Police identify possible suspect in Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson and Khandalyce Kiara Pearce murder case

A male suspect has reportedly been identified in the murder case of Alice Springs mum Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson and her young daughter.

Fairfax media reports that police are looking at a man currently serving a prison sentence in a NSW jail for an unrelated crime.

South Australian police have said they will not be commenting on the reports, but they're aware of them.

Det Supt Mick Willing said: "We have got a young mum and a little girl who have been callously ans violently murdered."

Earlier police said they believed the body of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson may have been dumped in Belanglo State Forest in a bid to throw them off track.

Police believe Karlie, could have been killed at another location before her body was taken to the notorious forest where serial killer Ivan Milat buried his victims.

Her remains were found in the NSW forest in 2010, while the remains of her daughter Khandalyce Kiara Pearce, were found dumped on the side of a South Australian highway in June.

• Belanglo State Forest's grisly past

• Many threads in murder mystery

• Family of murdered mother and daughter speak out

"The forest is infamous and it's a reasonable theory to suggest the person [murder suspect] could have disposed of the body in the forest to throw us off track," SA Police Detective Superintendent Des Bray told 891 ABC Adelaide.

"But it hasn't, and we're convinced that Karlie's death has nothing to do with the previous crimes associated with the forest."

Homicide detectives on Tuesday linked the bones of the mother and daughter from Alice Springs, who were last seen driving on the driving the Suart highway near Coober Pedy in November 2009.

Superintendent Bray said on Wednesday that two of the 1,300 calls made to Crime Stoppers, led to the big breakthrough.

The 1,267th caller who rang Crime Stoppers, noted that Karlie and Khandalyce had been missing for six years.

Four calls later, someone spoke of a photograph showing Khandalyce in a stroller with the quilt which was found in the suitcase with her bone. A later photograph also showed Khandalyce wearing a pink dress found in the suitcase.

Police were able to identify Khandalyce by matching a previous blood sample to DNA from the bones found in the suitcase.

Blood samples from her mother were used to create a DNA profile, which detectives in NSW then linked to the remains found in the Belanglo State Forest.

Superintendent Bray told ABC Adelaide that police were not willing to speak about the circumstances of the mother and daughter’s deaths and where they may have died.

"We're not 100 per cent certain and if we were to speculate it might not be a good thing," he said.

"It's going to take us a little while to unravel the mystery but I'm very confident, the way the investigation's heading, we will get a result on this."

Khandalyce's father has reportedly been ruled out of the list of suspects. While Karlie's body was found near the site of serial killer Ivan Milat's crimes, he was jailed in 1996.

Speaking to a media conference in Adelaide yesterday, Superintendent Bray described the murders as "one of the most shocking and unimaginable crimes".

"Those people who are responsible for these crimes are truly evil."

"We're not at the end of the investigation, we're really at the start," said Det Supt Bray.

Police are now looking for detail of the mother and daughter's movements from 2006 onward in order build a coherent timeline of the last years of their lives.

Detectives from both jurisdictions are currently working together in Sydney, formulating and implementing investigation strategies across the country.

Their families released a statement thanking police and the public for their help and support, but asked for privacy and respect as they came to terms with the news.

"The families of Karlie and Khandalyce are grateful to the police, the community and media and everyone who has assisted or provided information in this investigation.

"We understand this case has created considerable interest across the country but at this time we ask that respect our privacy to allow us to grieve."

DNA tests conducted on the remains found Karlie and Khandalyce died "extremely violent deaths".

Police say they have received an enormous amount of new information since the victims were identified.

"We continue to encourage the friends and associates of Karlie and Khandalyce to make contact with police through Crime Stoppers," a Police statement said.

"In addition, landlords and operators of hotels, motels, and caravan and cabin parks are urged to check their records in case Karlie stayed at their business."

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers 1300 333 000.