Reality TV contestant 'mentally incompetent' to commit murder, report finds

A private psychiatric report has concluded that former Beauty and the Geek contestant Tamika Chesser was provisionally mentally incompetent at the time of murdering her partner, Julian Story, and destroying his remains to pervert the course of justice, according to a court hearing in South Australia. Chesser, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, appeared via video link in the South Australia Supreme Court.

The body of 39-year-old Story was discovered in their Port Lincoln unit in June 2025, followed by the discovery of his severed head in scrubland a month later. Prosecutors and defense now seek a further report into Chesser's mental competence, with the report expected to take between three and five months to complete. Justice Adam Kimber, presiding over the hearing, expressed optimism that the report would be finalized sooner.