The family of Sophie Quinn have spoken publicly after the body of her alleged murderer, Julian Ingram, was discovered by police on Monday afternoon next to an abandoned ute 50km north-west of Lake Cargelligo in NSW.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of those who are deceased.
Sophie’s mother, Cathy, described her daughter’s alleged killer and former partner as “gutless”, and said that the discovery of his body “doesn’t bring them back.”
“Justice doesn’t coincide with stolen lives,” she told the Herald.
Sophie’s sister Tegan, added, “it was about time (police) found him”.
“We can grieve but now it feels so real and it’s only hit me now,” she said.
Since January, police had been searching for the gunman believed to have killed Sophie, her friend John Harris, and her aunt Nerida Quinn, in Lake Cargelligo, 570 kilometres northwest of Sydney.
At the time of her death, Sophie was 7-months pregnant.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said yesterday police had found the body of a 37-year old man next to a white Ford Ranger in Round Hill Nature Reserve, about 100 kilometres north-west of Lake Cargelligo. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service workers had discovered Ingram’s abandoned ute.
“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,” Western Region Commander Andrew Holland said. “At this point, the body appears to have been there for some time.”
Ingram, 37, who worked for Lachlan Shire Council as a gardener, fled town in a white getaway ute on the day of the alleged shooting spree, and had not been seen since.
Although the body has not yet been formally identified, police believe it is Ingram based on the council worker’s licence found in the car and the clothing on the body.
The vehicle’s registration number also matched the ute believed to have been used on the day of the shootings.
“It’s a relief for those involved in the investigation, and probably a bigger relief for the people of Lake Cargelligo and the Quinn family,” Holland said.
“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.”
Quinn, 25, and Harris, 32, were shot and killed in the afternoon of January 22 when bullets were fired into a dark hatchback on Bokhara St in Lake Cargelligo. Shortly after, Quinn’s aunt, Nerida, 50, was shot and killed at a home in a nearby street.
Her son’s teenage friend, Kaleb Macqueen was shot in the back of the head, his hand, shoulder and leg, but survived with serious injuries. At the time of the shootings, Ingram was on bail for alleged domestic violence offences against Quinn and is believed to have carried out the murders just hours after reporting to a local police station as part of his bail conditions.
Local police had granted Ingram bail last November after his alleged assault around the time he separated from Quinn.
Local resident Dwayne Kirby, who saw Quinn and Harris get shot, questioned why he had been granted bail.
“We’re glad he’s been found, but he should still be alive, so the family can get justice,” he said. “I’m hoping in some way they can.”
Mikaila Elms, the daughter of Sophie’s aunt, Nerida Quinn, told the Herald that Ingram’s death meant her family would “never get justice”.
“It just leaves us wondering,” she said.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that three days after he was granted bail, police successfully applied in court for an apprehended domestic violence order to protect Sophie from Ingram — it was the third restraining order taken out against him.
Lachlan Shire mayor John Medcalf said the discovery of Ingram’s body has been welcome news in the town of less than 2000 people.
“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.”
So far this year in Australia, 23 women and 8 children have been killed in incidents of domestic violence, according to The RED HEART Movement, the organisation that tracks every known Australian woman and child killed as a result of murder, manslaughter or neglect.
Earlier this month, 65-year-old mother Ruvena Lam was allegedly killed by one of her sons, Jacky Feng. Feng is alleged to have murdered Ruvena, his father Zhi Chao (Charles) and his brother Justin Feng. The alleged killer faced court on May 4 and was refused bail.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said communities have a responsibility to speak out against domestic and family violence, amid a rise in DV-related deaths across the state.
“It can no longer be a silent crime,” she said. “Let somebody know if you think something is not right, because we are seeing too many domestic and family violence deaths.”
In 2025, 79 women were killed in incidents of domestic violence.