Nineteen-year-old suspect Alex Reunen McEwan faces court as family of young victim arrives in Australia to claim her body

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A teenager has faced court over the murder of a young South Korean woman who was attacked while walking to work in Brisbane's CBD.

Alex Reunen McEwan, 19, appeared in the Brisbane magistrates court on Tuesday as the parents of the slain woman, Eunji Ban, were expected to arrive in the city.

Dressed in prison garb and with his head turned away from the media, McEwan sat quietly in the dock as he faced the murder charge. No plea was entered.

Police were granted a forensic procedure order before the case was adjourned.

McEwan, of Spring Hill in inner-city Brisbane, was remanded in custody and is due to reappear in court on 16 December.

Ban was attacked as she walked from her Roma Street parklands apartment to her cleaning job in Brisbane's CBD in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The 22-year-old, who had been in Australia only six weeks, died after sustaining serious head injuries.

A passer-by found her body next to the stairs at the southern boundary of Wickham Park, off Albert Street, about 3.30am local time on Sunday.

Ban's parents were due to arrive in Brisbane on Tuesday to claim her body, just weeks after bidding her farewell as she headed to Australia for an extended stay.

They are too distraught to speak about their daughter's death and have requested the media respect their privacy.

Floral and other tributes have been left at the park where Ban's body was found.

The crime has caused anxiety among other South Korean visitors to Brisbane.

A fellow national who lives in the same apartment building where Ban had been staying said her family and friends were worried about her.

"I've got 100 messages from other friends [saying] that I have to worry about everything, that I have to be careful," the woman told ABC radio.