A man charged with the stabbing murder of his two-year-old daughter allegedly threatened to kill her several times after he picked her up from his ex-partner, a court has heard.

Ramazan Acar, 23, of Meadow Heights in Melbourne's north, collected his daughter Yazmina from his ex-partner's house at Hallam, in Melbourne's southeast, on Wednesday evening.

Homicide squad Detective Senior Constable Scott Jones told the out-of-sessions hearing Acar threatened to kill Yazmina during several telephone calls made to him by the girl's mother as he drove to an address at Campbellfield, near Meadow Heights.

Police allege Acar stabbed his little girl at the Campbellfield address.

Yazmina's body was found in a field beside the Greenvale Reservoir, near his home, at about 1.35am (AEDT) on Thursday.

Acar has been remanded in custody following the out-of-sessions hearing at the Melbourne Custody Centre on Thursday night.

An autopsy conducted on Thursday afternoon found the girl died from multiple stab wounds, Det Jones said.

Acar is accused of dumping Yazmina's body at Greenvale before returning to Campbellfield, where he allegedly set fire to his four-wheel drive.

Detectives arrested him and a 23-year-old Campbellfield woman a short time later in another vehicle.

Acar, who wore blue cloth forensic overalls and was barefoot, did not address the bail justice after the summary of the case.

He spent most of the hearing with his eyes cast downward but appeared calm throughout.

Acar is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Earlier, police announced the woman arrested with Acar had been released from custody without charge.

Yazmina's body was found in open ground near the reservoir, some distance from homes at the Greenvale Lakes housing estate.

Police and State Emergency Service workers conducted a line search of the area during the day.

At the scene, Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Snare of the homicide squad told reporters he could not give many details about the case, saying the investigation was still in its "preliminary stages".

"The death of any young child is a tragedy and in these circumstances. A tragic set of events and the death of a young girl at two years of age," he said.