A few years ago, Henry Hammond was a smiling new dad. Yesterday, he was charged with murder.

With AAP. 

Photos of Henry Richard Hammond just a few years ago show a handsome, clean-shaven, normal young man.

Privately educated at Oxford Falls Grammar School and from a good family, his profile is littered with his gorgeous young sons and his smiling fiancé.

“Congratulations Henry, you’re an amazing dad,” wrote his friends.

The 27-year-old was a barber, and regularly offered his friends discounts online to make their chop cheaper.

He played the saxophone and liked knitting.

He looked happy, normal, in love.

But gradually, a different image of Hammond emerged online.

Dishevelled, sitting in gutters smoking cigarettes, and posting manic scary photos.

Over the years, he also posted sporadic links to articles about marijuana, magic mushrooms’ healing properties, and petitions for cannabis for medicinal use.

The strange online presence became more frequent in 2017.

His friends noticed his changing appearance.

“Henry that is so weird.”

“What happened to the barber in you Henry?”

That Facebook profile hasn’t been touched since August 2018.

In April 2019, a new one emerged with Nordic mythology symbols and an even more dishevelled photo of Hammond.

“I was fertilized and grew wise; From a word to a word I was led to a word,” reads his bio.

‘Single’ reads his relationship status.

A third profile was created in May.

All three remain live, a strange progression that shows a man whose life was unravelling.

A man who is accused of murdering 25-year-old Courtney Herron in a Melbourne park last Friday night, or Saturday morning.

Courtney's body was found by dog walkers in the city's inner north.

She'd been the victim of a "horrendous bashing," Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper told the Herald Sun.

Women and violence: the hidden numbers. Post continues after video.

The court heard Hammond is also homeless.

He appeared in court shoeless and with a black eye, and was told his case would be adjourned for four months so he could be assessed.

His lawyer told the court he had a number of mental health issues; possible delusional disorder, possible autism spectrum disorder, and historical diagnosis of ADHD.

Bernie Balmer wanted it known this would affect his time in custody.

"It's a tragic and complex situation," Balmer told AAP.

Friends of Hammond told The Age they've avoided him for the past few years.

His lifestyle choices weren't for them.

"Apparently at one point he thought he was Jesus," one former friend told the publication. "He became psychologically dislodged."

Colleagues told the Herald Sun he started heavily abusing drugs after his fiancé left him.

On the night in question he was reportedly with Herron at a gathering in the city.

They left together just hours before her death, reported The Age.

Courtney's devastated mother and grandmother were photographed screaming over flowers that lay where her body was found.

Not until September 16 will they have the chance to hear why the man accused of her murder allegedly did what he did.

The police are also devastated, it's the fourth woman murdered in a public place in Melbourne in less than a year.

"Every time I hear about a woman being attacked – for me as a man – it gives me some pause for reflection about what it is in our community that makes men think it's OK to attack women, or take what they want from women," Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornerlius told the media, The Age reports.

"We as a society need to take an opportunity to reflect on how men view women in our community, and... tragedies where women have been attacked and suffered harm at the hands of men," he said.

" Violence against women is absolutely about men’s behaviour, it’s not about women’s behaviour," he reiterated.

A GoFundMe has been set up for Courtney's funeral. It's currently at the time of writing this at $8000, with a goal of $10,000.

You can donate here.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

Read More:

"You deserved so much better": Courtney Herron's body was discovered by Melbourne dog walkers.

Accused killer of Melbourne woman, Courtney Herron, appears in court.

Courtney Herron's friend says the system let her down before she was murdered.

Another woman has been found dead in Melbourne. Police say it's "not about women’s behaviour."