Man murdered and cooked his transsexual wife

An Australian chef chopped up and cooked his girlfriend before taking his own life in a grisly murder suicide.

Police were called to the Brisbane apartment of Marcus Volke, 28, after reports of a "eye-watering" smell like "rotting meat".

And shocked officers discovered the body parts of Volke's girlfriend Mayang Prasetyo in a pot on the stove.

Other parts of the Indonesian woman – reportedly a transgender prostitute – were found in bins outside the apartment.

Another body – believed to be Volke's – was found in a large bin near the flat. He had cut his own throat, according to reports.

The couple had only recently moved to the upmarket apartment complex in the wealthy riverside suburb of Teneriffe, according to reports.

Residents reported hearing loud arguments coming from their home up to a week ago.

And a tradesman who been called to the complex told Channel 10 that the carpet "squelched" under his feet as he walked through the apartment.

Volke had met his girlfriend while they were both working as chefs aboard international cruise ships.

He had recently returned to Australia, his mother said.

"He was happy and he was coming home for Christmas, everything was normal," Dorothy Volke told the Courier-Mail.

According to police, Volke fled through a glass door and leapt over a balcony when detectives arrived at his flat and hid in an alleyway where he killed himself.

Resident Courtney Reichart told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that she first noticed the smell on Wednesday and it got worse each day.

"On Saturday when I came out for a walk, it made your eyes water, it made you want to be sick," she said.

"The smell, it was like as if somebody had put out some dog food or red meat and left it out for a few days.

"It makes you feel sick that that poor girl sat there for however many days and we've been walking past, living our lives and thinking 'hmmm what's that smell', but you don't put two and two together.

"You don't think that a bad smell equals a murder."

Volke was originally from the Victorian city of Ballarat, where his funeral will be held.

Friends have taken to social media to pay tribute to Mayang Prasetyo, who worked at Melbourne transgender cabaret show Le Femme Garcon before settling in Brisbane.

Brett Sparks wrote: "Rip beautiful, the world will not be the same without you. I will miss you so much I couldn't possibly express it in words.

"I still remember the day I met you and the impression you made on me. Nobody that met you could ever forget you. This really doesn't seem real."