A small rural community is breathing a sigh of relief after police discovered the body of a triple-murderer months after his shooting spree.
Julian Ingram, 37, was accused of killing his pregnant former partner Sophie Quinn, her aunt Nerida Quinn and a third person at Lake Cargelligo in western NSW on January 22.
The town went into high alert, with police warning locals to exercise extreme caution after the council worker was believed to have gone on the run.
Almost five months after the crime, officers on Monday evening revealed they had found the body of a man believed to be Ingram alongside a firearm and his white, getaway vehicle, about 100km away from Lake Cargelligo.
The news has been welcomed by the town of 1500 as mayor John Medcalf hopes it assuages residents' fears.
"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."
Quinn, 25, and her friend John Harris, 32, were killed when Ingram alleged fired bullets into a dark hatchback about 4.20pm.
Soon after, her 50-year-old aunt was shot dead at a home that was a two-minute drive away.
Kaleb Macqueen, 19, was also shot at the home but survived with serious injuries.
For weeks, officers scoured the nearby bushland looking for signs of Ingram, eventually expanding their search to the remote outpost of Mount Hope, a former mining town about 90km northwest of Lake Cargelligo.
As leads dried up, police offered a $250,000 award for information that could lead to his capture.
Months passed without any significant breakthroughs, leaving the town's leadership feeling somewhat helpless as locals and outsiders asked for updates.
"Every time (police) would get a bit of a pointer, it was a dead end," Mr Medcalf said.
"All I could only do was support the community and make sure people were looking out for each other."
Though the body has not been formally identified as Ingram's, the 37-year-old's licence was found with it, and the accompanying vehicle's licence plate matched the registration of the ute he used on the day of the shootings.
There had been no positive sightings of Ingram since he left town on January 22.
By the time the body was discovered, it was in a "very decomposed state", police said.
Officers will continue investigations into how the death occurred.
But for now, the council would continue speaking with the community about further support, the mayor said.
SHARE ME