The lawyer of a man accused of murdering Gregory Thurlow more than 20 years ago says his client was "somewhat surprised" by his arrest.
Mark Stephen Murphy, 59, was yesterday charged with the cold case murder of Mr Thurlow, who was last seen in October 1996.
The Burpengary East man was interviewed as part of the initial investigation more than two decades ago.
At that time, police said they believed Mr Murphy was the main person of interest in the case, but were also following other lines of enquiry.
Mr Murphy's arrest came after a review began into the case in March, which prompted new witnesses to come forward following an appeal for information.
Mr Murphy's matter was mentioned in the Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning and was adjourned to a date next month.
Speaking outside court, Mr Murphy's lawyer Daniel Hannay said he would be defending the charge.
"It's obviously a long, drawn-out, protracted investigation," he said.
"The brief of evidence no doubt will be enormous and take some time for it to be delivered to us."
Mr Hannay said his client was "holding up okay" in the circumstances, but was "somewhat surprised" by the development.
"Yesterday was a surprise, of course," Mr Hannay said.
"There had been investigations ongoing. There were some issues back in 2008 with some things going on and prior to that, the disappearance."
Mr Murphy's case will return to court again next month.
