Body believed to be alleged triple murderer Julian Ingram found near abandoned ute in ‘decomposed state’

Ingram is accused of killing Sophie Quinn, her new boyfriend and her aunt in Lake Cargelligo, about 450km west of Sydney

A body found in a “decomposed state” next to an abandoned ute 50km north-west of Lake Cargelligo is believed to be a gunman suspected of killing his pregnant former partner in remote New South Wales.

A large-scale manhunt for Julian Ingram, 37, has been under way since January when he allegedly shot and killed Sophie Quinn, her new boyfriend and her aunt in Lake Cargelligo, about 450km west of Sydney. He was on bail at the time for alleged domestic violence related offices against Quinn.

Ingram, also known as Julian Pierpoint, was last seen driving a Ford Ranger ute with council signage from the town on 22 January.

NSW police were alerted to an abandoned vehicle at Round Hill nature reserve on Monday.

“Next to this vehicle, police have also located a male body in a very decomposed state and next to this body is a firearm, and at this point, police believe that the person laying next to the vehicle could be Julian Ingram,” assistant commissioner Andrew Holland said.

“At this point, the body appears to have been there for some time.”

Round Hill nature reserve

Police were alerted to the body on Monday and Holland said it was still very early in the investigation. The body is yet to be formally identified and the cause of death is not yet known.

“For the last four months … the manhunt for Julian Ingram has not given up. There’s been hundreds of police involved. Obviously, it’s a relief for them to find this body,” Holland said.

“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.”

He said the investigation would have continued until Ingram was found.

Quinn had been sitting in a car with her partner, John Harris, 32, outside a house in Lake Cargelligo on 22 January when a ute approached from the opposite direction. From the driver’s side window, at least three shots were fired, killing her and Harris.

Quinn was seven months pregnant with a boy her family said she planned to name Troy.

Shortly after, Ingram allegedly fatally shot Quinn’s aunt, 50-year-old Nerida Quinn.

He had not been seen since 22 January, when he fled town.

A four-month search ends

Holland said during an early update in the months-long search that Ingram never held a gun licence, and police were investigating how he obtained the weapon or weapons allegedly used in the shooting.

He said on Monday it was not yet known whether the weapon found next to his body was the same allegedly used to kill three people.

In March, police offered a $250,000 reward for information that could lead to the arrest of Julian Ingram. At that point, police had scoured 60,000 acres of land in the search for Ingram and said there were another 600,000 acres to be covered.

During the same press conference announcing the reward, Holland said “we believe he is being supported by someone in the community”.

In February, police announced that the alleged “full domestic violence history” of Ingram and his access to firearms would be examined as part of a critical incident investigation overseen by the police watchdog.

NSW police said this would form part of a broader investigation into how police had handled the investigation into the alleged murders.

Police have faced scrutiny over the decision to grant Ingram bail over allegedly assaulting Quinn, two months before allegedly murdering her.

Police have repeatedly said a risk assessment found he did not pose an unacceptable risk and that Ingram had previously complied with court orders.

Ingram was charged in relation to an offence on 12 November. Court documents show that Quinn had an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) taken out against him in December that was due to be reviewed in court on 3 February.

Police granted Ingram bail on 30 November over one count of stalking and harassment with the intention to cause physical harm, one count of common assault, and one count of damage or destroying property. He pleaded not guilty.

Holland said in January that there was no evidence that Ingram had been stalking or tracking Quinn immediately before the shooting.

“He has similar incidents relating to violent offences, but he has not breached any of these orders for the past five years.”

Court documents obtained by the Guardian Australia revealed Ingram told a former partner he had a “gun and a hole” for a man he assumed to be her new partner and made threats towards her, their child and her mother a decade before the incident with Quinn.

Ingram was sentenced over the incident to eight months’ prison on two counts of stalking or intimidating with intent to cause fear or physical harm and for breaching his AVO, but overturned his custodial sentence on appeal.

In 2022, he was convicted of grabbing a family member by the throat after she made a comment about one of his children. He was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order.

Since 2014, Ingram has had six AVOs issued against him relating to five different people.