Police in Australia said they have found a decomposed body of a man wanted over the murder of three people in New South Wales earlier this year.
Police were searching for Julian Ingram, 37, who was on bail for domestic violence when he allegedly killed his pregnant ex-partner Sophie Quinn, her aunt and friend in the small Australian town of Lake Cargelligo.
The suspect was on bail for domestic violence when he allegedly shot at four people in Bokhara Street, Lake Cargelligo, killing three and leaving one seriously injured on 22 January.
The authorities on Monday said a man’s body believed to be Ingram was discovered near an abandoned utility vehicle in a nature reserve about 50km north-west of Lake Cargelligo. Police said the body appears to have been there “for some time”.
Assistant commissioner Andrew Holland said the vehicle was the same vehicle that Ingram was seen driving from the scene. “Next to this vehicle, police have also located a male body in a very decomposed state,” he told reporters.
“Next to this body is a firearm and at this point believe the person lying next to the vehicle could be Julian Ingram, but he’s yet to be formally identified.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service was carrying out feral animal eradication in the area when they located the abandoned vehicle, which eventually led to the discovery of the decomposing body, Mr Holland said.
He added that for the last four months the law enforcement authorities had not given up on the manhunt for Ingram, which involved hundreds of police officers.
“Obviously, it’s a relief for them to find this body. But the main thing is, as it brings closure to this investigation, it brings closure to the people of Lake Cargelligo, and gives some solace to the town so they can relax.”
Sophie Quinn, 25, was sitting in a car with her partner, John Harri, 32, when a man fired three shots at them from a vehicle. Quinn was seven months pregnant at the time of her killing.
Shortly after the attack, the suspect allegedly shot at Quinn’s aunt, Nerida. Kaleb Macqueen, 19, survived being shot at the home where Nerida Quinn was killed.
Ingram was arrested last year over domestic violence-related charges. He was released on bail on 30 November, on condition of reporting daily to the Lake Cargelligo police station. The order that barred him from going within 100m of Quinn, her home or her workplace, was due to be reviewed in court on 3 February.
Mayor John Medcalf hoped that the news would bring closure to the town’s residents. “People – especially the families involved – were just worried he might come back,” he told AAP.
“It’s something you never expected to happen out in this part of the world. We’re still going to have to live with it, but certainly this does help with a bit of closure.”
