A MAN accused of the murder of two people at a rural property at Hermidale in western NSW remains remanded in custody and is believed to have previously been in a relationship with the female victim.
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Allan Geoffrey O'Connor, 61, was listed to appear before Dubbo Local Court on Monday, three days after the bodies of 28-year-old Jacob Cumberland and a 36-year-old local woman were found at the farm.
Both the man and the woman, who court documents show was Rebecca Webb, suffered fatal gunshot wounds.
A third body believed to be that of Stephen Cumberland, the 59-year-old father of Jacob, was found inside a nearby burnt-out caravan on the property on Laroo Road, Hermidale, 70 kilometres west of Nyngan.
Police said the 59-year-old's cause of death was yet to be determined.
They confirmed they found the bodies of the woman and Stephen Cumberland after a member of the public discovered Jacob Cumberland dead in the property's driveway and rang triple zero on Friday morning.
Acting Superintendent Andrew Hurst said Mr O'Connor knew the victims and had been romantically linked to the woman, whose body was found close to the fire-ravaged caravan.
"I can't speculate on the motive," he told reporters at Nyngan.
"I can say that investigators believe (they) were previously involved in a domestic relationship."
A short time later the two charges against Mr O'Connor, a Hermidale man, came before Dubbo Local Court.
During the brief mention Mr O'Connor's legal representative asked the matter be dealt with without bringing his client before the court that day.
The solicitor, from the Aboriginal Legal Service, also told magistrate Philip Stewart there would be no application for bail.
The parties were seeking brief service orders, he said.
The Crown told the court it was a Hermidale matter, which would normally be listed at Nyngan, where there were no audio-visual link facilities.
He asked the matter go to Bourke Local Court instead on the next occasion.
Mr Stewart ordered a brief of evidence be served on the defence by August 6.
Bail was formally refused and the matter was adjourned to Bourke Local Court on August 20.
Earlier, acting Superintendent Hurst said the deaths had rocked the rural community of Hermidale, a village of about 130 people.
Story courtesy of the Daily Liberal
