Warning: This article contains the name and image of deceased Indigenous individuals.
The decomposing remains, believed to be those of Julian Ingram, a suspect in a murder case, have been discovered next to an abandoned utility vehicle in a secluded national park in New South Wales. This finding concludes a prolonged search for one of the region’s most elusive fugitives.
For the family and friends of the deceased, the news has been a heavy blow, yet it also allows them a chance to begin the grieving process.
Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland expressed that the discovery brought a sense of relief to the officers engaged in the extensive search operation, as well as to the families impacted by the tragedy.
“For the past four months, the dedicated teams involved in the pursuit of Julian Ingram have remained relentless,” he stated.
“Hundreds of officers have participated in this effort,” he added.
“Obviously, it’s a relief for them to find this body – again, yet to be confirmed as Julian Ingram – but the main thing is, 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.”
Holland said the body was found in a “very decomposed” state but didn’t give a specific estimate for when the man may have died, saying only it “appears to have been there for some time”.
He did not confirm whether the weapon was the same alleged to have been used in the shooting or whether the man was believed to have died by suicide.
Police said NPWS workers carrying out feral animal eradication found the vehicle about 3.40pm today in Round Hill Nature Reserve, roughly 100 kilometres north-east of Lake Cargelligo.
Ingram, 37, had been on the run since the January 22 shooting.
“I heard boom, boom. I seen her – she was holding her neck, and then he was laughing,” Macqueen told 9News in January.
Sophie’s mother, Cathy Quinn, called Ingram “gutless”.
“We still grieving but justice will be served,” she told 9News.
Her sister, Tegan, said it was “about time they found him”.
“We can grieve but now it feels so real and it’s only has hit me now,” she said.
The shooting devastated the tiny town and rattled the entire state.
Last month, police said Ingram was seen on the side of a road two days after the alleged murders.
At the time they said they believed he was receiving help from the public to evade capture but it’s not clear how that would fit in with the decomposed state of the body.
In March, police offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
The coroner will now be charged with confirming how the man died and when.
If the body is confirmed to be Ingram, everything leading up to the killing will also be investigated, including why the repeated domestic violence offender was out on bail.
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