‘Very decomposed’ body found in manhunt for triple killer to undergo forensic testing

Warning: This article contains the name and image of indigenous people who have died.

The ‘highly decomposed’ body found in the search for Julian Ingram will be tested to confirm it is the accused triple murderer.

Police said the remains have been removed from a remote NSW national park where they were found yesterday and will undergo post-mortem tests in Newcastle on Friday before it is confirmed they are Ingram. 

Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said a vehicle and a firearm would also be forensically tested.

“There was a firearm next to the deceased’s body, a large caliber firearm and a shotgun on the front passenger seat of the vehicle,” he said.

“It appears that the deceased was wearing the same clothing as he was wearing on the day of the incident, assuming it was Julian Ingram.

“The injuries appear to have been inflicted with a firearm.”

When asked if Ingram may have received help from someone in the community, Holland said, “That doesn’t appear to be the case.” 

The update from police comes after new aerial footage revealed the bushland location where a white ute was found in connection with the manhunt for the accused triple murderer.

The Lake Cargelligo community is reacting to the grim discovery

Family members were shocked by the discovery but said they could finally grieve.

Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said yesterday the discovery was a relief for officers who had been involved in a major manhunt for the accused killer, but especially for the families affected.

“Over the past four months, the forces involved in the manhunt for Julian Ingram have not given up,” he said.

‘Hundreds of police officers have been involved.

“It’s obviously a relief for them to find this body – again, not yet confirmed as Julian Ingram – but most importantly it brings closure to this investigation, it brings closure to the people of Lake Cargelligo and gives some comfort to the town so they can relax.”

Holland said the body was found in a “very decomposed” state, but did not provide a specific estimate for when the man might have died, saying only that it “appears to have been there for a while.”

He did not confirm whether the gun was the same one allegedly used in the shooting or whether the man likely died by suicide.

Police said NPWS workers carrying out a wildlife eradication operation found the vehicle at around 3.40pm yesterday at Round Hill Nature Reserve, about 100 kilometers north-east of Cargelligo Lake.

Ingram, 37, had been on the run since the Jan. 22 shooting.

“I heard boom, boom. I saw her – she was holding her neck, and then he laughed,” Macqueen told 9News in January.

Sophie’s mother, Cathy Quinn, called Ingram “cowardly.”

“We are still grieving, but justice will be done,” 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 now hitting me,” she said.

The shooting devastated the small town and threw the entire state into turmoil.

Last month, police said Ingram was seen on the side of the road two days after the alleged murders.

In March, police offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

The coroner will now be tasked with confirming how the man died and when.

If the body is confirmed to be Ingram, everything leading up to the murder will also be investigated, including why the perpetrator of repeated domestic violence was out on bail.

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