A homeless man has been charged over the death of Courtney Herron, who was brutally murdered in a Melbourne park two days ago.

Henry Richard Hammond, 27, faced Melbourne magistrates court on Monday charged with the murder of Herron, who was brutally killed in a Melbourne park on Saturday.

His lawyer, Bernie Balmer, told the court Hammond, of no fixed address, had some mental health issues.

“There’s a diagnosis of possible delusional disorder, possible autism spectrum disorder and historical diagnosis of ADHD,” he said.

The battered body of Herron, 25, of no fixed address, was found by dog walkers in Royal Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Parkville on Saturday morning. Police said she had suffered extreme violence.

Hammond was remanded in custody until 16 September.

“This was a particularly, particularly horrendous attack,” a homicide squad detective inspector, Andrew Stamper, said on Sunday.

Stamper said Herron had been couch surfing and sleeping rough for some time while struggling with drug and mental health issues. He said she had been in sporadic contact with her family and there were “a lot of people out there who knew and loved Courtney”.

“When there’s a child that suffered drug use, mental health issues, family relationships can be fragmented,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that families out there don’t love their children, and you know, our heart breaks for them.

“We are dealing with a heartbroken family again.”

The last confirmed sighting of Herron was on 14 May at St Albans when she came into contact with the police.