Murder charge laid after Leon Strickland’s body found in Orbost home, in Victoria’s East Gippsland

Charges have been laid over the alleged murder of 43-year-old Leon Strickland, who was found dead inside his Victorian home on Thursday.

A 33-year-old woman known to him will face the charge in Bairnsdale Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Strickland had been living with his long-term partner in the home where emergency services discovered his body.

They had shared the dwelling for more than 12 years. She is not the mother of his four teenage children.

Strickland’s large, close-knit family have been left “broken”, “lost” and “confused” following his alleged murder.

His heartbroken loved ones told 7NEWS.com.au they expected to have more time with him.

“As cousins, we grew up side by side, and we thought we’d have a lifetime of memories still ahead.

“Losing him this soon is heartbreaking, but the impact he had on us, the laughter he gave, the loyalty he showed, the memories we built will stay with us forever,” Strickland’s cousin Beth Strickland said.

Beth described Strickland as a man with a “wild, adventurous heart”.

“He was happiest hunting, fishing, camping, and chasing the kind of adventures most people only talk about,” she said.

“Those moments, the early mornings, the campfire laughs, the stories told under the stars will forever be some of our most treasured memories.”

She added that Strickland’s children were “his world”.

“The way he spoke about them, the pride in his eyes, the love in every decision he made, it was clear that being their dad was the greatest adventure of his life,” Beth said.