Trudy Dreyer, (right), was shot and killed by her partner Tim Ogle, (left), in a murder/suicide incident at a home in the Hunter Valley. Photos / Supplied
Trudy Dreyer, (right), was shot and killed by her partner Tim Ogle, (left), in a murder/suicide incident at a home in the Hunter Valley. Photos / Supplied
A New South Wales couple has been found dead in an apparent murder-suicide after alarm bells were triggered when they failed to board a plane for an overseas holiday.
Investigators believe mine worker Tim Ogle, 48, killed Trudy Dreyer, 49, at her homestead in Doyles Creek, the Hunter Valley, before turning the gun on himself.
"While officers from Hunter Valley Police District continue with inquiries into the incident, at this stage it is being treated as a murder suicide," a police statement read.
The pair had been due to board a flight to South America days earlier but never showed up to the airport. According to a source who spoke to news.com.au on the condition of anonymity, family members believed Ogle and Ms Dreyer were on the "expensive trip", and so weren't suspicious when they didn't hear from her.
A travel agent who had been unable to contact the couple flagged her concerns with police who conducted a welfare check and found their bodies with gunshot wounds inside the property on Thursday afternoon.
"We thought she was on the trip of a lifetime but she was dead inside her house the whole time," the source said.
"Knowing that is one of the hardest parts."
Trudy Dreyer, 49, who was shot and killed by her partner Tim Ogle, 48, in a suspected murder-suicide at a home in the Hunter Valley, 27 September, 2019. Photo / Supplied
Ogle and Ms Dreyer both worked at Mount Arthur coal mine and each has children from previous relationships who are now in the care of their "other parents", according to police. The children, all aged under 18, were not present during the killings.
On Friday night, Ms Dreyer's devastated family told The Saturday Telegraph they never expected Ogle to be a murderer and the mum-of-two had believed her partner of about nine months was "the one".
"Trudy was the loveliest, most genuine person you could meet," Dan Pollard, Trudy's relative, told the newspaper.
"We met Tim a few weeks ago, we didn't think much of him, we thought he was a deadbeat, we never imagined he could be a murderer."
Cessnock Inspector Michael Gorman said police were investigating what type of gun was used but that it appeared to have been "a long arm, either a rifle or a shotgun".
"We do these types of calls quite regularly but you do not expect to find this outcome," he said.
"The person who alerted police said they had not heard from the couple for a few days.
"We are interviewing family and friends to establish the motive behind this tragedy and are not ruling out that the couple endured a volatile relationship. We're keeping an open mind.
"As with all circumstances such as these, sometimes we never find out what truly happens.
"The children are in the care of other parents and are receiving counselling."
WHERE TO GET HELP:
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