A Riverina farmer has told a court police instructions during the search for Lake Cargelligo triple murderer Julian Ingram prevented him from gathering evidence he wanted to use in his defence against illegal land clearing charges.

According to a newly published NSW Land and Environment Court decision, Sheldon Jeffrey Dalton told the court he could not return to his 31,000-acre Scotts Craig property near Mount Hope to photograph burnt areas and vegetation regrowth. He wanted to use the photographs to demonstrate efforts to regenerate the land, but said he was “told to remain indoors and not to be anywhere in the vicinity” following the killings, as police conducted a manhunt for the then-fugitive Julian Ingram.

Mr Dalton also revealed Ingram was born in the area and had lived on Scotts Craig for some time.

The connection emerged during Mr Dalton’s case over the illegal clearing of 944.9 hectares on his separate Yarradah property near Wallanthery, north-west of Griffith. Scotts Craig is adjacent to Yarradah, and the photographs were intended to provide evidence of vegetation regrowth in the land clearing case.

The court heard the clearing damaged habitat used by the threatened mallee fowl. Mr Dalton had used fire and earthmoving machinery to clear the land, and admitted knowingly damaging the bird’s habitat. https://regionriverina.com.au/lake-cargelligo-murderer-casts-shadow-over-riverina-farmers-land-clearing-case/138143/