Bones which police believe to be human have been found in a tree trunk on a property in NSW’s Central West. They were retrieved as part of an investigation into the disappearance of 53-year-old convicted murderer David Collisson.
As part of the investigation, police searched a 2000-acre property near Mudgee, a town with a population of just over 12,000 positioned 260km north-west of the state’s capital city.
An extensive search by strike force detectives, aided by the Dog Squad and Police divers, commenced on October 26. The property was where Collisson was seen for the last time the previous day after initially being reported missing on October 15.
A number of bones were then found in a tree that been burnt out. These have been sent to laboratories pending further forensic examination.
Police arrested a 33-year-old Sydney man on Saturday morning who has been charged with murder, acquire a firearm subject to prohibition order and acquiring ammunition subject to prohibition order.
Authorities will allege the man shot and killed Collisson over a dispute that took place at the property.
“We believe this was a brutal murder of a man … in cold blood, on this property,” Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty alleged in a press conference per the ABC.
“Mr Collisson was a fairly big bloke and there’s a point where if he was shot it would take, we believe maybe more than one person.”
“His demise was not only unsavoury but callous and in cold blood,” alleged Doherty.
Collisson was on parole at the time of his passing, however police said this “didn’t appear” to be related to his death.
The suspect has been remanded in custody and will appear in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday, November 5.
Collisson was convicted of murdering a teenager in 2002 and sentenced to 24 years in prison when he was aged 31 per the SMH.
He served the minimum sentence of 18 years before being released.
Investigations are ongoing.