Stocco fugitives plead guilty to murder

A father and son who sparked a major manhunt across two states have pleaded guilty to murder in a country NSW court.

Fugitives Gino Stocco and his son Mark Stocco were taken into custody last October and charged with a string of offences including shooting with intent to murder, after they allegedly opened fire on two police vehicles near Wagga Wagga.

The men had been wanted in relation to property offences in Queensland and had evaded capture for eight years.

But the shots they allegedly fired at police on October 16 last year prompted authorities to ramp up efforts to find the pair, triggering a weeks-long manhunt across parts of Victoria and NSW.

The two men were arrested in NSW at Pinevale, near Elong Elong northeast of Dubbo, and were later charged with murdering Italian-born caretaker Rosario Cimone, 68, whose body was discovered in a shallow grave on the property.

Both men appeared in Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to one count each of murder and of destroying property by fire.

They will be sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court at a later date.