A man has been charged with murder five days after his new partner died on a remote stretch of highway during a 2,000km road trip in the Northern Territory.

Christine Marshall Hunter, 27, was found dead with visible facial injuries on the Barkly Highway in the Avon Downs district on the morning of Easter Sunday.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 6am following reports that a woman had stopped breathing and required medical assistance after the Jeep Cherokee she was travelling in ‘allegedly hit a kangaroo’.

Ms Hunter, from Queensland‘s Sunshine Coast, was unable to be revived.

Her 33-year-old partner was arrested at the scene initially for aggravated assault and has been in custody ever since.

NT Acting Commander Mark Grieve told reporters on Thursday that police had not yet obtained any evidence to support the man’s claim that their vehicle collided with a kangaroo, causing Ms Hunter’s injuries.

He also alleged that she had been assaulted in the early hours of Sunday and that police were treating her death as suspicious.

Later that same evening, Ms Hunter’s partner was charged with one count of murder.

Christine Marshall Hunter, 27, was found dead with visible facial injuries on the Barkly Highway in the Northern Territory on the morning of Easter Sunday
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Christine Marshall Hunter, 27, was found dead with visible facial injuries on the Barkly Highway in the Northern Territory on the morning of Easter Sunday

A man has since been charged over Ms Hunter's death in the NT Avon Downs district
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A man has since been charged over Ms Hunter’s death in the NT Avon Downs district

It is understood that the couple had been on a 2,000km road trip from south-east Queensland
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It is understood that the couple had been on a 2,000km road trip from south-east Queensland

He is expected to appear in Alice Springs Local Court on Friday.

It is understood that the couple were in a new relationship and had been on a 2,000km road trip from south-east Queensland.

Police said that the couple left Gympie on April 1 and had passed through Ban Ban Springs, Emerald, Winton, Cloncurry, Mount Isa and Camooweal before reaching Barkly Homestead early on Sunday.

Police allege the pair were in a dark‑coloured Jeep Cherokee parked by the roadside near Barkly Homestead, at the intersection of the Barkly and Tablelands highways, for four hours between 1.30am and 5.30am on Sunday.

It is a remote roadhouse on a 460km stretch of the Barkly Highway between Tennant Creek and the Queensland border town of Camooweal.

Ms Hunter’s death has sparked an outpouring of tributes from shattered loved ones.

A fundraiser has been set up so her friends and family can repatriate her body to Queensland and give her a final farewell.

‘This has completely broken me,’ her teenage sister Jazmyne Le Cerf wrote online.

Police have appealed for information about Ms Hunter's suspicious death. Pictured is the Jeep Cherokee she was travelling in
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Police have appealed for information about Ms Hunter’s suspicious death. Pictured is the Jeep Cherokee she was travelling in

Ms Hunter's heartbroken family are now demanding answers about what happened
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Ms Hunter’s heartbroken family are now demanding answers about what happened

‘I never imagined I would be going through something like this or having to say goodbye to my sister so soon.

‘Our family is still trying to process and understand everything that has happened. We just want answers, and in time, we hope for justice for her.’

One of eight siblings, Ms Hunter has been remembered as a loving and caring sibling.

‘She had a very hard past, but no matter what she went through, she stayed strong and continued to care for others,’ Ms Le Cerf added.

‘She was funny, loud, protective, and had a way of making people feel safe and loved when they were around her.’

The family, who last saw her on March 30, are also trying to understand why Ms Hunter was 2,000km away from home in the Top End.

‘She never told us anything about going there,’ Ms Le Cerf said.

NT Police are working with their Queensland counterparts to determine the circumstances surrounding Ms Hunter’s death.

Ms Hunter has been remembered as a loving and caring person who was loud and protective
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Ms Hunter has been remembered as a loving and caring person who was loud and protective

A fundraiser has been set up so the family can bring Christine's body home
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A fundraiser has been set up so the family can bring Christine’s body home

Police are still working to determine whether damage to the Jeep was recent or pre-existing.

Anyone who may have seen the vehicle or its occupants on or in the lead up to April has been asked to come forward.

Anyone with information or footage is urged to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers.