Denver Chance's alleged killer has been remanded in custody until his next appearance in Auckland's High Court on March 27.
The 41-year-old Kingseat man was arrested shortly after 7pm in Mount Eden on Sunday afternoon and was granted interim name suppression.
A number of his supporters were in Papakura District Court yesterday morning when the accused appeared before Community Magistrate Lauolefale Lemalu.
She said the accused's first appearance should have been before a judge as she only had the jurisdiction to remand him in custody.
She agreed to grant interim suppression and also suppressed the information contained in the police summary of facts.
Chance first went missing on Sunday, February 24 when he left his rental property around 3.30pm in Mairangi Bay.
A body of a man believed to be Chance was found at an address in Kingseat, near Papakura around 4pm on Sunday.
While the body has not been formally identified, police believe it to be the missing 43-year-old man's.
"Our thoughts are with Denver's friends and family tonight," Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said on Sunday evening.
"Our focus throughout the investigation was finding Denver and being able to provide his family with answers.
"This is not the outcome any of us wanted, but at least we are now able to return Denver to his family and hold the person allegedly responsible for his death to account."
Meanwhile, the Kingseat community is reeling following the news Chance's body is believed to have been discovered in their area.
Family and friends of Denver Chance are taking to social media to remember the man with "an incredible spirit".
After two weeks of searching and public appeals for information on his whereabouts, Chance's family have thanked everyone for their support.
"It's been amazing. We are devastated with the outcome," they wrote on the Help find Denver Facebook page.
"Family and friends will now regroup and thank you for the privacy at this difficult time."
Kingseat resident Tim Martin said he had lived 27 years in the community but did not know the man who lived at the property concerned.
"It is all very shocking, but I really don't know anything about the man involved. We've never had anything like this happen here."
Kingseat dairy owner Lovejit Kaur told the Herald it was alarming to learn it had occurred so close to her business.
"It feels so scary to think it has happened in our area," she said.
"We know a lot of people who live here, it is strange to think we may have served the person."
"Ever since we learned [Chance's] phone had been used in the area, we just hoped it wouldn't turn out like this."
Last week, a police search focused on Irwin Rd in Karaka, around 5km away, but investigators narrowed down the search to the Linwood Rd, Kingseat property yesterday.
Armed police officers stood guard at the roadside entrance to the property while police cars came and went and the Eagle helicopter hovered above.
Kingseat is a rural community with a population of 6200 and is located around 40-minutes away from downtown Auckland traffic-free.
The town is surrounded by farmland and the only shops nearby are a fruit and vegetable store and takeaway shop.