Three charged over Melbourne body parts

Three men have been charged with the murder a man whose dismembered body parts were found in Maribyrnong River in Melbourne.

The severed body parts of Brendan David Bernard, who was known to police, were spotted early last month.

Con Spaliaras, 31, Matthew David Brennan, 36, and Edward Lionel Hill, 46, have each been charged with one count of murder.

The men, all from North Melbourne, appeared before an out of sessions court hearing on Monday evening and were remanded in custody to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

A runner spotted a severed forearm, marked with a distinctive red devil tattoo, floating near a restaurant on February 5.

Subsequent searches unearthed a second limb and a bag of flesh upstream, while a member of the public found another limb two days later.

A second bag of flesh was discovered by a woman rowing.

Police have previously said they believed Mr Bernard's remains were in the river for about a week.