Former Victorian cop charged with murder after man disappeared in 2006

A former police officer charged with the murder of a missing Victorian man has faced court.

Steven Johnson, 70, appeared via video link in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Thursday, accused of murdering 38-year-old Christopher Jarvis.

Jarvis has not been seen since he left his family home at Wangoom, near Warrnambool, about 6am on June 13, 2006.

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Johnson, a former police officer, barely spoke throughout Thursday's court hearing but his lawyer Xavier Farrelly detailed his numerous health conditions.

Johnson has post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, a hernia and a nerve impingement in his spine.

He was being medicated for those conditions and was also prescribed codeine after undergoing a knee reconstruction, Farrelly said.

The lawyer also told the magistrate it was the former police officer's first time in custody.

Johnson was remanded in custody ahead of his next court hearing in April next year.

Police will have four months to compile a brief of evidence against him.

The 70-year-old is the second man charged with the murder of Jarvis.

Co-accused Glenn Ernest Fenwick, 59, was remanded in custody on Wednesday during a tense court hearing in Warrnambool.

Two of Jarvis' distressed family members attended the court, yelling at Fenwick.

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"You've got to understand it's my father that that f-----t has f---ing murdered," a man said.

"I hope you enjoy watching your f---ing children grow up, you dog," a woman said.

Magistrate Simon Guthrie replied: "I'm sorry this is distressing for you."

Fenwick has suffered multiple heart attacks and has an acquired brain injury, the court was told.

His lawyer Kerry Schroeder asked for Fenwick to be medically assessed when he is transported to jail in Melbourne.

"Given the stress of the situation, we would ask that he have a full medical work up," she told the court.

Schroeder said it was not Fenwick's first time in custody, but it had been a "significant number of years" since he had been in jail.

Fenwick was taken into custody and will next face court in April 2023.

Victoria Police have said detectives are continuing to search for Jarvis' remains.