Man, 30, arrested over 2017 murder of pregnant 21-year-old

Footage shared by police showed the tattooed man handcuffed and being led into a police vehicle on Tuesday morning and he will appear in court later in the day after being charged with murder

A 30-year-old man has been charged with the 2017 death of young woman.

The arrest comes after an investigation into the suspicious death of 21-year-old Hayley McClenahan-Ernst at Kingswood, in western Sydney, Australia. She was pregnant at the time of the incident.

Police were called to a home at about 12.15am on Sunday 21 May 2017, where Hayley was found unresponsive. She died at the scene.

A 21-year-old man, known to Hayley, was charged at the time with contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO (DV) and was dealt with by the courts. But detectives attended a property at Bucca, north of Coffs Harbour just before 7.30am on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 and arrested a 30-year-old man.

Footage shared by NSW Police showed the tattooed man handcuffed and being led into a police vehicle.

He was taken to a police station and charged with murder. The man will appear before in court later in the day.

The circumstances surrounding Hayley’s death were deemed suspicious and extensive investigations were conducted after her death in 2017.

After further inquiries and a public appeal, detective arrested the 30-year-old man almost nine years after Hayley’s death.