Dale Lapthorne doesn't know who, or what, to believe any more.
The father of Australian backpacker Britt Lapthorne, whose body was recovered off the coast of Dubrovnik by Croatian police on Monday, is desperate for answers.
How did she die? Why was her body so badly decomposed after just 18 days? What could possess someone to harm his girl?
He has even questioned whether the remains are those of his daughter.
''Assuming it is a crime, and everything is pointing to a crime, it is an absolutely heinous crime of the worst order,'' Mr Lapthorne said in Dubrovnik at the weekend.
''Why [would] somebody do this to such a beautiful girl?''
An autopsy report is expected today.
Ms Lapthorne's family reject any suggestion she jumped or fell off cliffs above the cove where her body was found. They are convinced she met with foul play.
''There are a lot of unanswered questions,'' Mr Lapthorne said.
''Britt's body was in a bad state of decomposition. Why?
''Why were limbs missing?
''These are gruesome things and horrible for a parent to realise, but they're questions I want answered at the autopsy.
''I asked the question, 'Why such a high level of decomposition?' I was told, 'It's warm water.' Rubbish.
''That's a rubbish answer. Don't take me as stupid, I'm just not that stupid.''
Within hours of the body being discovered by a local fisherman just a few hundred metres from the Latino Club Fuego nightclub where she was last seen in the early hours of September 18, local police said it was unlikely to be the 21-year-old tourist.
They said the remains were too badly decomposed to have been in the sea for just 18 days.
Mr Lapthorne has not ruled out having further tests conducted once he and son Darren return to Australia with the remains.
''All I want is confidence that it is Britt and I am concerned at the state of decomposition of the body,'' Mr Lapthorne said.
''Many in the police force ... said it can't be Britt, it just can't be, and then I'm told it's Britt.
''So I need answers to this and, as a parent, I don't want somebody to treat me as a fool ... I'm at the point I don't trust people. I just don't trust anybody.''
The family expect the body to be released today.
Ms Lapthorne's father and older brother then plan to return to Melbourne, where her grieving mother Elke is waiting, on Wednesday or Thursday.
Fighting back tears, Mr Lapthorne said bringing his daughter's body home would be the most difficult part of the family's ordeal.
He fears the Croatian police investigation will be swept under the carpet once he leaves the country.
One theory suggests the body was in such a bad state because of wave action, but Mr Lapthorne believes his daughter was murdered and someone deliberately damaged the body in an attempt to hinder identification.
''I don't want to speculate, but there's foul play at least,'' he said.
''Britt did not jump off a cliff and cut her legs off on the way down and do something else to decompose herself.''
Mr Lapthorne said he would heed advice not to view the body.
''Elke and I want to imagine our lovely, sweet little girl.''
Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija reported in its online addition that a shirt belonging to Ms Lapthorne was found near the side of a road 6km west of Dubrovnik.
Mr Lapthorne said police had denied the shirt belonged to his daughter. ''But the description we have ... [it] could be,'' he said. AAP
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff