would happen a lot sooner because he's not very nice at all."

Another resident, who lived opposite Mr Hammond and did not want to be named, said the arrest came as a relief.

"I'm so glad that someone has been finally caught after all these years," they said.

He was 'caring, supportive' to family

Ms Taylor said despite her uncle's reputation, she had always found him to be "a great person".

"He was caring, he was supportive. He did everything that he knew to show us the he was a good person and that was the only thing that mattered," she said.

When asked what the people of Tahmoor might think of the development in the case, Ms Taylor said she could not speak for the community even though she had lived in Tahmoor her whole life.

"We understand that there will be some different perspectives on it but that is not my concern," she said.

"I'm just worried about how my family is feeling today."

Camden Police Area Commander Detective Superintendent Ward Hanson said today's result was a tribute to the hard work and tenacity of the investigative team.

"Many of the investigative team on the strike force have been on this case since day one," Detective Superintendent Hanson said.

"Today's result came about through persistence, old-fashioned policing and tugging on coats.

Police said Mr Washbrook and Mr Hammond had no relationship to each other, but "were not strangers".

Police would not be drawn on a possible motive for the alleged murder.