Overview
- NSW detectives arrested Max Spencer at a Bucca property on Tuesday morning, then charged the 30-year-old with murdering Hayley McClenahan‑Ernst in 2017.
- Police said the renewed push followed the suspension of a coronial inquest in 2025 and a referral to the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions for review.
- Detectives under Strike Force Fielding and Nepean Police Command interviewed new witnesses and issued a public call for information in recent weeks.
- Spencer was taken to Coffs Harbour Police Station, refused police bail, and his case was adjourned to Penrith Local Court for June 12.
- McClenahan‑Ernst, then 21 and pregnant, was found unresponsive at her Kingswood home in May 2017, and her mother later appealed for answers in a public statement.