true crime

Friends pay tribute to the Melbourne murder victim found dead in a wheelie bin.

Friends are paying tribute to the Melbourne man found dead inside a wheelie bin left out on a quiet residential street.

Ashley Phillips, 44, from Broadmeadows, was found dead in the bin on Saturday morning after a garbage truck picked it up in Preston.

Friend Troy Maggs said he was “devastated” by the death of his friend, and he would be “sadly missed”.

“He was the nicest most giving man i no [sic],” he said on Facebook.

“Ill always cherrish our time together and the memories we shared you were more then a mate you were my brother [sic],” he wrote.

Homicide squad investigators on Wednesday released images of Mr Phillips, and want to speak to anyone who may have seen suspicious activity at the intersection of Young and Butler streets or the surrounding area in the early hours of Friday May 26.

The bin, which doesn’t belong to any residents on the street, was on a nature strip for more than 24 hours before it was collected.

The council worker watched on his TV monitor as Mr Phillips’ body dropped into the back of the garbage truck.

Police are yet to describe the condition of the body or release any details about how he may have died.

Mr Phillips was found wearing a t-shirt featuring Korean pop band Big Bang.