A 70-year-old man has been jailed for life for murdering his young Chinese wife and dissolving her body in acid after police discovered 10 of her fake teeth in a drain near their Cairns home.

Klaus Andres told detectives his wife Li Ping Cao, 42, disappeared in October 2011 after she walked out of their home following an argument, during which she accused him of cheating on her.

But it didn't take long for authorities to begin to question Andres' story after her friends became worried about the single mother-of-one's safety and reported her missing in November, according to A Current Affair.

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Klaus Andres (pictured), 70, is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife Li Ping Cao, 42, and dissolving her body in acid

Andres told detectives Ms Cao (pictured) disappeared in October 2011 after she walked out of their home following an argument, during which she accused him of cheating on her

Detectives determined Andres had murdered his wife after 10 of her fake teeth in a drain near their Cairns home

The first sign of foul play was during a press conference held by police when Andres smiled and joked around as he appealed for information about his wife, Detective Sergeant Brad McLeish said.

The couple, who met online, had been married for seven years but Andres didn't seem to be upset about his wife's disappearance, Sgt McLeish said.

While looking into the last purchases on Ms Cao's bank card, police discovered CCTV footage of Andres using her card at an ATM and a Bunnings hardware store where he bought 40 litres of acid.

'…that was a major concern to us,' Sgt McLeish said.

'We established that he'd not only purchased acid on that day, but a number of days, and he'd purchased a total of 60 litres of acid - which is an enormous amount of acid to buy.'

The first sign of foul play was during a press conference held by police when Andres smiled and joked around as he appealed for information about his wife (pictured)

Officers initially believed Andres (pictured) had purchased 60 litres of acid to clean up a crime scene at the home

Police later discovered he used the acid to dissolve Ms Cao's body in a bin over several days

Sgt McLeish told A Current Affair he initially thought Andres had used the acid to clean up a crime scene at his Cairns home, but a search of the property unveiled a gruesome discovery.

'Forensic officers examined the stormwater drain out the front of his house. There was a large stormwater drain directly out the front of his house and we discovered porcelain false teeth in the drain,' Sergeant McLeish said.

'That, for us, cemented the fact that he had committed this despicable crime against his wife.'

Detectives ruled that Andres had used the 60 litres of acid to dissolve Ms Cao's body in a bin over several days.

An extramarital affair and money appear to be the main motivators, Sgt McLeish said.

Andres was found to be having a relationship with another Thai woman and had forged his wife's signature so he could collect her Centrelink payments.

'I don't like to use the word psychopath, but that's his personality,' Sgt McLeish said.

'He's just an evil, greedy, arrogant little man.'

Andres was found guilty of killing Ms Cao and was sentenced to life in prison by a Cairns jury in 2013.

His appeal to the High Court of Australia in 2016 was denied.